diff --git a/src/de/inetsoftware/jwebassembly/binary/BinaryModuleWriter.java b/src/de/inetsoftware/jwebassembly/binary/BinaryModuleWriter.java
index df15c7e..c5c9d4b 100644
--- a/src/de/inetsoftware/jwebassembly/binary/BinaryModuleWriter.java
+++ b/src/de/inetsoftware/jwebassembly/binary/BinaryModuleWriter.java
@@ -28,7 +28,6 @@ import java.util.Map.Entry;
 import javax.annotation.Nonnull;
 import javax.annotation.Nullable;
 
-import de.inetsoftware.classparser.Member;
 import de.inetsoftware.jwebassembly.JWebAssembly;
 import de.inetsoftware.jwebassembly.module.FunctionName;
 import de.inetsoftware.jwebassembly.module.ModuleWriter;
@@ -509,12 +508,12 @@ public class BinaryModuleWriter extends ModuleWriter implements InstructionOpcod
      * {@inheritDoc}
      */
     @Override
-    protected void writeGlobalAccess( boolean load, FunctionName name, Member ref ) throws IOException {
+    protected void writeGlobalAccess( boolean load, FunctionName name, AnyType type ) throws IOException {
         Global var = globals.get( name.fullName );
         if( var == null ) { // if not declared then create a definition in the global section
             var = new Global();
             var.id = globals.size();
-            var.type = ValueType.getValueType( ref.getType() );
+            var.type = type;
             var.mutability = true;
             globals.put( name.fullName, var );
         }
@@ -523,6 +522,14 @@ public class BinaryModuleWriter extends ModuleWriter implements InstructionOpcod
         codeStream.writeVaruint32( var.id );
     }
 
+    /**
+     * {@inheritDoc}
+     */
+    @Override
+    protected void writeDefaultValue( AnyType type ) throws IOException {
+        codeStream.writeDefaultValue( type );
+    }
+
     /**
      * {@inheritDoc}
      */
diff --git a/src/de/inetsoftware/jwebassembly/binary/Global.java b/src/de/inetsoftware/jwebassembly/binary/Global.java
index 40db471..a64f2d5 100644
--- a/src/de/inetsoftware/jwebassembly/binary/Global.java
+++ b/src/de/inetsoftware/jwebassembly/binary/Global.java
@@ -1,5 +1,5 @@
 /*
- * Copyright 2018 Volker Berlin (i-net software)
+ * Copyright 2018 - 2019 Volker Berlin (i-net software)
  *
  * Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
  * you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ package de.inetsoftware.jwebassembly.binary;
 
 import java.io.IOException;
 
-import de.inetsoftware.jwebassembly.wasm.ValueType;
+import de.inetsoftware.jwebassembly.wasm.AnyType;
 
 /**
  * An entry in the global section of the WebAssembly.
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ class Global extends SectionEntry {
 
     int id;
 
-    ValueType type;
+    AnyType type;
 
     boolean mutability;
 
@@ -37,9 +37,9 @@ class Global extends SectionEntry {
      */
     @Override
     void writeSectionEntry( WasmOutputStream stream ) throws IOException {
-        stream.writeValueType( this.type );
+        stream.writeRefValueType( this.type );
         stream.write( this.mutability ? 1 : 0 );
-        stream.writeConst( 0, this.type );
+        stream.writeDefaultValue( this.type );
         stream.writeOpCode( InstructionOpcodes.END );
     }
 }
diff --git a/src/de/inetsoftware/jwebassembly/binary/WasmOutputStream.java b/src/de/inetsoftware/jwebassembly/binary/WasmOutputStream.java
index 39f5817..c245431 100644
--- a/src/de/inetsoftware/jwebassembly/binary/WasmOutputStream.java
+++ b/src/de/inetsoftware/jwebassembly/binary/WasmOutputStream.java
@@ -24,6 +24,7 @@ import java.nio.charset.StandardCharsets;
 import javax.annotation.Nonnegative;
 import javax.annotation.Nonnull;
 
+import de.inetsoftware.jwebassembly.WasmException;
 import de.inetsoftware.jwebassembly.wasm.AnyType;
 import de.inetsoftware.jwebassembly.wasm.ValueType;
 
