Chinese Corporate Sector is in a Close Race for Most Levered Asian EM Balance Sheet

Yesterday we posted that Chinese Corporate Balance Sheets Are the Most Levered They Have Ever Been as we showed that the leverage kept piling up in 2013 even as profit margins fell the lowest level as far back as our records go. Showing how Chinese balance sheets have been evolving over time is nice for understanding the leverage buildup over the last decade, but how does the Chinese corporate balance sheet stack up against its Asian rivals? To answer this question we aggregated financial statement data for all non-financial, non-utility constituent stocks in the major Asian EM indices. What we find is that China and India are battling it out for the most levered corporate balance sheet. China boasts more working capital (read Chinese companies appear to be financing more sales by expanding working capital) while India has slightly higher financial leverage, net debt and liabilities relative to equity. It is clear though that Chinese and Indian corporates stand out from the pack when it comes to balance sheet leverage.