Indonesians to spend less, invest more next year: Nielsen

Indonesians will likely spend less and invest more next year, spurred by concerns over the global financial situation, a new Nielsen survey has found.

“The volatility of the global economy and financial markets leave Indonesian consumers unconvinced about the future of the economy,” Nielsen Indonesia managing director Catherine Eddy said on Wednesday in Jakarta as she presented the results of the survey to local journalists.

“That is despite the country's steady economic growth, which will remain at a healthy rate of 6.5 percent, making Indonesians more optimistic than other markets in Asia Pacific,” she added, as quoted by tempointeraktif.com.

Eddy said the survey was conducted from Aug. 30 to Sep. 16, involving 28,000 consumers from 56 countries in Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa.

She said Indonesia finished second in the consumer-confidence index ranking in Asia Pacific, with the country's index measuring 114 in the third quarter of the year, an increase from 112 in the second quarter.

Indonesia came second only after India, the consumer confidence index of which was 121, a drop from 126 in the previous quarter.

The Philippines finished third with 112.