China’s former finance minister said local governments in the country may be sitting on more than US$3.2 trillion (RMB 20 trillion) of debt, double the amount reported in 2011 by the National Audit Office, Bloomberg reported. Xiang Huaicheng, who served as finance minister from 1998 to 2003, said at the Boao Forum for Asia being held in Hainan province that while there is some level of transparency in the central government’s debt, local government debt is not transparent making it hard to “get a clear picture.” China has made attempts to put ceilings on the borrowing levels of local governments in the past.
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