Korea Inc. Debt Scores Worst in Decade Despite Virus Success
- Negative credit actions by Moody’s and S&P most in a decade
- No firm has been upgraded as virus hit export-led economy
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South Korea has been a success story so far in the global fight against the coronavirus, but troubles for its export-reliant corporate borrowers may just be starting.
As companies worldwide face a near unprecedented rate of downgrades, Korea Inc. is also vulnerable: debt assessors have taken the most negative actions on the firms this year in at least a decade. The problem is that while Covid-19 cases are falling at home, the outbreak is still raging abroad and that’s bad for some of the country’s biggest companies that are major exporters.