The Chamber of SMEs has published the second survey related to businesses during the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Almost 40% of the 360 businesses which took part in the survey said their business activity had came to a complete halt while only 20% said that their operations were still at above 75% of capacity. A significant part of respondents have indicated that while they have avoided laying off employees at this stage, they will have to do so in the coming weeks if the situation persists, particularly if they are either not covered by Government’s wage supplement or if the promised assistance takes too long to be provided.
Unsurprisingly, the survey confirmed that the sectors which suffered the biggest impact related to travel, tourism, imports as well as the retail sector.
The results were introduced by Chamber CEO Abigail Mamo and analysed in further detail by Vice President Marcel Mizzi.
29% of businesses said they had no intention of re-opening until the end of the month with 18% preparing to start laying off workers by the same period.
Only 32% of those interviewed declared that they were able to continue their operations in a normal manner.
When asked to specify the main problems they are facing, business operators mentioned as the key challenges to access the support provided by Government, the cost to access finance, added banking cost (for example the need to use a teller machine for payments on deliveries, which bears extra costs), rental costs, and significant mental health adverse effects. Marcel Mizzi, the Chamber’s Vice President said that he was very surprised by the impact that this crisis had on the mental health of business operators.
Mizzi said that while appreciating Government has received a lot of applications for wage support, this is taking too long and businesses are facing extreme difficulty in covering his salaries.
While delivering concluding remarks, Chamber of SMEs President Paul Abela encouraged businesses to consider the guarantees provided by the National Development Bank to cover loans related to salaries, working capital and similar matters. Abela appealed to Government to facilitate and quicken the process related to payments to companies. Abela expressed his Chamber’s commitment to support its members in weathering the storm.
