Majority of business leaders expect a hit from coronavirus,survey finds.Here’s how they’re fighting

CEOs across the globe are coming to terms with the reality that business will be anything but normal over the coming months as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic continues to escalate.

But while revenues are set to suffer a short-term hit, the majority of leaders remain confident that their companies will be back on solid footing within the year, according to a new study on the business impact of the outbreak of COVID-19, the disease’s formal name.

The Young Presidents’ Organization’s (YPO) survey, released Tuesday, found that 82% of business leaders expect declines in revenues over the next six months, but more than half (54%) anticipate revenues will be back to normal in a year’s time. And 61% of CEOs expect their total fixed investments to remain unchanged year on year.

Of note, the study, which surveyed more than 2,750 CEOs across 110 countries, was conducted from March 10-13, 2020, just ahead of sweeping new measures aimed at curtailing the outbreak. Since then, several U.S. states and governments across the globe have imposed strict closures of bars, restaurants and other non-essential businesses.

At the time of asking, respondents in Asia, and particularly China, where the virus is thought to have originated, were facing the greatest impact, with 84% reporting feeling a hit. The region was followed by South Asia — namely India, Nepal and Sri Lanka — (78%), the Middle East and North Africa (74%) and Europe (70%).

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