Editorial | From annus horribilis to annus mirabilis, one hopes

Characterised by a global pandemic that wreaked havoc in societies, 2020 has been a terrible year for everyone.

The vast majority of businesses have also had it bad with 2020 likely to be a screaming outlier in their accounts for many years to come; that is if they survive.

The Economist Intelligence Unit is forecasting a slow and painful global recovery in 2021 that will be uneven across the different sectors.

Some companies will close, others will consolidate and yet others will shift their business model towards digital services. Jobs may be lost and financial institutions are likely to face a raft of non-performing loans. But there will also be opportunities for diversification.

Government support throughout 2020 has helped in no small way to ensure businesses continued to throttle on, while saving jobs. This will remain a crucial survival strategy going into the new year.

Finance Minister Clyde Caruana’s comments over the weekend that the current level of support is expected to be extended at least until March was a welcome development. It gives a measure of certainty.

And his comments could not have come at a better time given the appearance of joblessness as a concern in a MaltaToday survey published last Sunday.

A COVID-19 vaccine is now expected towards the end of December and this brings with it a ray of hope that life can start returning back to normal.

But it will neither be a quick return, nor one that goes back to the exact same point it was in February 2020 just before life was rudely interrupted by the coronavirus pandemic.

For starters businesses will have to gauge consumer behaviour and understand how this has changed as a result of the pandemic. Socialisation and travelling patterns may not be the same.

There is also the reality of depressed incomes and families who will want to build up their cash reserves again after plundering them to survive the COVID-19 onslaught.

The economic injection the government vouchers are expected to give in the first few months of 2021 will be an important contribution.

But demand will not pick up quickly. The same can be said of tourism, where Malta must use all its efforts to lure back the numbers. Alongside the traditional offerings of culture, heritage, events, the sea, sun and fun, the tourism authorities must also market the country’s safety and good healthcare system.

Every dark cloud has a silver lining and the pandemic has served as an opportunity for some businesses to explore a diversified product and service offering over the past months. These initiatives must be encouraged and helped by Malta Enterprise.

In 2021, it is going to be crucial for companies to invest in technology, online platforms and processes that can future-proof the enterprise in the event of another catastrophic event.

Malta must also step up its efforts to attract foreign manufacturing firms and help those already here to expand and modernise.

The country could attract firms that specialise in research and innovation of green energy products and healthcare.

Having a solid manufacturing base will help minimise the dependence on tourism for exports – a painful lesson we learnt in 2020.

A continued investment in the country’s infrastructure is also a must.

As annus horibilis comes to a close, it also ends with a glimmer of hope that 2021 will be annus mirabilis – a wonderful year.

One may argue that any year after 2020 could be described as wonderful. There is some truth in this but with an all-round effort and forward thinking, 2021 can serve as a relaunch for industries and business operators.