Most consumers optimistic about 2007: Survey

The Jakarta Post ,  Jakarta   |  Wed, 01/03/2007 2:27 PM  |  Business

Ika Krismantari, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Most Indonesian consumers are optimistic about what 2007 will hold, with the further improvement of key economic indicators continuing to brighten up the prospects for jobs and personal finances, a survey reveals.

Sixty-eight percent of Indonesian people have a good perception of where their personal finances will head over the next 12 months, while 9 percent say they believe their financial status will be ""excellent"" in 2007, according to a recent survey by ACNielsen.

This figure is the second highest in the Asia-Pacific region after India, where 71 percent of people say their economic statuses will be good in 2007.

Australia is in third place, with 66 percent of people saying that their economic conditions will be good this year, followed by New Zealand on 62 percent.

The survey also finds that 64 percent of Indonesians have a good perception of local job prospects, well exceeding the Asia Pacific average figure of 41 percent.

The figures were based on a survey conducted between late October and early November last year, in which the firm interviewed 7,540 internet users across Asia Pacific, including 504 in Indonesia.

In line with easing inflation and interest rates, which help improve people's purchasing power, the survey found that 38 percent of Indonesians agree that 2007 will be a good time to buy the things they want and need, while 2 percent say that 2007 will be the ""perfect"" time to buy things.

""The consumer confidence index is quite high for Indonesia,"" ACNielsen Southeast Asia's managing director, Farquhar Stirling, told The Jakarta Post in a recent interview.

ACNielsen found Indonesia's consumer confidence index to be at a very optimistic level in 2006, with the index standing at over 100. A figure exceeding 100 indicates optimism. Indonesia's consumer confidence index rose to 113 in the second half of 2006 from 111 in the first half.

The survey found that in the second half of 2006, Indonesian people used their spare money mostly for saving (57 percent) and purchases of new technology (32 percent), in addition to covering essential living expenses.

The highest consumer confidence level in Asia Pacific was found in India, with a level of 137 in the second half of 2006, followed by New Zealand and Australia on levels of 120 and 117, respectively.

Turning to 2007, the Indonesian consumer confidence index is expected to remain optimistic, with the economy set to expand by 6.1 percent, higher than estimated growth of 5.5 percent last year, in line with lower borrowing costs and higher investment.

The optimism of Indonesian people is also reflected in another ACNielsen's survey, this time on New Year resolutions.

Among Asia Pacific countries, the survey finds that Indonesia has the fourth highest level of people making New Year resolutions, and the highest level in terms of people deciding to stick to their resolutions.

Eighty-five percent of Indonesians say that they will make a New Year resolution, while 70 percent say that they will stick to their resolutions.

""It is about optimism for the future and that people have a natural tendency to want the future to be better at a personal level,"" Stirling said.

The resolutions include striking a better balance between life and work (81 percent), getting more exercise (67 percent), spending more time with the family (30 percent), taking up a new hobby (28 percent), going on diet (28 percent) and changing jobs (21 percent).

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