No extra economy recovery measures needed for coronavirus impact

Finance Minister Katri Kulmuni said on Tuesday that the economic repercussions of the COVID-19 in Finland do not, at this time, require extraordinary recovery measures.

Talking to the media after economic talks of the cabinet, the minister said that the COVID-19 crisis had so far mainly impacted tourism in Finland and also the availability of imported components.

Kulmuni also noted that a slight recovery has already began in Chinese manufacturing, important to production in Finland. "Now we keep observing how lengthy the impact of coronavirus will be."

The current government program includes a specific clause that would allow an extra billion for recovery if the Finnish economy shrinks by one percent on two quarters on succession, for an external reason. Kulmuni said that crossing that threshold is not visible for the time being.

She said the government would help if enterprises face temporary financing and cash flow problems. She also said the employment targets have not been affected.

In recent days analysts have pushed back Finnish growth predictions.

The Danske Bank on Tuesday predicted that growth in Finland in 2020 would be 0.3 percent, down from late last year's prediction of 1.0 percent.

The bank referred both to the impact of the coronavirus and to the slowdown in Finnish economy that began late last year. Last week the OP Financial Group predicted zero growth for 2020 for Finnish economy.