China Faces Property Debt Defaults Worth 12% of GDP, BE Says

China’s real estate developers have debt worth 12% of the nation’s gross domestic product at risk of default, Bloomberg Economic estimates, a massive burden that could curb growth in the world’s second-largest economy for years to come.

An analysis of China’s 186 listed developers shows that about 48% of total borrowing is held by companies that either already defaulted on public bonds during the 2021-2022 property rout or are at “significant” risk of missing repayment, according to the research.

Assuming that share applies to the whole industry — which had 28.1 trillion yuan ($4 trillion) in total debt ...