(Clearwisdom.net) The BBC Chinese.com (Hong Kong) reported on August 14, 2002, that Master Card conducted a consumer confidence survey in June across 13 Asia Pacific countries, and the results indicated that Hong Kong's consumer confidence index ranks the lowest of all 13 regions.

The survey interviewed 5406 consumers in Asia Pacific regions, of which more than 400 were from Hong Kong.

The index predicts consumers' confidence in the coming half-year: 100 is the top score; above 50 points indicates optimism, while below 50 points indicates pessimism.

The following table depicts the coming half-year's consumer confidence index in the Asia Pacific region:

Korea: 76.5
New Zealand: 75.2
Malaysia: 74
Thailand: 73.9
Mainland China: 73.6
Indonesia: 67.6
Taiwan: 58.9
Australia: 58.6
Singapore: 56.1
India: 42.6
Philippines: 39.7
Japan: 23.5
Hong Kong: 13.9

The results show that Hong Kong consumers' confidence in the coming half-year is only 13.9, up 0.6 points compared to that in December 2001, but far below the 44.1 figure for last June.

Income confidence is more pessimistic

The survey also found that Hong Kong consumers take a pessimistic view of their future fixed income. The confidence index is only 7.4, a significant drop from the 26.5 figure of last year.

According to the organization which compiled the survey, the number shows that Hong Kong residents are extremely pessimistic about the future during the current situation in which the economy is depressed and the unemployment rate is high.

Government official's popularity drops

The weakening of Hong Kong consumers' confidence and income confidence is also reflected in the popularity of government officials.

The same day that Master Card published the above survey results, an opinion poll conducted by Hong Kong University showed that Hong Kong's Chief Executive, Tung Chee-hwa's popularity has been plummeting for three consecutive months. Several other major government officials' ratings also dropped.