KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has posted the biggest year-on-year gain in Nielsen’s consumer confidence survey in 64 countries.
The 24-point gain for an index score of 118 points in the fourth quarter of 2018 puts it seventh in the Conference Board Global Consumer Confidence Survey, highlighting Malaysians’ optimism on the country’s economic outlook.
Nielsen said while there was a nine-point decrease from the previous quarter, the country has still posted the biggest year-on-year gain among the 64 countries measured in the Consumer Confidence Index (CCI).
“This is the fourth consecutive quarter that Malaysia’s CCI score has been above the 100 mark, highlighting Malaysians’ optimism on the country’s economic outlook in 2018.
“While we experienced an all-time high in confidence in the third quarter of the year, consumers are starting to have a more realistic view of the economy and state of their finances, particularly as the excitement following a historic election tapers off and life under the current government becomes the new normal,” Nielsen Malaysia consumer insights executive director Anil Antony said in a statement.
The CCI is driven by three indicators, which are consumers’ perception on local job prospects, personal finances and intentions/readiness to spend.
The survey measures perceptions of local job prospects, personal finances and immediate spending intentions among more than 32,000 respondents with Internet access in 64 countries.
Consumer confidence levels above and below a baseline of 100 indicate degrees of optimism and pessimism.
It said while consumers are slightly less optimistic on their personal finances compared to last quarter, perception on local job prospects and intentions/willingness to spend remains stable.
It said 70 per cent of Malaysians believe the state of their personal finances in the next 12 months will be excellent or good (Q4 2017: 52 per cent).
Besides that, 71 per cent of Malaysians have a positive view on their job prospects in the next 12 months, versus 47 per cent in Q4 2017.
Meanwhile, the survey showed that the economy continues to rank as the top concern among Malaysians (37 per cent), followed by job security (19 per cent), debt (18 per cent) and work-life balance (18 per cent).
Two in three consumers still believe that Malaysia is in a recession (69 per cent). Of this, only 44 per cent are optimistic that the economy will recover in the next 12 months.
“The percentage of consumers who believe the country is in a recession is much lower than the levels seen in 2017 and 2016. The weakening of the ringgit against the US dollar in the fourth quarter may be why fewer people are optimistic for an economic recovery in the next 12 months,” said Antony.