Nine in 10 Chinese women believe their country is going in the right direction, said Zhao Xiaoyan, senior vice president and director of Global Research and Consulting GFK Roper of the United States, on Friday during the Global Summit of Women which kicked off in Hanoi on Thursday.

While seven in 10 Indian and Indonesian women say their country is going in the right direction, followed by women in Thailand at six in 10, said Zhao in her report titled "Values profile of Asia Pacific women."

Zhao said that globally, 57 percent of women feel confident their economic situation will improve in the next 12 months. Chinese and Indian women lead the world, by a big margin, at 87 percent and 82 percent respectively.

While Australian and Indonesian women are quite confident, their counterparts in Thailand, South Korea and Japan have lower confidence, with Japanese women ranking lowest of all countries in terms of their economic confidence, she noted.

Since 1995, GFK polled every year more than 30,000 citizens and consumers in 25 and 30 major economies on six continents on their values, concerns, attitudes and lifestyles.

Basically, the sample in developing regions represents urban middle class, and the global survey reflects the universe of consumers who can afford most foreign branded goods.

The GSW, or informally called the "Davos for Women", will run from June 5-7 in Hanoi, Vietnam, with the theme of "Women and Asia:

Driving the Global Economy." It attracted more than 900 participants from over 70 countries and regions.

This is the first time for Vietnam to host such an event.

(Xinhua News Agency June 6, 2008)