Asian companies at higher risk of default this year

ASIAN companies are at a higher risk of default in the coming quarters than last year, a Reuters analysis of their credit ratios showed, as the coronavirus pandemic has squeezed revenue and made it harder to refinance debt.

One measure of how easily a company can pay interest on outstanding debt - operating profit to interest ratio - fell to the lowest in 11 years at the end of March. The sample took into account companies worth at least $500 million with available data on Refinitiv.