Sunday, 26 January 2020

ZOMBIE COMPANIES - ICIL GLOBAL CREDIT RISK ALERT

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                                 The difference between;

                Bankrupt Companies V/S Zombie Companies
  •  Bankrupt Company
About a bankrupt company, one can find out from registrar of companies  that a particular  company has filed bankruptcy application ( e.g. Chapter 11 in The USA)
  • Zombie Companies continue to do business without anyone knowing that a particular company is financially so week that it risks doing business.

Obviously, Zombie Companies pose greater Credit Risk. Importers & banks opening L/C need to ensure that they don’t open  L/C on a Zombie company, Exporters need to ensure that they don’t export on consignment/contract basis to Zombie companies

ICIL Google Search Global Survey of Zombie Companies
  • Internet is full of websites giving articles on the threat posed by the increasing number of Zombie Companies world over- Few Links are given below
  • What is a Zombie Company & Income Statement of a typical Zombie is given under these links? Open each link and read
   Latest about Zombie Companies
https://www.cnbc.com/2020/05/20/highly-indebted-zombie-companies-control-more-than-2-million-us-jobs.html
(1) Highly Leveraged Zombie Companies Threaten the Global Economy
https://www.forbes.com/sites/mayrarodriguezvalladares/2019/06/30/highly-leveraged-zombie-companies-threaten-the-global-economy/#50272

(2)The rise of zombie firms: causes and consequences
https://www.bis.org/publ/qtrpdf/r_qt1809g.pdf

(3) Fear the Walking Dead? Incidence and Effects of Zombie
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/bitstream/JRC111915/jrc111915_jrc111915_jrc-oecd_fear_the_walking_dead_-_withpubsynumb

(4)Perspective: Fear the walking deal
https://www.ipe.com/perspective-fear-the-walking-dead/10034188.article

(5)Zombie Firms in Pakistan
https://dailytimes.com.pk/527248/zombie-firms-in-pakistan/
https://fortune.com/2019/09/02/why-zombie-companies-are-on-the-rise-and-could-pose-a-threat-to-the-u-s-economy/ 

(6)Why ‘Zombie’ Companies Are on the Rise—and Could Pose a Threat to the U.S. Econ

(7)The dangerous zombie infestation (of the world economy)
https://gnseconomics.com/en_US/2019/03/11/the-dangerous-zombie-infestation-of-the-world-economy/Asia's

  (8)'zombies' concentrated in India, Indonesia and South Korea
https://asia.nikkei.com/Spotlight/Datawatch/Asia-s-zombies-concentrated-in-India-Indonesia-and-South-Korea

(9)'Zombie firms' a major drag on UK economy, analysis shows
https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/may/06/zombie-firms-a-major-drag-on-uk-economy-analysis-shows

  (10) One out of every 10 American companies is a “zombie”
https://qz.com/1141732/one-in-every-10-american-companies-is-a-zombie/ 

(11) Why China is shutting down zombie companies
https://www.thefinancialexpress.com.bd/views/why-china-is-shutting-down-zombie-companies-1562079783

(12) The Federal Reserve is about to create a lot more zombies
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/the-federal-reserve-is-about-to-create-a-lot-more-zombies-2019-06-24

(13) Zombie Firms Hit an All Time High
https://smartmoneygains.com/finance/zombie-firms-hit-an-all-time-high/

(14)China's Lenders Left in the Dark on 'Zombie' Companies
 https://www.bloombergquint.com/videos/china-s-lenders-left-in-the-dark-on-zombie-companies


(15)China's 'zombie' firms weighing on economy
https://www.thenational.ae/business/economy/china-s-zombie-firms-weighing-on-economy-1.835162

(16)  Zombie Firm Dynamics and China’s Monetary Policy
http://cfrc.pbcsf.tsinghua.edu.cn/Public/Uploads/upload/CFRC2019_1868.pdf?l=en&y=2019

(17) Avoid falling into the zombie company trap
  https://www.thegazette.co.uk/all-notices/content/100638

(18)  Zombie firms' dragging down  UK economy -KPMG

(19) Zombie Companies - A Drain On Economic Output?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KJC-7bz835Y&list=UUHdE6HODo3UXD9E-QplAFOw&index=18

(20) Are Zombie Companies Plaguing The Toronto Stock Exchange
https://www.geologyforinvestors.com/zombie-companies-plague-toronto-stock-exchange-deal-delicate-issue/

(21) 100,000 Zombie Firms Suck Life out of Economy
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/100-000-zombie-firms-suck-life-out-of-economy-z6tdgxgx5

 (22) We Created a Monster”: The IMF Spoke About the Threat of Zombie Companies 


                                     What is a Zombie Company   
“Zombie the company” is a term used to describe an uncompetitive company that needs a bailout to successfully operate or an indebted company that is only able to repay interest on its debt (interest-coverage ratio of 1 or less). Zombie companies generate enough cash flow to only pay back the interest on the debt and are unable to reduce the actual principal amount. Therefore, zombie companies do not have excess cash or capacity and are stagnant, which means they are too weak to invest or grow.
Below is an example of an income statement of a zombie company. Note that the interest-coverage ratio is less than 1 in each period.

The income statement of a zombie company
Zombie companies heavily depend on low-interest rates to survive. Due to governments and central banks trying to stabilize their economies after a financial crisis, commercial banks are pressured to extend credit and use low-interest rates

Zombie Company – Business Risk to Importers & Exporters