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DHL Express delivers US donation of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccines to Malaysia

Additional one million doses contributed by the United States government via the COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access (COVAX) programme

KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA – Media OutReach – 5 July 2021 – DHL Express, the world’s leading logistics provider, has successfully delivered the United States government’s donation of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine today.




The arrival of around 1,000,000 doses comes as part of a recent commitment by the U.S. to assist with recovery efforts worldwide. This shipment is made possible via the COVAX global vaccine sharing programme that aims to accelerate global equitable access to immunisation against the pandemic.

“We are deeply honoured by the trust that our customers have placed in us and I’m incredibly proud that the team has yet again stepped up to successfully deliver another batch of COVID-19 vaccines to Malaysia. As DHL Express continues to leverage our global network and strong medical logistics expertise to ensure that these life-saving vaccines arrive safely and promptly, we must also remind ourselves of the need for collaboration amongst various parties and countries to manage this public health crisis effectively,” said Ken Lee, CEO, DHL Express Asia Pacific.

DHL Express arranged for the collection of the vaccines from facilities in the US before it was airlifted from our Cincinnati Hub to the DHL Express Subang Gateway, where it would be distributed to designated locations in Kuala Lumpur. From door-to-door, the journey spanned only four days in complete compliance with stringent handling and storage requirements.

“To date, DHL has transported more than 300 million doses of approved vaccines worldwide, five million of which were to Malaysia,” said Julian Neo, Managing Director of DHL Express Malaysia and Brunei. “The shipment today marks another milestone in combatting the spread of COVID-19 and contributing to the country’s recovery. In keeping with our mandate of connecting people and improving lives, we are proud to continue playing an active role in seeking a safe, new normal for the businesses and communities we serve.”

More than 9,000 life sciences and healthcare specialists work across DHL’s dedicated global network so that pharmaceutical, medical devices, clinical trials and research organisations, wholesalers and distributors, as well as hospitals and healthcare providers are connected across the value chain and through digitalisation, from clinical trials to point of care, and every step in between.

DHL’s portfolio for the healthcare industry includes 150+ pharmacists, 20+ clinical trials depots, 100+ certified stations, 160+ GDP-qualified warehouses, 15+ GMP-certified sites, 135+ medical express sites, and a time-definite international express network covering over 220 countries and territories. On a global scale, logistics providers are challenged to establish medical supply chain rapidly to deliver vaccines of unprecedented amount of more than 10 billion doses worldwide—also in regions with less developed logistics infrastructures, where approximately 3 billion people live. To provide global coverage over the next two years, DHL estimated in its vaccine logistics whitepaper that up to 200,000 pallet shippers and 15 million cooling boxes as well as 15,000 flights will be required across the various supply chain setups.


DHL – The logistics company for the world

DHL is the leading global brand in the logistics industry. Our DHL divisions offer an unrivalled portfolio of logistics services ranging from national and international parcel delivery, e-commerce shipping and fulfillment solutions, international express, road, air and ocean transport to industrial supply chain management. With about 400,000 employees in more than 220 countries and territories worldwide, DHL connects people and businesses securely and reliably, enabling global sustainable trade flows. With specialized solutions for growth markets and industries including technology, life sciences and healthcare, engineering, manufacturing & energy, auto-mobility and retail, DHL is decisively positioned as “The logistics company for the world”.

DHL is part of Deutsche Post DHL Group. The Group generated revenues of more than 66 billion euros in 2020. With sustainable business practices and a commitment to society and the environment, the Group makes a positive contribution to the world. Deutsche Post DHL Group aims to achieve zero-emissions logistics by 2050.

On the Internet: dpdhl.de/press
Follow us at: twitter.com/DeutschePostDHL

#DHL

Trend Micro Warns of Ransomware Targeting Industrial Control Systems

Latest report highlights United States as the prime target of global threat actors

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 5 July 2021 – Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704), a global cybersecurity leader, today released a new report highlighting the growing risk of downtime and sensitive data theft from ransomware attacks aimed at industrial facilities.

