The annual international survey by international accounting firm Grant Thornton International has concluded for the fourth year in a row that Indian businesses are the world's most optimistic on rating their national economic prospects.

This year's survey recorded an optimism balance of 97+ on growth prospects for 2007, leading the optimism charts in the 32-country survey. Experian Business Strategies and Harris Interactive, polled 7,200 private businesses in the 32 countries for the survey.

Indian businesses, the survey notes, "retain the position held over the past three years as the most positive regarding their country's economic prospects.

The survey said economic growth, progressive liberalisation of external trade and investment had helped push up foreign direct investment resulting in high growth.

In the BRIC countries (Brazil, Russia, India and China), private businesses grew more enthusiastic in their 12-month economic outlook though barring India, they cited finance as the major constraint to growth.

"Indian businesses are less likely to cite financial constraints as barriers to growth of their business, and are indeed below the global average regarding shortage of working capital as a constraint," the survey noted.

Moreover, 82 per cent of Indian businesses view globalisation as an opportunity, while in China at least 20 per cent of the respondents regard it as a threat, 25 per cent of the respondents in Brazil and 19 per cent in Russia felt the same.