COVID-19 BUSINESS PULSE SURVEYS ROUND 2 January – February 2021 Impacts of COVID-19 on firms in Malaysia Results from the 2nd Round of COVID-19 Business Pulse Survey Smita Kuriakose Finance, Competitiveness and Trang Tran Innovation Global Practice Kok Onn Ting Sarah Hebeous 2 COVID-19 BUSINESS PULSE SURVEYS Impacts of COVID-19 on Firms in Malaysia ROUND 2 January – February 2021 Acknowledgements This brief was prepared by Smita Kuriakose (Senior Economist, EEAF2), Trang Tran (Senior Economist, ETIFE), Kok Onn Ting (Private Sector Specialist, EEAF2) and Sarah Hebous (Consultant). The survey instrument was customized for Malaysia by Smita Kuriakose and Trang Tran. Survey implementation and data processing was done by Green Zebras Bhd. The brief and accompanying slide deck were designed by Kane Chong. This brief and the accompanying slide deck were prepared under the guidance of Cecile Thioro Niang (Practice Manager, EEAF1), Denis Medvedev (Practice Manager, ETIFE) and Firas Raad (Country Manager, EACMA). For more information, please contact Smita Kuriakose (skuriakose@worldbank.org) COVID-19 BUSINESS PULSE SURVEYS Impacts of COVID-19 on Firms in Malaysia ROUND 2 January – February 2021 3 Key findings • The re-imposition of the Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) during mid- October 2020 and the upgrade to a stricter lockdown to Movement Control Order in January 2021 (MCO 2.0) has substantially weakened the recovery momentum highlighted in Round 1 of Business Pulse Survey (early October 2020). • To adapt to the latest lockdown, the majority of firms responded by remaining partially open in operations. Regional and sectoral differences are observed for firms opting to cease operations. • While the magnitude of sales decline appears to be recovering, the percentage of firms facing decreasing demand is on the rise. • Employment adjustments such as reducing work hours remain the most common method by firms. A significant number of firms hire and fire workers, suggesting churn in the labor market; with small firms being less likely to fire workers compared to medium and large firms. • Supply chain disruptions remain a major problem in the market. However, the number of firms affected by it remains largely unchanged from early October 2020 to January- February 2021. • Malaysian firms have a relatively lower liquidity buffer relative to regional peers with the median firm only having two months of cash flow available. Agriculture & mining sector has the highest rate of firms in arrears while food & beverages services and construction firms expect the highest risks. • Adoption of digital technologies remains the most popular choice for adjustment by firms, with sales and marketing functions topping the list of digital adoption. The majority of firms also rated support is most needed in the sales and marketing business functions in adopting digital technologies with the top three regulatory obstacles being data privacy, consumer protection and cybersecurity. • A high percentage of firms have access to some form of government assistance. A slight decline in the firms receiving assistance could be due to the more targeted approach adopted by the Government. Wage subsidy was found to be effective in reducing the likelihood of firing workers. • Overall, Malaysian firms are doing relatively better in the region: impact on revenue has been less severe than in peer East Asian countries. While firms are less liquid on average, they are also more likely to have greater access to government support. • 57% of firms expressed their confidence in the Government’s handling of the pandemic and 63% of firms found that the Budget 2021 measures adequately addressed the concerns of the business community. The majority of firms felt that there is scope for better roll out of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs). • Some sectoral differences were observed, with the agriculture and mining sector rating support to adopt health protocol and buy local products campaign as the most needed after payment deferrals. The other sectors all rated payment deferral and wage subsidy as the most important support needed. 