Chinese consumers most optimistic in Asia-Pacific region<\/p>\n
Agence France-Presse, Singapore<\/p>\n
Consumers in China have the most optimistic economic outlook
\nin the Asia-Pacific region, with confidence also strong in
\nMalaysia, Thailand and New Zealand, according to a survey
\nreleased Wednesday.<\/p>\n
Less optimism prevails in Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore and the
\nPhilippines, MasterCard International said in its latest six-
\nmonthly survey. Consumers were asked about the outlook for the
\nnext six months for employment, economy, regular income, the
\nstock market and quality of life.<\/p>\n
\"China continues to be the star performer with the highest
\nconsumer confidence scores across Asia\/Pacific. The latest score,
\n84.4, registers an increase from last period's index of 73.6,\"
\nMasterCard said in a statement.<\/p>\n
\"Within China, Shanghai respondents are the most hopeful
\ntoday, although those in Beijing and Guangzhou appear to be
\nalmost as positive,\" it said.<\/p>\n
Malaysia, Thailand and New Zealand continue to reflect
\npositive consumer sentiment, it said.<\/p>\n
\"The survey's latest results indicate that there is not one
\nspecific discernible trend across the region,\" said MasterCard
\nsenior vice president Stuart McDonald.<\/p>\n
\"It's interesting that while China continues to experience
\nsuch high consumer confidence levels, nearby in Hong Kong they
\nare struggling with less optimism these days.<\/p>\n
\"And while Thailand and Malaysia continue to perform quite
\nwell, other parts of Southeast Asia are less buoyant,\" he said.<\/p>\n
Employment prospects seem to be a primary concern amonst the
\n5,479 consumers surveyed in 13 regional economies, he said.<\/p>\n
Hong Kong and India recorded improvements in sentiment but the
\npreviously optimistic markets of Australia, Taiwan, Singapore and
\nKorea showed a downturn in the latest survey, MasterCard said.<\/p>\n
Hong Kong's index rebounded to 21.3 from 13.9, while India's
\nscore surged to 62.1 from 42.6.<\/p>\n
Consumer sentiment in Australia appears to be growing
\ncautious, with the latest index of 44.6 reversed a growing trend
\nin four previous MasterCard surveys.<\/p>\n
Taiwan's score of 38.9 fell from 58.9 in the last survey in
\nJune, while Japan registered the lowest index level of 15.<\/p>\n
Singapore saw its score drop more than 20 notches to 31.4 from
\n56.1, with consumers feeling most pessimistic about the stock
\nmarket and employment.<\/p>\n
Korean consumer confidence suffered a major decline to 39.2
\nfrom 76.5 six months earlier.<\/p>\n
The other scores are Indonesia, down to 56.0 from 67.7,
\nMalaysia, 73.0, New Zealand down to 65.8 from 75.2, Philippines
\ndown to 33.6 from 39.7 and Thailand down to 70.3 from 73.9.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/chinese-consumers-most-optimistic-in-asia-pacific-region-1447899208",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
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