ETV Bharat / business

COVID-19 Updates: Depth of economic slowdown depends on response says IMF

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Published : Mar 12, 2020, 12:30 PM IST

Updated : Mar 12, 2020, 10:58 PM IST

22:57 March 12

Component supplies from China returning to normalcy, says Xiaomi

Chinese tech giant Xiaomi on Thursday said component supplies from China are returning to normalcy after weeks of shutdown on account of coronavirus outbreak, and expressed hope that the "tough part" was over.

"These are exceptional times, and we are constantly monitoring the situation. All component supplies (for smartphones) are back to normal levels. It is our expectation that the tough part of component supply is over. Our global teams rallied together to ensure that demand is met," Xiaomi India Chief Operating Officer Muralikrishnan B told PTI.

22:54 March 12

Exports likely to be impacted during next fiscal due to coronavirus: Exporters

Seeking support from the government to deal with the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, exporters on Thursday said the country's outbound shipments may get impacted during the next financial year, according to industry sources.

The issue was raised in a meeting called by the commerce ministry to discuss supply-chain disruption due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The meeting was chaired by Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Som Parkash.

It was attended by representatives of export promotion councils, industry chambers like CII, FICCI, Assocham and PHDCII and Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO).

22:52 March 12

Flipkart offers work from home for employees with small children

Flipkart is offering its employees with small children to work from home and encouraging use of digital and video tools to ensure business continuity amid the global coronavirus outbreak.

Its group company PhonePe has also asked most employees to work from home (WFH) until further notice.

The number of coronavirus cases continues to climb globally, with 74 cases being reported in India so far. Coronavirus, declared as a pandemic by World Health Organization, has claimed over 4,600 lives worldwide.

21:48 March 12

PSBs advised to set up special cells to provide aid to industry, MSMEs hit by coronavirus: DGFT to traders

The commerce ministry said all public sector banks have been advised to immediately set up special cells to provide full assistance to industry and MSME units affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

In a trade notice to all regional offices of the DGFT, export promotion councils and commodity boards, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade said the Department of Financial Services has issued these instructions in view of situation arising due to the coronavirus outbreak.

All the banks have also been advised to clearly inform their customers about all the document/procedural requirements in one go and to accept self-certification in this regard wherever possible and applicable so that their funds can be remitted without any problems due to procedural deficiencies.

"Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has been requested to assess/review the existing insurance products/policies so as to ensure risk cover against loss due to abnormal delay in delivery of shipments in the current scenario and that the terms and  conditions of such policies may be allowed to be suitably modified wherever necessary," the DGFT said.

21:40 March 12

Coronavirus has impacted food service business: NRAI

The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) said there has been definite impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the overall food service business, with various segments being impacted in varying degrees.

"Banquets is the worst-hit segment, largely due to the travel curbs and a general avoidance of people in getting into larger gathering," the NRAI said in a statement.

In-restaurant dining is also seeing a big impact in the past few days, reporting an approximate business drop of 30-35 per cent, with the restaurants located within mall premises recording a sharper drop, it added.

20:52 March 12

Depth of economic slowdown depends on response: IMF

The severity of the slowdown in the global economy due to the coronavirus pandemic will depend on how long it lasts and how governments respond, the International Monetary Fund said Thursday.

"Under any scenario, the global growth in 2020 will drop below last year's level, which was 2.9 percent," IMF spokesman Gerry Rice told reporters. But how far will it fall is "difficult to predict, at this point, obviously, given the uncertainty."

"It depends, of course, on the spread, the propagation of the outbreak. It depends on the measures taken to respond and how effective they are." Private economists have been warning of the possibility of a steep decline in US and global economies that could amount to a worldwide recession. IHS Markit this week slashed its forecast for global growth to 1.7 percent.

20:04 March 12

Revenue of Indian IT services cos could be hit due to coronavirus, says report

Revenue of Indian IT services companies is likely to be hit as coronavirus outbreak forces clients to enforce travel restrictions, and their deteriorating health could potentially lead to reduction in budgets, as per a report by Kotak Institutional Equities.

The report said it has cut growth estimates across companies and the revised growth forecast stands at 3-8 per cent for 2020-21.

"We cut revenue growth estimates for our coverage companies by 2-4 per cent after COVID-19 intensified in developed markets with many clients issuing travel advisories and instituting work-from-home measures, and deterioration in health of clients of IT companies that will potentially result in spending controls and reduction in budgets," it said.

19:17 March 12

Govt may miss tax, disinvestment mop-up targets this fiscal

The government is likely to fall short of its revenue collection estimates in the current fiscal and may face challenges meeting the same in the next as the coronavirus pandemic slows down demand and economic activity.

For an economy that has already slowed down to an 11-year low rate of growth, the outbreak of coronavirus has impacted sectors such as tourism and hospitality after the government placed visa restrictions.

