Southeast Asia, April 3, 2020 — cybernewschronicle.com — A survey conducted by Japanese news agency NNA showed that two-thirds of the country’s firms that operate businesses in the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and India have been hobbled by disruptions in supply chains and trade due to the spreading deadly virus. More than 65% of the 347 Japanese manufacturers
surveyed over the weekend said procurement and logistics have been extremely
impacted by the global health crisis.
“Of those
affected, more than 80% pointed out problems related to sourcing parts and
materials,” NNA said adding that “95.8% in the Philippines, 87.9% in Indonesia
and 87.0 % in Malaysia (are) reporting that they are suffering as they rely
relatively more on imports than local procurement.” Meanwhile,
74.5% of the manufacturers in Thailand said they are having a hard time in
securing the necessary parts and materials despite having a good local
procurement rate.
The report
said the procurement of around 140 Japanese manufacturers in India and
Southeast Asia from the coronavirus-stricken China have been hardly hit. Among
the countries that are severely grappling due to the disturbed sourcing are
Vietnam, Thailand and Indonesia. Last
month, several Japanese companies surveyed by Reuters complained about the
factory closures and declining trade with the world’s second largest economy
that serves as their top trade partner.
It was
found that 47% of Japanese firms have seen a drastic fall in their outputs and revenues
for the month of February. Of these, 42% reported that they suffered a plunge
beyond 30%.
The
Southeast Asia and India have more than 10,000 confirmed cases of the COVID-19
as of April 2. And as the spreading coronavirus continue to disrupt supply
chains, Japanese manufacturers anticipate for the impact to last several months
or even longer. According
to reports, the coronavirus pandemic could push Japan’s economy into recession
this quarter following its fastest shrink recorded in the December quarter.