4 COVID-19 BUSINESS PULSE SURVEYS Impacts of COVID-19 on Firms in Malaysia ROUND 2 January – February 2021 Methodology The COVID-19 BPS survey is a rapid survey designed to measure the various channels of impact of COVID-19 on firms, firm adjustment strategies, and public policy responses. The World Bank, in collaboration with a private survey company, conducted the 2nd round of survey from January 15 to February 10, 2021 following the 1st round of the Malaysia BPS in October 2020. Firms were sampled randomly from an online business panel database, which consists of 100,000+ companies in all sectors and sizes, across Peninsular and East Malaysia. A minimum sample size was obtained for sectors that are important to Malaysia’s economy and are sensitive to the COVID-19 crisis (export-oriented activities: electronics, automotive, tourism related activities) while preserving the sectoral shares in the sampling frame.1 The survey was conducted online and yielded 1,500 responses from respondents in senior management positions at their company (i.e. owners, C-suite or Director level). Malaysia and the “New Normal” To combat the rapidly rising cases in the country (Figure 1), Malaysia reimposed a Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) on October 14, 2020. As the number of daily and active cases of COVID-19 tapered off, the Government lifted the CMCO on Dec 7, 20202 and allowed interstate travel. However, when the daily cases climbed rapidly again, the Government upgraded to a full Movement Control Order on 13 January 2021, imposing strict mobility restrictions, banning interstate and inter-district travel. As the number of daily and active cases dropped, Malaysia reverted to a CMCO on March 5, with the interstate travel ban still in effect. The number of daily cases has since dropped from the highest peak in January 2021, but daily active cases remains around 1,000, which is still above the pre-October 2020 level. The Government of Malaysia introduced the PERMAI economic stimulus package in January 2021, followed by the PEMERKASA stimulus in March 2021 to provide support to households and firms affected by the crisis. The second Business Pulse Survey (BPS) was conducted from January 15 to February 10, 2021 following the first round in October 2020 to ascertain the impact on firms with a view to provide insights into future policy making to help Malaysia’s recovery. The second survey was implemented during the re-imposition of Movement Control Order (MCO) in January 2021, widely cited as MCO 2.0. The MCO 2.0 has since reverted to CMCO status on March 6, 2021 for Selangor, Kuala Lumpur, Johor and Pulau Pinang with interstate travel bans still in effect. 1 Due to lack of statistics about the true universe of firm, all analyses are done without weights. 2 For the 2nd CMCO, parts of Selangor, KL, Sabah remain in CMCO status until 14 January 2021, but 7 December is selected as the end date as most states had their CMCO status lifted and most importantly, the interstate travel ban was lifted. COVID-19 BUSINESS PULSE SURVEYS Impacts of COVID-19 on Firms in Malaysia ROUND 2 January – February 2021 5 FIGURE 1 Infection rates and timeline of various lockdowns 5,000 BPS Round 1 BPS Round 2 Cumulative: 352,059 cases 1,295 deaths 4,000 Smoothed new cases 3,000 2,000 1,000 MCO CMCO RMCO CMCO MCO 0 2020-01 2020-07 2021-01 Source: WHO Covid Intel Database, Accessed on April 7, 2021 Timeline of Various Stages of Movement Control Order Terminology Period Movement Control Order (MCO) 18 March – 12 May 2020 Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) 13 May – 9 June 2020 Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO) 10 June – 31 August 2020, extended to 31 December 2020 2nd CMCO 14 Oct – 7 Dec 2021* 2nd MCO 13 Jan – 4 Mar 2021 Conditional Movement Control Order (CMCO) 5 March 2021 onwards Note: Dates above provided as guides due to various states reverted to CMCO under various stages. 6 COVID-19 BUSINESS PULSE SURVEYS Impacts of COVID-19 on Firms in Malaysia ROUND 2 January – February 2021 Impact on Firms Malaysian firms continue to be impacted by the pandemic. Compared to 35% of firms during the first Movement Control Order (MCO) in March 2020, 16% of firms were not in operation during the MCO 2.0 in January 2021 and the CMCO in October 2020. On average, firms experienced a decline in sales at around 22% during the CMCO in October 2020 compared to the previous year and 16% during MCO 2.0 (which is not as severe as the first MCO, where sales dropped by 25%). Operational Status and Impact on Sales Firms were on the verge of recovery in early October 2020 with 91% of them operating. The re-imposition of the CMCO during mid October 2020 and a further upgrade to MCO 2.0 in January 2021 has substantially weakened the recovery momentum. Despite having a large share of firms operating (84%) in January to Mid- February period (Figure 2), more firms shifted to operating only partially at 57% with only 27% operating fully. The situation in early October was the reverse, with 52% of firms