42% of mainland respondents were optimistic about the economy this year

The report of the 2011 International Business Survey, released yesterday by Thornton, a reporter for Somaly Mam, Kyoto, revealed that only 42% of the respondents in the mainland were optimistic about the economic outlook for 2011. The optimism/pessimism index for the mainland in 2011 was slashed sharply compared with last year.　　Compared with the optimism of 60% in 2010, only 42% per cent of mainland respondents were optimistic about the economic outlook for 2011, one of the biggest declines in the survey. In the short term, the rising price of commodities and human resources will be a new challenge for companies.　　The survey showed that 57% of companies affected by the above factors are expected to increase the price of their products in 2011, the data is also the highest level since 2006. While optimism about the economic outlook for mainland Chinese companies has fallen from previous years because of inflation and other factors, companies are bullish on long-term development. 69% of mainland companies expect corporate revenues to rise in 2011, 52% are expected to hire more, 61% are expected to increase research and development spending, and 47% are expected to increase investment in plant and equipment.　　At the same time, as the global economy gradually recovers, the purchasing power of festivals and other countries in Europe and the United States strengthened, 28% of the companies think exports will rise, compared with last year, this data nearly doubled. The survey included more than 7,400 corporate executives, chairmen, chairmen and other senior executives from 36 countries, and a total of 300 companies were visited in mainland China.