'Post-reforms push, CFO sentiment up'

The optimism level of India's senior finance executives in the overall financial and macro-economic conditions for the next three months has improved significantly driven by the recent reforms push, a survey says.

According to the research firm Dun and Bradstreet India Chief Financial Officer (CFO) survey, the confidence level of Indian CFOs in the overall financial and macro-economic conditions for Q4 of 2012 (October-December 2012), as compared to the same quarter of the previous year has reached a three quarter high.

The optimism level for the overall macroeconomic condition for the fourth quarter of 2012 stands at around 60, an 8.1 point increase from the previous quarter.

Optimism level ranges from 0 to 100 -- 0 being pessimistic and 100 being optimistic.

"The CFO survey conducted by D&B India reveals that the optimism level among the CFOs stands at a three quarter high.

The recent reform announcements have lifted sentiment within the domestic industry and renewed interest of foreign institutional investors in the Indian market," Dun & Bradstreet India Chief Operating Officer Mohan Ramaswamy said.

The government has recently taken a number of reform initiatives like opening FDI to multi-brand to retail sector, aviation and broadcasting sector, hiking diesel prices, capping the number of subsidised LPG cylinders.

The government has unleashed a second wave of reforms deciding to open the pension sector to foreign investment and raising the FDI cap in insurance to 49 per cent.

Moreover, around 56 per cent of CFOs believe the macroeconomic scenario for Indian corporate will remain favourable during Q4 of 2012, an increase of 29 per cent over Q3 of 2012, while about 50 per cent of the surveyed CFOs consider operating margin of their company to improve during Q4 of 2012.

Ramaswamy, however, cautioned that, CFOs still remain cautious with respect to the overall cost structure. Inflation is on the rise and the second round impact of the fuel price hike announced by the government during end of third quarter of 2012 is yet to materialise fully.

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