Key question asked over financial firepower

The US' $2.2 trillion coronavirus aid package, which became law on March 27, provides citizens of the country who meet the requirements with a $1,200 pay check. Canada has granted its newly unemployed citizens $1,433 a month, while the UK has offered to pay 80 percent of the salaries of furloughed workers.

"The US government's fiscal programs approximate to 10 percent of GDP. The UK and other European governments have also committed to stimulus or relief programs of comparable size. In contrast, the action taken by China to date amounts to about 3 percent of GDP," Magnus said.

Some observers have questioned whether the measures put in place by governments worldwide can properly be termed stimulus packages－with much of the world being in lockdown－and might be more aptly termed relief programs.

With businesses shut, the global economy is suffering from a supply-side crisis, and such measures are therefore unlikely to impact GDP.

Sun, from Haitong International Securities, said, "In terms of stimulating demand during lockdown time, monetary and fiscal instruments are not very effective.

"All the fiscal and monetary measures introduced so far by governments and central banks are there to maintain the basic functioning of the economy, society and financial markets, rather than to boost economic growth－which seems impossible to me at this early stage."

Hao Hong, chief strategist and head of research at Bocom International, a financial services company based in Hong Kong, said the measures taken to date have been aimed at averting an even bigger crisis and giving people a means of survival.