Click here to read a full copy of the report, 2020 Report on Threats Affecting ICS Endpoints: https://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/hk/security/news/internet-of-things/2020-report-ics-endpoints-as-starting-points-for-threats

“Industrial Control Systems are incredibly challenging to secure, leaving plenty of gaps in protection that threat actors are clearly exploiting with growing determination,” said Ryan Flores, senior manager of forward-looking threat research for Trend Micro. “Given the US government is now treating ransomware attacks with the same gravity as terrorism, we hope our latest research will help industrial plant owners to prioritize and refocus their security efforts.”

Industrial Control Systems (ICS) are a crucial element of utility plants, factories and other facilities—where they’re used to monitor and control industrial processes across IT-OT networks.

If ransomware finds its way onto these systems, it could knock out operations for days and increase the risk of designs, programs, and other sensitive documents finding their way onto the dark web.

Trend Micro’s report found that Ryuk (20%), Nefilim (14.6%), Sodinokibi (13.5%) and LockBit (10.4%) variants accounted for more than half of ICS ransomware infections in 2020.

The report also revealed:

  • Threat actors are infecting ICS endpoints to mine for cryptocurrency using unpatched operating systems still vulnerable to EternalBlue.
  • Variants of Conficker are spreading on ICS endpoints running newer operating systems by brute-forcing admin shares.
  • Legacy malware such as Autorun, Gamarue and Palevo are still widespread in IT/OT networks, spreading via removable drives.

The report urged closer cooperation between IT security and OT teams to identify key systems and dependencies such as OS compatibility and up-time requirements, with a view to developing more effective security strategies.

Trend Micro makes the following recommendations:

  • Prompt patching is vital. If this is not possible, consider network segmentation or virtual patching from vendors like Trend Micro.
  • Tackle post-intrusion ransomware by mitigating the root causes of infection via application control software, and threat detection and response tools to sweep networks for IoCs.
  • Restrict network shares and enforce strong username/password combinations to prevent unauthorized access through credential brute forcing.
  • Use an IDS or IPS to baseline normal network behavior to better spot suspicious activity.
  • Scan ICS endpoints in air-gapped environments using standalone tools.
  • Set up USB malware scanning kiosks to check the removable drives used to transfer data between air-gapped endpoints.
  • Apply principle of least privilege to OT network admins and operators.

About Trend Micro

Trend Micro, a global cybersecurity leader, helps make the world safe for exchanging digital information. Fueled by decades of security expertise, global threat research, and continuous innovation, Trend Micro’s cybersecurity platform protects hundreds of thousands of organizations and millions of individuals across clouds, networks, devices, and endpoints. As a leader in cloud and enterprise cybersecurity, the platform delivers a powerful range of advanced threat defense techniques optimized for environments like AWS, Microsoft, and Google, and central visibility for better, faster detection and response. With 7,000 employees across 65 countries, Trend Micro enables organizations to simplify and secure their connected world. www.trendmicro.com.hk


#TrendMicro

Laos Records 56 New Cases of Covid-19

Covid-19 update

Laos has confirmed 56 new cases of Covid-19 today, bringing the total number of cases in the country to 2,300.

Increase in Trafficking of Lao Women to China Amid Covid-19 Pandemic

Lao women trafficked to China
Increase in Lao women trafficked to China amid Covid-19 pandemic (Photo: Unsplash).

Trafficking of women from Laos to China to serve as wives for Chinese men or to work in prostitution is increasing amid economic pressure following the Covid-19 pandemic.

CUHK Business School Research Shows Reducing Online Piracy Can Lead to Increased Creative Output, But Comes with Unintended Side Effects

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 5 July 2021 – The protection of intellectual property rights (IPR) has long been a sticking point in China’s dealings with the West. Despite making gradual strides in its regime in recent decades, the country remains plagued by concerns over copyright infringement in the physical as well as digital realms. Online, Chinese authorities continue to wage their battle against piracy, which is costing billions in lost revenues in everything from movies to TV shows, as well as music and books.

China’s digital publishing industry is estimated to have netted revenues of 20.6 billion Chinese yuan in 2020, with around 509 million readers nationwide. (Source: iStock)

For the country’s booming digital publishing industry, these efforts to combat online piracy are critical, as a recent research study shows that suppressing the threat of digital privacy can lead to an improved level of creative output by writers, although this did not come without unintended cost.

