China’s LGFVs Are Seeing Wave of Bond Plans Vetoed by Regulators

(Bloomberg) — China’s local government financing vehicles (LGFVs) are finding it a lot harder to issue bonds, as authorities step up efforts to curb risks from the debt-laden sector in a slowing economy.

Regulators terminated applications for 53 new LGFV bonds with a combined 75.2 billion yuan ($10.4 billion) in the first two months of the year, the highest for the same period since 2021 when S&P Global Ratings began compiling the data. That compares with 11 vetoed deals worth 17.2 billion yuan a year ago.