fully operating and 38% of firms partially opened. About 16% of firms remained closed during the period surveyed (January to mid-February). There are observable differences of impact by region with Northern (23%) and Eastern (18%) states having firms more likely to remain closed for business during the January to mid-Feb period (Figure 3). A more disaggregated analysis reveals the asymmetric impact of MCO 2.0 on different sectors by region (Figure 4). Agriculture and mining firms had very high closure rates in Northern states. The food & beverage sector also saw higher closure rates, as the Northern states rely on travelers from Kuala Lumpur and Selangor to patronise their food trails. Firms operating in wholesale & retail (non-food & beverage) have high closure rates in Eastern states. Likewise, other manufacturing has high closure rates in East Malaysia. These differences can lend insights into customization of policies and programs, particularly revealing sectors or regions where more support is needed. FIGURE 2 FIGURE 3 Firms were on the path to recovery at the end Firms in Northern states had the highest closure of the 1st MCO, but this trend has since been rates since the re-imposition of the MCO reversed Operational Status Closed firms Share of firms (%) Share of firms (%) 60 57 57 56 8 52 Northern 23 49 9 Eastern 19 40 38 Kuala Lumpur/ 8 31 31 Putrajaya/Cyberjaya 29 27 17 12 Other Central 20 12 16 13 12 18 East Malaysia 8 12 6 4 2 2 2 3 1 1 2 7 0 Southern 11 Open Partially Temp. Temp. Permanently open closed closed closed (mandated) (own choice) 0 5 10 15 20 25 MCO (Mar−Apr) 1st CMCO (May−Aug) Oct 1−15 2nd CMCO (Oct 14−Dec 7) Jan 15−Feb 10 Oct 1−15 Jan 15−Feb 10 Fraction by closed Fraction by closed Fraction by closed 0 .25 .5 .75 1 0 .25 .5 .75 1 0 .25 .5 .75 1 0 0 0 Agriculture & Mining Agriculture & Mining FIGURE 4 Agriculture & Mining Electronics Electronics Electronics Other Manufacturing Automotive Other Manufacturing Automotive Utilities Utilities .2 .2 .2 Other Manufacturing Construction Construction Utilities Construction Commerce (food & beverage) Commerce Commerce (food & beverage) .4 .4 (food & beverage) Other Commerce Other Commerce .4 Tourism & Transportation Tourism & Transportation Other Commerce Eastern .6 .6 Fin./Real Estate/ .6 Northern Fin./Real Estate/ Biz Services Tourism & Transportation Biz Services Fin./Real Estate/Biz Services .8 .8 .8 Other Services Other Services Other Services Kuala Lumpur/Putrajaya/Cyberjaya 1 1 1 Closed Fraction by closed Fraction by closed Fraction by closed Open 0 .25 .5 .75 1 0 .25 .5 .75 1 0 .25 .5 .75 1 0 0 0 Agriculture & Mining Agriculture & Mining Agriculture & Mining Electronics Electronics Electronics Automotive Automotive Other Manufacturing Utilities Automotive Other Manufacturing .2 .2 .2 Construction COVID-19 BUSINESS PULSE SURVEYS Impacts of COVID-19 on Firms in Malaysia Utilities Commerce Other Manufacturing Construction (food & beverage) Utilities Commerce Construction (food & beverage) Other Commerce .4 .4 .4 Commerce (food & beverage) Other Commerce Tourism & Transportation Other Commerce Tourism & Transportation Tourism & Transportation .6 .6 .6 Southern Fin./Real Estate/ Fin./Real Estate/ Biz Services East Malaysia Biz Services Other Central Fin./Real Estate/ Biz Services .8 .8 .8 Other Services ROUND 2 January – February 2021 Other Services Other Services High closure rates in Northern and Eastern regions is driven by high closure rates of service activities 1 1 1 7 8 COVID-19 BUSINESS PULSE SURVEYS Impacts of COVID-19 on Firms in Malaysia ROUND 2 January – February 2021 The reversal of firm recovery is also seen by firm sales. Firms experienced a decline in sales revenue by 22% during the second CMCO period, (a level close to the 25% decline seen during the first MCO), but the contraction lessens to 16% during the January to mid-February 2021 period (Figure 5). More firms reported losses during the second CMCO (mid Oct- 7 Dec), at 64% of firms compared to only 39% of firms in October 2020, prior to the imposition of CMCO. By January 2021, the number of firms reporting losses had decreased to 52%. Despite the reversal in recovery, Malaysian firms are still doing better than their regional peers (Figure 6). In general, small firms continue to experience revenue shocks more severely than medium and large firms and the same goes for non-exporters compared to exporters. FIGURE 5 FIGURE 6 Firms were on the path to recovery until Malaysian firms are doing better than regional the re-imposition of CMCO in October 2020 peers reversed the trend Average change in sales relative to last year Average change in last month’s sales, relative to last year (%) (%) 0 -59 Philippines, Jul -5 -42 Indonesia, Oct -8 -10 -12 -36 Vietnam, Sep/Oct -15 -16 -20 -22 Malaysia, Oct-Dec -22 -25 -26 -16 Malaysia, Jan/Feb MCO (Mar−Apr) 1st CMCO (May−Aug) Oct 1−15 2nd CMCO (Oct 14−Dec 7) Jan 15−Feb 10 -60 -50 -40 -30 -20 -10 0 Supply shocks Despite the tapering of the sales decline shown in the previous section, analysis suggests that a majority of firms face a decrease in the demand for their products. 