The new study, Digital Piracy, Creative Productivity, and Customer Care Effort: Evidence from the Digital Publishing Industry, was co-conducted by Chenxi Liao, Assistant Professor of Department of Marketing at The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) Business School, Prof. Xiaolin Li at the London School of Economics and Political Science and Prof. Ying Xie at the University of Texas at Dallas. The study is among the first to provide empirical evidence of how reduced intellectual property piracy can increase creative output.

To get an idea of the stakes involved in the digital publishing industry in China, consider that Tencent-backed China Literature, a major player in the online publishing industry in China, raised US$1.1 billion in its 2017 record-setting IPO. The industry is estimated to have netted revenues of 20.6 billion Chinese yuan in 2020, with around 509 million readers nationwide. While the roots of the booming Chinese internet publishing sector, which sprouted in early 2000, mainly consisted of fantasy novels that often contains elements from ancient mythology and martial arts, it has grown into a mature ecosystem in diverse genres.

Like other countries, in China free cloud storage plays an important role in facilitating piracy of digital content. That is why the researchers choose to look at the termination of a free service by Chinese cloud storage provider V-Disk in 2016, which incidentally increased the cost of digital piracy and as a result led to a reduction in copyright piracy of the creative works of internet writers. Consequently, writers put in more effort in writing. However, not all writers put in as much extra effort after the free storage service was stopped.

Making Money Writing Digital Books

In China as in any other part of the world, anyone can start writing and distributing their material on the internet, but not everybody can make money from writing. To start off, aspiring internet writers typically sign up for an account with a digital publishing platform to benefit off the latter’s reach. Doing so allows writers to freely offer their material to the platform’s readers, but at this point aspiring scribes are not permitted to monetise their writings.

It is only when their work gains a measure of popularity from readers would the digital publishing platform then offer the writer a contract deal. This allows them to sell their material to readers on the platform and earn a proportion of the revenue from sales of chapters in their books, as well as any appreciatory “tips” paid by readers on top of this. The actual profit split between the two parties usually varies from contract to contract.

Both types of writers usually post their novels in series and are encouraged by the publishing platforms to update their work almost every day to attract and retain readers. Writers who are not on contracts can publish on as many competing platforms as they desire, but are unable to make any money off their efforts. Contracted writers meanwhile may only publish on platforms that they signed with and only the first few chapters of their books can be read for free. Readers who want to continue reading the book would have to purchase the remaining chapters, with the price of each chapter usually determined by length.

Successful Chinese internet writers who garner a loyal following are typically able to reap strong financial rewards. For example, one of the most successful is Tang Jia San Shao, a contract writer for online publisher Qidian, who reportedly made 122 million yuan from royalties in 2017, according to a ranking released by mainland Chinese media. In addition to the royalties generated from publishing digital books, many writers are also asked to turn their books into TV shows, movies or even cartoon series, opening new avenues to monetise their creative output. For example, Tang’s famous novel Douluo Continent was first adapted into a cartoon and then into a TV drama series recently.

Boost in Creative Output

The researchers went through close to 1,000 books written by both types of writers and examined their output by their creative quantity and quality, as measured by the length of each book and reader feedback, respectively.

The results show that money-making writers improved their productivity in terms of quantity without sacrificing the quality of the work after V-Disk ended its service. On the other hand, writers who are writing for free did not show any significant improvement in their creative productivity. On the contrary, the quality of their creative work went down after the free storage service ended.

“It’s quite clear that digital piracy poses an enormous threat for contracted writers because it affects how much money they bring home,” Prof. Liao comments. “That’s why we see increased effort in writing more and better books from contracted writers after V-Disk shut down.”

Prof. Liao explains that as readers could no longer easily access pirated books from the V-Disk service, these readers returned to the original publishing platforms and purchased the digital books there. As a result, writers who made money were not only more properly compensated by sales revenue, they no longer had to compete with the pirated copies and therefore could direct their full attention on writing their best work possible to compete with other writers on the same publishing platform. This resulted in an improvement in the creative efforts of these writers.

