KUCHING: The Associated Chinese Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sarawak (ACCCIS) had made a survey of business and economic conditions covering the second half of 2020 as well as forecast for 2021.
ACCCIS stated that the survey specifically designed to address the main factors which have affected the performance and prospects of the economy and business, especially under the prevailing outbreak of the pandemic and various types of movement control orders, and to identify the challenges encountered by the businesses.
“The results of this survey shows that 31.2 percent of businesses are generally pessimistic about the performance of Malaysia’s economy in the second half of 2020, but 58.1 percent respondents seemed to hold a neutral and cautious outlook towards 2021 due to the impact of the pandemic on the domestic and global economy.
“Fortunately, most businesses could still sustain and overcome the impacts arising from the outbreak of the pandemic which started almost a year ago,” they said.
According to ACCCIS, in the second half of 2020, 44.6 percent of the respondents indicated that their businesses were flat and 14.9 percent performed well whereas 40.5 percent reported to have been affected.
“64.2 percent of the respondents remained cautious and neutral as they expressed concerns over the declining consumer demand and the rising operating costs when asked about the forecast of business growth in 2020.
“Nevertheless, the overall economy is expected to go through a slow recovery process. Due to this, ACCCIS will convey the feedback and views received to the government and relevant departments for their considerations.
“We hoped that the government, relevant ministries and agencies would collaborate and work with the Chamber and other stakeholders to provide a stable and conducive environment for businesses,” they added.
