8/8/2015

08.06.201515:37

China'sCities'NotTellingPublicabout
DebtLevels'
Onlysixof652surveyedcitiesrevealedhowmuchtheywereindebted,Tsinghua
researchersfind
ByinternreporterLuoRuiyao

(Beijing)Risinggovernmentdebtisseenbymanyasposingathreattotheeconomy,
butmostcitiesacrossthecountryareopaqueabouttheirdebtloads,aresearchreport
publishedonAugust4said.
ThestudybyresearchersatTsinghuaUniversityonthefinancialtransparencyoflocal
governmentscovered652citiesacrossChina.ItfoundthatonlysixcitiesBeijing,
Guangzhou,Shanghai,Tianjin,NingboandXiamentoldthepubliclastyearhow
muchdebttheyhad.
Theresearchersassessedhowmuchinformationlocalgovernmentsdisclosedabout
theirdebts,spendingandotherfunding.Thereportsaidtheoverallfinancial
transparencyofcitieswaslow,butinformationaboutdebtlevelswasespecially
lacking.
Thereportcomesamidrisingconcernabouttheamountofdebtheldbylocal
governments.Lastyear,theMinistryofFinanceorderedlocalofficialstofilereports
ontheirreviewsofdebtloads,andlatercomplainedthatmanylowerlevel
governmentssubmittedinaccuratefigures.Theministryhasnotpublishedanyofthe
informationitreceived.
Localgovernmentdebtmayhavehit30trillionyuan,YinZhongqing,thedeputy
directorofthelegislature'sfinancecommittee,saidinAugustlastyear.ButLouJiwei,
theministeroffinance,saidattheBoaoForumforAsiainMarchthefigurestoodat
15.8trillionyuan.
FiguresreleasedonAugust3bytheChineseAcademyofSocialSciences,a
governmentthinktank,showthecentralandlocallevelsofgovernmenthadtotal
liabilitiesof56trillionyuanin2013.Thisincludedgovernmentdebts,nonperforming
loansheldbystatebanks,foreignloansanddeficitsinsocialsecurityfunds.
Governmentsatalllevelshadassetsof111.9trillionyuan,thethinktanksaid.
TheTsinghuareport,conductedbytheuniversity'sresearchcenterforpublic
economy,financeandmanagement,saiditisdifficulttogetaclearpictureoflocal
governmentdebtsbecausemostborrowingwasdonethroughinvestmentplatform
companies,andneithertheoperationsofthosecompaniesnortheirliabilitieshasbeen
madeclear.Inadditiontodebtwithdirectrepaymentobligations,localgovernments
alsoboreguaranteeddebts.
YuQiao,aprofessoratTsinghua'sschoolofpublicpolicyandmanagementwho
headedthestudy,saidthatalthoughtheBudgetLawrequiredlocalgovernmentstobe
financiallytransparent,thereisnostrictrequirementonlocaldebtdisclosure.Thelaw
alsolacksdetailedregulationsforstatisticalmethodsanddisclosureprocedures,he
said.
"Thereisconfusiononmanyconcepts,andalocalgovernmentcanhandlethingsbased
ontheirowninterpretations,"Yusaid.
http://english.caixin.com/print/print_en.jsp

1/2

8/8/2015

Thereportwarnedthatlocalgovernmentdebthadbecomethetopriskfacingthe
economy.Itsaidtherisksweregreatestforcountylevelgovernments,whichhave
lowerrevenuesandmoreobscuredebtproblems.
Yucalledformoredetailedlawsandregulationscoveringthemanagementoflocally
helddebt,andforthecountry'slegislatureandpublictobegrantedgreatersupervisory
powers.
(RewrittenbyHanWei)
Print
:http://english.caixin.com/20150806/100837111.html

http://english.caixin.com/print/print_en.jsp

2/2