However, this is not the case for writers that are displaying their books for free. According to Prof. Liao, since their books are free to readers on the publishing platforms anyway, the livelihoods of these writers were unlikely to be affected by digital piracy because they do not make any money from their digital works in the first place. Also, Prof. Liao speculates that the decrease in their creative quality could be a result of increased competition from profit-making writers who had more time and effort to devote to writing.

Side Effects

However, the researchers found that while lower levels of digital piracy encouraged money-making writers to improve their creative output, it also led to a decline in their efforts to communicate with readers.

Readers can encourage writers who are signed by the publishing platforms through three channels: purchasing their book chapters, rewarding them with tips, or leaving comments. The study finds that both sales and tips would drive this type of writers to publish more work but they have no effect on motivating them to interact more with the readers, which typically involves replying to reader comments and acknowledging reader support. On the other hand, reader feedback led to both an increase in writer output and writer interactions with the readers.

The study notes that before the V-Disk termination event, profit-earning writers displayed more passion in engaging with their fans, perhaps in the hope of generating extra income through reader tips and to discourage their fans from reading pirated copies of their works.

“When the threat of ‘losing to’ pirated copies is gone, contracted writers became less motivated to interact with their readers and less bothered to elevate the reading experience of their fans. This could be bad news for publishing platforms because if reader experience falls, it’s going to drive traffic elsewhere,” Prof. Liao warns.

Designing Policy

Prof. Liao and her co-authors urge publishing platforms to be aware that when the threat of digital intellectual property piracy goes down, an improvement in the creative output of signed writers can come at the expense of reader experience. Therefore, platforms may consider designing a compensation plan that provides incentives for writers to maintain lively interactions with their fans.

For policymakers in emerging markets that lack IPR protection, this study provides evidence for the benefits of having strong IPR protection. The researchers urge policymakers in these markets to use economic incentives (for example, to make piracy more costly) to strengthen IPR protection.

“Many emerging economies are in the process of moving away from ‘imitation’ to ‘innovation’. Any kind of piracy would be a blow to innovation,” Prof. Liao comments. “Intellectual property needs to be protected because the lack of it will kill creativity.”

Reference:

Xiaolin Li, Chenxi Liao, Ying Xie. Digital Piracy, Creative Productivity, and Customer Care Effort: Evidence from the Digital Publishing Industry. Marketing Science. 0 (0). https://doi.org/10.1287/mksc.2020.1275

This article was first published in the China Business Knowledge (CBK) website by CUHK Business School: https://bit.ly/3w8pOwO.

About CUHK Business School

CUHK Business School comprises two schools – Accountancy and Hotel and Tourism Management – and four departments – Decision Sciences and Managerial Economics, Finance, Management and Marketing. Established in Hong Kong in 1963, it is the first business school to offer BBA, MBA and Executive MBA programmes in the region. Today, CUHK Business School offers 10 undergraduate programmes and 18 graduate programmes including MBA, EMBA, Master, MSc, MPhil and Ph.D. The School currently has more than 4,600 undergraduate and postgraduate students from 20+ countries/regions.

In the Financial Times Executive MBA ranking 2020, CUHK EMBA is ranked 15th in the world. In FT‘s 2021 Global MBA Ranking, CUHK MBA is ranked 48th. CUHK Business School has the largest number of business alumni (40,000+) among universities/business schools in Hong Kong – many of whom are key business leaders.

More information is available at http://www.bschool.cuhk.edu.hk or by connecting with CUHK Business School on:

Facebook: www.facebook.com/cuhkbschool

Instagram: www.instagram.com/cuhkbusinessschool

LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/school/cuhkbusinessschool

WeChat: CUHKBusinessSchool

#CUHKBusinessSchool

Coface Asia Corporate Payment Survey 2021: Corporate payment delay trend stabilized; companies see brighter outlook, but risks and uncertainty remain

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 5 July 2021 – Coface‘s 2021 Asia Corporate Payment Survey, conducted between October 2020 and March 2021, provides insights into the evolution of payment behaviour and credit management practices of over 2,500 companies across the Asia Pacific region during a pandemic year. Respondents came from nine markets (Australia, China, Hong Kong SAR, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan) and 13 sectors located in the Asia-Pacific region.

