China promises to stem corporate debt

China vowed on Tuesday to contain high company debt levels and further cut excess coal and steel capacity, as Beijing attempts to maintain solid and more balanced economic growth while avoiding destabilizing asset bubbles. The world’s second-largest economy likely grew around 6.7% last year, but it faces increasing uncertainties in 2017, the head of the country’s state planning agency told a news briefing. According to Reuters, Global investors are buzzing over whether China’s leaders will be willing to accept more modest growth this year, amid worries about the risks from years of debt-fueled stimulus driven by the political obsession with meeting official targets. China’s credit growth has been “very fast” by global standards, and without a comprehensive strategy to tackle the debt overhang there is a growing risk it will have a banking crisis or sharply slower growth or both, the International Monetary Fund said in October.