|
VN records highest consumer confidence
Viet Nam has climbed nine spots to tie with Indonesia as the second most confident country in the world, according to a survey recently issued by The Nielsen Company, a global information and measurement company.
Viet Nam saw a significant increase of 18 points for this year's second quarter, the survey found.
Viet Nam's confidence index jumped to 119 points after taking a slight correction last quarter to 101 points, according to the Global Consumer Confidence Survey.
This 18-point jump represents the highest confidence rating ever recorded for the country.
In contrast, the global average increased only one point, standing at 93.
Global consumer confidence cautiously edged up one index point to 93 in the second quarter as confidence in booming Asian markets were offset by European consumers' growing concerns of an escalating debt crisis.
This battered confidence levels in Spain, Italy and France, according to the latest edition of the Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index.
Consumer confidence rose two points in the US in the second quarter to 87, in which the world's largest economy continued on course for a slow but steady climb out of the recession.
Consumer Confidence Index levels above and below a baseline of 100 indicate degrees of optimism and pessimism.
"While the global economy is in better shape than it was nine months ago, (+7 index points compared to Q3 2009), the ongoing European debt crisis is a major setback to the global economic recovery anticipated this year," said Dr. Venkatesh Bala, Chief Economist at The Cambridge Group, a part of The Nielsen Company.
"American consumers closely watched unemployment numbers, while Europeans witnessed the government implement new, and in some cases, severe fiscal austerity measures amid stagnant job markets and a weakening euro," Dr. Bala added.
"Consumers in Western developed economies realized that the road to full economic recovery is going to take a bit longer than expected. In the ongoing weak-to-moderate growth environment, there is some risk for businesses of deflationary pressure, requiring close attention to improving pricing power through more effective deployment of media, innovation and channel marketing efforts."
"The enormous rise in optimism seen in the latest survey has taken ‘cautious' out of Viet Nam's previous footing of ‘cautious optimism'," said Darin Williams, Managing Director for Nielsen Viet Nam.
"Vietnamese consumers are ready to spend, with new technology being the focus for many, after they have paid for essential living expenses".
Forty-seven per cent of respondents in Viet Nam stated they would spend excess cash on new technology, the highest percentage in Asia; 39 per cent stated they would spend spare cash on new clothes, a huge jump from 23 per cent in the last survey.
In the first quarter, only 16 per cent of Vietnamese stated they would invest their excess cash, increasing to 31 per cent in the second quarter.
"Financial product awareness, and the intent to use them, is also rising dramatically as banks and insurance companies have increased their advertising, and Vietnamese have more spare cash on their hands," Williams added.
Prospects also look brighter in the Philippines (113 index points), China (109 index points), and Columbia (105 index points), which all recorded consumer confidence highs in their respective markets.
The Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Survey, conducted between May 10 and May 26, polled approximately 27,000 consumers in 48 countries throughout Asia-Pacific, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and North America.
vietnamnews
|
