Chinese companies get creative on financing

Behind China Inc.’s ambitious bids for companies across the globe, intricate ways of getting cash on the table are emerging as it becomes tougher to close deals, according to The Wall Street Journal.  After last year’s wave of more than $200 billion in Chinese outbound bids, pending deals are piling up. Non-Chinese lenders have been unwilling to lend directly to highly leveraged companies with limited financial information. State-backed Chinese banks’ efforts to step in and bridge the gap now seem restricted by a clampdown on capital outflows. So buyers and their lenders have turned to creative means to juice up credibility. Chinese banks, for instance, have stepped in to “credit-enhance” debt issued offshore. One way has been to provide standby letters of credit to back loans issued by Chinese acquirers. This credit line, which is backed by cash deposits onshore in China, is then used as collateral by the company to borrow dollars offshore.