Austrian growth could be hit by 0.5 pct points due to virus -industry federation

The coronavirus outbreak could dampen Austria's economic growth by 0.5 percentage points, the country's industry federation said on Tuesday.

The Austrian government could help companies to fight the blow with more financial support for short-time work agreements and with guarantees for existing claims or for short-term finance agreements, the association's General Secretary Christoph Neumayer at a news conference in Vienna.