BusinessToday Previous Editions

ċ 12.03.2020 11 COVID-19 countries and companies Covid-19 effects LAST week, UK Finance, the trade body for the banking sector, suggested its members may extend relief to custom- ers impacted by the COVID-19 virus currently spreading across Europe. Consumers may face loss of income or un- expected expenses due to illness and need to self-isolate. e Royal Bank of Scotland group, which is majori- ty-owned by the government, is the first to announce a raft of relief measures, including for mortgages. Its subsidiaries, RBS, NatWest and Ulster bank will also give affected customers three-month reprieves on loan repayments and allow them to temporarily increase their credit card limits and withdraw cash from fixed savings ac- counts without penalty. e banks will also ditch or refund fees for credit card cash withdrawals and boost cash withdrawal limits to £500. A spokesperson for RBS said: "We understand that there may be circumstances where a personal customer may fall into financial difficulty as a result of the impacts of corona- virus, for instance, loss of income. "We will look to understand each customer's situation on a case-by-case basis and can offer a number of options to help them manage their finances. We would encourage any customer experiencing financial difficulty to get in touch with us." RBS is also offering relief for small businesses which may be impacted by disrupted supply chains and decreased foot- fall. e bank, which will rebrand as NatWest later this year, is setting aside £5 billion to cover emergency loans for small businesses and scrapping borrowing fees for those which are struggling due to the knock-on effects of the epidemic. e bank has already contacted more than 5,000 business customers to offer support, including loan repayment holi- days of up to six months. Meanwhile, competitor Lloyds Banking Group is putting aside £2 billion for emergency loans for SMEs, suspending fees on those loans and considering offering repayment hol- idays for the worst-affected firms. In Italy, where the entire country is on lockdown, all mort- gage payments have been suspended to soften the econom- ic impact of the virus. RBS and NatWest offer mortgage holidays for customers affected by coronavirus Virus to push Cathay Pacific into H1 loss, prompt more capacity cuts CATHAY Pacific has warned of a substantial loss in the first half of the year and flagged more capacity cuts due to the coronavirus outbreak. e Covid-19 outbreak has forced the airline to ground more than half its fleet and re- quest aircraft delivery delays. e carrier has been at the forefront of a global slump in travel demand due to the ep- idemic, compounding a hit it took in the second half of 2019 from widespread anti-govern- ment protests in Chinese-ruled Hong Kong. "Travel demand has dropped substantially and we have taken a number of short-term meas- ures in response. ese have included a sharp reduction of capacity in our passenger net- work," Cathay Chairman Pat- rick Healy said. "Despite these measures we expect to incur a substantial loss for the first half of 2020," he added. Cathay, which said 80% of employees agreed to take three weeks of unpaid leave to cut costs, added it does not rule out job cuts as the virus situa- tion unfolds. It has already grounded more than 140 planes and slashed ca- pacity by two thirds across its network for March and April compared to earlier plans for a 40% cut. Earlier this month, Cathay carried 82% fewer passengers than usual on Cathay Pacific and its regional arm Cathay Dragon, chief financial officer Martin Murray told analysts. e company flagged that substantial passenger capacity and frequency reductions were likely for May as well, adding it was "difficult to predict when these conditions will improve". Cathay is flying empty pas- senger planes filled with cargo to help make up for the one- third of its cargo capacity that has been lost through flight cuts across its network, its chief customer and commercial of- ficer Ronald Lam said. Cathay said it was cautiously optimistic about the air cargo market, where rates have risen sharply in recent weeks. However, given overall weak- ness in the sector, Cathay said it was talking to both Airbus and Boeing about potentially delay- ing aircraft deliveries. But for now Cathay said it is still receiving new aircraft and that it hopes to add capacity once demand returns. It was due to take delivery of 17 A350 and A320neo family planes from Airbus and lessors this year. Cathay said it had unrestrict- ed liquidity of HK$20 billion and it expected to remain a go- ing concern. CFO Murray said there was no need for a cash call yet but he could not rule that out if the situation deteriorated. For 2019, the airline report- ed a 28% plunge in earnings to HK$1.69 billion ($218m), in line with market estimates. Cathay's major shareholders include Swire Pacific, Air China and Qatar Airways.

• Cover