No deterioration of payment delays despite the impact of COVID

65% of respondents experienced payment delays in 2020, similar to 2019. Despite a weakened economic environment, the survey conducted by Coface shows that payment delays improved in 2020, with the average duration of overdue payments falling to a five-year low, thanks to strong government policy responses. Shorter payment delays were seen across six of the nine surveyed economies and 10 out of 13 sectors. This trend was partially due to robust and coordinated government policy responses to soften the impact of the pandemic on business activity, as well as the move by companies towards tightening credit management and strengthening cash-flow resiliency. This tighter credit policy was reflected by the average duration of payment delays in Asia Pacific, which fell to 79 days in 2020, down from 85 in 2019, and its shortest length since 2015.

However, there was a build-up of credit risks in Australia and Hong Kong, with both reporting a strong increase in late payments, and more crucially, a sharp rise in ultra-long payment delays (ULPDs, over 180 days) amounting to over 2% of annual turnover. According to Coface’s experience, 80% of ultra-long payment delays (ULPDs, over 180 days) are never paid. Meanwhile, the retail, construction, and transport sectors – among the worst hit by the pandemic – saw the largest increases in ULPDs over 2% of their annual turnover, indicating an increase in cash flow risk.

Economic improvement in 2021: Companies in Australia and the automotive industry are most optimistic

2020 was characterised by the shock of Covid-19 on both economies and society. Unlike previous recessions, which tended to be gradual and shallower, the pandemic recession was rapid and deep due to the unique elements of the coronavirus pandemic. Companies were surveyed about the impact of Covid-19 on their business operations. In Japan and Taiwan, a reduction in demand was the top reason impacting companies’ sales and cash-flows, whereas in China, higher material prices were the most-cited reason. In India, where many companies rely on migrant workers, the top impact cited was insufficient workforces due to lockdown measures disrupting business operations.



With robust and coordinated policy responses, an accelerated shift towards digitalisation, and countries reopening parts of their economy after strict lockdown measures, the recovery was quick but uneven. Companies nevertheless expect that economic growth will improve in 2021. Australian firms were the most optimistic, with 80% of respondents anticipating higher growth, followed by India (76%), China (73%), Malaysia (73%) and Taiwan (71%). In contrast, Japan was the only country where less than two-thirds of respondents (61%) expect an improvement in economic growth during 2021.

By sectors, automotive is the most confident regarding year-ahead sales, with 66% of respondents expecting an improvement. This was followed by energy (64%), metals (64%), paper (63%) and pharmaceutical (61%). The highest proportion of companies anticipating an improvement in cash flows over the next 12 months were found in automotive, agri-food, and pharmaceutical at 55% each, followed by metals (53%), paper (52%), and chemicals (51%).

Information & communications equipment export drives growth in Asia but risks remain

With the ongoing move towards “normal” business conditions, we expect the region to experience positive growth after contracting in 2020. The pace of expansion will be the fastest in India (+9.0%), which saw the sharpest contraction among the nine surveyed economies during 2020. This is followed by China (+7.5%), Singapore (+6.3%), Taiwan (+5.6%), Australia (5.0%), Hong Kong (+4.8%), Malaysia (+4.6%), Japan (+2.7%) and Thailand (+2.2%). External demand has been a key driver of the recovery for Asia, as a global shift towards remote working and remote learning drove a global need for information and communications (ICT) equipment.

This greatly benefited several economies in the region that are key exporters of ICT products , such as China (+40% YTD), Taiwan (21% YTD), Malaysia (28% YTD) and Singapore (9% YTD). An increase in capital investment also boosted sales of electronic and electrical machinery. However, the recovery in private consumption was much more gradual, and lagged behind growth in manufacturing and exports as labour market improvements remained weak and many parts of the APAC region experienced renewed mobility restrictions and lockdowns. Curbs on international travel remained largely in place, which prevented the tourism sector from mounting a recovery.

