Median payment collection time for sales in China rises to 83 days

Mainland Chinese firms now take a median 83 days to receive payment from sales, up from 55 days in 2010 and well above the 44-day median for firms included in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index, Bloomberg reported, citing calculations based on financial statements. Industrial firms took the longest – 131 days – to convert sales to cash; tech firms took 120; telecommunications companies took 118. With economic strain growing along with cash shortages among weaker firms, Chen Xingdong, chief China economist at BNP Paribas, said he expected another two years of delayed payments as mainland firms struggle to set better terms for customers.