ATHENS, Dec. 2 (Xinhua) -- One out of four Greek businesses feared that they will have to close down in 2017, the latest survey has revealed.
The gloomy picture was mainly attributed to prolonged recession, low turnover and accumulating debts to banks and the state, according to the survey conducted for the Hellenic Confederation of Commerce and Entrepreneurship.
For example, the turnover in the retail sector declined by about 30 percent in the years of the crisis, reflecting the decline in the income of the average Greek household after numerous rounds of austerity measures.
As a result, about 27.6 percent of Greek entrepreneurs fear the "padlock" in 2017, according to the report of the confederation which represents small- and medium-sized enterprises in Greece.
At least 250,000 Greek enterprises had closed during the past six years of the debt crisis, data showed.
Another study of the Foundation for Economic and Industrial Research (IOVE), released on Friday, confirmed the situation and Greeks' pessimism regarding business activity in this debt-ridden country.
About 200,000 businessmen and self-employed professionals ended their business activities in 2015, according to the IOVE study.
Most of them (70 percent) said business was not profitable anymore. And they pointed to high taxation and heavy bureaucracy, according to the survey.
