Chinese government auditors have identified more than US$84.2 billion (RMB 530 billion) in “irregularities,” including funds that were misused or weren’t used quickly enough, in local government debt through the end of 2010, The Wall Street Journal reported. The report, released Wednesday by the National Audit Office, was a revealing but incomplete look at local government debt: It examined the financing vehicles that local governments have set up to avoid centrally-imposed limits on bank borrowing. These vehicles, which are largely used to finance infrastructure projects, are seen at risk of default as China’s economic growth slows. The US$84.2 billion in irregularities represents just a small portion of the estimated US$1.7 trillion in debt that these local government financing vehicles hold. The irregularities included US$5.6 billion in improper investments in securities and highly polluting and inefficient projects, of which US$2.2 billion has since been unwound.
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