Translate the newspaper item from English into Russian. Use a dictionary. Consumers in China, Korea and Thailand and across much of Asia remain surprisingly upbeat about economic prospects

Consumers in China, Korea and Thailand and across much of Asia remain surprisingly upbeat about economic prospects, according to a consumer confidence survey released yesterday by MasterCard International.

The biannual survey of about 4,500 people across Asia, conducted in June, found that people in many Asian countries – notably Korea and Thailand, which are currently enjoying a widespread boom – are confident of their economic prospects in the next six months. The survey suggests that consumer confidence and domestic consumption in Asia could prove more resilient to a slowdown in the US than in the past.

Nine countries in Asia showed 'positive sentiment scores', including ratings of 76.5 in Korea, 74.0 in Malaysia and 73.9 in Thailand. China's score of 73.6 is a drop from its highest ever score of 84.8 six months ago, but consumer confidence in the populous nation remained strong.

Zero is the most pessimistic while 50 is neutral and 100 the most optimistic.

The picture is gloomier in Japan and Hong Kong. Japan's rating of future economic prospects was 23.5 while Hong Kong scored 13.9. The authors said this was a function of their much higher living standards than the rest of Asia.

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