(Bloomberg) -- Local government financing vehicles in nearly a third of China's provinces are more susceptible to debt-refinancing pressure given weakened fiscal conditions and higher borrowing costs, according to Fitch Ratings.

From Guizhou, one of China's poorest provinces in the country's south, to Heilongjiang, the northeastern most province bordering Russia, local authorities in 10 regions may find it harder to support LGFVs given their own strained finances, the ratings firm said in a report. But Fitch still expect officials "to remain committed to containing systemic risk associated with the sector by proactively preventing widespread defaults in LGFV debt."

The vehicles, whose primary focus is to fund and oversee new infrastructure projects, have been flashing warnings signs as the issuance of new debt has slowed. While no LGFV has defaulted on a public bond, many have missed payments on commercial bills.

An LGFV in one of China's poorest regions late last year said it extended bank loans by two decades while a senior financial official in another made a rare public plea this month for investors to buy bonds issued by local state firms, a sign of growing fiscal strain in some of the country's weakest locales.