China remains world's top investment destination

LONDON -- China has for the second consecutive year been ranked number one in a list of top 10 investment destinations in the world, according to a survey released by accountancy firm BDO on Monday.

The BDO 2012 global market opportunity index for China stood at 251, the highest in the ranking, which was followed by the United States with the index of 212, Brazil with 198, India with 158 and Germany with 147.

The index was created from the intention of global expansion in specific countries and regions stated by chief financial officers, or CFOs, based on 1,050 interviews conducted across 14 countries and regions.

The CFOs listed seven large, established markets of China, the United States, Brazil, India, Germany, Russia and Britain as the best countries to invest in.

According to the report, the seven most attractive investment opportunity markets made up nearly half of the world's GDP in 2011, further emphasizing the importance of market size and customer base as a key driver.

The most important reasons to determine companies expansion abroad include market size and growth, local infrastructure and people, ease of entry and customer potential and cheaper labor rate, the survey suggested.

"The BRIC countries are inspiring more investment confidence and are seeing a boom in investment, with nearly half of the CFOs interviewed investing in, or planning to enter these markets, compared to just 29 percent in 2011," said Martin Van Roekel, CEO of BDO.

"The eurozone crisis is playing an important role too, with CFOs from Brazil and China in particular saying that it has had a large impact on their international expansion plans," he said.

CFOs all over the world are finding it more difficult to conduct business abroad in 2012 compared with three years ago, the survey showed, citing the poor economic situation, increased regulation and greater competition as the main reasons for it.