As the impact of coronavirus is widely expected to stay till June-end, officials expect mop-up from disinvestment and taxes to falter, even as oil price fall is likely to make up for the loss in revenue receipts for the current fiscal.

"While lower international oil prices will lead to lower current account deficit and inflation, reduced economic activity will dampen tax mop-up," an official said.

19:17 March 12

International traffic at Bangalore airport down by 50%

Bangalore Airport has seen a 50 per cent dip in international traffic in March amid travel restrictions by a host of countries and subsequent flight cancellations due to coronavirus concerns.

Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), in a statement on Thursday also said domestic passengers volume has also been squeezed by 2-4 per cent and it may dip further if the number of coronavirus cases go up further.

"Traffic at Bangalore Airport has been affected by the Coronavirus, like most other airports globally. International traffic has dropped by 20 per cent from normal levels (before COVID19 was detected) in February and almost by 50 per cent from normal levels in March," BIAL said in a statement.

Against an average daily international passenger volume of around 14,000-15,000, only around 6,000-7,000 international passengers are arriving at Bangalore airport per day, the statement added.

18:58 March 12

SIAM, Volkswagen India drop press conferences due to coronavirus

With government advisory to prevent large gatherings in the wake of coronavirus pandemic, auto industry body SIAM and German car maker Volkswagen have cancelled their planned press conferences.

The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), which usually holds press conference for its monthly sales data release, said it will not hold such conference this time.

The auto industry body is slated to release sales data for February on Friday.

"Keeping in mind the current situation and the need to take precautions due to the ongoing coronavirus threat, SIAM is not organising formal meetings. With this background, SIAM will not be convening a formal press conference on data release this month, as has been the practice," it said.

The sales data will instead be e-mailed, SIAM said.

Similarly, Volkswagen Passenger Cars India, which had planned to hold a press conference here to launch its SUV T-Roc, has decided to go digital for the same.

"In view of the COVID-19 outbreak and advisories by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the World Health Organisation to avoid large gatherings, Volkswagen Passenger Cars India has decided to launch the Volkswagen T-Roc, our second SUV for 2020, through our digital platforms on Wednesday, March 18, 2020," the company said in a statement.

18:57 March 12

No near-term threat to pharma cos' credit profile'

The Covid-19 pandemic is unlikely to hit credit profiles of domestic pharma companies in the near-term, despite their heavy reliance on Chinese ingredients and intermediates, says a report.

The domestic pharma industry imports almost 70 per cent of ingredients and intermediaries from China, which is the world's largest supplier market for the sector.

But if supply doesn't normalise over the next three-to-nine months, pressure on credit buffers can intensify and rating transitions would be imminent, especially those with lower ratings, and that if supply disruption lingers beyond 9-12 months, even higher rated ones will see downward pressure, India Ratings warned on Thursday.

18:57 March 12

Aviation sector under lot of pressure, says SpiceJet chief amid coronavirus outbreak

No-frills carrier SpiceJet's chief Ajay Singh said the aviation sector is under a lot of pressure but exuded confidence that the "proactive steps" taken by the government would help in overcoming the "crisis situation."

Singh, who turned around the fortunes of SpiceJet which was on the brink of closure more than five years ago, also appreciated the government's efforts in containing the coronavirus cases to a large extent in the country.

18:56 March 12

Visa suspension may cost Rs 8,500 cr for travel, tourism, aviation sectors

The coronavirus pandemic could bring Indian travel, tourism and aviation industries to a halt within next ten days, especially with the government suspending visas for a month, a move that could cause an immediate economic impact of at least Rs 8,500 crore, according to industry players.

Industry bodies, including Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), and ASSOCHAM, foresee job losses in the sectors as companies try to tide over the situation by removing non-essential work forces and stopping recruitment, while calling the government to review the decision to suspend visas for a month and allow inbound travel through limited gateway cities.

18:56 March 12

Coronavirus trouble for Indian tea, exports likely to be hit

Tea planters and exporters are keeping their fingers crossed ahead of the new season in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak as they apprehend that the demand from overseas markets will decline and price realisation could be impacted.

Exporters are more concerned about Iran and China, the two countries badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

18:55 March 12

Hotel business runs dry in Delhi as tourists prefer 'caution' over 'leisure'

As coronavirus cases surge in India, the hotel industry has taken a hit with tourists scrapping plans and several hotels in the national capital cancelling bookings for conferences and group events, adopting a "better safe than sorry" approach.

16:49 March 12

India needs to get into vaccine production in a big way: Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw

India should step up research on communicable diseases and get into vaccine production in a big way, says biotechnology industry veteran Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw in the backdrop of the coronavirus outbreak globally.

The Chairman and Managing Director of Biocon Ltd also urged the government to rope in the private sector to boost diagnostic capacity to deal with the COVID-19 cases.

