The Vietnam consumer confidence index is unchanged at 140.2 in May,well above its long-term average of 135.2, according to research by theANZ Bank.

In terms of current personal finances, 36percent (up 1 percentage point) of Vietnamese said their families are‘better off’ financially than this time last year, compared to just 18percent (down 1 percentage point) who said their families are ‘worseoff’ financially (the lowest for this indicator since March 2014).

Of the respondents surveyed, 56 percent (down 1ppt) expect theirfamilies to be ‘better off’ financially this time next year compared toonly 5 percent (down 1ppt) who expect to be ‘worse off’ financially.

Fifty-three percent (down 2ppts) of Vietnamese expect the country tohave ‘good times’ financially during the next 12 months and 12 percent(up 1ppt) expect ‘bad times’ financially.

In thelonger term, 61 percent (down 2ppts) of the respondents expect Vietnamto have ‘good times’ economically over the next five years compared tojust 5 percent (unchanged) who expect ‘bad times’.

Forty-seven percent (unchanged) of Vietnamese say it is now a ‘good timeto buy’ major household items compared to 12 percent (down 3ppts) whobelieve now is a ‘bad time to buy’ these items.

Glenn Maguire, ANZ Chief Economist for South Asia, ASEAN & thePacific, said he foresees the Vietnamese economy enjoying an ongoingrecovery for 2015 and 2016. This should create an environment wherehouseholds become more confident to spend, further strengthening therecovery in domestic demand, he claimed.-VNA