Nearly six in 10 companies (55 percent) surveyed by Kenya Private Sector Alliance (Kepsa) last week reported zero or low impact on their operations.
Another 29 percent reported a moderate hit on business deals, while the remaining 16 percent said impact was high to very high, raising fears of increased cost of goods and services in coming months and possible job losses.
Kenyan businesses have reported marginal revenue losses as a result of production slowdown and disruption of supply chains due to the coronavirus outbreak, a survey by private sector body suggests.
Despite a hitch in the raw material and input supply lines from China, Japan, South Korea and Singapore, nearly six in 10 companies (55 percent) surveyed by Kenya Private Sector Alliance (Kepsa) last week reported zero or low impact on their operations.
Another 29 percent reported a moderate hit on business deals, while the remaining 16 percent said impact was high to very high, raising fears of increased cost of goods and services in coming months and possible job losses.
“On average 61 percent of the businesses reported negative business effects due to the Covid-19 outbreak. The impact is very low to moderate for majority of the businesses and the financial loss incurred so far averages below Sh1 million,” Kepsa said.
The findings are based on responses from 95 companies, with additional information drawn from 32 companies to Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) in a separate poll.
More than half (53 percent) of the respondents in the Kepsa poll were large firms with more than 100 employees, while micro-, small- and medium-sized firms accounted for 23, 13 and 12 percent of participants, respectively.
About 61 percent of the surveyed firms put financial loss as a result of trade and travel lockdown in the East Asian economies — major centres of global value chains — at less than Sh1 million, while 21 percent estimated lost deals at between Sh1 million and Sh5 million.
Another three percent estimated losses at more than Sh50 million, while six percent reported Sh10 million-Sh50 million loss.
The United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) on Sunday warned multinationals were likely to cut down on capital expenditures due to reduced revenue because of demand shocks in China. This may also hit investment in projects in their subsidiaries, some of which are located in Nairobi.
The outbreak has largely hurt Kenyan exports orders such as horticultural produce, tea and coffee, mineral ores and fruits.
PAYE Tax Calculator
Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
