Over 90 percent of businesses in South Korea predict that the local economy will grow less than 3 percent next year, citing the slowing growth in China and the mounting household debt as major reasons for their gloomy outlook, a survey showed Tuesday.

According to the survey by the Federation of Korean Industries on 285 large companies, 90.2 percent answered that the Korean economy will grow less than 3 percent.

The outlook is lower than a 3.3 percent expansion predicted by the government and a 3.2 percent advance by the Bank of Korea.

Of those surveyed, 15.6 percent predicted a growth rate of less than 2 percent for next year.

Behind the bleak outlooks are their concerns about the slowing Chinese economic growth, which could undermine their exports along with mounting household debt that could sap overall domestic demand.

Asked what could be the most challenging factors in doing business, 48.1 percent cited a slump in both exports and domestic demand, while 21.1 percent answered stiffer competition in overseas markets.

For this year's business performance, 52.7 percent said that their sales have fallen short of their earlier targets. Only 18.7 percent answered that they have topped their annual business objectives, the survey showed. (Yonhap)