@@ -111,6 +112,39 @@ class WasmOutputStream extends FilterOutputStream {
         writeValueType( type );
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Write the default/initial value for a type.
+     * 
+     * @param type
+     *            the type
+     * @throws IOException
+     *             if an I/O error occurs.
+     */
+    public void writeDefaultValue( AnyType type ) throws IOException {
+        if( type.getCode() < 0 ) {
+            ValueType valueType = (ValueType)type;
+            switch( valueType ) {
+                case i32:
+                case i64:
+                case f32:
+                case f64:
+                    writeConst( 0, valueType );
+                    break;
+                case i8:
+                case i16:
+                    writeConst( 0, ValueType.i32 );
+                    break;
+                case anyref:
+                    writeOpCode( InstructionOpcodes.REF_NULL );
+                    break;
+                default:
+                    throw new WasmException( "Not supported storage type: " + type, -1 );
+            }
+        } else {
+            writeOpCode( InstructionOpcodes.REF_NULL );
+        }
+    }
+
     /**
      * Write a integer little endian (ever 4 bytes)
      * 
diff --git a/src/de/inetsoftware/jwebassembly/module/ModuleGenerator.java b/src/de/inetsoftware/jwebassembly/module/ModuleGenerator.java
index 0be54e8..63b7374 100644
--- a/src/de/inetsoftware/jwebassembly/module/ModuleGenerator.java
+++ b/src/de/inetsoftware/jwebassembly/module/ModuleGenerator.java
@@ -415,28 +415,7 @@ public class ModuleGenerator {
                         if( instr.getOperator() == StructOperator.NEW_DEFAULT ) {
                             List<NamedStorageType> list = instr.getStructType().getFields();
                             for( NamedStorageType storageType : list ) {
-                                if( storageType.getType().getCode() < 0 ) {
-                                    ValueType type = (ValueType)storageType.getType();
-                                    switch( type ) {
-                                        case i32:
-                                        case i64:
-                                        case f32:
-                                        case f64:
-                                            writer.writeConst( 0, type );
-                                            break;
-                                        case i8:
-                                        case i16:
-                                            writer.writeConst( 0, ValueType.i32 );
-                                            break;
-                                        case anyref:
-                                            writer.writeStructOperator( StructOperator.NULL, null, null, -1 );
-                                            break;
-                                        default:
-                                            throw new WasmException( "Not supported storage type: " + type, instruction.getLineNumber() );
-                                    }
-                                } else {
-                                    writer.writeStructOperator( StructOperator.NULL, null, null, -1 );
-                                }
+                                writer.writeDefaultValue( storageType.getType() );
                             }
                         }
                         break;
diff --git a/src/de/inetsoftware/jwebassembly/module/ModuleWriter.java b/src/de/inetsoftware/jwebassembly/module/ModuleWriter.java
index 4061fa1..da2da4e 100644
--- a/src/de/inetsoftware/jwebassembly/module/ModuleWriter.java
+++ b/src/de/inetsoftware/jwebassembly/module/ModuleWriter.java
@@ -22,7 +22,6 @@ import java.util.List;
 import javax.annotation.Nonnull;
 import javax.annotation.Nullable;
 
-import de.inetsoftware.classparser.Member;
 import de.inetsoftware.jwebassembly.wasm.AnyType;
 import de.inetsoftware.jwebassembly.wasm.ArrayOperator;
 import de.inetsoftware.jwebassembly.wasm.NamedStorageType;
@@ -174,14 +173,23 @@ public abstract class ModuleWriter implements Closeable {
      *            true: if load or GET
      * @param name
      *            the variable name
-     * @param ref
-     *            the definition of the variable
+     * @param type
+     *            the type of the variable
      * 
      * @throws IOException
      *             if any I/O error occur
      */
-    protected abstract void writeGlobalAccess( boolean load, FunctionName name, Member ref ) throws IOException;
+    protected abstract void writeGlobalAccess( boolean load, FunctionName name, AnyType type ) throws IOException;
 
+    /**
+     * Write the default/initial value for a type.
+     * 
+     * @param type
+     *            the type
+     * @throws IOException
+     *             if an I/O error occurs.
+     */
+    protected abstract void writeDefaultValue( AnyType type ) throws IOException;
 
