Crisis, Lithuania, Markets and Companies

"An impact is being felt in all sectors, but it will be different for each sector," Robertas Dargis told.   

"We need a very effectively functioning Economy Ministry, but it has no minister now. It is in the state's interest to ensure that we don't weaken to the point where we would struggle to recover afterwards," he said.  

According to the confederation's president, the service sector – hotels, restaurants and entertainment providers which have practically stopped all business activities –  has been hit the most heavily by the outbreak. Manufacturers, meanwhile, still have orders. 

"Companies have orders for a few months ahead. There were no indications of a fall in orders, at least in the past week," he said. 

However, Dargis admitted that other sectors, such as construction, would be affected by the coronavirus crisis, but said it was too early to predict the extent of its impact. 

"No doubt, the construction sector will slow down because there are delays in deliveries of materials, the threat of downtime emerges and building material stores are closed," the confederation's president said. 

"Of course, there will be an impact everywhere, but we will be able to talk about a more significant effect after we sum up the results," he added. 

The Lithuanian government endorsed a week ago an unprecedented economic stimulus package to help mitigate the negative impact of the coronavirus-sparked crisis on workers and businesses.

The plan earmarks 1 bn euros for boosting the economy, and 500 mln euros for maintaining jobs and business liquidity. 

As part of the package, the Bank of Lithuania is set to ease regulatory measures to increase banks' lending potential by 2.5 bn euros. 

The plan provides for deferring or rescheduling tax payments for businesses affected by the coronavirus crisis as well as for exempting taxpayers from fines and penalties. 

The State Tax Inspectorate has published a list of 32,000 coronavirus-affected businesses that will be exempt from late payment interest and will not be subject to enforced tax recovery procedures.