China’s banks swap 1tn RMB of debt into stocks

China’s banks converted more than 1 trillion yuan (US$149.2 billion) of debt into stock holdings in more than 70 state-owned enterprises, in the government’s largest debt-to-equity swap effort to bail out the country’s most indebted borrowers, according to the official China News Agency, citing a notice by the state planning department. The scheme, signed between Chinese banks and companies in the steel, coal, chemicals and equipment manufacturing industries, has helped to lower the aggregate debt ratio in these industries, the agency reported, citing the National Development & Reform Commission (NDRC). China’s 2016 corporate debt soared to about 170% of gross domestic product (GDP), from 100% in 2008, according to the Bank of International Settlements. At double the average of other economies, the aggregate debt of China’s state-owned enterprises (SOEs) and private companies stood at US$15.7 trillion last year, according to the South China Morning Post.