WORLD> Asia-Pacific
Australia best placed to survive recession: survey
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-05-26 17:26

SYDNEY -- Australia has been ranked number one in an international business confidence survey as being the best country to survive the global economic recession.

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Australia was placed on top of the list ahead of China, with India and Singapore in equal third place. New Zealand also fared well, ranked ninth.

The survey was conducted in April among 7,500 people in more than 24 nations and released on Tuesday. It was aimed at gauging business sentiment and what impact the economic downturn has had on businesses globally.

Australian business people appeared relatively unaffected, according to the poll conducted for Servcorp, a provider of virtual and serviced offices that operates in 61 nations.

"Over 71 percent of Australian business people believe we are the lucky country, and it's interesting to see that the rest of the world agrees," Australian Associated Press quoted Servcorp executive director Taine Moufarrige as saying.

Pessimistic media reports were the number one concern among Australian businesses, the survey revealed.

"I think the doom and gloom reports that Australians hear every day are harmful to Australian businesses and hold them back from seeing the opportunities that are present in the current economic climate," Moufarrige said.

"This is a time when Australian business confidence needs to be supported and encouraged in the media and by the Australia government," he added.