Taiwan enjoyed a considerable increase in consumer confidence between the middle of last year and the end of last year. A survey by MasterCard International Corp found that the nation's consumer confidence index surged from 23.8 to 46.2 in that period.
The MasterIndex survey, conducted twice a year, measures consumer confidence in 13 markets within the Asia-Pacific region. The latest survey was completed in December 2001, with a total of 5,457 respondents from across the region providing their input, a company spokesman said yesterday.
In the survey, five variables were analyzed, namely the employment and economic situations, regular income, the stock market, and quality of life in the country.
While consumers in Taiwan gave higher scores for all five variables in the December survey, perceptions of the economic situation improved most, with the score surging to 52.2 from 24 in the previous survey. Perceptions of the stock market also improved dramatically, with the score rising from 32.2 to 59.1.
The spokesman said that the improved consumer confidence index was a sign of economic recovery, which he said would definitely help to boost consumers' purchasing power.
Among the13 markets surveyed, China emerged as the best performer, with Chinese respondents providing the highest-ever index scores for quality of life (92.1), for regular income (90.9), for the economy (90.6), and for the employment situation (76.5).
South Korea had the second-highest index score at 68.1, a remarkable recovery from the index score of 25.9 in the same survey a year ago and from 54.4 in the survey conducted in mid 2001.
The survey report indicated that consumer confidence in Hong Kong at the end of last year was at an all-time low, dropping to 12.5. The area's consumers showed the most anxiety about their future quality of life, the economy and employment prospects -- and the scores for all five variables dropped from those recorded in previous surveys.
The spokesman said the responses are based on consumers' thoughts on the six months ahead, namely for the December 2001 to May 2002 period.
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