THAI CONSUMER CONFIDENCE FALLS SHARPLY, CONTINUES TO REGISTER AS THE WORLD’S TOP SAVER

Thai consumer confidence fell sharply by fifteen points from 107 to 92 over the last six months. Thai consumers were pessimistic over job local prospects and nearly half of them didn’t seem confident about the state of their finances for the year ahead, resulting in them being ranked first in the world in terms of “people planning to save any left over cash after paying for essential living expenses” according to the twice-yearly Global Consumer Confidence Study issued by The Nielsen Company. The Nielsen Company recorded a Global Consumer Confidence Index of 97 in its April 2007 survey, down slightly by two points from 99 in October 2006. Indians continue to register in the Nielsen Index as the most optimistic people in the world, with a confidence index of 135, albeit down slightly from 137 recorded in October 2006 followed by Norway (132) and Denmark (127). In Thailand, the consumer confidence index rose 12 points from 95 in the first half of 2006 to 107 in the second half of the same year, but sharply fell fifteen points this round to 92 which is the largest fall in the world. Across Asia Pacific, Vietnam, a market increasingly in the spotlight, appears to have enjoyed a steady increase in consumer confidence from 106 in the first half of 2006 to 116 in the second half of the same year, to 118 this time around, making it one of the top five most confident markets in the world, along with Hong Kong with an Index of 118, up from 111 in 2006. Thais were pessimistic over local job prospects and not confident about their personal finances Thais are among the “Top ten most pessimistic about the local job prospect” in the world with 66% perceiving them to be “not so good” and “bad”, compared with 44% in the last six months. Moreover, the report found 45% of Thais are not confident with the state of their personal finances over the next year, which up from 30% over the previous survey in November 2006. Thais most keen savers in the world Only 35% of Thais believed it is a good time to buy things they want over the next 12 months. ( Table 3) . Saving for a rainy day continues to be the main priority for 67 percent of the Thai consumers, ranking#1 in the world for the 3rd consecutive round, when they consider what they will do with their spare cash after covering essential living expenses. “Their strong desire to ‘save for a rainy day’ may in part be explained by their increasing pessimism about local job prospects, their financial finances as well as their skepticism about whether now is the right time to buy what they need over the next 12 months”. Besides saving, Vacations (50%), new technology (38%), home improvement (32%) and new Clothes (31%) are the popular spending options for Thai consumers. Major concerns Thai consumers ranked among the world top ten when it comes to concerns about Economy (59%), political ( 46%) and terrorism ( 19%). Thais has expressed the most concern about terrorism in Asia Pacific, representing an increase by 6 percent points from the last round. Global Warming capturing the world’s attention Global Warming is fast emerging as one of the major concerns among the world’s consumers with 16 percent citing it as a major concern, up from seven percent in October 2006.Thai consumers’ concern about global warming increase from 12% to 18% this round. “The increasing of media exposure on environmental issues has increased consumer awareness and concern of global warming around the world.” Ms. Chantira added.” The good news is that Thai consumers expressed concern about global warming higher than Asia Pacific average of 14 and global average of 16 “. The Least Optimistic The world’s most pessimistic consumers hail mainly from Europe, although South Korea (50). Japan (68) and Taiwan (75) remain at the bottom of the list as far as the Asian region is concerned. Globally, the majority of consumers in Portugal, Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Hungary are quite pessimistic, whether about the job market, state of their personal finances or readiness to spend. Europeans and Northern Americans are the first to admit they don’t have any spare cash for discretionary spending either. The Survey The Nielsen Online Consumer Confidence and Opinion Survey is the largest half-yearly survey of its kind, aimed at gauging current confidence levels, spending habits/intentions and current major concerns of consumers across the globe. The Nielsen Consumer Confidence Index is developed based on consumer’s confidence in the job market, status of their personal finance and their readiness to spend. The latest survey, conducted in the last two weeks of April, polled about 26,486 internet users in 47 markets from Europe, Asia Pacific, North America and the Middle East. About The Nielsen Company The Nielsen Company is a global information and media company with leading market positions and recognized brands in marketing information (ACNielsen), media information (Nielsen Media Research), business publications (Billboard, The Hollywood Reporter, Adweek), trade shows and the newspaper sector (Scarborough Research). The privately held company is active in more than 100 countries, with headquarters in Haarlem, the Netherlands and New York, USA. For more information, please visit, www.nielsen.com . For more information please contact Nitjawan Khooha ( Nikki ) Email:nitjawan.khooha@nielsen.com Tel:02-231-1932 ext.132 or 089-7727707 The Nielsen Company ACNielsen ( Thailand ) Ltd. 26/F United Center, 323 Silom Rd,Bangkok 10500 www.nielsen.com

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