In a survey ''Winning Strategies in Economic Development Marketing'' conducted once every three years by the New York-based Development Counselors International, American corporate executives say that India is the second best country for business investments.

Development Counselors International tracks trends in economic development since its inception in 1996.

Totally 281 corporate executives participated and ranked  China (53.1 per cent) as the most favourable country followed by India (45.1 per cent), Mexico (30.1 per cent), Britain (25.4 per cent) and Canada (22 per cent).

Respondents for the first time were asked to rate the business environment in the world's 25 largest countries based on their GDP.

The reasons mentioned for judging India as the best for investment are the country's labour force, including its supply, skill level and cost by those corporate decision-makers who named India by around 65 per cent of the time as the reason for their positive perceptions.

The other reasons that come out are India's ''growing economy / business opportunities'' about 38 per cent times and ''low overall / operating costs'' were named 18 per cent of the time.