LONDON, Oct. 25 (Xinhua) -- Britain has dropped out of the top five sites for investment for the first time in seven years as uncertainties over the Brexit linger, said a leading accounting firm in its newly released survey.
Britain after the June vote ranks as the seventh most desirable destination for mergers and acquisitions, following the United States, China, Germany, Canada, France and Japan, according to the Global Capital Confidence Barometer survey done by Ernst & Young, one of the global "big four" accounting firms.
The country was only second to the United States in the firm's last report released before the referendum.
Investors from China, the United States and Japan showed the largest downturns as they fear Britain can no longer function as a "gateway into Europe," said the latest report that had sought the opinions of more than 1,700 executives from 18 sectors in 45 countries and regions.
"In the longer term, we would expect the UK to bounce back as a top M&A destination of choice," said Steve Krouskos, Ernst & Young's global vice chair of transaction advisory services, "but the short-term uncertainty is giving investors pause for thought."
Apart from the rise of geopolitical changes, as exemplified by the Brexit case, the report also named other risks to investments as perceived by executives, including the uncertainty surrounding the U.S. interest rate and the upcoming elections in some countries.
