Tricor Group Releases COVID-19 Business Sentiment & Resilience Barometer Report Highlighting the Acute Financial & Operational Challenges Facing Companies in APAC

Source: https://www.tricorglobal.com/news-and-events/tricor-group-releases-covid-19-business-sentiment-resilience-barometer-report 

Businesses in Asia Pacific are struggling to maintain operations amidst the Coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak. Nearly 50% report that they will be forced to restructure business operations to stay afloat if the situation worsens, according to the Tricor Group COVID-19 Business Sentiment and Resilience Barometer Report released today.

The Business Barometer Report evaluates how the outbreak is impacting Asia Pacific business sentiment, business continuity planning, operational decision-making, business restructuring and expansion strategies.

This report contains key primary research findings from an in-depth survey conducted of business leaders and finance executives at 1,050 organizations in APAC, sampling a cross-section of start-ups, SMEs, MNCs and listed companies in the private sector across 12 major industries.

Key findings from the report include:

• 1 out of 2 executives agree that their business has been impacted by the current public health situation and are concerned about the future of their business.
• 43% of executives report that if the situation gets worse, they will need to consider restructuring operations.
• Less than 1 in 3 executives are confident they have well-equipped crisis management teams capable of handling the situation.
• 43% of the executives agree that COVID-19 has heightened their awareness of business continuity risks and has increased their need for third-party, consulting and outsourcing support.
• 46% of the executives are actively looking for ways to streamline business functions through cost reductions and operational efficiency.
• Nearly half of the executives cite cost reduction as a key strategic focus to help navigate business uncertainty resulting from the acute reliance on Mainland China.

The report also offers key insights, industry analysis, recommendations and best practices that organizations can leverage to scale up readiness and response in the face of business uncertainty in 2020 and beyond. To achieve business resiliency, top priorities for businesses include:  1) De-risking and diversifying supply chains, 2) Rebalancing market interdependencies, 3) Restructuring business operations to reduce costs and 4) Mitigating operational risk exposures through outsourcing and offshoring.

Lennard Yong, Tricor Group, CEO, said: “As business leaders, we cannot always control the situation, but we can control how we react to it, particularly when it comes to dealing with disruptions to operations. Since January, Tricor has received an increasing number of inquiries from organizations looking to circumvent the challenges posed by COVID-19 and cut the cost of daily operations, especially in mainland China and Hong Kong SAR. Our teams, led by Tricor Mainland China CEO Hailiang Zhang and Tricor Hong Kong Joe Wan, are dedicated to helping clients face the evolving business environment with confidence – and thrive in the face of uncertainty.”

Gary Tok, Tricor Group, CCO, said: “Amidst the COVID-19 outbreak, organizations in Asia Pacific are focusing on becoming more resilient by restructuring, diversifying and automating operations. Tricor ace, our shared services centre, streamlines back-end operations for our clients, including payroll, invoice management and HR administration. This allows our clients to quickly set up, expand and seamlessly scale new markets at unprecedented rates Furthermore, Tricor recently signed a sale and purchase agreement to acquire the Malaysia operations of Axcelasia Inc. (a SGX listed company), which strategically equips us with a full suite governance, risk & compliance (GRC) solutions to help clients future-proof their operations.”

Sunshine Farzan, Tricor Group, Group Head of Marketing & Communications, said: “Businesses face a challenging start to the new decade and are now anticipating a few more difficult months ahead. Tricor’s COVID-19 Barometer Research conducted in mid-February 2020 shows that sentiments of concern COVID-19 are most acute in the technology, hospitality and travel, professional services, consumer goods and manufacturing sector – and amongst small and mid-sized organizations. By highlighting these challenges and prescribing possible solutions, this report can help executives own business continuity strategies and achieve resilience.”

To access this report, please visit our landing page and fill out the form here.