21.   At the same time, central authorities began to take a more restrictive view of what constitutes sovereign debt.

22.   Bonds would help raise cash, but government issues have been hard hit by recent sovereign debt ratings downgrades.

23.   But this was insufficient to predict the Asian currency crisis which is essentially due to private sector debt and not sovereign debt.

24.   Failure to pay would spark the biggest sovereign debt default ever.

25.   In the case of Korea, the government agreed to guarantee foreign debt incurred by Korean banks and to issue sovereign debt to raise fresh foreign capital.

26.   In the past, Chinese state-owned entities were considered arms of the Chinese state and their debts were regarded as sovereign debt.

27.   Many banks, who hold a large share of sovereign debt, rose.

28.   Non-sovereign debt carries a lower rating than sovereign debt.

29.   Sixty per cent of the fund will be invested in US corporate bonds, while the rest will be invested in Latin America and Eastern European sovereign debt.

30.   The ratings apply to bank deposits and other short-term obligations, plus short-term sovereign debt.