Pinoys 3rd most upbeat consumers in the world

MANILA, Philippines - Filipinos are the third most optimistic consumers in the world, after Indonesians and Indians, according to a survey conducted by global information company Nielsen.

The Nielsen survey showed that global consumer confidence dipped in the second quarter from the first quarter of the year.

However, Indonesians topped the survey, overtaking Indians as the world's most upbeat consumers.

Filipinos ranked third in Nielsen survey, followed by Saudi Arabians and Malaysians.

The Nielsen survey comes on the heels of the latest Grant Thornton International Business Report which showed the Philippines improved to the second spot in the second quarter of the year. In the global business optimism survey, the Philippines registered an average 90 percent, behind Peru’s 96 percent, and at par with Chile.

Reuters reported that Indonesia's shift to top spot in the survey was a further sign that the country, with its big domestic economy and an expanding middle class, is weathering the global slowdown better than some other emerging markets.

"In Indonesia, consumer optimism has been evident all year fuelled by investment rating upgrades from Moody's and Fitch," said Catherine Eddy, managing director, Nielsen Indonesia.

"The market is very buoyant among consumers and investors right now and with a population of 240 million, Indonesia is possibly the next big bastion after China and India."

Consumer confidence fell across major emerging economies China, India and Brazil in the second quarter.

A worsening euro zone crisis, sluggish U.S. jobs growth and slowing growth in China and India combined to dent consumer confidence globally in the second quarter with concern over the economic outlook and job security the biggest concerns.

Fifty-three percent of global respondents were optimistic about their personal finances, but that was down 2 percentage points from the first quarter. Asia-Pacific respondents reported the biggest decline in favorable financial perceptions, declining four points to 59 percent.

The Nielsen Global Consumer Confidence Index dipped 3 points in the second quarter to 91. A reading below 100 signals consumers are pessimistic about the outlook.

There was however no increase in the number of consumers who said they were in recession, which stayed at 57 percent.

"Things are not necessarily getting worse for the average consumer, they just aren't getting better. That number, however, could change depending particularly on how the situation in Europe evolves," said Venkatesh Bala, chief economist at The Cambridge Group, a part of Nielsen.

The survey was conducted between May 4 and 21 and covered more than 28,000 consumers polled on the Internet across 56 markets.

U.S. consumer confidence fell by 5 points to 87 in the second quarter, as reported last month, one of the biggest decreases globally. - With Reuters