Mumbai: India is the second best country for investment outside the United states, after China, a new survey of US corporate executives shows.

The survey - Winning Strategies in Economic Development Marketing -  based on the opinion of  top US corporate executives, has ranked China as the best destination outside the US for investment.

The survey, being conducted by Development Counsellors International (DCI) every three years since 1996, aims to track trends in economic development.

Respondents were asked to rank the business climate of the world's 25 largest countries (based on GDP).

Of the 281 corporate executives who responded, 53.1 per cent named China as the most favoured country, followed by India (45.1 per cent), Mexico (30.1 per cent), Britain (25.4 per cent) and Canada (22 per cent).

India's attraction as an investment destination, according to 65 per cent the corporate heads polled, has mainly been due to the country's labour force, including its supply, skill level and the cost of hiring.

The positive perception of China was due to its growing economy/business opportunities, low labor cost and low overall/operating costs.

About 38 per cent of those polled saw growing economy/business opportunities in India while for some 18 per cent it was the low overall/operating costs.

For US states, the survey found Texas, North Carolina and Georgia as having the best business climates and California, New York and Michigan as having the least favourable business climates.

"With the global battle for business more intense than ever, countries and their economic development organisations need to pay close attention to the results of this survey," DCI President Andrew T Levine, said.

"Whether accurate or misguided, perceptions about a location's business climate often play a crucial role in site selection where companies invest money and create jobs," he added.