China has given permission to four local governments to sell bonds for the first time in 17 years, in a move to help them pay their debts. The Ministry of Finance said authorities in Shanghai, Zhejiang, Guangdong and Shenzen will be allowed to issue bonds on a trial basis. The move comes amid growing concerns about the ability of the local governments to repay their debts. Local government debt stood at 10.7tn yuan ($1.7tn; £1.1tn) last year. "This is part of a very complicated process of improving the finances of local government," Stephen Joske of the Economist Intelligence Unit told the BBC. "It will help ease ... (full story)