16:48 March 12

Virus-hit Iran asks IMF for its first loan since 1962

Iran said that it has sought financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund, which has not lent it money since 1962, to help it combat the novel coronavirus.

"Our central bank requested access" to the IMF's Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI), Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Twitter, urging the fund's board to respond to the request "responsibly".

16:47 March 12

Trump announces delay of tax deadline for virus victims

President Donald Trump has announced that he will instruct the Treasury Department to allow individuals and businesses negatively affected by the coronavirus to defer their tax payments beyond the April 15 filing deadline.

In an address from the Oval Office, Trump said on Wednesday he would use his emergency authority to allow individual taxpayers ad businesses to defer paying their taxes by next month's deadline if they have suffered adverse effects from the spreading virus.

16:46 March 12

COVID-19 is a 'controllable pandemic': WHO chief

The new coronavirus outbreak "is a controllable pandemic" if countries step up measures to tackle it, the head of the World Health Organization said.

"We are deeply concerned that some countries are not approaching this threat with the level of political commitment needed to control it," WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told diplomats in Geneva, according to a statement.

15:18 March 12

Visa cancellation to hit international travel: MakeMyTrip

With India announcing to cancel all non-official visas till April 15, leading online travel aggregator MakeMyTrip said the decision will have a distinct impact on inbound and outbound international travel.

Admitting that the government's decision to cancel all visas, with a few exemptions, is timely at this point to control the spread of COVID-19 but the move is going to impact the travel industry.

"So far, there are no restrictions or advisories issued for domestic travel. The period between February till the end of March is typically a lean period because of exam season but we are seeing a demand slowdown for the upcoming summer holiday season especially for international travel," Rajesh Magow, Group CEO, MakeMyTrip, said in a statement.

"The situation remains dynamic, making it hard to quantify the actual impact on our business and industry at large," Magow added.

15:18 March 12

Only 43% firms have a plan to deal with COVID-19: Survey

From employee absences to supply chain disruptions to plunging financial markets, businesses across the globe are scrambling to respond to the impact of new coronavirus and a new survey has found that only 43 per cent of organisations have a plan for dealing with COVID-19 globally.

According to the global research firm Forrester's ongoing 'PandemicEX' survey, 29 per cent of employees polled are afraid to go to work due to the risk of exposure to the virus.

At the same time, 45 per cent employees find their work lives disrupted by the coronavirus whether they come into direct personal contact with the virus itself or not, according to VP and Principal Analyst James McQuivey.

14:32 March 12

Govt to fast-track green nod to firms to curb drug shortage

Anticipating a shortage of key drugs in the country in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the government has decided to fast-track environmental clearance process for projects proposing production of bulk drugs in the country.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Environment and Forest office will give projects in respect of bulk drug and bulk drug intermediaries out-of-turn green clearances so that projects could go on stream expeditiously. A ministry office memorandum said the issue has been cleared and will be implemented with immediate effect.

The bulk drug is active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) that goes into manufacturing of formulation and branded drugs. India imports large quantities of bulk drug for its pharmaceutical industry with China alone accounting for over 68 per cent of India's total imports. Coronavirus has completed disrupted this supply.

The government has set up a committee to look into the issue of drug shortages coming from trade restrictions in the wake of coronavirus spread. The committee, in its report, has said that the present stock-in-hand of the APIs may be sufficient for 2 to 3 months to manufacture formulations.

14:32 March 12

Impact of coronavirus on Indian tourism could run into thousands of crores of rupees

The coronavirus pandemic could deal a crippling blow to the Indian travel and tourism industry, specially with the government suspending all visas, with the economic impact being assessed to run into thousands of crores of rupees.

According to industry chamber CII, this is the one of the worst crises ever to hit the Indian tourism industry impacting all its geographical segments - inbound, outbound and domestic, almost all tourism verticals - leisure , adventure, heritage, MICE, cruise, corporate and niche segments.

The whole tourism value chain across hotels, travel agents, tour operations, destinations, restaurants, family entertainment venues and air, land and sea transportation have been hit.

In an impact assessment of the coronavirus pandemic, CII Tourism Committee said inbound foreign tourism of over USD 28 billion in value terms accounts for an average 60-65 per cent between October to March.

14:24 March 12

Twitter staff ordered to work from home over virus fears

Twitter has ordered all staff globally to work from home in an effort to stop the spread of the deadly new coronavirus epidemic.

The social media platform had already announced a mandatory work from home policy for its staff in South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan earlier this month and suspended "non-critical" business travel and events in February.

"We are moving beyond our earlier guidance... and have now informed all employees globally they  must work from home." Twitter human resources chief Jennifer Christie said in a blog post late Wednesday.

14:20 March 12

Passengers from 15 nations not allowed to enter Delhi airport duty-free shopping area

Indian Customs has barred passengers arriving from 15 nations, including China, the US, Italy and South Korea, from entering duty-free shopping area at the Delhi airport in wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Commissioner of Customs at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, in a notice, said the ban has been put in place "in view of the threat from COVID-19 virus".

