S'poreans confident about finances: Nielsen

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Business Times - 07 Jun 2011

S'poreans confident about finances: Nielsen


By JASMINE NG

SINGAPOREANS continue to show confidence in the state of their personal finances, job prospects and ability to spend, according to the latest Nielsen's Global Consumer Confidence Index survey.

The survey found that 64 per cent of consumers believe the state of their personal finances is 'excellent/good' and 45 per cent said that now is an 'excellent/good' time to buy the things they want.

In Q1 2011, Singapore's Consumer Confidence Index was unchanged at 109 points from the previous quarter. (Levels above or below a baseline of 100 indicate degrees of optimism or pessimism.)

Of the 28,000 consumers from 51 countries polled on the Internet, Singaporeans were shown to be most confident globally this quarter, surpassing their Asian compatriots in Hong Kong and China.

Countries in the Asia-Pacific make up seven out of the top 10 optimistic countries in the world. India tops the list with 131 points. Indonesia is third with 116 points, and the Philippines is fifth with 110 points. China and Hong Kong are ranked ninth and 10th, with 108 and 107 points respectively.

South Korea, with an index score of 51, is the only outlier in the region, with the sixth lowest consumer confidence score.

In Europe, consumer confidence levels continued to fall, with 11 countries posting record lows. Portugal is ranked most pessimistic country with 39 points, followed by Hungary (41 points) and Greece (45 points).

The survey also found that spending categories high on Singapore consumers' list of things to do with spare cash are spending on vacations and investments in stocks or mutual funds.

'Although consumers continue to be optimistic about their finances and intend to spend, we see more of them putting cash into their savings and investing in stocks or mutual funds compared to Q4 2010,' Nielsen Singapore MD Joan Koh said.

She added that many feel it would be prudent to save for a rainy day in view of global events that could cast doubts over the momentum of recovery from the global recession.

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