Malaysia consumer confidence index hits 10-year low

The Malaysian consumer confidence index for Q3 2015 slipped to a 10-year low of 78 percentage points (pp) (compared to 89 pp from previous quarter), according to the latest Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions released today by Nielsen.Chart 1: Nielsen Consumer Confidence Index – Malaysia (2005-Q3 2015) vs. Global (Q3 2015) [%]Source: Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence & Spending Intentions, Q3 2015On the contrary, confidence levels in Southeast Asia remain relatively high with five out of six countries in the region scoring above the 100 pp mark, Malaysia being the exception. The Philippines (117 pp, -5 from last quarter), Indonesia (116 pp, -4), Thailand (111 pp, unchanged from previous quarter) and Vietnam (105 pp, +1) are among the top 10 most confident countries globally while Singapore scored 101 pp (+2).Globally, Malaysia is ranked 43rd most confident (slipped from 24th place from previous quarter). The average global consumer confidence is 99 pp (+3 versus last quarter). Consumer confidence levels above and below a baseline of 100 indicate degrees of optimism and pessimism.“This has been mainly driven by consumers increase in concerns on the economic outlook, the declining value of the ringgit and increasing concerns over the country’s political stability," Richard Hall, Nielsen Malaysia’s country manager said.The Nielsen Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions, measures consumer confidence, major concerns and spending intentions amongst more than 30,000 respondents with Internet access in 60 countries.Chart 3: Top 10 major concerns among Malaysian consumers (Q3 2015 vs. Q2 2015) [%] Chart 4: Top 10 areas where Malaysian consumers are spending their spare cash (Q4 2014–Q3 2015) [%]