The chamber's 'Survey on Policy Address and Government Relief Measures,' from August 11 to 15, drew 231 responses, of which 25 percent came from professional and business services sector, and 15 percent from the trading sector. Also, 59 percent were SMEs, employing less than 50. SMEs are suffering the most, with 60 percent of companies that have seen turnover drop by half being SMEs, compared with 29 percent for large companies. Respondents cited “business partners in financial difficulty” and “uncertainty arising from foreign sanctions” as the two key challenges. However, SMEs are worst affected by “insufficient cash flow” and “being forced to suspend operations due to insufficient business volume.”The survey found that 36 percent of respondents said their turnover had plunged by at least half, compared with pre-virus levels.

Source: The Standard August 21, 2020 08:15 UTC