80 Percent of Companies in the UK Affected by Middle East Conflict

JAKARTA - Around 80 percent of 800 companies in the UK say they have felt or are likely to feel the impact of the conflict in the Middle East, according to the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).

"Four out of five companies or 80 percent reported that they had already felt the impact or were expected to emerge as a result of the Iran conflict, based on research by the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC)," the British Chamber of Commerce said in a statement.

"Rising energy prices and shipping costs are the most frequently cited direct impacts by the companies surveyed. More than 800 companies participated in the online research during April," the organization continued.

The statement said the manufacturing industry had the biggest impact, with 68 percent of companies claiming to have been affected.

In addition, as many as 23 percent of manufacturing companies reported that they would soon be affected.

"According to the study, three-quarters of companies or 75 percent expect an increase in energy bills in the next year due to the conflict. As many as 43 percent of companies that responded said they expected their energy costs to increase by more than 20 percent in the next 12 months," the statement said.

The study also found that the number of companies reporting difficulties in paying electricity bills increased by 9 percentage points since the beginning of the year, reaching 36 percent.