Borrowers excluding banks and other financial firms face $5.1 billion of Singapore dollar debt due the rest of this year, before that climbs to a record $12 billion in 2020, according to Bloomberg-compiled data. While rates look set to stay low for now, smaller firms with high leverage could still struggle.
(Apr 26): The collapse of Singapore’s water treatment firm Hyflux has increased investor scrutiny over other debt-laden companies that have sold bonds in the local currency.
More defaults could occur as earnings may worsen in a sputtering economy and riskier borrowers that creditors lent to amid low interest rates now struggle, according to S&P Global Ratings. Growth in Singapore’s export-reliant economy has been cooling in the past year and is projected to slow further.
