EU slump cost SA US$15bn

The impact of the crisis in the eurozone‚ one of SA's main trading partners‚ was "exacerbated" by the internal problems that have recently affected the local economy‚ said David Campbell‚ chief executive of Grant Thornton.

Campbell said SA's problems included unrest in the mining and agricultural sectors, political uncertainty and lower economic development‚ which contributed to the drop in revenues.

"The key to a more optimistic outlook for 2013 lies in addressing the domestic issues‚ while maintaining a cautious stance on our eurozone dependency‚" he added.

Grant Thornton's International Business Report was based on a survey covering the expectations of 12‚000 businesses in 41 countries.

It found that 40% of companies around the world say the eurozone's crisis has hit their business‚ wiping out an estimated US$2tn in global revenues.

More than half of those affected (54%) said their revenues had dropped by more than 3% as a result‚ while one-in-three said they had lost at least 6%.

In the United States‚ 11% of businesses said the crisis had caused revenues to fall by 10% or more. More than 30% of the business leaders in Brazil‚ Russia‚ India and China also cited the eurozone crisis for reducing revenues and earnings.

Perhaps more importantly‚ 17% of companies globally said they were now less likely to do business in Europe.

This compares with just 10% of global leaders who were asked the same question about the Middle East and North Africa following uprisings in that region

According to the report 27% of businesses within the eurozone region are now less likely to do business with other member states there.