China’s economic planning agency encouraged the country’s companies to repay their international debts days ahead of another payment deadline for property developer Evergrande after it narrowly avoided a default last week.
The National Development and Reform Commission, the state’s economic planning agency, said late on Tuesday that companies should prepare to pay the principal and interest of offshore bonds to maintain their reputation and the order of the market.
The agency did not mention any companies by name but the announcement was made after Evergrande, the developer which has more than $300bn of liabilities and has come to embody concerns about the sector, made a last-minute interest payment on its offshore bonds on Friday.