China parliament votes on allowing local governments to issue bonds

SHANGHAI: The National People's Congress approved allowing some local governments to issue bonds directly, a reform that could help stabilise government financing by creating the country's first municipal bond market, parliament announced on Sunday.

The National Audit Office estimated that local governments owed 17.89 trillion yuan ($2.91 trillion) by the end of June and said nine Chinese provinces had failed to pay back some 800 million yuan of debt due in March.