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Singapore Defaults Seen as Bellwether for 2017 Asia Distress

  • Indonesia one of the top markets for restructuring, KPMG says
  • Hogan Lovells Lee & Lee expects further distress out of China

Are Singapore's Defaults the Canary in the Mine?

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Singapore’s commodities-related defaults could turn out to be the canary in the mine.

Despite a modest rebound in resource prices, restructuring specialists including KPMG and Hogan Lovells Lee & Lee see more Asia-Pacific commodities and shipping companies being pushed into delinquency. Law firm DLA Piper said there could be choppy waters ahead on rising interest rates and President-elect Donald Trump’s overhaul of trade with China. Regional non-bank borrowers face $76.4 billion of dollar bonds maturing in 2017, 24 percent more than this year, Bloomberg-compiled data show.