Jakarta, 24 July 2013 – Indonesian consumers are once again among the countries named with a high consumer confidence level together with other emerging countries such as India, China, the Philippine and Myanmar according to the latest MasterCard IndexTM of Consumer Confidence.

Obtaining a score of 81 index points, Indonesia is among five countries with the highest consumer confidence level in Asia/Pacific.
The MasterCard Index of Consumer Confidence (“Index”) is based on a survey conducted between April 2013 and May 2013 on 12,205 respondents aged 18 – 64 in 27 countries within Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa.

This is the 41st survey of Consumer Confidence conducted since 1993.

Now in its 20th year the Index is Asia/Pacific’s most comprehensive and longest running consumer confidence survey. Respondents were asked five questions pertaining to their 6 month outlook on the economy, employment prospects, the local stock market, their regular income prospects and their quality of life.

The Index score is calculated with zero as the most pessimistic, 100 as most optimistic and 50 as neutral. The Index and its accompanying reports do not represent MasterCard’s financial performance.

This survey shows that Indonesian consumer confidence in still categorized among the countries with   a high consumer confidence level, despite a slight decline from the previous consumer confidence survey. According to the index, Indonesian consumer confidence has only declined by 6.5 index points (from 87.5 to 81 index points).

From a survey conducted in second semester in 2012, Indonesia recorded the biggest jump on consumer confidence, reaching 30.1 index points (from 57.4 to 87.5) in Asia/Pacific compared to the previous period.

According to the survey, economic level, employment prospects, the local stock market, regular income prospects and quality of life are still rated highly optimistic.

Employment prospect increased 0.5 index points (from 85.8 to 86.3 index points) whereas Indonesia’s economic level has experienced the biggest drop by 13.4 index points (from 86 to 72.6 index points).

Meanwhile, the other three indicators; regular income, local stock market and the quality of life have slightly dropped in first semester’s consumer confidence index level.

Regular income declined by 3.5 index points (from 96 to 92.5 index points), whereas local stock market declined by 6.7 index points (from 81.4 to 74.7 index points) and quality of life declined by 9.6 index points (from 88.5 to 78.9 index points).

Responding to the survey’s results, Irni Palar, country manager MasterCard Indonesia said, “The high consumer confidence in Indonesia is a good signal for business in this country and this is also a result from stable economic growth that ranges around six percent every year.

After having experienced a significant increase in consumer confidence level on the second half of 2012, Indonesians continue to be optimistic with a high consumer confidence levels for the next six months.”
Indonesia’s latest results from MasterCard Worldwide Index of Consumer Confidence which reached 81 index points is the second highest recorded level for the country since the survey was first conducted. On the second semester of 2012, the consumer confidence in Indonesia has successfully gained the highest score in the last five years with 87.5 index points. Meanwhile, the lowest consumer confidence level was recorded in 2007, when consumer confidence reached 36.7 index points.  
Methodology
Respondents were asked 5 questions pertaining to their 6-month outlook on the economy, employment prospects, the local stock market, their regular income prospects and their quality of life. The results of their responses were converted in 5 component indexes which were averaged to form the MasterCard Index™ of Consumer Confidence (MWICC) score. The MWICC Index score and the 5 component index scores range from 0 – 100 where 0 represents maximum pessimism, 100 represents maximum optimism and 50 represents neutrality.

About the MasterCard Index™ of Consumer Confidence
The MasterCard Index™ of Consumer Confidence survey has a 20-year track record of consumer confidence indices collected from over 200,000 interviews, unequalled both in scope and history across Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa.
The MasterCard Index of Consumer Confidence is the most comprehensive and longest running survey of its kind in the region.  In June 1997, the Index revealed a decline in consumer confidence – one month prior to the devaluation of the Thai baht that triggered the regional economic crisis.

In June 2003, the Index score for Employment in Hong Kong dropped to a low score of 20.0. This was subsequently reflected in Hong Kong’s unemployment rate, which peaked just before September 2003 at eight percent.

The survey comprising the Asia/Pacific markets began in the first half of 1993 and has been conducted twice yearly since. Markets from the Middle East and Africa were included in the Index from 2004. Twenty seven markets now participate in the survey: Australia, Bangladesh, China, Egypt, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Myanmar, New Zealand, Nigeria, Oman, Philippines, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, South Africa, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, United Arab Emirates and Vietnam.

The latest MasterCard Index of Consumer Confidence survey was conducted from April to May 2013. A total of 12,205 qualified respondents were surveyed in the 27 markets with the sample being representative of the middle and upper income groups in each market. 

The Index is calculated based with zero as the most pessimistic, 100 as most optimistic and 50 as neutral.  Five economic factors are measured: Employment, the Economy, Regular Income, Stock Market and Quality of Life. The responses are consumers' thoughts on the six months ahead. Data collection was via internet surveys and face to face interviews, with the questionnaire translated to the local language wherever appropriate and necessary.  The survey has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus four to five percentage points at the 95 percent confidence level.

MasterCard and its Suite of Research Properties
The MasterCard Index suite in Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa includes the long-running MasterCard Index of Consumer Confidence, as well as the MasterCard Index of Women’s Advancement, MasterCard Survey on Online Shopping, MasterCard Index of Financial Literacy, and the MasterCard Index of Global Destination Cities.

In addition to the Indices, MasterCard’s research properties also include a range of consumer surveys including Ethical Spending and a series on Consumer Purchasing Priorities (covering Travel, Dining & Entertainment, Education, Money Management, Luxury and General Shopping).

MasterCard also regularly releases Insights reports providing analysis of business dynamics, financial policies and regulatory activities in the Asia/Pacific, Middle East and Africa region. Over 80 Insights reports have been produced since 2004. MasterCard has also released a series of four books on Asian consumer insights, authored by Dr. Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, Global Economic Advisor for MasterCard and published by John Wiley & Sons.

About MasterCard

MasterCard (NYSE: MA), www.mastercard.com, is a technology company in the global payments industry. We operate the world’s fastest payments processing network, connecting consumers, financial institutions, merchants, governments and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. MasterCard’s products and solutions make everyday commerce activities – such as shopping, traveling, running a business and managing finances – easier, more secure and more efficient for everyone. Follow us on Twitter @MasterCardNews, join the discussion on the Cashless Conversations Blog and subscribe for the latest news.