China bad loans may reach total of $900bn

By Richard McGregor in Beijing

China’s total liabilities for non-performing loans may be as high as $900bn, dwarfing official estimates and outstripping the country’s massive foreign exchange reserves, according to a study of Beijing’s bad debt problem.

The study, part of Ernst & Young’s annual global survey of NPLs, says China’s big four state banks alone have bad loans worth $358bn, or more than twice official estimates.

The firm’s estimate of NPLs in the big four banks will be of interest to foreign investors, who have put billions of dollars into three of the lenders as part of overseas initial public offerings. More.