Market Asia Pacific

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Consistent strength for the Australian retail sector.
A retail analyst at RNCOS, a Delhi based research and consulting firm, says the following about Australia's retail sector: "The retail industry in Australia is among the world's fastest growing indu . . .

A perspective on food marketing in Asia.
The diet of Asian consumers--particularly Asian middle class consumers--is becoming increasingly "westernized." This is one of the intriguing conclusions put forward in a research paper presented to . . .

Private consumption in Thailand declines.(Brief article)
Thailand's biggest commercial bank, the Bangkok Bank, reviewed the country's economic situation for the first half of 2007 and said the following about private consumption. "Private consumption and . . .

Malaysia's economy continues expanding.(Brief article)
Looking ahead to the first quarter 2008, the Malaysia Department of Statistics says that the country's economy will continue expanding. This conclusion is based on the most recent Leading Indicators . . .

Hong Kong's elite buy major assets.(Survey)(Brief article)
Hong Kong's elite consumers are getting wealthier--and acquiring major assets. This is the central conclusion about these high income Hong Kong residents, which appears in the results of the PAX med . . .

Japan consumer confidence softening.
According to an October 14, 2007 report filed by Kyodo News (New York), "Consumer sentiment in Japan for September rose to the highest level in more than eight years, reflecting the economic upturn, . . .

China: Growth--and growing pains.
The Daily Telegraph (London) reported the following on October 20, 2007. "For the first time in modern history, China will next year contribute more to global economic growth than the United States . . .

Philippines: Stable politically; growing GDP.
At the moment, political stability appears to prevail in the Philippines. The controversial current president did manage to maintain solid support in the May 2007 elections in the Philippines House . . .

Hong Kong accolades abound.
The tenth anniversary of the return by Britain of Hong Kong to Chinese rule spurred a flurry of evaluations of the place of Hong Kong not only in the world economy but as a consumer market as well. . . .

Vietnam's growth taxes the environment.
Vietnam's modest but growing consumer sector is benefiting from the fast pace of the country's economic expansion. Examples of conspicuous consumption are appearing in Vietnam's biggest cities, Ho C . . .

Australian consumer confidence high.
Higher wages and the lowest rate of unemployment since 1974 are keeping Australian consumer confidence at near record heights. Two confidence surveys, released within one day of each other, both rea . . .

Japanese consumer confidence weak.
In spite of warnings from the Japanese Cabinet Office not to compare consumer confidence results for June 2007 with other months because of a change in the way the Cabinet Office conducts the basic . . .

Substantial growth reported by Pakistan.(Brief article)
On June 2, 2007, the Pakistan Times (Islamabad), citing government sources, said that for the fiscal year 2006-2007, Pakistan's economy had expanded 7.0 percent. The newspaper said that this was the . . .

Indian consumers are status conscious.(Brief article)
Conspicuous consumption is taking hold in India. According to a June 4, 2007 story in the Christian Science Monitor (Boston) India's consumers are markedly status conscious and therefore at the very . . .

Green products.
The results of a survey conducted by the global market research firm Synovate in partnership with BBC World show that climate change is having an impact on consumer preferences for several product c . . .

Steady optimism, steady spending in Singapore.
In a June 15, 2007 release distributed to the press Statistics Singapore reported, "Overall retail sales declined 5.2 percent in April 2007 over March 2007." When adjusted for seasonal variations, r . . .

Expansion continues in Japan.
According to a June 11, 2007 Reuters story filed from Tokyo, "Japan is currently enjoying its longest period of economic expansion in the postwar era, albeit at a slower pace than previous booms, th . . .

Philippine economy exhibits stability.
It is well known that the President of the Philippines is an economist in addition to being a skilled politician. During her tenure as President, she has made a series of highly unpopular decisions, . . .

Hong Kong: Ten years of Beijing rule.(status of Hong Kong in today's market )(Country overview)
July 1, 2007 marked the tenth anniversary of Britain's return of Hong Kong to Chinese rule. The anniversary was observed in Hong Kong with a massive fireworks display and other celebratory events. T . . .

China's developing middle class.
China's middle class is growing rapidly and will be an enormous market for consumer goods of all types within a fairly short time frame. An analysis provided to the press via email by The McKinsey Q . . .

South Korean households to spend more.(Survey)(Brief article)
Results from the Bank of Korea (BOK), South Korea's central bank, consumer confidence survey were released on June 25, 2007 showing that the country's consumers were feeling more optimistic than the . . .

Indonesian consumers less confident.
Indonesia's Consumer Confidence Index (CCI) declined 0.2 percent in June 2007 after gaining 1.3 percent in May 2007, according to the Jakarta based Danareksa Research Institute (DRI), an independent . . .

Digital Music.
Interestingly, a major survey on digital music trends in the Asia Pacific region credits enhanced communication with the consumer as a central factor in shaping the market. Two other factors were . . .

New Zealand retail sales in a striking advance.
Retail sales in New Zealand soared 3.8 percent in the quarter ending in March 2007. Sales were us$405-million. The increase is the fastest on record. New Zealand began tracking retail sales in 1995. . . .

Australia's economy is at full capacity.
Australian unemployment is at a 32 year low. In February 2007, the index of leading economic indicators had an annualized growth rate of 5.7 percent. The Chief Economist of the Westpac-Melbourne Ins . . .

