F E ATU RE COVID-19 ASIA-PACIFIC MOVERS BATTLE ON With Asia-Pacific first to be hit by COVID-19, moving and relocation businesses here have been facing up to this new challenge for the longest in the global industry. This has included navigating the marked variations in impact across the region, from restrictions on travel and lockdown measures to the staffing and cash-flow issues brought by the pandemic. Andrew Mourant reports on developments and progress and the issues that remain I n China and the Asia-Pacific region, where COVID-19 began its destructive work, FIDI Affiliates are picking up the pieces. No-one knows quite what will happen next whether, like aftershocks from an earthquake, second spikes of the disease will wreak more havoc. There have been casualties in the moving industry and more may follow. But the regional impact has been far from uniform, as Rob Chipman, Hong Kong managing director of Asian Tigers, points out. The conditions are vastly different, he says. Countries could be grouped into the severely affected, such as the Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore and China; the moderately affected (Japan, Korea); and those hardly affected at all, such as Taiwan and Hong Kong. Freight, both air and sea, is limited, especially to affected countries. Theres difficulty and delay in securing bookings, and price hikes because of strong WW W. F I D I. O R G FF298 AugSept20 pp30-37 Asia Recovery.indd 31 demand. Where theres lockdown, partial or full, transportation in and out will be impacted. This has left Asian Tigers unable to estimate precisely how long it will take to clear shipments through customs; and having to navigate issues in areas including port storage, demurrage and detention. Company updates illustrate the extreme regional variations in the impact, but also show how things are easing. For instance, in the Philippines, as June began, most industries were allowed to operate with up to 75 per cent staffing levels; and, with social distancing, public transport could run at 50 per cent capacity. In Singapore, lockdown was being lifted in three phases, and green lanes established with countries for business and official travel. Thailand, however, extended its state of emergency by a month (from the end of April to May, with a 10pm-4am curfew). ROB CHIPMAN, MANAGING DIRECTOR OF ASIAN TIGERS HONG KONG Where theres lockdown, partial or full, transportation in and out will be impacted 31 20/07/2020 16:05