China Defaults Seen Rising After Sinosteel Misses Payment - Bloomberg Business

``China bond defaults are forecast to climb after a state-owned steelmaker missed an interest payment, raising questions about the government's commitment to stand behind such firms. Sinosteel Co. failed to pay interest due Tuesday on 2 billion yuan ($315 million) of 5.3 percent notes maturing in 2017 after saying it will extend the deadline as it plans to add a unit's stock as collateral. That came after the National Development and Reform Commission planned to meet noteholders and ask them not to exercise a redemption option on Tuesday to force full repayment, people familiar with the matter said last week... Chinese authorities are weeding out weak state firms that Premier Li Keqiang called zombies... "Sinosteel's default means we will see more and more real bond defaults, in which investors may not get full repayment, in China," said Ivan Chung, an associate managing director at Moody's Investors Service in Hong Kong.'' -- See also A Debt Balloon With Nowhere to Go But Down.