Foreign investors don’t seem to prefer India as an investment destination as it did not feature in the 2020 Kearney Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index released on Tuesday.
In 2019, India was in the 16th position on the 25-country index. India's position had been consecutively dropping on the index in the past few years. In 2016, it was at the 9th spot. It rose to the 8th spot in 2017, falling to the 11th in 2018.
The US was at the top position for the eighth consecutive year, demonstrating its high level of attractiveness to foreign investors due to its competitive business environment and a strong technological base.
"This stretch represents the longest run for the United States in the top position on the Index and dates back to 2013. However, it remains behind the all-time record held by China, which maintained the first position on the Index from 2002 through 2012," said the Kearney report.
Canada inched up by a position to take the second spot while Germany moved a rank lower to the third spot.
The report noted that more broadly, markets in American continents did better in the 2020 Index than last year, with the US and Canada claiming the top two spots and Brazil re-joining the top 25 after a one-year absence. As a result of Brazil (22nd) re-joining the Index, the region captures three spots this year -- the same share as last year.
Japan, on the other hand rose two spots to the fourth position and France held on to the fifth position.
In the sixth, seventh and eighth positions were the UK, Australia and China. China's eighth rank is its lowest so far, but it is the only emerging market to have ranked among the top 10.
Italy dropped a rank lower to the ninth position, while Switzerland gained three spots to take the 10th spot.
The Kearney FDI Confidence Index is a survey done every year among global business executives to gauge which countries are likely to attract most investment over the next three years.