PUBLIC RETAINS CONFIDENCE IN PERSONAL FINANCIAL PROSPECTS
A survey last week recorded how people felt about the economy, the airport and the municipal councils.
People were much more confident about their personal financial prospects than they were about the general economic outlook, an opinion poll conducted for the South China Morning Post found on Thursday.
The poll by Asian Commercial Research (ACR) showed 65 per cent were not confident about the economy during the next 12 months - an increase of six per cent over the previous poll taken in June.
However, when asked about their own financial prospects in the year ahead, 59 per cent expressed confidence and only 38 per cent said they were not confident.
The confidence level was highest among those aged between 18 and 24, and men were more confident than women.
Satisfaction with the new airport increased markedly since the opening week, the poll found.
Overall satisfaction went from 54 per cent in the first week to 78 per cent in the fourth week and 89 per cent last week.
Twice as many people supported merging the Urban and Regional councils as those who thought they should be kept as they are, the poll found.
Forty-nine per cent of those questioned thought the councils should be brought together, while 25 per cent said they should be kept separate. Fifteen per cent thought both should be abolished and 11 per cent expressed no opinion. Support for amalgamation was strongest on Hong Kong Island.
The ACR poll was conducted for the Post with a representative sample of 548 people by telephone on August 6.
