The struggle is real for economies that succumbed to the hydra of Covid-19. The global economy is projected to potentially incur a US$1 trillion-loss due to the pandemic, aggravated by supply chain disruptions from China and a drastic drop in oil prices, according to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development(UNCTAD). Th ough China, the world's factory, has been forecast to witness a 0.1% drop in GDP in 2020, with further reduction of 0.4% in annual growth due to its trade tiff with the US, its economy has gradually recovered to be the world's largest, overtaking the US, according to the IMF's World Economic Output 2020 report. Over and above, the pandemic has marked an unprecedented disruption across industries globally. It has been a tough year:with industries hit by low to zero sales and demand, streamlined workforce, lockdowns and mobility restrictions. The airline industry, for example, has seen massive layoffs as fleets had been grounded for months on end;the automotive sector, which had already been in a slump, saw declining demand for light vehicles and passenger vehicles from China, Europe, the ASEAN and the US.
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