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Everyone Is Nervous” – Chinese Bond Bloodbath Reawakens As Hong Kong Stocks Turn Red For 2016
Dec 19, 2016 12:11 PM
After a brief respite, the bloodbath in Chinese bonds is back, with futures plunging back to lows overnight amid liquidity fears (short-term lending rates are inverted) and growing anxiety over China’s almost unprecedented debtload.
As The Wall Street Journal reports, a gradual tightening of short-term credit by China’s central bank – combined with rumors of liquidity squeezes at brokers – prompted a mini-rout in the country’s $8 trillion-plus bond market last week, forcing authorities to reverse course and inject some $86 billion in short- and medium-term funds.
China’s total debt surged to around $27 trillion this year, or 260% of gross domestic product, compared with 154% in 2008 at the start of a stimulus program to offset the financial crisis. It is continuing to grow at more than twice the pace of the economy.
Economists say growing amounts of money are flowing into less-productive channels, such as keeping struggling companies on life support, or feeding speculative investments in everything from property to bonds and steel.