China probe into state miner’s shock bond default reveals market defects

Reporting by Samuel Shen and Andrew Galbraith; additional reporting by Tom Westbrook; editing by Jason Neely | Reuters

China’s investigation into the shock bond default by a state-owned coal miner hit shares of its listed underwriters on Friday, while shedding light on the creaking infrastructure of the country’s $4.4 trillion corporate bond market.

Top-rated Yongcheng Coal & Electricity Holding Group defaulted on a 1 billion yuan ($152 million) bond on November 10, stunning investors.

Shares of Industrial Bank Co and China Everbright Bank fell in Shanghai on Friday after regulators said the two underwriting banks were suspected of misconduct.

Hong Kong-listed Zhongyuan Bank Co was also investigated…Full Story