Malaysia's consumer confidence surges in Q1

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's consumer confidence level has improved among 56 countries.

In the first quarter of 2012, Malaysia rose three spots from the previous quarter to be at the seventh position, Nielsen's latest global online consumer confidence findings revealed.

Nielsen, which surveyed 28,000 Internet consumers across 56 countries, found that online consumer confidence in Malaysia improved to 107 in the quarter under review, from 101 in the previous quarter.

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

"Despite global economic uncertainties, domestic-oriented and commodities-based manufacturing (commodity prices remain elevated) have cushioned some of the tough challenges in export-oriented manufacturing," Nielsen managing director for Malaysia and Singapore Joan Koh said.

The construction sector continues to bank on projects from the Economic Transformation Programme, while the services sector continues to be a crucial driver.

"All these factors coupled with pre-election sentiment have contributed to the rise in optimism in job prospects and personal finances among consumers," Koh said in a statement.

Malaysia also maintained its seventh position most optimistic country in terms of optimism over job prospects. Some 70 per cent of online respondents in Malaysia described their job prospects as excellent or good over the next 12 months, up by six per cent, from three months ago.

A third of the respondents said that the coming 12 months will be a good time to purchase items they want and need.

Meanwhile, the Fast Growing Consumer Goods (FMCG) market in Malaysia grew by 3.5 per cent in the first quarter of 2012, compared with the previous corresponding quarter.

The first quarter usually sees the impact of festive factor. A total of 66 categories reported positive growth, with nine categories achieving double-digit growth.

"The trend suggests that the market is in a stable zone, and the next quarter will be crucial in deciding how this year's growth build-up will play out for the FMCG trade," Koh said.

About 23 per cent of online consumers considered the state of the economy as their biggest concern and followed by concerns of job security at 16 per cent.

Debt woes ranked third at 11 per cent, followed by worries on increasing food prices.