53% of firms reported reduced orders from clients, up from 46% in early October 2020. There was a slight uptick in order cancellations at 22% against 20% of firms during the same period (Figure 7). While the majority of firms continue to face supply chain disruptions which affect their ability to fulfill orders, the problem did not worsen in the January-February 2021 period. Since the start of the pandemic, more firms are facing increased competition. Increased competition is driven partly by reduced demand, but more so by increased number of competitors. (Figure 8). COVID-19 BUSINESS PULSE SURVEYS Impacts of COVID-19 on Firms in Malaysia ROUND 2 January – February 2021 9 FIGURE 7 FIGURE 8 More firms reported a decrease in demand Increased competition is driven by increased compared to October number of competitors Demand relative to last year Change in competition relative to last year Share of firms (%) Share of firms (%) 60 50 48% 53 Other reason 50 Less 46 40 demand 36% 40 30 30 22 22 19 20 20 18 20 More 15 competitors 16% 10 More 6 6 demand 10 0 Less Increased Remained Decreased Decreased Payment competitors the same (reduced (cancellations) delays orders) 0 Competition Level of competition Competition Oct 1−15 Jan 15−Feb 10 has increased is the same has decreased Employment shocks The most common employment adjustments made by firms continue to be reduced hours for workers and reducing wages (Figure 9). However, firms are also adjusting on the extensive margin, with a lot of churning (40% of the firms laid off workers and 44% of the firms hired workers in Jan/Feb). Small firms are less likely to adjust employment both on the extensive and intensive margins, but the gaps are more pronounced on the extensive margin (Figure 10). This gap suggests that small firms have relatively little space to adjust employment compared to larger firms. FIGURE 9 FIGURE 10 Firms continue to adjust employment Small firms are less likely to adjust employment downwards at extensive margin Employment adjustments Adjustments during Jan 15–Feb 10 Share of firms (%) Share of firms (%) 80 Adjustments on extensive Adjustments on 69 100 margin – Fired workers intensive margins 67 63 62 61 62 87 60 57 56 82 55 56 55 53 53 53 53 51 80 49 49 47 44 44 43 66 41 40 40 60 54 48 20 40 20 20 0 Hired Adjustments Granted Granted leave Reduced Reduced workers on extensive leave of absence wages hours margin of absence with pay 0 1st CMCO (May−Aug) Oct 1−15 2nd CMCO (Oct 14−Dec 7) Jan 15−Feb 10 Small Medium Large Small Medium Large 10 COVID-19 BUSINESS PULSE SURVEYS Impacts of COVID-19 on Firms in Malaysia ROUND 2 January – February 2021 Financial shocks Liquidity appears to be a problem with the median firm only having two months of cash flow available. On average firms have less than 5 months of cash flow available, which is a lower buffer compared with its regional peers (Figure 11). By sector, In January-February, the agriculture & mining sector had the highest rate of firms in arrears while food & beverage services and construction firms expect the highest risk (Figure 12). As in Round 1 of the BPS results, the most important difficulties in accessing finance for firms in the Jan-Feb period continue to be the fear of non-repayment and reduced supplier credit. FIGURE 11 FIGURE 12 Malaysian firms have less liquidity compared to Agriculture & mining sector has the highest regional peers share of firms in arrears while food & beverage and construction firms expect the highest risk Average time until expected cash flow shortage Risk of falling in arrears in the next 6 months, by sector & survey round Number of months Share of firms (%) 80 56 44 10 9.48 58 28 46 41 49 35 36 38 35 60 36 39 35 33 39 35 40 31 8 32 29 32 40 40 5.85 6 31 30 30 33 27 27 28 28 4.90 23 23 25 24 23 20 22 21 21 20 20 17 19 4 12 0 2 Other Manufacturing Other Services Other Commerce Electronics Agriculture & Mining Commerce (F&B) Fin./Real Estate/ Biz. Services Tourism & Transportation Utilities Automotive Construction 0 Malaysia, Jan/Feb Vietnam, Sep/Oct Indonesia, Oct Results for Indonesia and Vietnam are estimated with weights. BPS Wave 1 – Oct 2020 Yes, will fall in arrears Results for Malaysia are non-weighted. BPS Wave 2 – Jan/Feb 2021 Yes, already Adjustments by Firms In addition to making employment adjustments and performing supply chain adjustments, a majority of firms continue to respond to the challenges brought on by the pandemic through the increased use of digital tools. Use of digital tools The increased usage of digital platforms came up as the most popular strategy being implemented by firms in response to the COVID-19 shocks. 