China's LDK solar set for Shanghai bond issue

LDK Solar (LDK.NYSE) will issue RMB500 billion (US$79 million) in three-year bonds in Shanghai Wednesday as part of a US$471.48 million refinancing, Bloomberg reported. The solar panel maker aims to replace other short-term debt with the issue in Shanghai, where its bonds sell at a premium – LDK bonds issued in Shanghai in October yielded 7.08%, while those issued in Singapore yielded 49.5%. Offshore borrowing costs for LDK and other Chinese firms have risen as orders from Europe slowed and Moody’s (MCO.NYSE) Investors Services issued a report raising concerns over corporate governance at 61 Chinese firms. “In any normal market economy these companies would hit the wall extremely fast. They are shockingly cash-absorbing in a shockingly glutted industry and they are all shockingly indebted. The advantage that they have is they don’t go bust,” said John Hempton, founder of Sydney-based Bronte Capital Management.