Passengers arriving on flights from China, the US, Italy and South Korea, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Spain, France, Vietnam, Nepal and Thailand will not be able to enter the duty free shopping area due to operational limitations till further orders, it said.

13:43 March 12

Coronavirus to hit hospitality sector hard: ANAROCK Chairman

Anuj Puri, Chairman of ANAROCK Property Consultants said India’s hospitality sector will definitely be impacted by the announcement of a global pandemic, and the mounting numbers of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country.

Luxury hotels will be hit especially hard by cancellations and significantly reduced bookings by rich but inherently skittish foreign tourists and businesspeople.

Domestically, things don’t look much better. Hotels cannot count on the annual uptick in bookings on the back of vacation time and the wedding season. That said, budget hotels may suffer less in the short-term because of very attractive discounts on flight and hotel bookings.

13:43 March 12

ADB asks staff at Manila office to work from home

Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it has asked employees at its Manila headquarter to work from home after a visitor to the bank tested positive for COVID-19.

Staff at the ADB's headquarters in Manila, Philippines, are temporarily working from home from today following advice that a visitor to the bank has tested positive for the coronavirus or COVID-19, it said in a release.

The bank's Manila headquarters facility will be closed from March 12 to undertake cleaning and disinfecting.

The bank's operations will continue. ADB management will make a decision in coming days on when to reopen the bank premises, it said.

13:42 March 12

Australia unveils $11.4 billion in virus outbreak stimulus

Australia put forward a USD 11.4 billion stimulus package meant to stave off a recession due to the impact of the virus outbreak on its economy.

The package includes cash payments for small businesses and welfare recipients to counter the impact of the disease, which has infected more than 126,000 people worldwide.

The Australian government will spend 11 billion Australian dollars (USD 7.1 billion) before June 30, the end of the financial year, with the remainder to be spent before July 2021.

12:31 March 12

Daily int'l passenger arrivals falls to 62,000

The number of international passengers arriving at the country's airports has reduced to around 62,000 per day from 70,000 in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri said in Lok Sabha.

He said the count might further come down to around 40,000 following the travel advisory issued on Wednesday.

12:27 March 12

Air India announces temporary suspension of services to Rome, Milan, Seoul

National carrier Air India announced temporary suspension of its flight services to Rome, Milan and Seoul.

While services to Rome (Italy) are being discontinued from March 15 to March 25, flight operations to Milan (Italy) and Seoul in South Korea will remain suspended between March 14 and March 28, an airline official said.

The decision came following the government suspending all visas, except a few categories such as diplomatic and employment, till April 15 to prevent the spread of coronavirus on Wednesday.

12:27 March 12

ADB to provide $200 million to support strained supply chains in fight against COVID-19

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it will make available 200 million dollars (about Rs 1,480 crore) for companies manufacturing and distributing medicines and other items needed to combat the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Companies manufacturing and distributing products, including medicines and personal protective equipment, are increasingly strained as production and distribution ramp-up to address COVID-19.

The support from ADB, working in partnership with commercial banks, will provide such companies in Asia and the Pacific with additional working capital to meet expansion and other requirements.

12:26 March 12

Amazon increases paid sick leave due to coronavirus

Amazon in San Francisco has beefed up paid leave for workers quarantined due to the novel coronavirus or diagnosed with the COVID-19 illness.

The company also announced creation of an Amazon Relief Fund -- starting at USD 25 million -- to serve as a pool of grant money for independent delivery drivers, seasonal employees and others losing paychecks due to the pandemic, according to the global internet retailer.

"Effective immediately, all Amazon employees diagnosed with COVID-19 or placed into quarantine will receive up to two-weeks of pay," the firm said in an online post.

"This additional pay while away from work is to ensure employees have the time they need to return to good health without the worry of lost pay." Amazon is already providing unlimited unpaid time off for all hourly employees through the end of this month.

12:14 March 12

IndiGo quarterly earnings to be materially impacted as COVID-19 spreads

Gurugram: Low-cost airline IndiGo said on Thursday its quarterly earnings will take a hit as daily bookings decline by 15 to 20 per cent with coronavirus spreading across the world.

"In addition, the rupee has also depreciated sharply which will have an adverse impact on our dollar-denominated liabilities primarily on account of capitalised operating leases," it said in a statement.

"Over the past few days, however, we have seen a 15 to 20 per cent decline in our daily bookings. Please note that the numbers could change from here based on how the situation evolves," said IndiGo.

"We expect our quarterly earnings to be materially impacted," it added.

(Inputs from agencies)

22:57 March 12

Component supplies from China returning to normalcy, says Xiaomi

Chinese tech giant Xiaomi on Thursday said component supplies from China are returning to normalcy after weeks of shutdown on account of coronavirus outbreak, and expressed hope that the "tough part" was over.

