Vietnam’s consumer confidence index drops sharply

Vietnam’s consumer confidence index fell sharply in the second half of this year, according to the results of a survey by MasterCard Worldwide released on August 1.

The survey, which covered 14 countries in the Asia Pacific region, indicated that Vietnam’s consumer confidence stood at 77.1 points in the second half of 2011, compared with 90.3 points in the first half of the year, and 93.7 points of the last half of 2010.

The survey attempts to quantify people’s confidences in economic recovery measures, the labour market, the stock market and living standards in the last six months of this year.

The index is based on the point range from 0-100, with 100 being the most upbeat, and 50 neutral.

Despite the fall, Vietnamese consumers still seem more confident than those in other countries in the region, falling behind only China and Singapore.

The Japanese were among the most pessimistic during this period. Their consumer confidence index was measured at 15.9 points, the lowest since 2002. This is at least in part due to the impacts of the earthquake and tsunamis in March.

New Zealand and Thailand also saw sharp drop in the index, both coming in at below 50; with New Zealand at 42.2 points and Thailand at 46.1 points. – Dantri

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