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China’s external debt touches $785 billion

China's outstanding external debt rose by USD 34 billion the second quarter to reach USD 785.17 billion by the end of June this year, the country's foreign exchange regulator said Monday.

Beijing: China's outstanding external debt rose by USD 34 billion the second quarter to reach USD 785.17 billion by the end of June this year, the country's foreign exchange regulator said Monday.

The amount excludes outstanding external debt of the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions, the State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) said in a statement on its website.

Of the total outstanding external debt, registered external debt reached USD 495.07 billion while the balance of trade credit between enterprises amounted to USD 290.1 billion, it said.

Most of the debt owed to foreign creditors resulted from short-term borrowing, as outstanding external debt with a term of one year or less amounted to USD 588.22 billion or 75 percent of the total, up from 74. 2 percent at the end of March, according to SAFE.

Long- and medium-term external debt outstanding amounted to USD 196.95 billion.

China’s debt is rising in the back of drop of slowing down of its economy and its plans to implement over USD 150 billion stimulus to undertake various infrastructure projects.

A recent report said China’s corporate debt ratio, currently world’s highest has reached "dangerous levels".

Experts have warned that any stimulus measures to boost domestic demand to compensate falling exports could add heavy strain on corporate firms.

China's corporate debt-to-GDP ratio stood at 107 percent in 2011, the highest in the world, Li Yang, vice-president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, a top government think tank said.

Data from the China Banking Regulatory Commission show China's banking system had 55 trillion yuan (USD 8.63 trillion) in outstanding loans by the end of 2011, according to a recent write up in state run China Daily.

PTI