Malaysia consumer confidence sinks

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• Malaysia's consumer confidence index shrinks
• APAC consumer confidence also drops
• However China and India remain optimistic
  

Malaysia - Malaysia's consumer confidence index has plunged to 27.8 from 35.9 six months ago according to the latest MasterCard Worldwide Index of Consumer Confidence survey.

The overall Asia Pacific consumer confidence index has also shrunk to 38.7 from 47.4 six months ago. The decline in optimism is attributed to the continuing global credit crisis, volatility in financial markets and slower economic growth in many of the markets surveyed. 

"The impact of the global crisis on Asia has been massive, with exports declining steeply in most Asian markets, in some cases up to 40% between the summer of 2008 and March 2009," Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, economic advisor to MasterCard Worldwide in Asia/Pacific said.

"Currently market conditions continue to be volatile; and a high level of uncertainty persists as to what the future may hold. In Asia Pacific, there is a sharp divide between markets with consumers sinking into deeper pessimism; and markets where consumer optimism has stood up well in spite of the general deterioration of economic conditions globally and at home," he said.

However consumers in China (68.0) and India however (60.8) remained more optimistic about the next six months.

Released twice a year, the index is based on a survey which measures consumer confidence on prevailing expectations in the market for the next six months. It is calculated with zero as the most pessimistic, 100 as most optimistic and 50 as neutral.

The survey involves 9,211 consumers from 21 markets, and data collection was via personal, telephone and Computer Aided Telephone interviews.