Onshore corporate bond defaults in China......>

CHINA: Onshore corporate bond defaults in China are likely to reach a record

high in 2020 with issuers also facing a rising offshore maturity wall through to

2021. That's according to a chartbook that S&P Global Ratings released today,

titled "China Bond Defaults: Becoming A Norm." "We anticipate growing corporate

defaults due to the persistently tight liquidity for privately owned

enterprises, and the increasing divergence in the financial performances of

state-owned enterprises [SOEs] and local government financing vehicles," said

S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Cindy Huang. The extent of the increase in

defaults will depend on the transition away from implicit government support.

Increasing cases of puttable resales and off-exchange settlement point to rising

liquidity distress among Chinese companies, and potentially understate defaults.

"Defaults in the offshore market will likely rise in 2020 because of increasing

maturities among unrated and speculative-grade-rated issuers," said Ms. Huang.

(S&P)