Survey: Payment performance of China buyers worsened

The payment default rate of mainland enterprises buying Hong Kong goods in the first half of the year rose to 1.6% from 1.32% of total payments, according to a survey of Hong Kong companies by French export insurer Coface, the South China Morning Post reported. The mainland enterprise payment default rate, or payments from buyers that cannot be recovered, passed the default rate of Hong Kong buyers, which improved to 1.44% from 1.52% over the same period. Coface’s deputy regional managing director for Greater China said the results were further proof that mainland enterprises were being impacted by a worldwide credit crisis and predicted that the payment performace of China buyers may worsen in the coming quarter.