RIYADH, 12 June 2008 — MasterCard Worldwide announced yesterday that consumer confidence in the Kingdom is still strong despite a slight decline in optimism.
Announcing the survey findings of the MasterCard Worldwide Index of Consumer Confidence for the second half of 2008 for key markets across the South Asia, Middle East and Africa (SAMEA) region, Shaun Rashid, senior business leader for the Middle East and Levant, MasterCard Worldwide said: “Consumers in the Kingdom remain optimistic on employment, economy, regular income and quality of life. However, confidence in the stock market has dropped precipitously from high optimism.”
Quoting the survey, he pointed out that consumer confidence across the Middle East and Levant has also slightly decreased, influenced by global economic slow down, subprime crisis, increasing oil prices and rising inflation.
Consumers in Saudi Arabia remain optimistic about the next six months but they are less so now than they were in seven of its eight preceding measurements, he said
“The results also indicate that consumer confidence across the Gulf States is still going strong despite an overall decrease in this survey.
“With the addition of Qatar to this survey, MasterCard continues its commitment to be a source of knowledge for its customers, associates and merchants as they grow their businesses across the region,” Rashid added.