MANILA – German companies doing business in the Philippines said the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic has impacted their operations but the easing of quarantine measures both in the Philippines and in Germany will help them in the coming months.
In a survey of German-Philippines Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GPCCI) from June 5 to 12, some 30 percent of surveyed firms said they expect their sales this year to decline between 25 to 50 percent.
About 26 percent of them said their projected sales will drop by more than 50 percent by end-2020.
The survey also showed the top negative effects of the pandemic include travel restriction (84 percent), delay or cancelation of investments (55 percent), problems in supply chain or logistics (54 percent), cancelation of trade fairs and events (54 percent), and less demand for products and services.
“The survey clearly shows the enormous effect of Covid-19 on companies,” GPCCI president Tristan Arwen Loveres said.
With the easing of lockdown measures both in Germany and the Philippines, 47 percent of German firms said this “helps moderately” in their operation for the next two months.
A total of 39 percent said the easing of lockdown “helps a lot” in their future operation.
Meanwhile, 26 percent of German firms said they expect that supply chains will recover as early as September 2020, 43 percent said supply chains will recover by December 2020, while 30 percent said this will normalize by June 2021.
German firms also cited top government support measures that will help their businesses at the moment, which are reducing administrative burdens, stimulus programs, and corporate tax reduction.
“We encourage all stakeholders to get the proposed economic stimulus packages quickly approved to mitigate the negative impacts on the economy,” Loveres added. (PNA)
