China local government leasing boom...........>

CHINA: China local government leasing boom threatens to turn to bust (FT)

- China's young leasing market offers plenty of opportunity for domestic and

foreign lessors but also plenty of risk, reflected in the growing number of

lawsuits over missed payments from cashstrapped local governments.

- Courts have been inundated with suits brought by leasing companies, from De

Lage Landen Group (DLL), a subsidiary of Dutch financial services group

Rabobank, which withdrew from China last year, to domestic giants such as Ping

An International Financial Leasing, to minnows such as Shanghai-based Aux

Financial Leasing (AFL).

- Those being chased for money come from across the economic spectrum, ranging

from large stateowned industrial companies such as Qinghai Provincial Investment

Group, the target of eight lawsuits involving Rmb2.8bn ($390m) last year, to a

small, rural hospital in Shaanxi province.

- As Chinese local government finances come under increasing strain, industry

watchers warn of more trouble to come.

- Link: https://www.ft.com/content/acde1946-c8b1-11e9-a1f4-3669401ba76f