South Korea's major manufacturers are more pessimistic about business conditions for the first quarter of this year due to China's slowing growth and a protracted slump in domestic demand, a poll showed Tuesday.

The Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry said its business survey index for January-March came to 81, sharply down from 87 tallied in the previous quarter and 88 in the third quarter of last year. 

The result is based on a survey of 2,400 manufacturing companies nationwide. A reading of under 100 means pessimists outnumber optimists. 

"The slide in the BSI is due largely to a slowdown in China and a letup in the recovery of domestic demand," said the KCCI. 

According to the KCCI survey, the sub-index for exporters came to 88 for the current quarter, down from 89 in the fourth quarter of last year, the survey showed.

The figure for big businesses stood at 79, compared with 82 for small and medium enterprises, it showed.

The poll also showed that some 44 percent of the respondents has not yet mapped out business plans for the year because of growing uncertainties at home and abroad. (Yonhap)