Despite the decline of semi-annual indicators of business activity of small business, the experts record their tangible recovery towards the end of the second quarter, the index RSBI. A decrease was recorded in all areas of the index: sales, personnel, investments and availability of Finance, although the measures of state support and kept the last in the positive zone. The strongest decline affected the services sector, where a large number of SMEs. However, for a significant part of small business recovery will probably be less rapid: industrial production index of services in July showed a record since 2008 the rise, although so far it only supports domestic demand, export orders have not yet recovered.The index of business activity of small and medium business RSBI, calculated by the “Support of Russia”, PSB and Magram Market Research according to surveys of entrepreneurs, fixed partial but significant recovery of the sector by the end of the second quarter. Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) is traditionally employed in the sector of trade and services and, accordingly, were the most vulnerable sector with the introduction of lockdown: according to Rosstat estimates, the trade and services account for more than 80% of its turnover. January (51.4 points), the index did not return to positive territory: at the end of the first quarter, the total figure was 48.6 points and continued to fall in the second — to 41.8. With minimal values in April (38.5 points) the figure for June rose to 45 points.The largest decrease in the activity of SMEs in the second quarter, according to the sectors it looks like this: in manufacturing business activity fell from 49.2 in the first quarter to 43.6 in the second, in the trade — up from 49.3 43.1 points, in sphere of services — from 47.3 to 39.3 points. As explained by Executive Director Magram Market Research Natalia Turanova, the services sector experienced the greatest impact from restrictive measures, because in contrast to the production consists mainly of small businesses and does not have sufficient margin of safety. Thus in contrast to such trading company are unable to go online, the expert adds.The second quarter was the worst for all units of assessments RSBI: sales, personnel, investments and availability of funding, although state support measures, in particular the extension of concessional lending and the distribution of subsidies to maintain employment, retained the assessment of the latest positive and 52.8 to 54 points in the first. In the staffing unit fell by 7 points to 42.4. The share of companies reporting layoffs or plans rose from 18% in the first quarter to 30% in the second and from 11% to 20% respectively.The largest drop in sub-index RSBI is recorded in the assessments of companies ‘ sales is 28.4 vs 38.9 in the first quarter. The sharp drop is due to the fact that more and more tocompanies recorded lower revenue in the second quarter — 75% vs 51% previously. In this case, from 35% to 43% the share of companies, pending, and a further decline in revenue in the next three months. The growth of financial indicators expects to remain about a quarter of the companies. At the same time companies continue to cut investment, which resulted in a decline from 54.1 to 46.6 points. According to the survey, about one-third of respondents have already reduced the business (versus 17% in the first quarter), and another 20% plan reduction (11%).However, the recovery rate of the performance of many smaller companies after the lifting of restrictions will probably be comparable to the speed of their “koreacasino” drop. Calculate the Markit purchasing managers ‘ index (PMI) in the services sector indicates a significant increase in activity in the sector at the beginning of the third quarter. After a decline in June to 47.8 points the index rose in July to a record high of 58.5 (a reading above 50 points indicates growth of business activity) and peaked in July 2008. Markit experts state end a four-month sequence of decline and further gradual recovery from the April slowdown. According to the survey, Russian companies for the first time since February, noted an increase in orders, although demand from foreign customers is still not restored — the decline in new export orders was more significant.Diana Galieva
