Corporations throughout the Asia-Pacific area – and particularly these in China – have gotten extra cautious about promoting on credit score, as a turbulent international financial system results in a “regarding” rise in lengthy cost delays, a brand new report has discovered.
Two-thirds of Asia-Pacific corporations anticipate cost phrases to shorten over the subsequent six months, which suggests “warning and better precedence for money preservation amid heightened uncertainty”, international commerce credit score insurer Coface present in its newest Asia Cost survey launched on Wednesday.
Although cost phrases edged up barely in 2023, rising from 64 days to 65 days, they remained effectively under the 2018-2022 common of 69 days, reflecting tighter credit score situations, in line with the survey of two,600 corporations carried out between December 2024 and March 2025.
Mainland China recorded the steepest drop within the share of corporations providing gross sales on credit score among the many 9 economies surveyed, which additionally included Australia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Malaysia, India, Singapore and Thailand.
Some 65 per cent of Chinese language corporations stated they provided cost phrases in 2024, down 14 proportion factors from a 12 months earlier, the report stated. India adopted with a nine-point drop, whereas Hong Kong posted the most important improve – up 10 factors to 91.4 per cent.
The share of Asian corporations reporting cost overdues fell to a report low of 49 per cent final 12 months, from 60 per cent in 2023, which the report attributed to “longer cost phrases in most markets [that] supplied extra time for corporations to settle funds and keep away from overdues”.
However what Coface known as a “regarding development” was the sharp rise in Asian corporations reporting ultra-long cost delays – lapses of over 180 days – on charges exceeding 2 per cent of their annual turnover, which jumped to 40 per cent in 2024 from 23 per cent a 12 months earlier.