58% of the firms surveyed increased use of digital platforms in January- February 2021. The most common use of digital platform continues to be for customer-facing functions such as marketing and sales functions (Figure 13). Shopee and Facebook are the most popular sales and marketing digital platforms, while Maybank and Touch ’n Go are the most popular e-wallet payment systems. There is also significant adoption for more complex functions such as production and supply chain management, which is more common among larger firms. Adoption of digital tools are not only beneficial for sales and marketing functions, as firms who adopted or increased use of digital platforms are also more likely to have remote work arrangements and introduce new products (Figure 14). COVID-19 BUSINESS PULSE SURVEYS Impacts of COVID-19 on Firms in Malaysia ROUND 2 January – February 2021 11 FIGURE 13 FIGURE 14 Marketing and sales are the most increased Adopters of digital solutions are also more business functions in digital adoption by firms likely to have remote work arrangements and offer new products Use of digital platforms by business functions Likelihood of starting or increasing remote work arrangement (% of firms that started or increased use of digital platforms) 0.55 80 0.50 72 0.45 63 61 62 60 0.40 55 53 50 0.35 46 46 46 44 44 42 41 42 0.30 40 36 35 34 No increase/no use Started using/increased use 31 31 of digital platforms of digital platforms 28 Oct 1−15 Jan 15−Feb 10 19 20 17 Conditional on region, sector, size fixed e ects 14 Likelihood of introducing innovative new products 0 0.35 Business administration Production planning Production Supply chain management Marketing Sales Payment methods Service delivery 0.30 0.25 0.20 0.10 No increase/no use Started using/increased use of digital platforms of digital platforms Small Medium Large Oct 1−15 Jan 15−Feb 10 Conditional on region, sector, size fixed e ects Despite the already high proportion of firms adopting digital technology, firms indicated sales and marketing support as the most popular choice for government support (Figure 15). On the regulatory front, firms indicated that digital privacy, consumer protection and cybersecurity are the top three barriers for firms to use the internet, social media and digital platforms (Figure 16). FIGURE 15 FIGURE 16 Sales and marketing functions remain the Digital privacy, consumer protection and most in-demand support firms need from the cybersecurity are the top 3 regulatory barriers Government for firms’ digital adoption Most useful business function for digital support Regulatory barriers to increasing use of internet, social media and platforms Share among interested firms (%) Share among firms who started or increased use (%) 60 57 54 Digital privacy 24 50 47 Consumer protection 23 44 41 42 40 38 38 39 Cybersecurity 22 35 36 34 32 29 Digital financial services 20 27 Taxation requirements 17 20 e-transactions regulations 16 Supplier requirements 15 0 Localization requirements 15 Business administration Production Production planning Supply chain management Marketing Sales Payment methods Service delivery Machine-generated data 11 Digital platform 10 Oct 1−15 Jan 15−Feb 10 0 5 10 15 20 25 12 COVID-19 BUSINESS PULSE SURVEYS Impacts of COVID-19 on Firms in Malaysia ROUND 2 January – February 2021 Policy Support A vast majority of firms were able to access government support programs that were introduced in the PRIHATIN/PENJANA plan. However, access by small firms (80%) still lag that of large (94%) and medium firms (93%). In fact, access to government support in Malaysia is the highest in the region (Figure 17). Access remains high with slight increases among new measures or measures that have been extended or accelerated under PERMAI/PEMERKASA packages (EPF program, tax relief, wage subsidies, hiring incentives) as shown in Figure 18. The slightly lower rate of access in January to February may be driven partly by the more targeted approach of payment deferral programs (e.g. electricity deferrals, loan payment deferrals, rent