Indonesia beats Asian peers in consumer confidence index

Its record jumped to 87.5 index points.

According to a release by MasterCard Worldwide IndexTM of Consumer Confidence, consumers in Asia/Pacific remain optimistic despite uncertainty in the global economy led by huge surges in confidence in the emerging markets of Indonesia and Philippines.

The MasterCard Worldwide Index of Consumer Confidence (“Index”) is based on a survey conducted between 7 November to 23 December 2012 on 11,339 respondents aged 18 – 64 in 25 countries within Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa. This is the 40th survey of Consumer Confidence conducted since 1993.

Nine out of 14 Asia/Pacific[1] markets polled recorded positive sentiment when compared to the first half of 2012. Overall, Asia/Pacific saw a slight increase from 57.2 Index points in the first half of 2012 to 59.7 Index points with improvement recorded in most key indicators: employment (54.0 to 56.6 Index points), economy (51.8 to 57.2 Index points), quality of life (51.7 to 55.3 Index points) and stock market (56.5 to 57.6 Index points). Regular income remained the same at 71.9 Index points.

Extreme improvements were recorded in Indonesia, where consumer confidence jumped 30.1 Index points (from 57.4 to 87.5), and the Philippines, which rose 13.6 Index points (from 65.2 to 78.8).

Both Indonesia and Philippines are benefiting from rising investment from both domestic and international investors in spite of uncertainty in the global economy and soft global demand for exports from Asia/Pacific, which provides robust support of growth overall while boosting consumer confidence.

The largest deterioration in consumer confidence was recorded in South Korea, down from a positive 51.3 Index points to a negative 38.6 Index points. South Korea, which is tightly linked to the global trade cycle, is also facing stiff competition from Japan in markets where their exports of capital goods compete head to head.

New Zealand also saw a drop in confidence (from 51.0 to 42.7 Index points), alongside smaller deteriorations in Thailand (from 75.8 to 69.6 Index points), Vietnam (from 77.2 to 74.5 Index points) and Singapore (from 52.9 to 50.0 Index points).