AUSTRALIA HAS retained third place on a quarterly global risk ranking of countries, while unsurprisingly the UK and the US have fallen off the top-10 of lowest-risk countries for business.

Dun & Bradstreet’s global risk indicator rated Austria and Switzerland ahead of Australia as the safest countries to do business.

Canada, in fourth place, was the only other non-European country in the top-10. The UK and the US were re-rated to a DB1d, according to the assessment of companies operating in 131 countries.

“Despite the impacts of the liquidity crisis and local economic challenges such as inflation, Australia has managed to retain its number-three ranking,” said D&B CEO Christine Christian.

“This is a positive sign, however continued strong economic management is important to ensure that our risk remains low and the business environment strong.”

She said the UK, by contrast, had always been in the top-10 in the index until recently, but all the signs now were of a “very sharp economic slowdown” and a year of “consolidation”as retail sales and house prices declined there.

The D&B Global Economic Outlook Report used an average of around 70 different measures such as \how well companies in each country fulfil their obligations to pay suppliers, returns on export payments, rates of insolvency, and delinquency ratings.

“Australia continues to be a safe haven for business,” said Christian. “Australia is facing some turbulence, but the outlook compared to some other countries around the world continues to be stable.”

Inflation was an obvious concern, she said, despite signs of a slowing of the local economy.

“We still have strong domestic demand, a tight labour market and very robust commodity prices. While we still have China as a country that has an insatiable appetite for our resources, it all points to Australia being seen by the rest of the world as a stable option,” she said.

“There is no doubt that we are starting to see a weakening in the economy, but the country is still performing very well.”