Recovery thanks to rising exports in Austria

The recovery in industrial production remains fragile, not least because business loans have decreased substantially. Credit managers expect business loan conditions to relax in Q2.
Madrid - 21-jun-2010

Austria’s GDP declined 3.4% in 2009, due mainly to a drop in economic activity in the first half of last year. However, recovery gained momentum in the second half of the year and in the first months of 2010, thanks to increased stock investments and rejuvenated exports. According to the Austrian Statistics Office, private consumption has been robust in the first quarter of 2010, with retail turnover increasing 4.1% year-on-year. The Austrian National Bank expects growth to pick up 0.8% in Q1 and 1.9% in Q2 of 2010, quarter-on-quarter.

Nevertheless, the recovery in industrial production remains fragile, not least because business loans have decreased substantially. According to the Austrian National Bank, new business lending by banks fell 1.7% in 2009, and this continued into 2010, with the volume of new business loans decreasing by Euro 1.5 billion from January to February, to 5.7 billion. However, in a recent survey, bank credit managers have said that they expect business loan conditions to relax in Q2 of 2010.

Will corporate insolvencies decrease further?

In Q1 of 2010 the corporate insolvencies decreased 5.6% year-on-year to 1,604 cases, and the related outstanding receivables shrank by 27%. The number of construction insolvencies has decreased, while the number of insolvencies in the machines and metals sectors has levelled off. However, it is still too early to assume this to be a trend, as many companies still have to close their annual accounts and some sectors, such as consumer goods, that have so far avoided a drop in business, could feel the effects this year of rising unemployment and an end to income tax relief.

After much consultation, the reformed Austrian corporate insolvency legislation will come into force on 1 July 2010 [originally scheduled for 1 January 2010], and is designed to overcome troubled companies´ inhibitions about filing for bankruptcy. Its main objective is the timely initiation of insolvency proceedings to improve the likelihood of successful financial restructuring and of creditors´ receiving satisfaction for their claims. This will be achieved primarily by amending the procedural laws governing forced composition and bankruptcy proceedings, but the reform means considerable interference in the rights and powers of both secured and unsecured creditors.

The IMF forecasts that Austria’s growth will recover 1.3% in 2010. While companies´ investments will probably remain weak, due to still low capacity utilisation, industrial production will rise 4% this year after the 13% decrease in 2009, and exports will rebound further. That said, the recovery could lose some steam in the second half of the year, when the governmental stimulus packages expire. It is also uncertain how private consumption will develop in the second half of the year.

Mantenha-se informado. Receba a nossa Newsletter

Esta pagina web usa cookies

Utilizamos cookies de terceiros para fins analíticos (produzindo estatísticas baseadas nos seus hábitos de navegação), personalização (para lembrar o idioma ou as configurações preferidas da web) e publicidade comportamental (para desenvolver perfis e oferecer publicidade adaptada às suas preferências de navegação). Poderá configurar o uso desta tecnologia. Poderá também modificar ou retirar o seu consentimento a qualquer momento, clicando em "Declaração de Cookies".

Marketing

Os cookies de marketing são utilizados para rastrear os visitantes dos sites. A intenção é exibir anúncios que sejam relevantes e atraentes para o utilizador individual e, por conseguinte, mais valiosos para os editores e anunciantes terceiros.

Necessárias

Os cookies necessários ajudam a tornar um site utilizável, ativando funções básicas como navegação na página e acesso a áreas seguras do site. O website não pode funcionar corretamente sem estes cookies.

Estadísticas

Os cookies estatísticos ajudam os proprietários dos sítios Web a compreender como os visitantes interagem com o sítio Web, recolhendo e fornecendo informações de forma anónima.

Preferências

Os cookies de preferências permitem que o site se lembre de informações que alteram a forma como o site se comporta ou é apresentado, tais como o seu idioma preferido ou a região em que se encontra.

Cookies de mapa

Os cookies de mapa permitem que a página salve informações sobre seleções no mapa