pedang
December 22nd, 2006, 05:13 AM
KL savers among best
By DALJIT DHESI
daljit@thestar.com.my
http://biz.thestar.com.my/archives/2006/12/22/business/b_p13ken.jpg
PETALING JAYA: Kuala Lumpur is among the six cities in Asia which has some of the most disciplined savers, according to The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp Ltd's (HSBC) latest survey on consumer spending and behaviour.
The survey is the bank’s first large-scale research done on people’s savings behaviour across six key cities in the region – Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taipei, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul and Tokyo.
In each city, 500 people aged 18 to 64 from different income and working levels were asked about their saving practices, patterns and goals, as well as about factors that drive saving habits.
The survey was completed in the third quarter of this year.
In the survey findings made available to StarBiz, the bank said savers in Kuala Lumpur held very positive mentality and worked hard to save regularly, even though the portion that could be saved was small in reality.
The study, titled Evolving Consumer Saving Mentality and Behaviour Study, showed that Seoul had the most pragmatic savers, who had well-planned saving targets. It also had a fairly high savings-to-income ratio. Taipei is fairly disciplined while Tokyo and Shanghai had the least disciplined savers.
“People in Kuala Lumpur, Seoul and Tokyo are well-planned savers while those in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taipei are less involved in concrete target setting.
“Forty percent of people in Kuala Lumpur overall had a concrete saving plan and will stick to it, compared with 33% in Seoul, 30% in Tokyo and 25% in Taipei, whereas Hong Kong (20%) and Shanghai (13%) were the least to do that,'' HSBC said.
The findings showed that people in the six cities generally embrace the idea of striking a balance between spending and savings.
HSBC said some respondents lacked guidance on how to build their savings pool, which indicated that more help and education was needed to help people develop a savings routine.
Forty percent or more of the respondents in some markets have no regular saving practices (either very casual or non-saver). Only about 20%, or at most 40% plus, had a concrete savings target or timeframe and 30% or more were not keen on a safety cash concept.
Retirement and children's education are the core savings targets for Kuala Lumpur residents. As a result, there was a gap in their confidence to grow savings. Less than 50% of the people considered themselves “as able to save” in most markets (it can be as low as 26% in Shanghai).
Except for Kuala Lumpur, travel and shopping are the most preferred savings targets in most markets. Kuala Lumpur folk opted for socialising, family support and studying while those in Taipei and Tokyo chose travel.
The bank said events related to life-stage (mainly children-related) and economy were the main obstacles to growth. Repaying personal loans was prominent in Kuala Lumpur, while people in Hong Kong and Shanghai cited unpredictable events (for example, prolonged illness).
All the markets viewed inflation and interest rates as universal in creating an impact on savings. Except for Shanghai and Tokyo, the bank said people generally expect low coverage from the government for retirement savings but still over half have not started to save.
People in Tokyo are the most well-prepared, with over 59% of the working group already saving for retirement compared with 43% in Malaysia.
People in Kuala Lumpur are more keen to save through gold and property purchases and are also increasingly relying on insurance for savings.
Local currency is still the most widely used saving tool in all the markets, while investment and insurance are also commonly adopted,'' HSBC added.
By DALJIT DHESI
daljit@thestar.com.my
http://biz.thestar.com.my/archives/2006/12/22/business/b_p13ken.jpg
PETALING JAYA: Kuala Lumpur is among the six cities in Asia which has some of the most disciplined savers, according to The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corp Ltd's (HSBC) latest survey on consumer spending and behaviour.
The survey is the bank’s first large-scale research done on people’s savings behaviour across six key cities in the region – Hong Kong, Shanghai, Taipei, Kuala Lumpur, Seoul and Tokyo.
In each city, 500 people aged 18 to 64 from different income and working levels were asked about their saving practices, patterns and goals, as well as about factors that drive saving habits.
The survey was completed in the third quarter of this year.
In the survey findings made available to StarBiz, the bank said savers in Kuala Lumpur held very positive mentality and worked hard to save regularly, even though the portion that could be saved was small in reality.
The study, titled Evolving Consumer Saving Mentality and Behaviour Study, showed that Seoul had the most pragmatic savers, who had well-planned saving targets. It also had a fairly high savings-to-income ratio. Taipei is fairly disciplined while Tokyo and Shanghai had the least disciplined savers.
“People in Kuala Lumpur, Seoul and Tokyo are well-planned savers while those in Hong Kong, Shanghai and Taipei are less involved in concrete target setting.
“Forty percent of people in Kuala Lumpur overall had a concrete saving plan and will stick to it, compared with 33% in Seoul, 30% in Tokyo and 25% in Taipei, whereas Hong Kong (20%) and Shanghai (13%) were the least to do that,'' HSBC said.
The findings showed that people in the six cities generally embrace the idea of striking a balance between spending and savings.
HSBC said some respondents lacked guidance on how to build their savings pool, which indicated that more help and education was needed to help people develop a savings routine.
Forty percent or more of the respondents in some markets have no regular saving practices (either very casual or non-saver). Only about 20%, or at most 40% plus, had a concrete savings target or timeframe and 30% or more were not keen on a safety cash concept.
Retirement and children's education are the core savings targets for Kuala Lumpur residents. As a result, there was a gap in their confidence to grow savings. Less than 50% of the people considered themselves “as able to save” in most markets (it can be as low as 26% in Shanghai).
Except for Kuala Lumpur, travel and shopping are the most preferred savings targets in most markets. Kuala Lumpur folk opted for socialising, family support and studying while those in Taipei and Tokyo chose travel.
The bank said events related to life-stage (mainly children-related) and economy were the main obstacles to growth. Repaying personal loans was prominent in Kuala Lumpur, while people in Hong Kong and Shanghai cited unpredictable events (for example, prolonged illness).
All the markets viewed inflation and interest rates as universal in creating an impact on savings. Except for Shanghai and Tokyo, the bank said people generally expect low coverage from the government for retirement savings but still over half have not started to save.
People in Tokyo are the most well-prepared, with over 59% of the working group already saving for retirement compared with 43% in Malaysia.
People in Kuala Lumpur are more keen to save through gold and property purchases and are also increasingly relying on insurance for savings.
Local currency is still the most widely used saving tool in all the markets, while investment and insurance are also commonly adopted,'' HSBC added.