Fifty-six percent of midsize U.S. companies operating overseasplan to boost their international revenue targets this year,according to HSBC's second annual survey. That optimism comesdespite less-than-encouraging recent results: Just 52% of therespondents said their international business revenue had grownmore rapidly than their domestic business revenue over the last 12months, down 15 percentage points from the 67% who said so in lastyear's survey.

But Chris Davies, senior executive vice president and head ofcommercial banking for HSBC – North America, argues that 52% is “apositive figure.”

“The fact that even in these times of global economic pressure,companies are reaching outside of domestic markets, that's a signof the resilience of global trade,” Davies says. He notes that forthe second year in a row, the executives surveyed cited China,India and Brazil as the markets with the greatest potential forgrowth.

HSBC surveyed 500 senior finance executives from companies in arange of industries with annual revenues from $20 million to $5billion. The survey shows that counterparty risk is a bigconsideration these days for companies with internationaloperations, with 30% citing the solvency of their overseascustomers as a major concern; 25% worried about the solvency orreliability of overseas financial partners and 22% about overseassuppliers.

The survey results also look at the many ways in which companiesare responding to the recession. In addition to 62% who say theyare more cost conscious and 49% who have reduced the number ofemployees, 48% say they're making more of an effort to collectreceivables. Forty-three percent say they're communicating morewith their bankers to maintain their access to credit and 40% saythey're imposing stricter credit policies on customers.