JAKARTA - Economist Chatib Basri assessed that during the COVID-19 pandemic and the implementation of large-scale social restrictions (PSBB) policies, companies will find it difficult to expand. This is caused by a condition in which the costs incurred with the income earned are not comparable.
For example, said Chatib, during this transitional PSBB period, restaurants or malls were limited by a maximum number of visitors to 50 percent. However, the costs incurred by the company for rental costs remain the same as the conditions before the PSBB.
"Like now PSBB DKI Jakarta, rent does not care, (visitors) who come 50 percent or 100 percent pay the same rent. That is what is called a fixed cost . What does that mean? The company cannot achieve economies of scale. This means that there is a risk involved this condition, if the economic scale is not achieved, "he said, in a virtual discussion, Tuesday, October 13.
Chatib explained that companies that have difficulty achieving economic value can actually survive amid the pressure of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, this condition will make the company like a 'zombie'.
Furthermore, Chatib said, this zombie company conditions enable the company to meng- cover variable costs but can not meng- cover fixed costs.
"The company is a zombie company . He works for a bank, only pays debts. This makes people not interested in expanding their business. This shows that if the market capacity is still high, people will not expand. Why add new investment if the existing investment is high. underutilized , "he explained.
However, Chatib said that the current implementation of the Transitional PSBB policy had a positive impact on the economy. But unfortunately, it only lasted a short time.
The former Minister of Finance said that the current economic conditions can be seen, one of which is the Indonesian manufacturing index (PMI) which rose to a level of 50.8 in August 2020. However, in September 2020 it fell back to 47.2.
"This is consistent with the leading indicator, which I said, although in July it went up, it was then flat. The rebound indicator is true, but short lived," he said.
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