Financial News on Asia Region, from Bloomberg.com. Technorati Tags: asia, financial, news

The Trouble With India, new BusinessWeek article, on how India’s infrastructure might not be ready for the big show.

Fortune Asia’s Top 50 Companies. Mostly Japanese companies, follow by South Korea and China. No #1 is Toyota.

ACNielsen provides several Consumer Reports that can be downloaded for free from their site.

Several Consumer Reports on Asian Consumers:

China Trend Watch - 2006 (PDF, 3.7mb)

Little Emperors, the first wave of China’s one-child policy, are entering the workforce. Having worked hard at school with a period of unprecedented growth, this most dedicated consumer group in China is enjoying income levels unmatched by that of previous generations. Born and raised in a period of economic boom, Little Emperors have grown up on a steady diet of foreign brands and western notions of consumption which they have happily adopted. Their voracious consumption will be the backbone of continued growth across China, creating new market opportunities for manufacturers and retailers.

Global Consumer Attitudes Towards Online Shopping, October 2005 (PDF, 251k)

More than 627 million people have shopped online, including over 325 million within the last month. Of them, over 212 million online shoppers mention Books as among the last three items they purchased online.

Consumers and Designer Brands: A Global ACNielsen Report (PDF, 3.07mb)
According to a recent ACNielsen survey, Ralph Lauren is currently the most popular designer brand globally, but Gucci and Giorgio Armani are the most aspired to, if money were no object. ACNielsen’s global online survey was conducted on the Internet in November, 2005, asking 21,000 consumers in 42 markets across Europe, Asia Pacific, UAE, North and Latin America about their current and aspirational fashion brand purchasing.

ACNielsen Global Consumer Opinions Survey – Cost of Living, April 2006 (PDF, 350k)

The ACNielsen Global Consumer Opinions Survey regarding money saving strategies when the cost of living rises was conducted in 42 markets across North America, Latin America, Asia-Pacific, Europe and South Africa. More than 23,500 consumers were surveyed online in November 2005 to gauge their approach to their budgets when times are tough. Download the data report (PDF, 4 MB) to see some of the interesting similarities and differences between regions and countries..

Asia Pacific Consumer Confidence Survey, 1st Half 2005 (PDF, 291k)

Asian consumers are clearly the world’s most optimistic at the moment, while the vast majority of Europeans and Americans remain firmly in the doldrums. Asia’s buoyant outlook is being driven by the emerging consumer powerhouses of China and India, while some of Europe’s largest economies of France, Germany and Italy are struggling with negative (or flat) growth, increasing unemployment and pockets of political instability.

Global Consumer Confidence Report - September 2006 (PDF, 204k)

While overall consumer confidence has been sustained, globally, consumers continue to cite the Economy (47%), Health (37%) and Job Security (31%) as their major concerns for the next six months. This latest ACNielsen Online Consumer Confidence and Opinion Survey, conducted in late May/early June, polled about 21,780 internet users in 40 markets from Europe, Asia Pacific, North America to the Baltics.

More can be found here: ACNielsen Global Consumer Reports