“Our baseline scenario assumes that there will be no new wave of COVID-19 infections in the second half of 2021, and that a ramp-up of vaccination improves the resiliency of the recovery. The caveat is that the current environment remains difficult to predict. Moreover, there are rising risks to the recovery, such as the global semiconductor shortage, which could limit Asian export growth, and rising commodity prices, which could compress corporate margins and weigh on demand,” explained Bernard Aw, Coface’s Asia-Pacific Economist.


The complete report is available here.

Coface: for trade

With 75 years of experience and the most extensive international network, Coface is a leader in trade credit insurance and adjacent specialty services, including Factoring, Debt Collection, Single Risk insurance, Bonding and Information services. Coface’s experts work to the beat of the global economy, helping ~50,000 clients, in 100 countries, build successful, growing, and dynamic businesses across the world. Coface helps companies in their credit decisions. The Group’s services and solutions strengthen their ability to sell by protecting them against the risks of non-payment in their domestic and export markets. In 2020, Coface employed ~4,450 people and registered a turnover of €1.45 billion.

www.coface.com

COFACE SA. is listed on Compartment A of Euronext Paris.

ISIN Code: FR0010667147 / Mnemonic: COFA


#Coface

Coface Asia Corporate Payment Survey 2021: Corporate payment delay trend stabilized; companies see brighter outlook, but risks and uncertainty remain

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 5 July 2021 – Coface‘s 2021 Asia Corporate Payment Survey, conducted between October 2020 and March 2021, provides insights into the evolution of payment behaviour and credit management practices of over 2,500 companies across the Asia Pacific region during a pandemic year. Respondents came from nine markets (Australia, China, Hong Kong SAR, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan) and 13 sectors located in the Asia-Pacific region.

No deterioration of payment delays despite the impact of COVID

65% of respondents experienced payment delays in 2020, similar to 2019. Despite a weakened economic environment, the survey conducted by Coface shows that payment delays improved in 2020, with the average duration of overdue payments falling to a five-year low, thanks to strong government policy responses. Shorter payment delays were seen across six of the nine surveyed economies and 10 out of 13 sectors. This trend was partially due to robust and coordinated government policy responses to soften the impact of the pandemic on business activity, as well as the move by companies towards tightening credit management and strengthening cash-flow resiliency. This tighter credit policy was reflected by the average duration of payment delays in Asia Pacific, which fell to 79 days in 2020, down from 85 in 2019, and its shortest length since 2015.

However, there was a build-up of credit risks in Australia and Hong Kong, with both reporting a strong increase in late payments, and more crucially, a sharp rise in ultra-long payment delays (ULPDs, over 180 days) amounting to over 2% of annual turnover. According to Coface’s experience, 80% of ultra-long payment delays (ULPDs, over 180 days) are never paid. Meanwhile, the retail, construction, and transport sectors – among the worst hit by the pandemic – saw the largest increases in ULPDs over 2% of their annual turnover, indicating an increase in cash flow risk.

Economic improvement in 2021: Companies in Australia and the automotive industry are most optimistic

2020 was characterised by the shock of Covid-19 on both economies and society. Unlike previous recessions, which tended to be gradual and shallower, the pandemic recession was rapid and deep due to the unique elements of the coronavirus pandemic. Companies were surveyed about the impact of Covid-19 on their business operations. In Japan and Taiwan, a reduction in demand was the top reason impacting companies’ sales and cash-flows, whereas in China, higher material prices were the most-cited reason. In India, where many companies rely on migrant workers, the top impact cited was insufficient workforces due to lockdown measures disrupting business operations.



With robust and coordinated policy responses, an accelerated shift towards digitalisation, and countries reopening parts of their economy after strict lockdown measures, the recovery was quick but uneven. Companies nevertheless expect that economic growth will improve in 2021. Australian firms were the most optimistic, with 80% of respondents anticipating higher growth, followed by India (76%), China (73%), Malaysia (73%) and Taiwan (71%). In contrast, Japan was the only country where less than two-thirds of respondents (61%) expect an improvement in economic growth during 2021.