deferrals). FIGURE 17 FIGURE 18 Access to government support programs in Slight decrease in access to certain government Malaysia is the highest in the region support in Jan/Feb may be due to the more targeted approach Firms receiving government support Access to support policies Share of firms (%) Share of firms (%) 100 EPF support 32 32 89 Electricity deferral or discount 30 35 Tax relief for Covid expenses 27 30 Wage subsidies 28 80 29 Loan payment deferral 28 34 e−CAP 25 26 Tax deferrals/rebates/exemptions 23 23 60 Rent deferral or reduction 20 26 Hiring Incentives 18 FA to implement social dist. 16 20 40 Subsidized loans 16 16 40 Digitazation grants 15 15 29 Access to new credit 15 17 ICT acc. capital allowance 13 14 17 HRDF levy exemption 10 12 20 Acc. payment terms from GLCs 10 11 E−commerce training 11 10 Penjana Tourism Financing 9 9 0 0 10 20 30 Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Jan/Feb Sep/Oct Oct Jan/Feb Oct 1−15 Jan 15−Feb 10 Wage subsidy appears to be effective in limiting layoffs. Conditional on firm characteristics, including sales growth and liquidity, having access to wage subsidies significantly reduces the likelihood that firms lay off workers (by ~8%) as shown in Figure 19. Conversely, firms’ liquidity (cash flow availability) is significantly correlated with probability of firing workers with businesses that expected cash flow shortages being ~9% more likely to fire workers relative to those who did not. At the sectoral level, most sectors indicated that payment deferral and wage subsidies were the most important type of support. The only exception was the agriculture and mining sector that rated support to adopt health protocol and buy local products campaign as the most needed support after payment deferrals. Overall, the assessment of firms on the government policy and programs has been fairly positive. A majority of firms have confidence in the way the Government is handling the pandemic with 57% of businesses expressing “very high” or “quite high” confidence in the Government’s overall handling of the pandemic (Figure 20). In addition, 63% of firms considered the 2021 budget as addressing concerns of the business community adequately or very adequately (Figure 21). Businesses were also asked to state the improvements in government policy implementation that would benefit their businesses the MOST in the next six months. The top ranked implementation reform priorities for firms continue to be improving predictability of the SOP regulations (31% of firms) and expediting the approvals and disbursements for existing loans and grants under PRIHATIN/PENJANA (25% of firms). These COVID-19 BUSINESS PULSE SURVEYS Impacts of COVID-19 on Firms in Malaysia ROUND 2 January – February 2021 13 would be useful to keep in mind to successfully implement the economic recovery plan to ensure that firms are able to access the support they need to tide over this crisis. FIGURE 19 Wage subsidy is effective in reducing the number of laid off workers Correlates of firm’s likelihood to lay o workers 0.4 0.2 0 -0.2 -0.4 Sales growth (rate) Cashflow shortages in 6 months Access to wagesubsidies Access to liquidity measures Access to other policies No access to support because no need Electronics Automotive Other Manufacturing Utilities Construction Commerce (food & beverage) Other Commerce Tourism & Transportation Fin./Real Estate/ Biz. Services Other Services Medium Large Coe cient estimates from regressing laying o workers dummy on sale changes, liquidity, access to support policies, and baseline sector, employment size FEs. FIGURE 20 FIGURE 21 Majority of firms have confidence in the way the Majority of firms found Budget 2021 addresses Government is handling the pandemic their needs Confidence in the way the Malaysian Government is handling Perception – Budget 2021 addresses the concerns of the the COVID-19 pandemic business community Share of firms (%) Share of firms (%) 41 40 50 49 32 40 30 30 20 16 21 20 11 14 10 10 9 8 0 0 Very high Quite high Quite low Very low Very Quite Quite Very Not adequate adequate inadequate inadequate applicable Next Steps Continued monitoring of the situation is required to understand how firms in Malaysia are recovering from and adapting to the COVID-19 crisis. Implementation for Round 3 of BPS is planned in June 2021 and Round 4 in September 2021. Efforts will be made to reach out to the same firms in the subsequent rounds to have a panel for the analysis. Once the results of Round 4 of the BPS are available, a final note that summarizes and analyzes all four rounds of the BPS will be produced.