ADB flags large foreign currency debts of Asian companies

Tokyo

CURRENCY depreciations in Asia threaten firms with large foreign currency debts, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) said on Wednesday, while also signalling that tumbling commodity prices could hurt highly leveraged companies.

The warning by the Manila-based development bank came on the eve of what is considered a critical meeting of the US Federal Reserve Board, which is to make a decision on rates that will have a further impact on Asian currencies.

The Chinese yuan was depreciated by 3.1 per cent against the dollar between June 1 and Aug 14; the Malaysian ringgit has fallen 10.7 per cent, the Korean won by 6.3 per cent and the…