China Said to Peg Local Debt Swap Program at 15 Trillion Yuan
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China plans to expand the size of its program for addressing high-cost local government debt to about 15 trillion yuan, Finance Minister Lou Jiwei told a closed-door meeting last month, according to a person who attended the gathering.
The initiative to swap high-yielding local debt into cheaper municipal bonds is set to run through the end of 2017, Lou said, according to the person, who asked not to be identified because the remarks weren’t public. Officials were previously reported to have approved about 4 trillion yuan for this year.