(Yicai Global) Nov. 3 -- The leverage ratio of Chinese governments, households, and corporate sectors is expected to continue widening slower during this quarter from a quarter earlier as economic recovery takes hold, according to a government think tank.

China’s macro leverage ratio could retain a trend of slowing growth in the fourth quarter, the National Institute for Finance and Development’s national balance sheet research center said in a report published yesterday.

The ratio was 270.1 percent on Sept. 30, up 3.7 percentage points from three months before that. It had widened by 71 percentage points in the second quarter and by 13.9 percentage points in the first quarter.

China's regional governments were contributing to the increase the most in the third quarter, while households also became more indebted as more people bought real estate. However, the country's corporate sectors were reducing their leverage in comparison to the gross domestic product.

The central government's debts deepened by CNY2.35 trillion (USD351.2 billion) in the first three quarters, and those of regional governments jumped by CNY4.27 trillion. The combined tally reaches almost 80 percent of this year's debt ceiling.

The central government is expected to increase its borrowing while local governments should retain similar levels of leverage till Dec. 31, the report added.

Editor: Emmi Laine