Record company debt levels set to soar by $1trn in 2020 - Janus Henderson

VW world’s most indebted company

Debts racked up by companies across the world reached a record $8.3trn in January this year and are expected to surge by a further $1trn in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic, analysis suggests.

Janus Henderson's Corporate Debt index said global company debt was up 8.1% year-on-year, its fastest rate of growth for five years. It explained companies borrowed to fund takeovers, share buybacks and dividends, as well as to invest and debts have risen "significantly faster" than profits over the last five years. Rising levels of company debt began long before the coronavirus pandemic began, according to the annual index report. It said collectively net debts jumped by $625bn last year, "easily the largest increase of any of the last five years". It added borrowing had been spur...