By sectors, automotive is the most confident regarding year-ahead sales, with 66% of respondents expecting an improvement. This was followed by energy (64%), metals (64%), paper (63%) and pharmaceutical (61%). The highest proportion of companies anticipating an improvement in cash flows over the next 12 months were found in automotive, agri-food, and pharmaceutical at 55% each, followed by metals (53%), paper (52%), and chemicals (51%).

Information & communications equipment export drives growth in Asia but risks remain

With the ongoing move towards “normal” business conditions, we expect the region to experience positive growth after contracting in 2020. The pace of expansion will be the fastest in India (+9.0%), which saw the sharpest contraction among the nine surveyed economies during 2020. This is followed by China (+7.5%), Singapore (+6.3%), Taiwan (+5.6%), Australia (5.0%), Hong Kong (+4.8%), Malaysia (+4.6%), Japan (+2.7%) and Thailand (+2.2%). External demand has been a key driver of the recovery for Asia, as a global shift towards remote working and remote learning drove a global need for information and communications (ICT) equipment.

This greatly benefited several economies in the region that are key exporters of ICT products , such as China (+40% YTD), Taiwan (21% YTD), Malaysia (28% YTD) and Singapore (9% YTD). An increase in capital investment also boosted sales of electronic and electrical machinery. However, the recovery in private consumption was much more gradual, and lagged behind growth in manufacturing and exports as labour market improvements remained weak and many parts of the APAC region experienced renewed mobility restrictions and lockdowns. Curbs on international travel remained largely in place, which prevented the tourism sector from mounting a recovery.

“Our baseline scenario assumes that there will be no new wave of COVID-19 infections in the second half of 2021, and that a ramp-up of vaccination improves the resiliency of the recovery. The caveat is that the current environment remains difficult to predict. Moreover, there are rising risks to the recovery, such as the global semiconductor shortage, which could limit Asian export growth, and rising commodity prices, which could compress corporate margins and weigh on demand,” explained Bernard Aw, Coface’s Asia-Pacific Economist.


The complete report is available here.

Coface: for trade

With 75 years of experience and the most extensive international network, Coface is a leader in trade credit insurance and adjacent specialty services, including Factoring, Debt Collection, Single Risk insurance, Bonding and Information services. Coface’s experts work to the beat of the global economy, helping ~50,000 clients, in 100 countries, build successful, growing, and dynamic businesses across the world. Coface helps companies in their credit decisions. The Group’s services and solutions strengthen their ability to sell by protecting them against the risks of non-payment in their domestic and export markets. In 2020, Coface employed ~4,450 people and registered a turnover of €1.45 billion.

www.coface.com

COFACE SA. is listed on Compartment A of Euronext Paris.

ISIN Code: FR0010667147 / Mnemonic: COFA


#Coface

Coface Asia Corporate Payment Survey 2021: Corporate payment delay trend stabilized; companies see brighter outlook, but risks and uncertainty remain

HONG KONG SAR – Media OutReach – 5 July 2021 – Coface‘s 2021 Asia Corporate Payment Survey, conducted between October 2020 and March 2021, provides insights into the evolution of payment behaviour and credit management practices of over 2,500 companies across the Asia Pacific region during a pandemic year. Respondents came from nine markets (Australia, China, Hong Kong SAR, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Taiwan) and 13 sectors located in the Asia-Pacific region.

No deterioration of payment delays despite the impact of COVID

65% of respondents experienced payment delays in 2020, similar to 2019. Despite a weakened economic environment, the survey conducted by Coface shows that payment delays improved in 2020, with the average duration of overdue payments falling to a five-year low, thanks to strong government policy responses. Shorter payment delays were seen across six of the nine surveyed economies and 10 out of 13 sectors. This trend was partially due to robust and coordinated government policy responses to soften the impact of the pandemic on business activity, as well as the move by companies towards tightening credit management and strengthening cash-flow resiliency. This tighter credit policy was reflected by the average duration of payment delays in Asia Pacific, which fell to 79 days in 2020, down from 85 in 2019, and its shortest length since 2015.

