The expansion of local government.......>

CHINA PRESS: The expansion of local government debt has matched an acceleration

in fiscal revenues, indicating there is no obvious imbalance of debt pressures,

the Chinese Academy of Fiscal Science, a think tank run by the Ministry of

Finance, said in a note Tuesday. According to a survey carried out from 2014 to

September 2017, debt pressures on provincial and county-level governments have

risen, while municipal-level debt pressures have remained stable, the academy

said. New debt is declining at an "obvious" pace at all levels of government, it

said. Local governments are reducing their issuance of new debts to repay old

ones, the academy noted. The average yield of newly issued local government

bonds rose to 4% in 2017 from 3% in 2015 and 2016, but the capacity of the local

government to roll over debt is a risk that needs to be considered, the academy

said. The growth of local government funding vehicles at the provincial level

accelerated faster than the increase in fixed-asset investment, which would add

overall risks, the academy argued. (Shanghai Securities News)