Business Standard

New Delhi, Feb 21: Shops running out of stuff before we can buy them. Now that sounds like something worth worrying about. Indians are so busy shopping and saving, they don't seem to have the time for fear.

According to the ACNielsen Asia Pacific Consumer Confidence Survey, 17 per cent Indians have no worries at all. Nobody is fretting about war. And even spiralling crime rates don't bother more than 12 per cent.

Sure, the big concerns remain: the economy (39 per cent), health (33 per cent) and job security (31 per cent) still top the list. But people don't seem to be staying up nights agonising about the Budget or their blood pressure.

Remember, this is the same group where 92 per cent are looking forward to improved employment prospects and 87 per cent are bullish about their personal finances in the coming year.

The rest of Asia Pacific seems to share their optimism. More than half the region's respondents have lines on their foreheads because of the economy - globally, that figure stands at 45 per cent - but seem relatively untouched by the thought of civil unrest.

Political stability, terrorism, crime and other concerns all worry less than 20 per cent of Apac respondents (terrorism is still a cause for concern with 27 per cent Indians).

South east Asia in particular is very concerned about the economy; 74 per cent Thais and Indonesians cite it as a major concern and the average for the region is a high 57 per cent. In comparison, Australia and India appear almost blasé: just 36 and 39 per cent worry about the economy in these countries.

The pessimism of South Koreans is most apprarent in their worries about the job market: half the respondents cited job security as a major concern for the next six months.

That fits in with another statistic the survey threw up: 87 per cent South Koreans are pessimistic about employment prospects in the coming 12 months.