PETALING JAYA: A majority of local Chinese businesses and industries have reported cash flow problems because of the Covid-19 pandemic which left them unable to cope beyond six months.
The Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Malaysia (ACCCIM) said 80.7% of respondents to a survey indicated that their current levels of cash flow could not cover operating expenses for more than six months.
About 74% of its 696 respondents said their top concerns were costs, credit and cash flow, while 48.3% of respondents said high operating costs and cash flow problems had dampened their business performance in the second half of 2020.
The costs included expenses for business operations or production, purchase of raw materials and the cost of manpower.
The survey was conducted from Nov 16 to Feb 15 and covered the second half of 2020.
Gloomy 2021, looking up in 2022
Opinion appeared to be split on prospects for the future: 20.3% of respondents expected better prospects in the second half of 2021, but 20.9% expected the economic outlook to be worse.
However, they were more optimistic about 2022, and expect Malaysia’s economic recovery to gain full traction as the population gets vaccinated against Covid-19.
About 60.2% of medium enterprises and 53.6% of large enterprises forecast better economic prospects next year, while small enterprises (41.2%) and micro enterprises (39.8%) were less optimistic.
ACCCIM hoped that the government authorities would continue to facilitate the economic recovery and business sustainability.
It said businesses “need meaningful not piecemeal plans”, and once the economic and business conditions return to normality, political leaders must actively shape their vision for the economy and investment.
Source: https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2021/03/15/local-businesses-say-theyre-running-out-of-cash/