<TABLE border=0 cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=452><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Published July 2, 2009
</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Cautious Singaporeans saving more for rainy days
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SINGAPOREANS are setting aside more money in these uncertain times, according to a MasterCard Worldwide survey.
401 people here were surveyed, and 88 per cent intend to save as much or more than they have in the past six months.
Singapore and Vietnam ranked highest for savings among the 21 markets surveyed worldwide - 11 per cent higher than the Asia-Pacific average.
The survey also found the main reason that Singaporeans save is precaution against bad times, rather than to buy big-ticket consumer items.
More than half of Singapore respondents to the survey also said they plan to maintain their discretionary spending in the second half of the year at the same level as six months ago. Dining and entertainment was their top choice, at 43 per cent of expenditure.
In general, dining and entertainment is the category most resilient to cutbacks in discretionary spending, according to the MasterCard Worldwide Index of consumer purchasing resilience.
The economic adviser to MasterCard Asia-Pacific, Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, said that while there are signs that Singapore's GDP could shrink by as much as 10 per cent in 2009, mid-market consumers seem to be less affected than those in other countries.
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</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>'My take on it is that most of the contraction is absorbed by high-end professionals and foreign labour, and the government has acted very quickly in taking a targeted approach in terms of income support,' he said.
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</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=top width=452 colSpan=2>Cautious Singaporeans saving more for rainy days
<TABLE class=storyLinks border=0 cellSpacing=4 cellPadding=1 width=136 align=right><TBODY><TR class=font10><TD width=20 align=right>
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</TD><TD>Feedback</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>SINGAPOREANS are setting aside more money in these uncertain times, according to a MasterCard Worldwide survey.
401 people here were surveyed, and 88 per cent intend to save as much or more than they have in the past six months.
Singapore and Vietnam ranked highest for savings among the 21 markets surveyed worldwide - 11 per cent higher than the Asia-Pacific average.
The survey also found the main reason that Singaporeans save is precaution against bad times, rather than to buy big-ticket consumer items.
More than half of Singapore respondents to the survey also said they plan to maintain their discretionary spending in the second half of the year at the same level as six months ago. Dining and entertainment was their top choice, at 43 per cent of expenditure.
In general, dining and entertainment is the category most resilient to cutbacks in discretionary spending, according to the MasterCard Worldwide Index of consumer purchasing resilience.
The economic adviser to MasterCard Asia-Pacific, Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, said that while there are signs that Singapore's GDP could shrink by as much as 10 per cent in 2009, mid-market consumers seem to be less affected than those in other countries.
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