US firms in China forecast revenue drop due to NCoV

Shanghai, Feb 8 (IANS) Eighty-seven per cent of American companies in China said the novel coronavirus, which has killed hundreds in the Asian giant and infected tens of thousands, will have a direct impact on their 2020 revenues, according to Shanghais American Chamber of Commerce.In a survey the chamber published on Friday, 24 per cent of companies said they expected revenues to fall by at least 16 per cent compared to the previous year because of the outbreak, which by Saturday had killed 722 and infected 34,546 in China, reports Efe news.Moreover, 29 per cent of the 127 companies in the survey – conducted Tuesday through Thursday – said their corporate headquarters do not fully understand the potential economic impact of the coronavirus.Among the 127 companies surveyed, 20 have revenues of more than $500 million in China, while 27 make revenues between $100 million and $500 million.Sixteen per cent of companies believe China’s GDP will fall by more than 2 per cent in 2020 as a result of the crisis.While all already offer the option to work from home, 60 per cent of companies said they’re planning to enforce it as a mandatory measure to contain the virus. Authorities said on Saturday there were 6,101 severe cases of it while 2,050 had recovered and been discharged from hospital.They added that 189,660 remain under observation and that they suspect 27,657 of having contracted the virus, according to the commission.Until now, all deaths but two – which occurred in the Philippines and Hong Kong – have been in China, which accounts for about 99 per cent of those infected, although about 20 countries have confirmed cases. Japan follows China in number of patients at 90.–IANSksk/