Covid 19: Recession
With the recent worldwide outbreak that affected almost all of the industry globally, this article focuses on Singapore’s business activity in the service sector. As according to the Department of Statistics Singapore, a survey was conducted to measure Singapore’s general business outlook from April to September 2020. The service sector is expected to face a decline in business activity in the next 3 months even after the Circuit Breaker was lifted, as compared to Q4 (Oct – Dec 2019) and Q1 (Jan – Mar 2020).
Due to the short-term international travel restrictions, the accommodation and air transport service within the transport & storage industry is expected to collapse further as the demand to travel in and out of Singapore is relatively low.
The food & beverage industry and retail trade are highly affected due to the Circuit Breaker period and will continue to receive negative prospects in the forthcoming months during Phase 1 and 2. According to The New Paper, a high of 159 businesses in the F&B sector closed down in April 2020 and is predicted to have more cessations in the coming months. This is mainly due to the high operational costs and low profit margin.
Similarly, to other industry players such as real estate, recreation, community & personal services, information & communication, wholesale trade, financial & insurance industry, and other business services will experience slow recovery from the outbreak once Singapore re-opens its doors in Phase 2.
However, within the legal industry, a spike of estimated 30% was reported by The Straits Times for inquiries and advises from wrongful dismissal in a workplace to rights on visiting their child for divorced parents, in recent weeks. During the Circuit Breaker period, most of the cases involving non- urgent matters were being put to a halt, while those that require urgent attention were continued and were allowed to be presented in court.
Law firms were considered as non-essential service during the lockdown period and its employees are to work from home (WFH). Due to the inability to meet current and future clients, business was slowed and the profits are lessened. Firms like us, Abdul Rahman Law Corporation, did face this issue at the beginning of the lockdown but we manage to recuperate within a week or two. With the lockdown being lifted, we are seeing a slow rise in our services to clients till today.
In line with the current Covid-19 situation we are facing right now, Abdul Rahman Law Corporation has opened its doors to welcome clients who are facing issues in any legal areas. Abdul Rahman Law Corporation was incorporated with limited liability on 09 April 2014. As a firm, Abdul Rahman Law Corporation is the embodiment of the experience and practice built up by the Managing Director, Mr. Abdul Rahman Bin Mohd Hanipah.
The practice areas that have been developed at Abdul Rahman Law Corporation centres on the needs of the community and the practice is driven largely by the clients that have known us, appointed us and worked with us for a long period of time. We seek to grow relationships with our clients and we strive to empower them with the proper legal resources and the much-needed legal knowledge for them to run their businesses and to manage their personal affairs effectively.
We believe strongly in people, and our strongest asset in the firm would be the people that run it, the staff that manage the files, the lawyers that attend court and our administrative personnel that keep the heart of the practice pumping.
Your FREE consultation awaits you. Call into +65 62406901/ +65 9066 4196, for any legal inquiries.
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Abdul Rahman Law Corporation (ARLC) is a boutique law firm that offers comprehensive legal services across a range of practice areas, from estate planning, probate and conveyancing to Syariah matters. If you’re looking for a socially-conscious legal practice with uncompromising standards of excellence, ARLC is definitely the law firm for you. Contact us for a free consultation today.