"These are exceptional times, and we are constantly monitoring the situation. All component supplies (for smartphones) are back to normal levels. It is our expectation that the tough part of component supply is over. Our global teams rallied together to ensure that demand is met," Xiaomi India Chief Operating Officer Muralikrishnan B told PTI.

22:54 March 12

Exports likely to be impacted during next fiscal due to coronavirus: Exporters

Seeking support from the government to deal with the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, exporters on Thursday said the country's outbound shipments may get impacted during the next financial year, according to industry sources.

The issue was raised in a meeting called by the commerce ministry to discuss supply-chain disruption due to the coronavirus outbreak.

The meeting was chaired by Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Som Parkash.

It was attended by representatives of export promotion councils, industry chambers like CII, FICCI, Assocham and PHDCII and Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO).

22:52 March 12

Flipkart offers work from home for employees with small children

Flipkart is offering its employees with small children to work from home and encouraging use of digital and video tools to ensure business continuity amid the global coronavirus outbreak.

Its group company PhonePe has also asked most employees to work from home (WFH) until further notice.

The number of coronavirus cases continues to climb globally, with 74 cases being reported in India so far. Coronavirus, declared as a pandemic by World Health Organization, has claimed over 4,600 lives worldwide.

21:48 March 12

PSBs advised to set up special cells to provide aid to industry, MSMEs hit by coronavirus: DGFT to traders

The commerce ministry said all public sector banks have been advised to immediately set up special cells to provide full assistance to industry and MSME units affected by the coronavirus outbreak.

In a trade notice to all regional offices of the DGFT, export promotion councils and commodity boards, the Directorate General of Foreign Trade said the Department of Financial Services has issued these instructions in view of situation arising due to the coronavirus outbreak.

All the banks have also been advised to clearly inform their customers about all the document/procedural requirements in one go and to accept self-certification in this regard wherever possible and applicable so that their funds can be remitted without any problems due to procedural deficiencies.

"Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) has been requested to assess/review the existing insurance products/policies so as to ensure risk cover against loss due to abnormal delay in delivery of shipments in the current scenario and that the terms and  conditions of such policies may be allowed to be suitably modified wherever necessary," the DGFT said.

21:40 March 12

Coronavirus has impacted food service business: NRAI

The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) said there has been definite impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the overall food service business, with various segments being impacted in varying degrees.

"Banquets is the worst-hit segment, largely due to the travel curbs and a general avoidance of people in getting into larger gathering," the NRAI said in a statement.

In-restaurant dining is also seeing a big impact in the past few days, reporting an approximate business drop of 30-35 per cent, with the restaurants located within mall premises recording a sharper drop, it added.

20:52 March 12

Depth of economic slowdown depends on response: IMF

The severity of the slowdown in the global economy due to the coronavirus pandemic will depend on how long it lasts and how governments respond, the International Monetary Fund said Thursday.

"Under any scenario, the global growth in 2020 will drop below last year's level, which was 2.9 percent," IMF spokesman Gerry Rice told reporters. But how far will it fall is "difficult to predict, at this point, obviously, given the uncertainty."

"It depends, of course, on the spread, the propagation of the outbreak. It depends on the measures taken to respond and how effective they are." Private economists have been warning of the possibility of a steep decline in US and global economies that could amount to a worldwide recession. IHS Markit this week slashed its forecast for global growth to 1.7 percent.

20:04 March 12

Revenue of Indian IT services cos could be hit due to coronavirus, says report

Revenue of Indian IT services companies is likely to be hit as coronavirus outbreak forces clients to enforce travel restrictions, and their deteriorating health could potentially lead to reduction in budgets, as per a report by Kotak Institutional Equities.

The report said it has cut growth estimates across companies and the revised growth forecast stands at 3-8 per cent for 2020-21.

"We cut revenue growth estimates for our coverage companies by 2-4 per cent after COVID-19 intensified in developed markets with many clients issuing travel advisories and instituting work-from-home measures, and deterioration in health of clients of IT companies that will potentially result in spending controls and reduction in budgets," it said.

19:17 March 12

Govt may miss tax, disinvestment mop-up targets this fiscal

The government is likely to fall short of its revenue collection estimates in the current fiscal and may face challenges meeting the same in the next as the coronavirus pandemic slows down demand and economic activity.

For an economy that has already slowed down to an 11-year low rate of growth, the outbreak of coronavirus has impacted sectors such as tourism and hospitality after the government placed visa restrictions.

As the impact of coronavirus is widely expected to stay till June-end, officials expect mop-up from disinvestment and taxes to falter, even as oil price fall is likely to make up for the loss in revenue receipts for the current fiscal.

"While lower international oil prices will lead to lower current account deficit and inflation, reduced economic activity will dampen tax mop-up," an official said.

