Vietnamese consumers ‘extremely optimistic’ about economy: survey

Confidence among Vietnamese consumers has fallen slightly since last year, but that has not stopped them  from being among the most optimistic in the region, a new survey has found.

The Mastercard Consumer Confidence Index released last week ranked Vietnam second in Asia Pacific after Cambodia.

The survey asked 9,153 adults from 18 Asia Pacific markets to give a six-month outlook on five economic factors – the economy, employment prospects, regular income prospects, stock market and quality of life.

Vietnam's score of 90.8, compared to the regional average of 66.9, was 1.5 points down from the previous survey, but still in “extremely optimistic” territory, the survey found.

Its consumers are most positive about the overall economy and regular income, although there's been a slight dip in their outlook regarding quality of life.

The index is calculated on a scale of 0 to 100, putting 11 markets in the "optimistic” territory. Consumers in Taiwan and Sri Lanka fell into the "pessimistic" group, scoring below 40, while their peers in big economies such as Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan fell into the "neutral" category.

South Korea recorded the largest improvement in the ranking with optimism at its highest level since 1995.

Heightened expectations in its economic performance and presidential elections in May have given a “meteoric leap” driving the sentiment from pessimistic to very optimistic in six months, the U.S. payment technology company said in a press release.

The Mastercard survey began in 1993 and is conducted twice a year.

In February, a Nielsen survey of online consumers in 63 economies named Vietnam the fifth most optimistic nation in the world, after India, the Philippines, the U.S. and Indonesia.

Vietnam’s growing middle class population with rising disposable incomes and the country’s stable economic outlook remain the main drivers for its ranking, Nguyen Huong Quynh, Nielson's managing director in Vietnam, said in a statement.

The country’s economic prospects have also worked their charms on expats. A HSBC survey last month found half of the foreigners working and living in Vietnam agree that the country is a good place to progress their careers and two-thirds feel confident in the economy.

Vietnam’s economy has been one of the best performers in the region in recent years, fueled largely by exports in the FDI sector. Expansion of 7.46 percent in third quarter, the strongest third quarter growth since 2010, has strengthened the country’s hopes of achieving its ambitious growth target of 6.7 percent this year.