Credit crunch hits smaller firms

Many small and medium-sized enterprises took a direct hit from the bank liquidity squeeze in June, which disrupted their cash flow and boosted the cost of financing.

Figures from Shanghai-based Wind Information, a financial data provider, show the number of new fixed-income debt issues, including corporate bonds, medium-term notes, short-term paper and asset-backed securities, dropped about 50 percent month-on-month in June to 158.

The issues raised 226.5 billion yuan ($36.9 billion), down 44 percent.