19:17 March 12

International traffic at Bangalore airport down by 50%

Bangalore Airport has seen a 50 per cent dip in international traffic in March amid travel restrictions by a host of countries and subsequent flight cancellations due to coronavirus concerns.

Bangalore International Airport Ltd (BIAL), in a statement on Thursday also said domestic passengers volume has also been squeezed by 2-4 per cent and it may dip further if the number of coronavirus cases go up further.

"Traffic at Bangalore Airport has been affected by the Coronavirus, like most other airports globally. International traffic has dropped by 20 per cent from normal levels (before COVID19 was detected) in February and almost by 50 per cent from normal levels in March," BIAL said in a statement.

Against an average daily international passenger volume of around 14,000-15,000, only around 6,000-7,000 international passengers are arriving at Bangalore airport per day, the statement added.

18:58 March 12

SIAM, Volkswagen India drop press conferences due to coronavirus

With government advisory to prevent large gatherings in the wake of coronavirus pandemic, auto industry body SIAM and German car maker Volkswagen have cancelled their planned press conferences.

The Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers (SIAM), which usually holds press conference for its monthly sales data release, said it will not hold such conference this time.

The auto industry body is slated to release sales data for February on Friday.

"Keeping in mind the current situation and the need to take precautions due to the ongoing coronavirus threat, SIAM is not organising formal meetings. With this background, SIAM will not be convening a formal press conference on data release this month, as has been the practice," it said.

The sales data will instead be e-mailed, SIAM said.

Similarly, Volkswagen Passenger Cars India, which had planned to hold a press conference here to launch its SUV T-Roc, has decided to go digital for the same.

"In view of the COVID-19 outbreak and advisories by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and the World Health Organisation to avoid large gatherings, Volkswagen Passenger Cars India has decided to launch the Volkswagen T-Roc, our second SUV for 2020, through our digital platforms on Wednesday, March 18, 2020," the company said in a statement.

18:57 March 12

No near-term threat to pharma cos' credit profile'

The Covid-19 pandemic is unlikely to hit credit profiles of domestic pharma companies in the near-term, despite their heavy reliance on Chinese ingredients and intermediates, says a report.

The domestic pharma industry imports almost 70 per cent of ingredients and intermediaries from China, which is the world's largest supplier market for the sector.

But if supply doesn't normalise over the next three-to-nine months, pressure on credit buffers can intensify and rating transitions would be imminent, especially those with lower ratings, and that if supply disruption lingers beyond 9-12 months, even higher rated ones will see downward pressure, India Ratings warned on Thursday.

18:57 March 12

Aviation sector under lot of pressure, says SpiceJet chief amid coronavirus outbreak

No-frills carrier SpiceJet's chief Ajay Singh said the aviation sector is under a lot of pressure but exuded confidence that the "proactive steps" taken by the government would help in overcoming the "crisis situation."

Singh, who turned around the fortunes of SpiceJet which was on the brink of closure more than five years ago, also appreciated the government's efforts in containing the coronavirus cases to a large extent in the country.

18:56 March 12

Visa suspension may cost Rs 8,500 cr for travel, tourism, aviation sectors

The coronavirus pandemic could bring Indian travel, tourism and aviation industries to a halt within next ten days, especially with the government suspending visas for a month, a move that could cause an immediate economic impact of at least Rs 8,500 crore, according to industry players.

Industry bodies, including Indian Association of Tour Operators (IATO), and ASSOCHAM, foresee job losses in the sectors as companies try to tide over the situation by removing non-essential work forces and stopping recruitment, while calling the government to review the decision to suspend visas for a month and allow inbound travel through limited gateway cities.

18:56 March 12

Coronavirus trouble for Indian tea, exports likely to be hit

Tea planters and exporters are keeping their fingers crossed ahead of the new season in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak as they apprehend that the demand from overseas markets will decline and price realisation could be impacted.

Exporters are more concerned about Iran and China, the two countries badly hit by the coronavirus pandemic.

18:55 March 12

Hotel business runs dry in Delhi as tourists prefer 'caution' over 'leisure'

As coronavirus cases surge in India, the hotel industry has taken a hit with tourists scrapping plans and several hotels in the national capital cancelling bookings for conferences and group events, adopting a "better safe than sorry" approach.

16:49 March 12

India needs to get into vaccine production in a big way: Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw

India should step up research on communicable diseases and get into vaccine production in a big way, says biotechnology industry veteran Kiran Mazumdar-Shaw in the backdrop of the coronavirus outbreak globally.

The Chairman and Managing Director of Biocon Ltd also urged the government to rope in the private sector to boost diagnostic capacity to deal with the COVID-19 cases.

16:48 March 12

Virus-hit Iran asks IMF for its first loan since 1962

Iran said that it has sought financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund, which has not lent it money since 1962, to help it combat the novel coronavirus.

