Both markets registered their lowest scores since FPI began conducting the survey in the second quarter of 2010. The overall Hong Kong Investor Attitudes Index fell by four points, from 15 to 11, with investors demonstrating a strong preference for cash and an aversion to equities.
Reflecting the significant stock market volatility which preceded the survey period (9 to 20 Jan, 2012), appetite for equities crashed by 17 points, to register a score of just one. Cash rose by a similar margin, gaining 16 points to become the second-most popular asset class after gold.
The overall Singapore index declined by four points, to 12. Respondents expressed a significant level of concern surrounding the eurozone sovereign debt crisis, with half expecting the situation to remain unresolved for at least another year.
Singapore investors favoured cash above all other assets in January, as it gained two points, leapfrogging gold. Appetite for equities plunged, from a score of 16 to four. Looking ahead, 30% said they expected markets to improve over the next six months, while 37% forecast a decline.
Investors in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) were also generally less confident. However, their attitudes to riskier asset classes appeared less affected by the stock market turmoil. Gold continued as the most favoured asset class, but the score for equities fell by just three points.
The total sample size for the survey was 2,783, comprising 1,002 interviews each in Hong Kong and Singapore, and 779 in the UAE. Copies of all FPI Investor Attitudes surveys are available on the company’s website, which can be found here.
