Money matters: Indian women are better

       

Indian women have better financial literacy levels than their counterparts in China and Japan but are still placed at the bottom half in a ranking of 14 countries, an index survey has said.

Thai women topped the financial literacy index with score of 73.9, according to a Mastercard''s Financial Literacy Index released today.

The most populous markets in the world- India (61.4) and China (60.1) reflected a lower Financial Literacy score among women and are ranked at 11th and 12th position respectively, it said.

In India, women as a whole scored the best in financial planning (67.6), followed by basic money management (58.8) and investment (58.9).

"Chinese and Indian women are particularly weak in basic money management (54.4 and 58.8) and are near the bottom of the ranking for that component in Asia Pacific," the survey noted.

In the overall financial literacy rankings, India and China have scored over developed countries like Japan and Korea.

Among the 24 markets surveyed it noted that women across Asia Pacific are financially savvy "to some extent", in particular among the over-30 years

married and working group.

Their level can be raised further, especially among the younger generation, the survey noted.

The index is based on a survey of consumers across Asia Pacific Middle East Africa (APMEA) and comprises of three major components--basic money management, financial planning and investment.

Thailand is followed by New Zealand (71.3) and Australia (70.2). Also noteworthy were Vietnamese women, who took fourth place, with an overall Index score of 70.1 and Singapore cornered the fifth spot with a score of 69.4.

"While it is encouraging to see that women across Asia Pacific have some basic degree of financial literacy, it is also apparent that there is still work to be done to improve levels across the board," Tan Vice President (Communications) Asia Pacific, Middle East and Africa at MasterCard Worldwide.

At the sixth place was Taiwan (68.7) followed by Philippines (68.2), Hong Kong (68), Indonesia (66.5) and Malaysia (66).