Business: We can't resist the second closure, bankruptcy expected

As cases of COVID-19 increase, some countries have begun restoring restrictions. The number of cases of the infected has increased in Kosovo as well, but health authorities are asking citizens to respect safeguards, to avoid a total closure.

Kosovo has registered on Monday (October 19th) 118 new cases of coronarys, while on October 6th, the number of infected has been 34.

Kosovo Prime Minister Avdullah Hoti has said on Sunday that institutions are preparing to respond to increasing the number of new corruption cases, calling on citizens for maximum care. Institutions, they have prepared the necessary actions to avoid, as he put it, a total “shutdown”.

Minister of Health in the Government of Kosovo, Armend Zemaj, during a visit he made to the Lipjan Corresponding Centre on Monday, said the “total closure is the last option”.

Halimi: We can't resist the second closure.

Company owner for milk processing “Sharri”, Halimi Honour, says that in the first phase of the closure, from March to May, the sale of products fell by 40 percent, while workers and other necessary expenses have been financed by saving means rather than by making a circulation.

In case of isolation, we can hold a month in operation because we haven't been able to build stocks and financial means that were spent on the first pandemic. But I'm pretty sure we can't resist another eventual isolation, as during the first close-up of”, Halimi told Radio Free Europe.

This company numbers 36 regular workers and about 550 farmers of whom are supplied with milk on a daily basis.

Sahin: Business failures, unemployment increases

Agim Sahin, chairman of the Kosovo Business Alliance, stresses that in the event of making the decision to toughen restrictive measures, business losses will triple and will be destroyed in a massive manner. Consequently, the rate of unemployment in the country will significantly increase, he adds.

We will have thousands of unemployed citizens, the discontent and great interest of citizens to leave Kosovo will increase. Uncertainty will be present because where people are unemployed and in crisis, the uncertainty of living in the country increases. There will be increased criminal activities, citizens will try to survive under heavy economic conditions, while the state will really face a crisis”, Sahin said.

Due losses to Kosovo's economy caused by the pandemic are estimated to be one billion euros, Kosovo Economic Ode Chairman Berat Rukiqi said days ago, while by the end of the year, more than 30,000 jobs could be lost.

Radio Free Europe, on the social Facebook network, has asked a question of whether there should be a close-up of the economy again, as in the first month of the pandemic to be protected by COVID-19.

The largest number of commentators have voiced opposition to the rigging of restrictive measures.

Bad news: Business losses will increase the level of non-aligned loans

Flamur Keqa, an expert on financial matters, says that material losses to businesses can also affect the financial system.

In a statement to Radio Free Europe, Keqa points out that in the inability of developing the event, businesses will have no circulation at all, they will not reach the return of credit installments to commercial banks.

The short-term return of credit installments will increase the level of non-aligned loans.

A “one of the effects will also be the destruction of the bad credit report because the ratio of bad loans in the banking system is at the best level compared to all countries in the region. On the other hand, the evental growth poses additional risks to the bank system”, Keqa points out.

The total credit value in ten commercial banks in Kosovo has reached 3.1 billion euros. Of this value, around 2 billion euros are loans borrowed from businesses. The percentage of informal loans in August of this year has reached 2.6 percent from 1.9 percent at the end of last year.

Otherwise, to recover the losses that businesses have suffered from the pandemic COVID- 19, the Kosovo government has earmarked 60m euros. Many businesses have taken advantage of the number of workers registered in December 2019.

Since March 13th, when the first cases have been recorded, health authorities have reported on 17,009 affected by COVIED-19 disease, which causes coronary.

Of them 656 patients have died, while active cases currently are 1,637.