Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam had the world’s second highest score in theconsumer confidence index in the third quarter of 2018, according to the latestdata of the Conference Board Global Consumer Confidence Survey and Nielsen announced on December 18.

Thecountry’s index, at 129 points, showed a 9-point increase over the previousquarter thanks to the growth in confidence in employment prospects and personalfinances, and is also the highest in a decade.

Vietnam, together with Malaysia with 127 points, surpassed Indonesia and thePhilippines to become among the top three most confident countries globally. Atthe same time, Malaysia and Thailand are the two countries with the highestgrowth rate, up 10 percentage points and this is also the dominant growth inthe world.

Meanwhile, Indonesia and the Philippines experienced a slight reduction, with126 points (-1 point), and Singapore retain a growth, reaching 98 points (up 4points from Q2 2018).

Thereport showed that the Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) in the Asia Pacificregion remained high, rising 2 points from 112 points in the second quarter to114 in the third quarter 2018.

Managing Director of Nielsen Vietnam Nguyen Huong Quynh said that Vietnam’s CCIin the third quarter was higher than the same period in 2017 (116 points ascompared to 129 points).

“The strong growth is a consequence of the confidence of personal finances aswell as level of willingness to spend by the Vietnamese. Therefore,manufacturers and retailers need to capture the latest trends in the consumermarket and need to act faster to respond to the needs of consumers”, she noted.

Vietnamese consumers continue to be optimistic about their personal finances,with 82 percent saying their personal finances are good or excellent over thenext 12 months (up 6 percent as compared to second quarter of 2018). And at thesame time, they are ready to spend with 63 percent of consumers certainlysaying that the next 12 months is a good time for them to buy things they want(up 8 percent from the previous quarter).

Nielsen said that stable job and good health continue to be top concerns amongVietnamese consumers during July-September. Meanwhile, 27 percent of respondentssaid that the national economy is their third concern. The following concernsare work/life balance, parents’ welfare, and increasing utility bills.

“When consumers face multiple concerns, their purchasing decisions will beaffected accordingly. Thus, businesses must always keep a close track onchanges in spending of consumers”, Quynh said.

Regardingspending for the future, Southeast Asian consumers still take the lead, andtheir intention of savings has not changed in the past two years. However, theyhave made positive changes when some of their money has gone into shopping orupgrading their houses and enjoying out-of-home entertainment.

Compared with the previous quarter, the expenditure on premium health insurancepackages was unchanged but also at a high level compared to last year. Thismeans they have paid more attention to their own health and family.-VNA