KUALA LUMPUR – Business leaders remain sanguine in their outlook going into 2021 due to the implementation of cost-cutting measures as well as the availability of various financial support programmes, which has helped dampen the negative impacts of Covid-19 on businesses, according to a survey.
The Malaysian Business Sentiment Survey 2020/2021 revealed that business leaders were hopeful that strong adherence to standard operating processes, a more sophisticated and targeted movement control order (MCO), as well as the roll-out of vaccines and better medical therapeutics in the coming months will help increase consumer and investor confidence.
“A majority of business leaders were of the view that the main three factors that are likely to have positive effects on businesses in the next 12 months are rising business capability, improvements in the regional economy and potential of market expansion as more economies open up due to better management of the pandemic,” it said.
The survey was conducted by Monash University Malaysia in partnership with professional accounting body CPA Australia.
The survey also found that the main issues plaguing the local market are global economic uncertainty (possibilities of the economy entering into a recession), the cost of doing business and a weakening ringgit.
Political uncertainty was ranked the fourth major concern for businesses this year. – Bernama, December 18, 2020
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