Major Asia Pacific businesses lagged in the few months of the coronavirus pandemic linking falling sales and growth with imposed lockdowns.
Several countries- including Malaysia and Hong Kong- have suffered with 18% of the small and medium businesses (SMBs) closing in the months of Jan-May, as per the State of Small Business Report by Facebook, the World Bank, and OECD.
The sectors which faltered the most are tourism agencies, education and child-care services, hospitality and event management services, hotels and restaurants.
With rising cases and re-imposed shutdowns, there has been a significant drop in the demand of goods and services offered by the small-and-medium businesses. Reportedly, 61% of the businesses in East Asia and Pacific went through falls in sales. Though countries with limited lockdowns, like Taiwan, had better chances of resurgence, met with a drop of over 50% in 28% of their SMBs.
The strength of Asia Pacific’s rebound lies in the financial aid from the state and government. Over 29% of the businesses received some form of state financial support to recover from the slump. With a lot of uncertainty and challenging quarters in the future, many countries, like Indonesia and the Philippines, are hopeful of recovery. Only time will tell.