By Riyaz ul Khaliq
ANKARA (AA) – Businesses in China have been severely disrupted following a lockdown in many parts of the country to contain the spread of coronavirus.
It has been more than two months since the virus, officially known as COVID-19, surfaced in Wuhan. Since then, it has killed at least 4,600 people, infected 124,519 and spread to 118 countries.
In China, the national tally is 80,980 with 3,173 deaths.
As trade is witnessing a slump in the mainland, companies have cut down salaries of their employees.
The hardest-hit in the world’s second largest economy is its automobile sector.
Figures for January show automobile sales dropped by 18%, daily Global Times reported.
Sales of new electric vehicles, according to the newspaper, witnessed a 54.5% slump year-on-year.
The infection forced Beijing to send people working in metropolitans on forced vacation, and close its educational institutions. This coincided with holidays of the annual Chinese New Year.
Without disclosing names, the publication said many companies had decided to limit the salaries of their senior executives, whereas regular bonuses in the first quarter of 2020 will be suspended and basic salaries reduced by 20%.
A real-estate developer in southwestern China's Sichuan province was reported to not have paid its employees in January and February “due to a broken capital chain."
Singapore-based CapitaLand real estate company has also announced a cut in salaries of its board of directors and senior management while its directors' pay and basic remuneration will fall by up to 15% from April 1.