A spurt of missed debt repayments by three Chinese state-owned firms – a coal miner, a chipmaker and an automobile company – has shaken local markets and heightened speculation that a campaign to wean the economy off heavy credit is back. The defaults have angered investors, who say their faith in the firms’ top-notch ratings, seemingly sound finances and implicit state backing has been violated. While the notable lack of state support for struggling state-owned enterprises (SOEs) suggests Beijing now has more confidence in the economy’s ability to absorb such failures, it has caught many bondholders off guard. A default late last month by Huachen Automotive Group Holdings Co, the parent of German automaker BMW’s Chinese joint venture partner, exemplified opaque risks, underdeveloped pricing mechanisms and investor naivety in China’s corporate bond market. “If the company had told investors it was in great trouble, I wouldn’t […]