"Our central bank requested access" to the IMF's Rapid Financing Instrument (RFI), Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Twitter, urging the fund's board to respond to the request "responsibly".

16:47 March 12

Trump announces delay of tax deadline for virus victims

President Donald Trump has announced that he will instruct the Treasury Department to allow individuals and businesses negatively affected by the coronavirus to defer their tax payments beyond the April 15 filing deadline.

In an address from the Oval Office, Trump said on Wednesday he would use his emergency authority to allow individual taxpayers ad businesses to defer paying their taxes by next month's deadline if they have suffered adverse effects from the spreading virus.

16:46 March 12

COVID-19 is a 'controllable pandemic': WHO chief

The new coronavirus outbreak "is a controllable pandemic" if countries step up measures to tackle it, the head of the World Health Organization said.

"We are deeply concerned that some countries are not approaching this threat with the level of political commitment needed to control it," WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told diplomats in Geneva, according to a statement.

15:18 March 12

Visa cancellation to hit international travel: MakeMyTrip

With India announcing to cancel all non-official visas till April 15, leading online travel aggregator MakeMyTrip said the decision will have a distinct impact on inbound and outbound international travel.

Admitting that the government's decision to cancel all visas, with a few exemptions, is timely at this point to control the spread of COVID-19 but the move is going to impact the travel industry.

"So far, there are no restrictions or advisories issued for domestic travel. The period between February till the end of March is typically a lean period because of exam season but we are seeing a demand slowdown for the upcoming summer holiday season especially for international travel," Rajesh Magow, Group CEO, MakeMyTrip, said in a statement.

"The situation remains dynamic, making it hard to quantify the actual impact on our business and industry at large," Magow added.

15:18 March 12

Only 43% firms have a plan to deal with COVID-19: Survey

From employee absences to supply chain disruptions to plunging financial markets, businesses across the globe are scrambling to respond to the impact of new coronavirus and a new survey has found that only 43 per cent of organisations have a plan for dealing with COVID-19 globally.

According to the global research firm Forrester's ongoing 'PandemicEX' survey, 29 per cent of employees polled are afraid to go to work due to the risk of exposure to the virus.

At the same time, 45 per cent employees find their work lives disrupted by the coronavirus whether they come into direct personal contact with the virus itself or not, according to VP and Principal Analyst James McQuivey.

14:32 March 12

Govt to fast-track green nod to firms to curb drug shortage

Anticipating a shortage of key drugs in the country in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the government has decided to fast-track environmental clearance process for projects proposing production of bulk drugs in the country.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Environment and Forest office will give projects in respect of bulk drug and bulk drug intermediaries out-of-turn green clearances so that projects could go on stream expeditiously. A ministry office memorandum said the issue has been cleared and will be implemented with immediate effect.

The bulk drug is active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) that goes into manufacturing of formulation and branded drugs. India imports large quantities of bulk drug for its pharmaceutical industry with China alone accounting for over 68 per cent of India's total imports. Coronavirus has completed disrupted this supply.

The government has set up a committee to look into the issue of drug shortages coming from trade restrictions in the wake of coronavirus spread. The committee, in its report, has said that the present stock-in-hand of the APIs may be sufficient for 2 to 3 months to manufacture formulations.

14:32 March 12

Impact of coronavirus on Indian tourism could run into thousands of crores of rupees

The coronavirus pandemic could deal a crippling blow to the Indian travel and tourism industry, specially with the government suspending all visas, with the economic impact being assessed to run into thousands of crores of rupees.

According to industry chamber CII, this is the one of the worst crises ever to hit the Indian tourism industry impacting all its geographical segments - inbound, outbound and domestic, almost all tourism verticals - leisure , adventure, heritage, MICE, cruise, corporate and niche segments.

The whole tourism value chain across hotels, travel agents, tour operations, destinations, restaurants, family entertainment venues and air, land and sea transportation have been hit.

In an impact assessment of the coronavirus pandemic, CII Tourism Committee said inbound foreign tourism of over USD 28 billion in value terms accounts for an average 60-65 per cent between October to March.

14:24 March 12

Twitter staff ordered to work from home over virus fears

Twitter has ordered all staff globally to work from home in an effort to stop the spread of the deadly new coronavirus epidemic.

The social media platform had already announced a mandatory work from home policy for its staff in South Korea, Hong Kong and Japan earlier this month and suspended "non-critical" business travel and events in February.

"We are moving beyond our earlier guidance... and have now informed all employees globally they  must work from home." Twitter human resources chief Jennifer Christie said in a blog post late Wednesday.

14:20 March 12

Passengers from 15 nations not allowed to enter Delhi airport duty-free shopping area

Indian Customs has barred passengers arriving from 15 nations, including China, the US, Italy and South Korea, from entering duty-free shopping area at the Delhi airport in wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Commissioner of Customs at the Indira Gandhi International Airport, Delhi, in a notice, said the ban has been put in place "in view of the threat from COVID-19 virus".

