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From Chinese Media

Risks of repaying local govt debt reduced

Updated: 2011-08-15 14:58

By Qiang Xiaoji (chinadaily.com.cn)

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A total of 43 percent of local government debt, or 4.6 trillion yuan ($711.16 billion), will reach maturity in two years, China Securities Journal reported Monday, citing an authoritative source who declined to reveal his name.

In order to manage this peak, industry regulators have adopted several measures to control the risks of local financing platforms and alleviate the pressure for banks to supplement capital.

Industry regulators, through several rounds of regulations, have managed existing debt risks and control new threats that may affect local financing platforms. A total of 2.8 trillion yuan in loans of local financing platforms will be withdrawn from platforms and be managed as corporate loans. About 2,900 financing platforms are involved, accounting for 30 percent of the total local financing platforms.

At the end of 2010, the total balance of China's local government debt stood at 10.7 trillion yuan, according to figures from the National Audit Office (NAO). Forty-three percent of this amount will mature in 2011 and 2012, forming a peak in debt repayment. The next peak for local governments to repay their debt will arrive between 2016 and 2018.

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