Retail Sales Forecast to Grow in Thailand in Second Half 2006

Thailand Retail Sales to Increase Despite Weak Consumer Confidence Sentiment Despite a weaker consumer confidence sentiment, retail sales in Thailand and across Asia/Pacific are still expected to grow in the second half of 2006, according to the latest MasterIndex? of Retail forecast released by MasterCard Worldwide today. Retail sales in Thailand are expected to expand by 3.5 % year-on-year, with sales value reaching an estimated 543.25 billion Baht during the second half of the year. Thailand’s real GDP is forecasted to grow slowly at 4.5% in 2006, due to negative impacts of an upward trend in inflation and interest rates on private consumption. This is despite the recent MasterIndex of Consumer Confidence for Thailand falling by 19 points to 28.6, its lowest point in seven years. Outlook on regular income (59.6) was the only indicator that remained in the optimistic range, with the rest of the indicators plunging by an average of 20 points. All 12 Asia/Pacific markets included in the forecast are predicted to see positive expansion in the second half of the year, with Indonesia taking the lead with a 17.5% year-on-year growth, followed by the Philippines (12%) and China (11.8%). Other markets predicted to see healthy growth in retail sales are Singapore (8.6%), Malaysia (7.0%) and Hong Kong (5.6%), while the remaining less bullish markets include Australia and New Zealand (4.6% each), Korea (3.8%), Taiwan (1.6%) and Japan (1.2%). Dr. Yuwa Hedrick-Wong, economic advisor to MasterCard Worldwide in Asia/Pacific said “In spite of continuing political uncertainty and the extraordinarily low level of consumer confidence, private consumption is still growing due to rising income and a stable job market. The pace of growth of retail sales, however, is clearly slowing.” The MasterIndex of Retail’s forecast for the second half of 2006 is shown in the table below. Forecast for 2nd half 2006 Retail Sales Year-on-year Growth Australia* A$90.48 billion 4.6% China 3.81 trillion yuan 11.8% Hong Kong* HK$102.54 billion 5.6% Indonesia 204.09 trillion rupiah 17.5% Japan* 58.67 trillion yen 1.2% Korea* 70.92 trillion won 3.8% Malaysia 36.83 billion ringgit 7.0% New Zealand* NZ$17.54 billion 4.6% Philippines 476.85 billion peso 12.0% Singapore** SG$16.0 billion 8.6 % Taiwan* NT$1592.76 billion 1.6% Thailand 543.25 billion baht 3.5% (*forecast excludes hospitality, catering and auto sales) (** forecast excludes hospitality and catering, includes auto sales) Conducted twice a year in June and December, the MasterIndex of Retail was launched in June 2003 by MasterCard as part of its knowledge leadership initiatives in Asia/Pacific. Combining 10 years of retail sales data , factoring in the secular trend of growth of the retail industry, and using the MasterIndexTM of Consumer Confidence as an independent variable , it provides six-month forecasts of retail sales growth in 12 markets: Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. NOTE TO EDITORS: The full report, as well as the MasterIndex of Consumer Confidence, can be found at the website www.mastercard-masterindex.com . A summary of the individual market forecasts is found at the end of this release. About MasterIndex? of Retail The MasterIndex of Retail is a short-term forecast of retail sales growth in 12 key Asia/Pacific markets – Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand. The forecasting is done twice a year, in June and December, to provide powerful predictive market intelligence that is highly relevant not only to wholesale and retail industries, but to sectors such as entertainment, food and beverage, the hospitality and leisure industry, as well as consumer goods manufacturing. The analytical foundation of the MasterIndex of Retail is based on the development of a set of techniques that have successfully linked the MasterCard MasterIndexTM of Consumer Confidence with retail sales statistics. The survey findings of the MasterIndex of Consumer Confidence are used as a leading indicator of how consumers may act in terms of retail spending over the six-month period ahead. Thus, a link is made between consumer sentiment and actual consumer behavior. About MasterCard Worldwide MasterCard Worldwide advances global commerce by providing a critical economic link between financial institutions, businesses, cardholders and merchants worldwide. As a franchisor, processor and advisor, MasterCard develops and markets payment solutions, processes close to 14 billion payments each year, and provides industry-leading analysis and consulting services to financial institution customers and merchants. Through its family of brands, including MasterCard?, Maestro? and Cirrus?, MasterCard Worldwide serves consumers and businesses in more than 210 countries and territories. For more information go to www.mastercardworldwide.com . Media contacts: Eileen Wee, [email protected] , (662) 670 4088 Elizabeth Wongwasin, [email protected] , (662) 662 2266 Eileen Wee, [email protected] , (662) 670 4088 Elizabeth Wongwasin, [email protected] , (662) 662 2266

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