Finance ministry focuses on local government debt

BEIJING / SHANGHAI -The Ministry of Finance has vowed to strengthen the management and monitoring of local government debt, and a mechanism for debt financing is under consideration to help prevent a potential default.

The ministry identified management of the debt as one of its priorities for the remainder of 2011, according to a statement on its website.

Economists said that better monitoring of the debt shows the government's determination to supervise and handle it.