Asian consumer sentiments mixed amid recession fears
Asian consumer sentiments mixed amid recession fears
SINGAPORE (AFP): Singaporeans and Chinese are the most upbeat
Asian consumers while Japanese, Taiwanese and South Koreans are
the gloomiest in the region amid fears of a new recession, a
survey showed Wednesday.
Credit card giant Mastercard International said it found big
differences in consumer confidence from country to country in its
MasterIndex poll in 13 Asia-Pacific markets last December.
"The most interesting observation from the latest MasterIndex
is that there is no apparent single trend in consumer confidence
across the region," senior vice president Stuart McDonald said in
a statement.
While previous surveys showed events in one country had a
considerable impact on its neighbors, the latest poll revealed
that "widespread political, economic and social changes resulted
in a greater impact on a domestic level, rather than region-
wide."
During the 1997-98 financial crisis in Asia, day-to-day events
in one economy had an immediate impact on the region,
particularly in the foreign exchange market. Regional volatility
has since eased, but there are fears of a new recession with the
U.S. economy slowing down.
With 100 as the best possible rating for consumer confidence
in the MasterIndex survey, Singapore topped the field with a
score of 84.2, followed by China at 78.6, the highest since China
was included in the survey in 1996.
"China is the only market in the region to record a consistent
rise in its MasterIndex scores over the past six survey periods,"
MasterCard said.
Consumers in China's commercial capital Shanghai "manifest the
most upbeat outlook for the next six months," compared to their
counterparts in the other cosmopolitan centers, Beijing and
Guangzhou.
The survey asked 5,521 consumers about their expectations
regarding employment, the economy, regular income, the stock
market and quality of life.
Third in the rankings was New Zealand at 68.4, followed by
Malaysia at 67.4, Hong Kong 67.2, India 60.4, Thailand 59.7,
Indonesia 54.1, Australia 44.6, the Philippines 35.5, South Korea
25.9, Taiwan 21.7 and Japan 13.9.
The survey was conducted before the recent changes of
government in Thailand and the Philippines.
On Japan, the statement said the current rating was less than
half the previous reading of 33.4 and the lowest since December
1998. Respondents were "deeply pessimistic" about employment and
regular income.
Yuwa Hendrick-Wong, executive vice president of research
outfit Strategic Intelligence, said the survey showed consumer
confidence now plays a "critical role" in the economic fortunes
of Asian countries.
More of the region's future growth will have to come from
rising consumption, rather than exports and foreign investment,
he said.
Governments will have to "achieve a careful balance between
continuing economic reform to build a more open, entrepreneurial
and consumer-focused domestic market, while avoiding the worst of
structural dislocations that impact on consumer sentiments and
confidence," he said.
"The divergence shown in the MasterIndex survey clearly
reflects the differing degrees of success by the region's
governments in this regard," he added.