Passengers arriving on flights from China, the US, Italy and South Korea, Iran, Japan, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Spain, France, Vietnam, Nepal and Thailand will not be able to enter the duty free shopping area due to operational limitations till further orders, it said.

13:43 March 12

Coronavirus to hit hospitality sector hard: ANAROCK Chairman

Anuj Puri, Chairman of ANAROCK Property Consultants said India’s hospitality sector will definitely be impacted by the announcement of a global pandemic, and the mounting numbers of confirmed coronavirus cases in the country.

Luxury hotels will be hit especially hard by cancellations and significantly reduced bookings by rich but inherently skittish foreign tourists and businesspeople.

Domestically, things don’t look much better. Hotels cannot count on the annual uptick in bookings on the back of vacation time and the wedding season. That said, budget hotels may suffer less in the short-term because of very attractive discounts on flight and hotel bookings.

13:43 March 12

ADB asks staff at Manila office to work from home

Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it has asked employees at its Manila headquarter to work from home after a visitor to the bank tested positive for COVID-19.

Staff at the ADB's headquarters in Manila, Philippines, are temporarily working from home from today following advice that a visitor to the bank has tested positive for the coronavirus or COVID-19, it said in a release.

The bank's Manila headquarters facility will be closed from March 12 to undertake cleaning and disinfecting.

The bank's operations will continue. ADB management will make a decision in coming days on when to reopen the bank premises, it said.

13:42 March 12

Australia unveils $11.4 billion in virus outbreak stimulus

Australia put forward a USD 11.4 billion stimulus package meant to stave off a recession due to the impact of the virus outbreak on its economy.

The package includes cash payments for small businesses and welfare recipients to counter the impact of the disease, which has infected more than 126,000 people worldwide.

The Australian government will spend 11 billion Australian dollars (USD 7.1 billion) before June 30, the end of the financial year, with the remainder to be spent before July 2021.

12:31 March 12

Daily int'l passenger arrivals falls to 62,000

The number of international passengers arriving at the country's airports has reduced to around 62,000 per day from 70,000 in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri said in Lok Sabha.

He said the count might further come down to around 40,000 following the travel advisory issued on Wednesday.

12:27 March 12

Air India announces temporary suspension of services to Rome, Milan, Seoul

National carrier Air India announced temporary suspension of its flight services to Rome, Milan and Seoul.

While services to Rome (Italy) are being discontinued from March 15 to March 25, flight operations to Milan (Italy) and Seoul in South Korea will remain suspended between March 14 and March 28, an airline official said.

The decision came following the government suspending all visas, except a few categories such as diplomatic and employment, till April 15 to prevent the spread of coronavirus on Wednesday.

12:27 March 12

ADB to provide $200 million to support strained supply chains in fight against COVID-19

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) said it will make available 200 million dollars (about Rs 1,480 crore) for companies manufacturing and distributing medicines and other items needed to combat the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).

Companies manufacturing and distributing products, including medicines and personal protective equipment, are increasingly strained as production and distribution ramp-up to address COVID-19.

The support from ADB, working in partnership with commercial banks, will provide such companies in Asia and the Pacific with additional working capital to meet expansion and other requirements.

12:26 March 12

Amazon increases paid sick leave due to coronavirus

Amazon in San Francisco has beefed up paid leave for workers quarantined due to the novel coronavirus or diagnosed with the COVID-19 illness.

The company also announced creation of an Amazon Relief Fund -- starting at USD 25 million -- to serve as a pool of grant money for independent delivery drivers, seasonal employees and others losing paychecks due to the pandemic, according to the global internet retailer.

"Effective immediately, all Amazon employees diagnosed with COVID-19 or placed into quarantine will receive up to two-weeks of pay," the firm said in an online post.

"This additional pay while away from work is to ensure employees have the time they need to return to good health without the worry of lost pay." Amazon is already providing unlimited unpaid time off for all hourly employees through the end of this month.

12:14 March 12

IndiGo quarterly earnings to be materially impacted as COVID-19 spreads

Gurugram: Low-cost airline IndiGo said on Thursday its quarterly earnings will take a hit as daily bookings decline by 15 to 20 per cent with coronavirus spreading across the world.

"In addition, the rupee has also depreciated sharply which will have an adverse impact on our dollar-denominated liabilities primarily on account of capitalised operating leases," it said in a statement.

"Over the past few days, however, we have seen a 15 to 20 per cent decline in our daily bookings. Please note that the numbers could change from here based on how the situation evolves," said IndiGo.

"We expect our quarterly earnings to be materially impacted," it added.

(Inputs from agencies)

Last Updated : Mar 12, 2020, 10:58 PM IST

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