A recent survey conducted by the American Chamber of Commerce in South China assesses the impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak on various companies. The Guangzhou-based chamber, which represents over 2,300 American and international companies in South China, reached out to 399 companies in mid-February to learn what difficulties they’re facing amid the epidemic. 

A majority of the companies believe that their revenue will be impacted as a result of the disease caused by the novel coronavirus (Covid-19). Below, we provide five takeaways from the special report:

75%

… is the percentage of companies who don’t intend on changing their re-investment plans because of the virus outbreak. Only 2% of companies are reevaluating their investment plan as a direct result of Covid-19, while 23% of respondents are undecided. With nearly 400 respondents, many companies appear to show a high confidence in the future of China’s economy.

76%

… is the percentage of companies that expect their revenue for 2020 to be negatively affected by the coronavirus outbreak. Companies that don’t expect revenue to be negatively impacted this year or are still uncertain each make up 12% of respondents. Growth forecasts for China in 2020 are slipping, with Moody’s cutting its prediction from 5.8% to 5.2%, South China Morning Post reported.

93%

… is the percentage of respondents that believe the Chinese government can most effectively help their corporate headquarters to better understand the economic impact of the epidemic, while 6% of respondents picked AmCham South China and 1% chose the US government. 

74%

… is the percentage of respondents that have offered employees the option to work from home. Aside from remote work, 78% of companies have introduced additional sanitation practices, 40% have restricted travel, 33% are on a rotational working system and 1% have repatriated their foreign staff. 

68%

… is the percentage of companies that feel the Chinese government should cut taxes to reassure their business in the PRC. Tax reduction is the clear favorite among respondents, followed by cutting rent (34%), providing more information on health and protection (18%) and lowering work resumption requirements (16%). Also, 10% of respondents feel that subsidies should be provided, while 2% of respondents each think that borders should be closed and accomodations for staff quarantine should be provided.

To view the American Chamber of Commerce in South China’s special report on the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, click here.

[Cover image via Unsplash]