Fewer firms go belly up last year in spite of pandemic

THE pandemic dealt a fatal blow to many businesses last year yet the overall number of firms that went belly up defied expectations to fall to its lowest level in five years.

The shutters came down on 43,335 business entities last year, notably fewer than the 47,504 in 2019, noted Accounting and Corporate Regulatory Authority (Acra) data.It was the lowest number since 2016, when 60,750 were recorded.