A customer shops at a supermarket. Domestic consumer confidence improves in September. — Photo mothegioi.vn

HA NOI (Biz Hub) — Increased optimism about Viet Nam's economic prospects have slightly raised local consumer confidence in September.

ANZ Bank said in a report on September 23 that the ANZ-Roy Morgan Vietnam Consumer Confidence Index rose 1.6 points to 135.3 points in September, and is 0.3 point higher than a year ago.

Fifty per cent (up four percentage points from August) of Vietnamese respondents expect the country to have "good times" financially during the next 12 months, while 12 per cent (unchanged) expect "bad times".

Sixty-one per cent (up six percentage points) expect the country to have "good times" economically over the next five years, compared to only seven per cent (unchanged) who expect "bad times".

Forty-one per cent (up one percentage point) said, "now is a good time to buy" major household items compared to 12 per cent (down two percentage points) who said the opposite.

"Viet Nam continues to find itself in the remarkable stead of being the only Asian economy not recording negative import and export growth. It is strongly bucking the regional trade recession," ANZ Bank economist Glenn Maguire said.

"However, dynamics within the Vietnamese economy will clearly not be immune to a weaker global trade environment and the September confidence survey may contain the first hints of caution among local consumers," he said.

Maguire noted that confidence in the personal financial assessment has been waning, however.

In terms of personal finance, 29 per cent (down two percentage points) of local respondents said their families are "better off" than the same period last year, the lowest value recorded for the indicator since November 2014.

Fifty-five per cent (down three percentage points) expect their families to be "better off" financially this time next year, the lowest level recorded for the indicator since January 2015.

"The short-term assessment on personal finances may have been eroded by policy decisions to weaken the dong and widen its trading band in August, measures which will make imports more expensive for the average Vietnamese household," Maguire said.

"However, over the medium term, this is a prudent policy choice that will retain Viet Nam's export competitiveness and ensure continued insulation from the regional trade recession," he said.

Maguire said a sharp erosion in confidence in Viet Nam is highly unlikely, adding, "Our expectation of resilience stems from the Vietnamese trade performance in the coming months, thanks to strong foreign direct investment inflows in recent years." — VNS