The Top Ten
The nations with the best access to business capital in 2008 (previous year’s ranking in parentheses) are the following:
1. Canada (1)
2. Hong Kong (2)
3. United Kingdom (4)
4. Singapore (5)
5. United States (6)
6. Switzerland (3)
7. Sweden (11)
8. Australia (9)
9. Netherlands (7)
10. Finland (10)
The BRIC nations
* Brazil moved from No. 51 to No. 49, with significant advances in bond market development and alternative sources of capital.
* Russia ranked 54th, compared to 58th in last year’s index. The country saw improvements in all index components except for financial and banking institutions and equity market development.
* India moved from No. 47 to No. 44. It saw declines in macroeconomic environment and institutional environment scores but made progress in alternative sources of capital and in international funding.
* China skyrocketed 13 positions, from No. 45 to No. 32, due to sound economic growth and a robust banking sector that helped stabilize the economy, even though trade surplus started to shrink toward the end of the year.
Source: Milken Institute
