Kuwait construction sector 'badly hit by Covid-19 lockdown'
KUWAIT CITY, May 18, 2020
Since Kuwait instituted lockdowns to reduce the spread of the Covid-19 virus last March, around 39 per cent of businesses in the construction, contracting, architecture sector have shut down operations, revealed a Business Impact Survey published by Bensirri PR (BPR), an independent corporate, financial and political communications firm based in Kuwait.
Nearly 31% had a revenue drop by more than 80% but were still operating when the survey was conducted.
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% of Kuwaiti business owners said they have suspended or shutdown their businesses and another 26% are on the verge of collapse after seeing their revenue drop by more than 80%. With full curfew enacted in Kuwait on May 11, more closures are expected, it said.
In a desperate act of survival, 32% of respondents have adjusted employee hours or salaries in clear violation of Kuwait's labor law. 15% 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% of business owners / CEOs say they cannot afford to cover their fixed costs for another two months under the new status quo, it said.
