China Beige Book Shows Fewer Firms Borrowing as Rates Rise
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Chinese bankers are reporting increased lending while fewer companies are taking out loans, an incongruity that helps explain the recent increase in borrowing costs, a private survey showed.
The share of companies reporting loan applications in the second quarter fell 13 percentage points from the previous period to 38 percent, the survey from New York-based China Beige Book International said yesterday. The proportion of banks showing higher lending to businesses rose 10 percentage points to 45 percent, indicating that “credit appears to be concentrated on a few borrowers,” according to the report.