PETALING JAYA: Malaysia’s consumer confidence index rose to a high of 127 percentage points in the third quarter (Q3) this year, making it the third most confident country behind India and Vietnam.
According to The Conference Board Global Consumer Confidence Survey, which was conducted in collaboration with Nielsen, the consumer confidence index was 10 points higher from the second quarter (Q2) and 31 points higher year-on-year.
The survey revealed improvements across all three indicators of the index on both quarterly and annual basis.
About 77% of Malaysians believe the state of their personal finances in the next 12 months will be excellent or good compared with 69% in Q2 2018 and 56% in Q3 2017 while 75% have a positive view on their job prospects in the next 12 months compared with 73% in Q2 2018 and 45% in Q3 2017.
In addition, 58% said that “now is the time to buy the things they want and need” compared with 50% in Q2 2018 and 31% in Q3 2017.
“We attribute this unprecedented level of confidence to continued post-election optimism. The announcement of the Sales and Services Tax during the quarter did little to dampen sentiment among consumers, who indicated an increased willingness to spend,” said Nielsen Malaysia managing director Raphael Pereda.
The survey showed that a majority (69%) of Malaysians still believe the country is in a recession (65% in Q2 2018). Of this, more than half (52%) are optimistic that the country’s economy will recover in the next 12 months.
Malaysians top five concerns in Q3 2018 were the economy (38% versus 40% in Q2 2018), job security (21% versus 26%), work-life balance (20% versus 18%), health (16% versus 13%) and political stability (16% versus 12%).