Consumers revive South Korea's economy.
Key observers are looking to consumer spending to accelerate South Korea's economic rebound. Moreover, notwithstanding that households will spend more during the second half of 2007, there are no co . . .

India's middle class growing robustly.
India's middle class-already larger than the population of the United States (US)-continues to grow and to attract consumer goods manufacturers and marketers alike. A recent report by the McKinsey G . . .

Malaysian consumers more confident.
Malaysia's Consumer Sentiment Index (CSI) "surges to 124.1 points," which is the highest since the third quarter 2000. The information was released to the press on April 16, 2007 by the Malaysian In . . .

Bangladesh update.(politics)(Brief article)
When Market: Asia Pacific reported last month (May 2007, 16:5) on developments in Bangladesh, it appeared as though the country's political chaos might be at an end. The two matriarchs of the bitter . . .

Japanese retail tech advances.
Retail technology is taking another step forward in Japan. Tests of various applications for just over three-quarter inch square Integrated Circuit (IC) chips were reported in a March 27, 2007 posti . . .

Rice.
Rice production in the Asia Pacific Region is likely to satisfy demand, but prices will continue to rise. According to the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) 2006 production dec . . .

Politics still depresses Thai consumer confidence.
On May 1, 2007, Thailand's Bureau of Trade and Economic Indices released the country's official consumer confidence index for April 2007 showing a slight increase, as illustrated in the graph above. . . .

Pakistan growth strong but problematic.
Two different views of Pakistan's economy recently appeared in reaction to the March 21, 2007 release of the Asian Development Bank's (ADB) "Asian Development Outlook 2007." The ADB report includes . . .

Taiwan prosperity safe despite slowdown.
Taiwan offers two interesting signals from its transportation sector. One comes from an April 9, 2007 report from the China Economic News Service (CENS), which says that sales of new cars in Taiwan . . .

Bangladesh political chaos may end.
Political chaos in Bangladesh-widely cited for weakening the country's economy-may soon be at an end. On April 17, 2007, Agence France-Presse reported that the country's most recent prime minister h . . .

Hong Kong stirs consumer spending.(Brief article)
Hong Kong, like many of the world's market economies, is worried about the slowdown of the economy of the United States (US). In its monthly report on the Hong Kong economy, the Economic Analysis Di . . .

India's inflation battle continues.
Because of what the Reserve Bank of India (RBA) calls, "effervescent demand," the RBA may take steps to raise interest rates further to curb inflationary pressures. In a story that was posted on t . . .

Vietnam grows but problems persist.(Brief article)
A story in the International Herald Tribune (Neuilly) on April 5, 2007, acknowledges that Vietnam is growing impressively. It reports that the country is "awash" in foreign capital and implies that . . .

Video programming.
A Lecturer in Media and Communication studies at the Queensland University of Technology (Brisbane) told the national newspaper The Australian (Surry Hills) on March 19, 2007 that there is talk amon . . .

Chinese consumer spending grows strongly.
The last time Market: Asia Pacific looked at retail sales in China in detail (January 2006, 15:1), the analysis showed that the year-on-year rate of growth was steady. The perspective is different i . . .

Nepal's economy is in transition.
The World Bank says that Nepal has "huge potential as it [is] wedged between India and China, two among the world's fastest growing economies." The Bank added, "Nepal now faces a historic moment of . . .

Upbeat Australian consumer sentiment.
Consumer confidence in Australia in March 2007 is strong. According to a March 14, 2007 summary of the most recent consumer confidence survey distributed by the Australian Associated Press (AAP), th . . .

New Zealand confidence drops.
Consumer confidence in New Zealand sank 4.9 points in a late February 2007 early March 2007 survey. The mid-February 2007 confidence reading was 133.7. The mid-March 207 reading was 128.8, which was . . .

Mixed results from South Korea.(Brief article)
On March 8, 2007, the Yonhap News Agency (Seoul) reported that consumer confidence in the Asia Pacific region's third largest economy rose in February 2007 when compared with January 2007. (Note: Ma . . .

Culture and luxury in Japan.(Survey)(Brief article)
The website of the market research firm JapanConsuming (Tokyo) displayed a posting on February 5, 2007, which suggested that the Japanese consumer appetite for foreign luxury goods-particularly Fren . . .

China's consumers earn fast, spend slowly.
"China has a preponderance of consumers whose income is growing more rapidly than their propensity to spend." This is one of the major conclusions of a February 15, 2007 study published by the Chica . . .

WiMax.
WiMax may be described as Extreme Wi-Fi. For consumers, WiMax-like Wi-Fi-provides wireless broadband Internet connectivity outdoors. But there are some major differences. Obviously, because the sy . . .

Philippine consumers expect a better 2007.(Survey)
The chart above shows that when consumers in the Philippines were asked in early December 2006 about their spending plans for the current quarter, they said they were ready to buy durables. They als . . .

India's economic growth continues apace.
Much of what is being said currently about India in the international financial press would have even the sophisticated reader thinking that the country is on the verge of becoming the world's next . . .

Malaysian consumer spending to rise.
When Market: Asia Pacific last briefly reviewed the Malaysian market in January 2006 (16:1), one of the Malaysian Institute for Economic Research's (MIER) sub headings as they discussed third quarte . . .