French trade credit insurer Coface’s annual survey of corporate payments activity in Asia-Pacific economies has identified the construction, industrial machinery and electronics, automotive and transportation, and metals industries as the riskiest sectors.

Coface surveyed almost 3000 companies from 11 sectors in eight markets: Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan and Thailand.

It found that 70% of companies have experienced overdue payments and 56% believe the global economy is unlikely to pick up this year.

The main reasons offered to those companies that experienced tardy payments were customer financial difficulties (52% of respondents), fierce competition impacting margins (35.6%) and lack of financing resources (26.4%).

India, China and Singapore reported the strongest deterioration in payments experience since the previous survey. Some 84% of respondents in India reported late payments and 80% in China.

Although the payments deteropriation in Singapore was just 35%, it was a big increase from the previous year’s 23%.

Coface economist Jackit Wong says Singapore, as the Asian base for the world’s leading players in the commodities market, is now also faced with a backdrop of low commodity prices and mounting global uncertainties.

“Asian companies have been facing significant financial stress from overdue issues, compounded by the squeeze on profit margins owing to industrial overcapacity, subdued demand and keener business competition in recent years,” Mr Wong said. “It is not expected that non-payments will improve in 2016.”

Coface has appointed Chief Risk Officer and Chief Credit Officer for GE Capital Asia-Pacific Bhupesh Gupta to run its Asia Pacific operations. He will take up his new role and join Coface’s executive committee in September.