     /**
      * Write a add operator
diff --git a/src/de/inetsoftware/jwebassembly/module/WasmCodeBuilder.java b/src/de/inetsoftware/jwebassembly/module/WasmCodeBuilder.java
index 0c4ee27..6deb603 100644
--- a/src/de/inetsoftware/jwebassembly/module/WasmCodeBuilder.java
+++ b/src/de/inetsoftware/jwebassembly/module/WasmCodeBuilder.java
@@ -32,6 +32,7 @@ import de.inetsoftware.jwebassembly.wasm.NamedStorageType;
 import de.inetsoftware.jwebassembly.wasm.NumericOperator;
 import de.inetsoftware.jwebassembly.wasm.StructOperator;
 import de.inetsoftware.jwebassembly.wasm.ValueType;
+import de.inetsoftware.jwebassembly.wasm.ValueTypeParser;
 import de.inetsoftware.jwebassembly.wasm.WasmBlockOperator;
 
 /**
@@ -193,7 +194,9 @@ public abstract class WasmCodeBuilder {
      *            the line number in the Java source code
      */
     protected void addGlobalInstruction( boolean load, Member ref, int javaCodePos, int lineNumber ) {
-        instructions.add( new WasmGlobalInstruction( load, ref, javaCodePos, lineNumber ) );
+        FunctionName name = new FunctionName( ref );
+        AnyType type = new ValueTypeParser( ref.getType(), types ).next();
+        instructions.add( new WasmGlobalInstruction( load, name, type, javaCodePos, lineNumber ) );
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/src/de/inetsoftware/jwebassembly/module/WasmGlobalInstruction.java b/src/de/inetsoftware/jwebassembly/module/WasmGlobalInstruction.java
index 5876dfc..749137b 100644
--- a/src/de/inetsoftware/jwebassembly/module/WasmGlobalInstruction.java
+++ b/src/de/inetsoftware/jwebassembly/module/WasmGlobalInstruction.java
@@ -34,24 +34,29 @@ class WasmGlobalInstruction extends WasmInstruction {
 
     private boolean load;
 
-    private Member  ref;
+    private FunctionName name;
+
+    private AnyType type;
 
     /**
      * Create an instance of a load/store instruction
      * 
      * @param load
      *            true: if load or GET
-     * @param ref
-     *            reference to a static field
+     * @param name
+     *            the name of the static field
+     * @param type
+     *            the type of the static field
      * @param javaCodePos
      *            the code position/offset in the Java method
      * @param lineNumber
      *            the line number in the Java source code
      */
-    WasmGlobalInstruction( boolean load, Member ref, int javaCodePos, int lineNumber ) {
+    WasmGlobalInstruction( boolean load, FunctionName name, AnyType type, int javaCodePos, int lineNumber ) {
         super( javaCodePos, lineNumber );
         this.load = load;
-        this.ref = ref;
+        this.name = name;
+        this.type = type;
     }
 
     /**
@@ -66,15 +71,14 @@ class WasmGlobalInstruction extends WasmInstruction {
      * {@inheritDoc}
      */
     public void writeTo( @Nonnull ModuleWriter writer ) throws IOException {
-        FunctionName name = new FunctionName( ref );
-        writer.writeGlobalAccess( load, name, ref );
+        writer.writeGlobalAccess( load, name, type );
     }
 
     /**
      * {@inheritDoc}
      */
     AnyType getPushValueType() {
-        return load ? ValueType.getValueType( ref.getType() ) : null;
+        return load ? type : null;
     }
 
     /**
diff --git a/src/de/inetsoftware/jwebassembly/text/TextModuleWriter.java b/src/de/inetsoftware/jwebassembly/text/TextModuleWriter.java
index 465da3c..bb3f29e 100644
--- a/src/de/inetsoftware/jwebassembly/text/TextModuleWriter.java
+++ b/src/de/inetsoftware/jwebassembly/text/TextModuleWriter.java
@@ -24,8 +24,8 @@ import java.util.List;
 import javax.annotation.Nonnull;
 import javax.annotation.Nullable;
 
