The coronavirus pandemic had a severe negative impact on Liechtenstein’s economy in the first half of 2020. Exports and sales dropped to well below the previous year’s level. However, recovery is expected in the near future.

The first half of the current year was greatly impacted by the consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, as the Office for Statistics (AS) reported in a summary of the latest Economic Report for Liechtenstein. However, it ascertains that Liechtenstein’s economy is past its “coronavirus trough” and has “good prospects for recovery”.
Specifically, analysts at AS found that goods exports in the first half of 2020 collapsed and were 22.7 percent down on the prior year period. However, exports in July and August were only 12 percent lower than in the previous year, the summary revealed.
Looking at the sales revenues of 25 selected larger companies, a decline of almost 20 percent was recorded on the previous year. Year on year, sales in the reporting period were down 21 percent in industry, 10 percent in the financial sector and 13 percent in the service sector. Conversely, the assets under management of the three top banking groups in the country were up 1.4 percent on the same period of the prior year to 338 billion Swiss francs.
Almost half of companies surveyed in the industrial and service sectors categorized the general business situation as poor at the end of the second quarter, while 40 percent said it was satisfactory. However, no further deterioration was expected for the third quarter in the main. 
According to AS analysts, the economies of many of Liechtenstein’s key trading partners are by now also on the road to recovery. They predict that this will have a positive effect on the domestic economy as well.

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