CHINA

State Industries’ Debt Is Rising: The massive state industrial sector is buckling under a rising burden of debt as inefficiencies in production and management take their toll. The number of money-losing state companies has fallen but those still in the red are accumulating more debt than ever, the official People’s Daily said. It called for “firmer measures” to reduce debt. Stockpiles of shoddy and unwanted goods are also growing rapidly, the daily said. Economists quoted by the paper blame the “industry’s blind pursuit of output and too much bank credit.” State industrial debt increased to $2.65 billion between January and May, an 8.5% jump over the same period in 1991, according to the Economic and Trade Office.