-import de.inetsoftware.classparser.Member;
 import de.inetsoftware.jwebassembly.JWebAssembly;
+import de.inetsoftware.jwebassembly.WasmException;
 import de.inetsoftware.jwebassembly.module.FunctionName;
 import de.inetsoftware.jwebassembly.module.ModuleWriter;
 import de.inetsoftware.jwebassembly.module.ValueTypeConvertion;
@@ -113,12 +113,7 @@ public class TextModuleWriter extends ModuleWriter {
                 output.append( " $" ).append( typeName ).append(  '.' ).append( field.getName() );
             }
             output.append( " (mut " );
-            AnyType type = field.getType();
-            if( type.getCode() < 0 ) {
-                output.append( type.toString() );
-            } else {
-                output.append( "(ref " ).append( normalizeName( type.toString() ) ).append( ')' );
-            }
+            writeTypeName( output, field.getType() );
             output.append( "))" );
         }
         inset--;
@@ -203,6 +198,24 @@ public class TextModuleWriter extends ModuleWriter {
         methodParamNames.clear();
     }
 
+    /**
+     * Write the name of a type.
+     * 
+     * @param output
+     *            the target
+     * @param type
+     *            the type
+     * @throws IOException
+     *             if any I/O error occur
+     */
+    private void writeTypeName( Appendable output, AnyType type ) throws IOException {
+        if( type.getCode() < 0 ) {
+            output.append( type.toString() );
+        } else {
+            output.append( "(ref " ).append( normalizeName( type.toString() ) ).append( ')' );
+        }
+    }
+
     /**
      * {@inheritDoc}
      */
@@ -218,11 +231,7 @@ public class TextModuleWriter extends ModuleWriter {
             }
         }
         methodOutput.append( ' ' );
-        if( valueType.getCode() < 0 ) {
-            methodOutput.append( valueType );
-        } else {
-            methodOutput.append( "(ref " ).append( normalizeName( valueType.toString() ) ).append( ')' );
-        }
+        writeTypeName( methodOutput, valueType );
         methodOutput.append( ')' );
     }
 
@@ -294,19 +303,66 @@ public class TextModuleWriter extends ModuleWriter {
      * {@inheritDoc}
      */
     @Override
-    protected void writeGlobalAccess( boolean load, FunctionName name, Member ref ) throws IOException {
+    protected void writeGlobalAccess( boolean load, FunctionName name, AnyType type ) throws IOException {
         String fullName = normalizeName( name );
         if( !globals.contains( fullName ) ) {
             // declare global variable if not already declared.
             output.append( "\n  " );
-            String type = ValueType.getValueType( ref.getType() ).toString();
-            output.append( "(global $" ).append( fullName ).append( " (mut " ).append( type ).append( ") (" ).append( type ).append( ".const 0))" );
+            output.append( "(global $" ).append( fullName ).append( " (mut " );
+            writeTypeName( output, type );
+            output.append( ')' );
+            writeDefaultValue( output, type );
+            output.append( ')' );
             globals.add( fullName );
         }
         newline( methodOutput );
         methodOutput.append( load ? "global.get $" : "global.set $" ).append( fullName );
     }
 
+    /**
+     * {@inheritDoc}
+     */
+    @Override
+    protected void writeDefaultValue( AnyType type ) throws IOException {
+        newline( methodOutput );
+        writeDefaultValue( methodOutput, type );
+    }
+
+    /**
+     * Write the default/initial value for type.
+     * 
+     * @param output
+     *            the target
+     * @param type
+     *            the type
+     * @throws IOException
+     *             if an I/O error occurs.
+     */
+    private static void writeDefaultValue( Appendable output, AnyType type ) throws IOException {
+        if( type.getCode() < 0 ) {
+            ValueType valueType = (ValueType)type;
+            switch( valueType ) {
+                case i32:
+                case i64:
+                case f32:
+                case f64:
+                    output.append( " (" ).append( type.toString() ).append( ".const 0)" );
+                    break;
+                case i8:
+                case i16:
+                    writeDefaultValue( output, ValueType.i32 );
+                    break;
+                case anyref:
+                    output.append( "(ref.null)" );
+                    break;
+                default:
+                    throw new WasmException( "Not supported storage type: " + type, -1 );
+            }
+        } else {
+            output.append( "(ref.null)" );
+        }
+    }
+
     /**
      * {@inheritDoc}
      */