MALAYSIANS UPBEAT ON OUTLOOK

Country scores 118 points in Q4, the biggest year-on-year gain among 64 nations, says Nielsen

MALAYSIA has posted the biggest year-onyear gain in Nielsen’s Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) survey. The 24-point gain for an index score of 118 points in the fourth quarter (Q4) of last year 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 still posted the biggest year-onyear gain among the 64 countries measured in the CCI.

“This is the fourth consecutive quarter that Malaysia’s CCI score has been above 100 points.

“While we experienced an alltime high in confidence in the third quarter of last year, consumers slowly started to have a more realistic view of the economy and state of their finances, particularly as the excitement following a historic general election tapers off and life under the current government becomes the new normal,” said Nielsen Malaysia consumer insights executive director, Anil Antony, in a statement.

The CCI is driven by three indicators, which are consumers’ perception on job prospects, personal finances and intentions/readiness to spend.

The survey involved more than 32,000 respondents with Internet access in the 64 countries.

Consumer confidence levels above and below a baseline of 100 indicate degrees of optimism and pessimism.

It said consumers were slightly less optimistic on their personal finances, although perception on local job prospects and the intentions/readiness to spend had remained stable.

It said 70 per cent of Malaysians believed the state of their personal finances in the next 12 months would be either excellent or good (Q4 2017: 52 per cent).

It also said 71 per cent of Malaysians had a positive view on their job prospects in the next 12 months, versus 47 per cent in Q4 2017.

The survey showed that the economy continued 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 believed that Malaysia was in a recession (69 per cent).

Of that, 44 per cent were optimistic that the economy would 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 of an economic recovery in the next 12 months,” said Antony.