Italy unveils record 400bn stimulus to help pandemic-hit businesses

Italy on Monday unveiled a record 400 billion euro ($430 billion) stimulus to help businesses hurt by a month-long national lockdown that is like to run on for many more weeks, according to foreign media.

Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte told the nation to be patient in the face of a pandemic that has now officially claimed 16,523 lives in the Mediterranean country and left millions at least temporarily unemployed.

"We will soon see a new spring for Italy, but for the moment, we must stay at home," the Italian leader said in a television address.

Conte said it represented "the most powerful intervention in the country's history".

Half of the new package will be earmarked for export-oriented companies whose turnover has imploded over the past month.

The government also announced that it would take steps to protect Italian companies weakened by the economic crisis from being taken over by foreign competitors.

"We have also approved the suspension of various tax payments and contributions for April and May," Conte added during his televised address.