The survey began in the first half of 1993 and has been conducted twice yearly since. Seventeen Asia Pacific markets now participate in the survey: Australia, Bangladesh, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Japan, Malaysia, Myanmar, New Zealand, Philippines, South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam.
The Index is calculated on a scale of 0 to 100, with zero as the most pessimistic, 100 as the most optimistic and 50 as neutral.
Taiwan recorded 16.3 points to 45.3 points. Taiwan’s increase in score was backed by an improvement in all components, the largest coming from heightened expectations in stock market movements.
Philippines also saw an improvement of 12.9 points to put it in extremely optimistic territory at 95.2 points which its highest level since the survey series on the Philippines began in 1995.
The biggest decline in optimism levels was observed in Indonesia, followed by Hong Kong, and Singapore. According to the survey, prospects for employment was the key driver of the decline.
The developing markets of India (97.6), Philippines (95.2), Vietnam (94.9) and Myanmar (99.8) remain very optimistic in their outlook. Declines were recorded in seven out of 17 Asia Pacific markets, with significant deterioration seen in Indonesia (-14.7), Hong Kong (-12.4) and Singapore (-10.7).
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