Shadow-banking stages a comeback in China

London

TIME to don the tin hats?

Chinese shadow-banking activity registered a surprise jump in November, throwing into sharp relief how policy makers are struggling to make good on their vow to rein in the runaway loan growth that threatens the stability of the financial sector.

Often cast as one of the weakest links in the global financial system given the potential threat it poses to Asia's largest economy, shadow credit - which consists of trust loans, entrusted loans and bank-acceptance bills - rose sharply to 479 billion yuan (S$99.5 billion), after having dropped to 5…