(Yicai Global) March 4 -- Some 55 percent of Chinese small and medium-sized enterprises have not resumed work by March 2 after the Chinese New Year holiday was extended to avoid Covid-19 from spreading, according to a ministry.

Some of those that have restarted operations are facing difficulties in returning to normal, Xin Guobin, vice minister at the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, said in a statement released today, without specifying which sectors are under such pressure.

The new coronavirus outbreak has wreaked havoc in many sectors, including retail and manufacturing, as supply chains have been disrupted and many workers remain under quarantine. 

The country should take effective measures to help SMEs stabilize their operations, said Xin. In comparison to large firms, SMEs are weaker in their financials and risk tolerance so it is hard for them to overcome long-term production hindrances and shutdowns, he added.

Small businesses are vital to China as the more than 30 million SMEs and 70 million individually owned businesses logged by the end of 2018 contributed more than 60 percent of the country's gross domestic product, as well as over half of its tax revenue, according to public data.

Editor: Emmi Laine