Indian Investors are the most optimistic

Soaring inflation and market volatility notwithstanding, Indian investors have emerged most optimistic in Asia and many of them believe the economy has improved in the second quarter of 2008, says a survey.According to a survey conducted by Dutch financial services major ING, 76 per cent of Indian investors believe the economy would improve in the third quarter while 71 per cent felt that economy had improved in the second quarter. India’s investor sentiment slipped three per cent to 163 for the second quarter from the first quarter of 2008.
In Asia Pacific region, India is followed by Hong Kong (123) and China (117) at the 2nd and 3rd places, respectively. About 72 per cent investors expect return on investment to increase in Q3 compared to 63 per cent who think the return had increased in Q2. Nearly 68 per cent respondents in India expect their personal financial situation to improve in Q3. ING Investor Dashboard provides an investor sentiment index in Asia-pacific region and covers 13 markets, including Hong Kong, China, Taiwan and Korea. As per the survey, 41 per cent of Indian investors expect inflation will continue to soar in Q3, while 69 per cent expect the price rise to affect investment decisions. “About 75 per cent of Indian investors are considering reallocating their portfolio and invest more for higher return to hedge against growing inflation,” the report said. Investors are especially keen on investing in properties as an investment tool to beat inflation, with 54 per cent of them planning to reallocate their portfolios into realty.
Stocks (37 per cent), gold (29 per cent) and mutual funds and unit trusts (27 per cent) are also favoured by investors.