CEOs Believe Demand Recovery by October, But Nearly 50% Businesses Operating at Under 25% Capacity: Poll

Nearly 30 per cent of the CEOs expect demand recovery in the Indian economy to recover by August of this year, while 60 per cent believe that it will pick by October. The rest of the 10 per cent are even more bullish on the prospects and said demand will be see an upsurge by next month.

These were the findings of a snap poll of chief executives conducted by CNBC-TV18 and Confederation of Indian Industries to find out how they are dealing with the Covid-19 situation.

The coronavirus lockdown has taken a heavy toll on the Indian economy, cratering consumption as the stay-at-home orders put a complete halt to most economic activities in the country. This comes on the back of an already decelerating economic growth. The government will on Friday report the GDP figures for the firth three months of the year and analysts expect it to be at 2.1%.

The CEO’s cited cash flow as the biggest pain point at this point, followed by lockdown restrictions and labour issues. Around 14 per cent said they have not been able to restart business operations despite relaxations in the lockdown restrictions.

Another 33 per cent said they are operating at 10-25 per cent capacity, 31 per cent at 30-50 per cent capacity, while 22 per cent said they are at 50-100 per cent capacity.

Although the CEOs expected a demand recovery, they chose caution in their own personal choices. A large majority - 82 percent - believed that a lighter travel schedule will become the norm going forward.

About 35 percent CEOs said they will wait and see for at least one month before taking a flight while 28 percent said they would wait for three months to take a flight. Another 19 percent said they were ready to take a flight immediately after resumption of services while 17 percent said they would avoid taking a flight this year if they can help it.

The poll conducted on May 25 also found that 73 percent of respondents would cut down on eating out. About 63 percent of the CEOs who participated in the poll said they would not have any international holiday plans with their families this year.

Among the other findings are 30 percent CEOs polled saying they would take fewer holidays in the long run, 53 percent believing that the pandemic has made them kinder and 79 percent saying they would spend more on charity.

Here's a look at the poll and its findings: