Consumer confidence in Indonesia and the Philippines saw a surge in the last half of 2012, leading those in other Asia-Pacific countries, according to the latest MasterCard Worldwide Index of Consumer Confidence (“Index”).

The Index is based on a survey conducted between November 7 to December 23, 2012 on 11,339 respondents in 25 countries within Asia-Pacific, Middle East and Africa.

Respondents were asked five questions pertaining to their six-month outlook on the economy, employment prospects, the local stock market, their regular income prospects and their quality of life. The Index scores range from 0 to 100.

Extreme improvements, among 14 Asia-Pacific markets polled, were recorded in Indonesia, where consumer confidence jumped 30.1 Index points to 87.5, and the Philippines, which rose 13.6 Index points to 78.8.

The two countries are benefiting from rising investment from both domestic and international investors.

The largest deterioration in consumer confidence was recorded in the Republic of Korea, down from 51.3 Index points six month ago to 38.6 points.

Consumers in Asia-Pacific remain optimistic despite uncertainty in the global economy led by huge surges in confidence in the emerging markets of Indonesia and the Philippines, MasterCard said.

The survey of Consumer Confidence has been conducted twice a year since 1993.-VNA