Singapore - In the wake of the world-wide financial crisis consumer confidence has turned pessimistic across the Asia Pacific region, according to a survey released Wednesday by MasterCard.

From India to China, and Japan to New Zealand the urban middle class were more pessimistic for the first half of 2009 than six months ago, according to the latest bi-annual Consumer Confidence survey by MasterCard Worldwide released in Singapore.

MasterCard found that only Vietnam, China, India and Singapore of the 14 markets surveyed are optimistic about the first half of next year.

Measuring consumer confidence on a scale from zero to 100, with 100 being most optimistic and and 50 neutral, confidence fell most heavily in Hong Kong - to 41.8 from
83.1 six months ago - and in Taiwan, where the Index fell to 32.1 from 71.3.

The overall index was at 47.4, down from 55.0 in the last survey six months ago and 67.3 a year ago, but still above the average of 32.3 recorded during Asia's financial crisis of a decade ago, MasterCard said.

In a separate analysis of purchasing priorities, the survey found 70 per cent of the region's consumers looking to reduce discretionary spending for the next 12 months.

Across the region, dining and entertainment is the discretionary spending nearly 60 per cent people regard as the highest priority, followed by 46 per cent for fashion and accessories, 44 per cent children's extra-curricular education and 42 per cent for personal travel.

"Consumers across the region are bracing themselves for tougher times ahead in 2009," said the survey's author Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, Asia-Pacific economic adviser for MasterCard Worldwide.

The company said it surveyed 6,019 consumers in 14 countries during September. (dpa)