Driving commercial and political engagement between Asia, the Middle East and Europe
Driving commercial and political engagement between Asia, the Middle East and Europe
Driving commercial and political engagement between Asia, the Middle East and Europe
Asia Pacific government policies that will impact and support business during COVID-19
The information below is a summary of government policies that have been put in place in Asia Pacific since the outbreak of COVID-19.
These include those that affect the movement of people and goods, as well as initiatives that have been put in place to support business at this time.
The information has been collated by the UK Department for International Trade in Asia Pacific.
Please note, this is updated on a weekly basis, and was last published on 15 May 2020.
More information can be found through the relevant links.
Please email DIT.APAC@fco.gov.uk if your UK business in Asia Pacific needs specific support during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Quick links
Malaysia
Impact
Restrictions on people entering and leaving the country are as follows:
For more information, please see the Malaysian Ministry of Home Affairs and FCO Travel Advice.
Restrictions on the movement of goods and operations are as follows:
Support
On 5 June the Government announced a $8.2bn Economic Stimulus Plan. This includes:
All measures are open to companies with Malaysian employees.
Previously announced measures announced in March ($60bn):
Myanmar
Impact
Restrictions on the movement of people:
There are currently no flights into and out of Myanmar.
Support
The government released the Myanmar COVID-19 Economic Response Plan (CERP) on 27 April 2020 to mitigate the economic impact in Myanmar. This included:
Indonesia
Impact
Restrictions on people entering and leaving the country are as follows, with full details of the travel restrictions for foreign visitors available in English on Twitter via DitJen Imigrasi (@ditjen_imigrasi).
All foreign nationals are barred from entering and transiting through Indonesia due to COVID-19. There are 5 exceptions to the ban:
Entry requirements apply to those who fall within the list of exceptions
The regulations enforce large scale social distancing which includes limiting the movement of people and goods, and the restricting of religious practices and activities in public areas.
Local agencies have been instructed to implement anti-epidemic activities while ensuring operation of import-export enterprises.
Support
Tax incentives and credit for business:
Please click here to see a comprehensive summary of jurisdictional tax measures and government reliefs in response to COVID-19.
Import restrictions for goods under the 749 harmonised system code reduced. Import restrictions have also been simplified for raw materials as well as on animal, medicine and food imports. The import relaxation will apply until 30 June 2020.
The Financial Services Authority (OJK) has relaxed the requirements for Indonesian banks to determine the asset quality of debtors that are affected by the COVID-19 outbreak either directly or indirectly in the economic sector including tourism, transportation, hospitality, trade, processing, agriculture, and mining. This includes:
Companies forced to limit their business activities due to government policies may change the amount or method of payment of the employees’ salary, based on consensus reached between the employers and employees.
In the event that rendering normal business activities becomes impossible, employers may opt to temporarily suspend the business in whole or in part. The employers still have to pay for employees’ salary and benefits in full during the suspension period, unless both parties agree otherwise.
See more information here.
Singapore
Impact
Restrictions on the movement of people are as follows:
Support
Singapore COVID-19 Support Package was announced in three tranches – 18 Feb, 26 Mar and 6 Apr with the following being announced:
The fourth budget, known as the Fortitude Budget, a supplementary budget of S$33 billion was announced on 26 May 20, aimed primarily at helping workers and businesses to tide over the Covid-19 crisis and the bleak economic outlook ahead.
The key takeaways are:
For workers
The Job Support Scheme (JSS) will be enhanced in three ways:
An SGUnited Jobs & Skills Package will create close to 100,000 opportunities in three areas – jobs, traineeships and skills training.
There will be hiring incentive for employers which hire local workers who have completed eligible traineeship and training programmes. This will be expanded to cover workers of all ages.
For eligible workers under the age of 40, the incentive will be 20% of the monthly salary for 6 months, capped at $6,000 in total. For those 40 and above, the incentive will be 40% of the monthly salary for 6 months, capped at $12,000 in total.
For businesses
Supporting enterprises with cashflow, costs and credit
Foreign Worker Levy and Waiver Rebate:
This will be extended by up to 2 months for businesses that are not allowed to resume on-site operations after the circuit breaker. There will be a 100% waiver and $750 rebate in June 2020, and a 50% waiver and $375 rebate in July 2020.
Higher CPF contribution rates will be deferred
The increase in CPF contribution rates for senior workers will be deferred by 1 year, from 1 Jan 2021 to 1 Jan 2022.
Cash grants to help SMEs with rental
$2 billion in cash grants will help SME tenants with rental costs. Including the property tax rebate for 2020, the Government will:
There will also be additional rental waivers for commercial and other non-residential tenants of Government properties – including stall holders of hawker centres and markets, tenants of commercial buildings and industrial, office and agricultural tenants.
Financial support for promising startups
This includes $4.5b of loans through Government financial schemes like the Temporary Bridging Loan programme and the Enterprise Financing Scheme, and $285m additional financing support for promising startups by co-investing with the private sector.
