ASIA-PACIFIC CORPORATE DEBT TO SURPASS US AND EUROPE BY 2017 – S&P

HONG KONG - Asia-Pacific will represent half of the world's corporate debt demand of US$53 trillion over 2013-2017, with China comprising a third of global demand, according to a new report by Standard & Poor’s. "China's credit surge will propel Asia-Pacific's corporate debt to levels exceeding the combined debt of Western countries comprising the US, Canada, Eurozone and the UK," S&P credit analyst Terry Chan said. "We believe that Asia-Pacific's banks, which provide nine-tenths of corporate financing in the region, have the capacity to take on this monumental financing task.