Dec. 15 – A study published by London-based law firm Eversheds shows confidence levels among senior business executives in Mumbai and Shanghai have eclipsed their counterparts in New York and London.
The Boom or Gloom report polled 600 senior executives in London, Mumbai, New York, Shanghai and the United Arab Emirates. In it, 87 percent of business leaders across the globe said that the recession has significantly changed the structure of the world economy and that established financial centers face a growing challenge from the emerging economies of the East.
It further revealed that majority of business leaders were more confident compared to the start of 2009. But when it comes to confidence in the economy over the next twelve months, there is a clear East-West divide.
“This is potentially very significant. When you have 90 percent of respondents in Mumbai and Shanghai saying they are very confident about the future, and only 22 percent saying so in London, it feeds into the plans people will make,” Eversheds chairman Alan Jenkins said in a statement.
More than 90 percent of business leaders in Shanghai and Mumbai are confident in their economic outlook over the next year, while only 22 percent in London and 35 percent in New York were able to say the same.
The confidence gap also reflected how respondents perceived their own economic performance. In Mumbai and Shanghai more than half the respondents feel their national economy is performing better compared to the global economy, whereas in London and New York this was only around a third.
Jenkins said a high-level government report in India has singled out all-round infrastructure development as the key challenge in efforts to develop the city as “even more of a leading financial center,” and that the rise of Mumbai and Shanghai would have “significant implications for the post-recession global economy.”
“Indian business are confident and are looking to the future, making plans for both within India and globally. I don’t get the same sense in London,” he said. He added that there will be considerable pressure on London’s place as the pre-eminent center for global financial services in 10 years’ time.
Requests for a copy of the Boom or Gloom report can be made here.
