CIP. Businesses indicate state support ‘far short’ of what is needed
On average, 43% of companies indicated that their sales and service provision in October this year were lower than in the same month of 2019, and in the case of large companies this figure was 58%.
The opinion of Portuguese businesspeople about the support granted by the State has deteriorated once again, according to the results of the 18th survey of the Portuguese Business Confederation (CIP), “Sinais Vitais”, which show that 87% consider that “they fall far short” of what is needed.
According to the study, presented by Pedro Esteves, of ISCTE, “at the beginning of November, 87% of companies consider that support programmes fall short (or very short) of what they need, against 82% in September”.
The study also shows that “73% consider that they are bureaucratic or very bureaucratic”, against 68% in September”, 69% consider that the RRP (Recovery and Resilience Plan) “will have no meaning for the activity of their company” and that “only 8% consider that it can be significant (6%) or very significant (2%), which worsens compared to September (12%)”.
According to Óscar Gaspar, vice-president of CIP’s General Council this points to a “dramatic” scenario.
“We’ve been talking about the bazooka for a year. This is not what businesspeople think”, he stressed, indicating that the idea is that the ” RRP is something in the public sphere” and that “only public bodies know what it is and what it will be used for”.
In the study, CIP also concluded that, on average, 43% of companies indicated that their sales and service provision in October this year were lower than in the same month of 2019, and in the case of large companies this figure was 58%.
As for the value of orders in the portfolio of companies, the survey concluded that “there was a maintenance” in November compared to September.
With regard to companies’ sales expectations until the end of 2021, “it is negative compared to the same period in 2019 (with 39% expecting a decrease, versus 31% of companies expecting growth),” and “this negative outlook is mainly seen in large companies (53%) and micro companies, with 47% expecting negative behaviour,” the study said.
The survey also asked companies about human resources. Most companies (80%) expect to keep jobs and 12% expect to increase them.
“In terms of investment, expectations for 2022 improve compared to September,” according to the study, and, on average, “33% of companies think of investing more than in 2019.”
The sample used for this study is made up of 360 companies, 76% of which are micro and small businesses and 5% are large companies.