There will also be support for businesses to go digital including:
Encouraging e-payments
A bonus of $300 per month over 5 months will encourage the adoption of e-payments by stallholders in hawker centres, wet markets, coffee shops and industrial canteens.
Digital resilience bonus
Starting with food services and retail sectors, a payout of up to $5,000 will help businesses digitalise, with PayNow Corporate, e-invoicing, business process or e-commerce solutions. There will be an additional payout of $5,000 for businesses that use advanced solutions.
The Monetary Authority of Singapore announced two updates to help financial institutions (FI) and FinTechs:
The Monetary Authority of Singapore has also launched a new facility to lend SGD at an interest rate of 0.1% annum to eligible financial institutions and banks to lower the cost of their loans to SMEs.
For more information, please visit GoBusiness Covid
Thailand
Impact
All international passenger flights are now banned.
A State of Emergency is in place until 31 May 2020. All shops are closed, with the exception of supermarkets.
Inter-province travel is prohibited.
Support
Fiscal package worth approximately 400 billion baht, comprising:
For full information see here.
Vietnam
Impact
Restrictions on the movement of people are as follows:
Support
The government has released the following Covid-19 Support Packages:
Other fiscal measures include:
Other monetary measures include:
Philippines
Impact
Restrictions on the movement of people:
Ninoy Aquino International Airport was reopened on 11 May for inbound international flight, though strict guidelines still resume. See more here.
Restrictions on movement of goods:
The government has ensured the availability of essential goods, in particular food and medicine, by adopting measures as may reasonably be necessary to facilitate and/or minimise disruption to the supply chain, especially for basic commodities and services to the maximum extent possible. See more here.
Support
The government has implemented business support measures including:
Japan
Impact
Restrictions on the movement of people are as follows:
Support
The government has released COVID-19 Support Packages which include measures such as:
You can register for more information via dedicated phone lines in Japan:
South Korea
Impact
Restrictions on the movement of people as follows:
Testing on arrival. Passengers will remain at a separate facility for approx 24 hours until the results arrive. If negative, arrivals are still required to undergo quarantine for a period of 14 days. Those with a residence in Korea may self-quarantine there. Those without a residence will be quarantined at government-arranged facilities and charged a fee – likely to be around 100,000KRW (approximately £66) per day. Should they test positive, they are taken to an appropriate healthcare facility.
Transit is possible, without taking a test, if remaining airside.
For more information on movement of people see the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/south-korea
There are currently no restrictions on the movement of goods.
Support
Special tax reductions/exemptions for SMEs and VAT breaks resulting for amendment bill on the Restriction of Special Taxation Act
Ministry of Employment and Labor (MOEL) has broadened the employee retention subsidy to all industries (April – June).
Additional measures have included:
For more information, please see the Ministry of Economy and Finance website.
Taiwan
Impact
Restrictions on the movement of people are as follows:
There are currently no restrictions on the movement of goods.
Support
A Stimulus package of £28bn (5.6% of GDP) to mitigate impacts & stimulate GDP growth (tax relief, salary subsidies, subsidised loans etc.) with focus on SMEs has been released.
Australia
Impact
Restrictions on the movement of people are as follows:
There are currently no restrictions on the movement of goods.
Support
The Australian government has released the following packages to support business:
Healthcare support to employees/citizens:
New Zealand
Impact
Restrictions on the movement of people are as follows:
There are currently no restrictions on the movement of goods.
Support
The New Zealand government has released a $20bn economic response package which includes $8bn of wage subsidies, $2.8bn in business tax changes, a $6.3bn Business Finance Guarantee scheme, $3bn income support for vulnerable people and carers.
Wage Subsidy relief – a business that can show it has had a 30% decline in revenue for any month between January and June 2020 compared to the year before can claim wage subsidies.
Business Finance Guarantee Scheme – provides short-term credit to small and medium-sized businesses affected by the COVID-19 crisis. New Zealand businesses will be eligible to apply to their bank for a loan of up to NZD 500,000. The loans will only be available to businesses with a turnover of between NZD 250,000 and NZD 80 million per annum.
New Zealand Inland Revenue will not require those businesses to pay any tax due now and will write-off any penalties and interest that arise from late payment. The government has also enacted a number of other tax changes in connection with COVID-19 and further tax changes are likely.
Six-month deferred mortgage scheme for small to medium enterprises whose incomes have been affected by COVID-19.
For more information, see the links below:
Disclaimer: DIT has created this repository using publicly available information. DIT and Asia House not responsible for, and cannot guarantee the accuracy of, information on sites that it does not manage; nor should the inclusion of a hyperlink be taken in itself to mean endorsement by the DIT or Asia House of the site, the site owner, or any specific content to which it points.
Asia House offers a range of services to support businesses and organisations, including bespoke events, online briefings, research, political intelligence, and stakeholder engagement and strategic communications advice. We are also running a coronavirus monitoring service, bringing together key public health and economic data, as well as the latest policy responses, from across Asia. These reports are shared with Corporate Members each week.
For more information about these services, including Asia House’s coronavirus monitoring reports, please contact Sarah King, Head of Stakeholder Engagement, at: sarah.king@asiahouse.co.uk
