Figure at 145 per cent of GDP is ‘very high by any measure’, says IMF’s David Lipton
IMF sounds warning on China’s corporate debt
China’s corporate debt risks sparking a bigger crisis if the authorities fail to tackle it, the International Monetary Fund has warned.
It is the latest red flag over China’s ballooning debt, which rose to a record 237 per cent of gross domestic product in the first quarter on the back of massive lending designed to boost economic growth.
That has put the subject to the fore of this year’s annual IMF review of the Chinese economy with a team from the Fund set to conclude its latest monitoring mission on Tuesday.
“Corporate debt remains a serious — and growing — problem [in China] that must be addressed immediately and with a commitment to serious reforms,” said David Lipton, the IMF’s number two and the leader of its latest mission, which ends on Tuesday.
Speaking in Shenzhen, where then-paramount leader Deng Xiaoping kicked off China’s experiments with capitalism more than three decades ago, Mr Lipton pointed to the potential risk to the global economy.