However, there was a build-up of credit risks in Australia and Hong Kong, with both reporting a strong increase in late payments, and more crucially, a sharp rise in ultra-long payment delays (ULPDs, over 180 days) amounting to over 2% of annual turnover. According to Coface’s experience, 80% of ultra-long payment delays (ULPDs, over 180 days) are never paid. Meanwhile, the retail, construction, and transport sectors – among the worst hit by the pandemic – saw the largest increases in ULPDs over 2% of their annual turnover, indicating an increase in cash flow risk.

Economic improvement in 2021: Companies in Australia and the automotive industry are most optimistic

2020 was characterised by the shock of Covid-19 on both economies and society. Unlike previous recessions, which tended to be gradual and shallower, the pandemic recession was rapid and deep due to the unique elements of the coronavirus pandemic. Companies were surveyed about the impact of Covid-19 on their business operations. In Japan and Taiwan, a reduction in demand was the top reason impacting companies’ sales and cash-flows, whereas in China, higher material prices were the most-cited reason. In India, where many companies rely on migrant workers, the top impact cited was insufficient workforces due to lockdown measures disrupting business operations.



With robust and coordinated policy responses, an accelerated shift towards digitalisation, and countries reopening parts of their economy after strict lockdown measures, the recovery was quick but uneven. Companies nevertheless expect that economic growth will improve in 2021. Australian firms were the most optimistic, with 80% of respondents anticipating higher growth, followed by India (76%), China (73%), Malaysia (73%) and Taiwan (71%). In contrast, Japan was the only country where less than two-thirds of respondents (61%) expect an improvement in economic growth during 2021.

By sectors, automotive is the most confident regarding year-ahead sales, with 66% of respondents expecting an improvement. This was followed by energy (64%), metals (64%), paper (63%) and pharmaceutical (61%). The highest proportion of companies anticipating an improvement in cash flows over the next 12 months were found in automotive, agri-food, and pharmaceutical at 55% each, followed by metals (53%), paper (52%), and chemicals (51%).

Information & communications equipment export drives growth in Asia but risks remain

With the ongoing move towards “normal” business conditions, we expect the region to experience positive growth after contracting in 2020. The pace of expansion will be the fastest in India (+9.0%), which saw the sharpest contraction among the nine surveyed economies during 2020. This is followed by China (+7.5%), Singapore (+6.3%), Taiwan (+5.6%), Australia (5.0%), Hong Kong (+4.8%), Malaysia (+4.6%), Japan (+2.7%) and Thailand (+2.2%). External demand has been a key driver of the recovery for Asia, as a global shift towards remote working and remote learning drove a global need for information and communications (ICT) equipment.

This greatly benefited several economies in the region that are key exporters of ICT products , such as China (+40% YTD), Taiwan (21% YTD), Malaysia (28% YTD) and Singapore (9% YTD). An increase in capital investment also boosted sales of electronic and electrical machinery. However, the recovery in private consumption was much more gradual, and lagged behind growth in manufacturing and exports as labour market improvements remained weak and many parts of the APAC region experienced renewed mobility restrictions and lockdowns. Curbs on international travel remained largely in place, which prevented the tourism sector from mounting a recovery.

“Our baseline scenario assumes that there will be no new wave of COVID-19 infections in the second half of 2021, and that a ramp-up of vaccination improves the resiliency of the recovery. The caveat is that the current environment remains difficult to predict. Moreover, there are rising risks to the recovery, such as the global semiconductor shortage, which could limit Asian export growth, and rising commodity prices, which could compress corporate margins and weigh on demand,” explained Bernard Aw, Coface’s Asia-Pacific Economist.


The complete report is available here.

Coface: for trade

With 75 years of experience and the most extensive international network, Coface is a leader in trade credit insurance and adjacent specialty services, including Factoring, Debt Collection, Single Risk insurance, Bonding and Information services. Coface’s experts work to the beat of the global economy, helping ~50,000 clients, in 100 countries, build successful, growing, and dynamic businesses across the world. Coface helps companies in their credit decisions. The Group’s services and solutions strengthen their ability to sell by protecting them against the risks of non-payment in their domestic and export markets. In 2020, Coface employed ~4,450 people and registered a turnover of €1.45 billion.

www.coface.com

COFACE SA. is listed on Compartment A of Euronext Paris.

ISIN Code: FR0010667147 / Mnemonic: COFA


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