China Auditor Denies Understating Debt of Local Governments
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China’s National Audit Office today denied understating the debts of local governments after Moody’s Investors Service said last week that the liabilities may be as much as a third more than the agency’s estimates.
The results of a national audit issued June 27 that showed local governments had 10.7 trillion yuan ($1.65 trillion) of debt was based on “reliable” data, according to excerpts of an interview the official Xinhua News Agency conducted with an unidentified agency spokesman posted to the website of the State Council, China’s cabinet. The audit was independent, based on facts and objective, the spokesman said in the transcript.