Business leaders believe they are now working in an increasingly dangerous world with political violence shaping up as a growing risk for companies planning to invest in big ventures.

An Economist Intelligence Unit report, World investment
prospects to 2011, says executives say business is now just as much a target for attack as government. And they expect political violence to increase over the next five years, becoming an even bigger problem than crime.

The risks don't just include political violence either. They extend to protectionism and government instability. Add to that the mad scramble for scarce energy resources.

And yet at the same time, these executives are bullish about investment outlook over the next five years and expect global capital inflows to reach $1.5 trillion this year. It will taper off, because the turmoil in financial markets will put a dampener on corporate deals but it will pick up again towards the end of the decade.

According to the report, this reveals a significant "disconnect" between the bullish outlook and the risks ahead. Businesses are hungry for opportunity, even though the risks are greater.