Kuwait’s construction sector badly hit by coronavirus lockdown
Since Kuwait instituted lockdowns to reduce the spread of the coronavirus last March, around 39 percent of businesses in construction sector have shut down operations, announced revealed a Business Impact Survey published by Bensirri PR (BPR) on Monday.
Nearly 31 percent had a revenue drop by more than 80 percent but were still operating when the survey was conducted, Trade Arabia reported.
The report is the only Covid-19 related Business Impact Survey conducted in Kuwait and is available in full and free of charge on KuwaitImpact.com, said a statement.
The Kuwait Business Impact Survey (KBIS) gathered key insights from 498 Kuwaiti businesses that were profitable in 2019 across 13 different sectors, and provides decision-makers with a direction to better understand policy decisions surrounding the future and sustainability of the Kuwaiti economy in a post-Covid-19 environment.
The survey was conducted between April 24 and April 28, 2020, during the partial curfew period and prior to the full lockdown announced that went into effect on May 11, 2020.
As many as 45 percent of Kuwaiti business owners said that they have suspended or shutdown their businesses and another 26 percent are on the verge of collapse after seeing their revenue drop by more than 80 percent. With full curfew enacted in Kuwait on May 11, more closures are expected, it said.
In a desperate act of survival, 32 percent of respondents have adjusted employee hours or salaries in clear violation of Kuwait’s labor law. 15 percent have already started laying off staff instead of waiting for legislation to pass as Kuwait enters its third month of the crisis, the survey found.
Now in their third month of working capital pressure, 56 percent of business owners / CEOs say they cannot afford to cover their fixed costs for another two months under the new status quo, it said.
