Asian consumers divided on confidence

Consumer confidence in the Asia-Pacific region continued to edge upwards during the final quarter of 2012, new data shows. 

The quarterly Global Survey of Consumer Confidence and Spending Intentions from Nielsen, the market research firm, recorded a one point rise in its confidence index to 101, as five countries in the region reported higher consumer confidence than the third quarter of the year. 

The headline figure, however, obscures some growing divisions. "Similar to Europe, we are seeing an increasingly polarized Asia-Pacific region," Venkatesh Bala, chief economist at the Cambridge Group, a part of Nielsen, told Campaign Asia. 

"On the one hand, there are high population markets with a robust consumption base like China, India and Indonesia. On the other hand there are export dependent markets like South Korea and Taiwan that are more exposed to precarious global economic conditions." 

India topped the list with a confidence index of 121, up two points on the previous quarter, followed by the Philippines on 119, up one point. 

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