<article>Results of a survey released last week by the <a href="http://www.masterintelligence.com/" target="_blank">MasterCard Index of Consumer Confidence</a> noted a reduction in consumer confidence in Northeast Asia, with the markets of Taiwan, Japan and Hong Kong reporting sharp drop in second half of 2014, compared to the first half.</article>

Results of a survey released last week by the <a href="http://www.masterintelligence.com/" target="_blank">MasterCard Index of Consumer Confidence</a> noted a reduction in consumer confidence in Northeast Asia, with the markets of Taiwan, Japan and Hong Kong reporting sharp drop in second half of 2014, compared to the first half.
Meanwhile, emerging economies in Southeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific region, like Myanmar, India and Indonesia topped rankings, being stable on the whole, with Malaysia’s consumers expressing less confidence on the whole.
The survey was conducted between October and November 2014, with 8,235 respondents aged 18-64 taking part across 16 countries in the Asia Pacific. Survey questions were based on a six-month outlook, based on five economic factors: the economy, employment prospects, regular income prospects, and quality of life.
The Philippines and Bangladesh recorded modest improvements in consumer confidence. The mood in Vietnam and Thailand was stable, modestly optimistic on the whole, compared to Malaysia, which saw a deterioration, sliding below the 50 point neutral mark. This is the first incident since first half of 2009, which saw the global financial collapse.
Whether this will impact ASEAN in the coming months as <a style="color: #0000ff;" href="http://thediplomat.com/2014/11/malaysia-as-asean-chair-in-2015-what-to-expect/" target="_blank">Malaysia takes the place of ASEAN chair</a> will be telling, for 2015 marks a significant milestone in regional history. With the realisation of an ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), Southeast Asia will become a single common market..
Malaysia is also slated to help <a style="color: #0000ff;" href="http://www.shanghaidaily.com/article/article_xinhua.aspx?id=237929" target="_blank">conclude negotiations</a> for a Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the world’s largest free trade agreement grouping that will integrate ASEAN, China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand as a single trade bloc at the end of 2015.
<figure id="attachment_2355" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-2355" style="width: 550px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><a href="http://www.dealstreetasia.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/MasterCard_consumer_confidence.jpg"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="size-full wp-image-2355" src="http://www.dealstreetasia.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/MasterCard_consumer_confidence.jpg" alt="Image Credit: MasterCard" width="550" height="709" /></a><figcaption id="caption-attachment-2355" class="wp-caption-text">Image Credit: MasterCard</figcaption></figure>
The findings come after the region recorded the highest consumer confidence score in more than 10 years for the first half of 2014, the report said.
Pierre Burret, Asia-Pacific (APAC) Region Head at MasterCard Advisors explained: “Emerging markets Myanmar, India and Indonesia are the most optimistic because of either positive anticipation for a brighter future or excitement around their respective newly-minted governments.
Additionally, Burret noted that: “Conversely, the developed markets of Northeast Asia, namely Taiwan, Japan and Hong Kong were much less optimistic in their outlook. In these markets, the wanted signs of long-term growth and opportunity are blocked by Hong Kong’s recent political crisis and Japan’s weakening Yen.”

"SEA EM consumers high on confidence"

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