RECESSION AT BAY, BUT CHINA MUST FEND OFF RISING NPLs: S&P

SINGAPORE - The bill for China's economic stimulus has to be paid - the question is when and how it will be paid, says Standard & Poor's in a report just published. The ratings agency says bank loans in China grew almost 60% in 2009-2010, staving off a recession, but that loan surge translates into higher credit risks on banks' loan books, which points to the possibility of rising nonperforming loans (NPLs). If that happens, the government's debt burden will rise as it absorbs some of the cost of these bad loans. "This hasn't happened yet, though.