With no need to pay dividends (state firms do not have to make any transfers to central government) and little shareholder pressure to ensure that their investment is cost-effective, Chinese firms went on a capital-spending binge, concentrated in industries such as aluminium, steel, car production and cement.

ECONOMIST: The frugal giant

The corporate world is ending a five-year binge on capital spending, which has left it with a much higher ratio of fixed costs than when we started this recovery in 1991.

FORBES: Looking Forward, Looking Back

They do this either because they are small or, like sizable CNL, are on a spending binge and need to attract equity capital.

FORBES: Unreal Returns