Malaysian consumers 9th most optimistic in Asia-Pacific

Malaysian consumers are the ninth most optimistic in Asia Pacific at 99 index points in the second quarter, up one point from the first quarter, according to the latest Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Survey.

Leading the 14 Asia-Pacific countries covered in Nielsen’s survey is India with 129 index points, followed by Indonesia and Vietnam, both with 119 points. Most pessimistic are consumers in Japan (55) and South Korea (56). Across the region, the average consumer confidence was 101.

The survey by Nielsen, which began in 2005, tracks consumer confidence, major concerns and spending intentions among 27,000 Internet users in 48 countries. Consumer confidence index levels above and below a baseline of 100 indicate degrees of optimism and pessimism respectively.

In a statement yesterday, The Nielsen Company’s managing director for Malaysia Kow Kuan Hua said while confidence was on an upward trend from its lowest point in 1Q09 (81 points), it was still not quite up to the highs of 2005 and 2006 (114 points).

“Consumers remain cautious about the economy in general with the majority (78%) saying they continue to save on household expenditure. For now, (Malaysian) consumers are prudent spenders especially on discretionary items such as out-of-home entertainment, upgrading personal PCs and mobile devices,” said Kow.

By and large, Malaysians are still a nation of savers with 64% saying they will put their spare cash into savings. The next top five uses of spare cash are: paying off debts (41%), vacations (41%), investing in shares/mutual funds (34%), new technology products (24%) and new clothes (24%).

Along with the slight increase in confidence, more Malaysian consumers believe the country is out of recession (53%) compared with 44% in the first quarter. Within the region, Singapore has the largest proportion of consumers who are confident their country is out of recession (83%) compared with the regional average of 61%.

Rising in tandem is the confidence in future job prospects. In 2Q10, 63% of consumers were positive about the job market compared with 57% in the first quarter.

Globally, average consumer confidence edged up one index point to 93 as the increase in consumer confidence in Asia was offset by European consumers’ growing concerns over the debt crisis.

This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, July 29, 2010.