Chinese companies are facing a reality check after years of ramping up debt. A de-leveraging campaign that President Xi Jinping began in 2016 to curb risks in financial markets has led to a crackdown on unregulated lending -- so-called shadow banking -- and tighter rules on asset management, Bloomberg News reported. That made it harder for some to raise funds to repay existing debt, leading to a record number of bond defaults in 2018 and 2019 as economic growth slowed. Contrary to what many investors thought, state-owned borrowers can’t count on a bailout.

China's central bank said on Wednesday it was cutting the amount of cash that all banks must hold as reserves, releasing around 800 billion yuan ($114.91 billion) in funds to shore up the slowing economy, the International New York Times reported on a Reuters story. The People's Bank of China (PBOC) said on its website it will cut banks' reserve requirement ratio (RRR) by 50 basis points, effective Jan. 6. The move would bring the level for big banks down to 12.5%.

Singapore Exchange Ltd’s (SGX) regulatory unit is looking into imposing stricter regulations for listed retail bonds, including tightening the admission criteria, a move that follows a high profile default by water treatment company Hyflux, Reuters reported. In a statement on Thursday, Singapore Exchange Regulation (SGX RegCo) said it had set up a working group comprising representatives from law firms, banks and an investor group to review the retail bonds regulatory framework.

China state-owned Qinghai Salt Lake Potash Co, the country's largest potash producer, failed to sell its assets in a fifth round of auctions on Wednesday aimed at raising funds and avoid being delisted from the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, the International New York Times reported on a Reuters story. The debt-laden company filed for bankruptcy with the Qinghai province court in September and halted trading in its shares in November. After posting net losses in 2017 and 2018, it has said it would be delisted if it reported a net loss for third successive year.

It was a bumpy year for China’s markets, considering all the turbulence in relations with the U.S. Still, the final results really aren’t bad, Bloomberg News reported. The Shanghai Composite Index closed off its best year since 2014, boosted by a huge rally in the first few months, when the country’s major equity benchmarks entered a bull market. While the yuan was whipsawed at times by every twist and turn in the trade dispute, it’s only weakened about 1.3% the past 12 months. Sovereign bonds rose, but lagged bigger gains in government-bond markets elsewhere.

Local governments in China are selling debt to raise cash earlier than ever to help shore up a slowing economy, Bloomberg News reported. Authorities in Sichuan and Henan provinces offered a combined 87.6 billion yuan ($12.6 billion) of so-called special bonds on Thursday in the earliest such issuance since nationwide sales began in 2015. Through 2018, sales began in March after the legislature formally approved the annual budget. But China has for a second year ordered local governments to move the timetable forward to speed up spending in areas like transport and energy infrastructure.

Shares of rating companies that missed signs of a default that triggered India’s mini-Lehman moment are soaring after the nation’s markets regulator imposed only a small penalty, Bloomberg News reported. Care Ratings Ltd. posted record gains and Icra Ltd. saw its biggest four-day advance in more than a year after the Securities and Exchange Board of India on Dec. 26 fined them 2.5 million rupees ($35,000) each on charges they overlooked facts while assessing Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Ltd. The probes didn’t find any malafide intent.

Financial creditors to Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Ltd. have submitted claims worth Rs 86,892 crore against the mortgage lender taken to insolvency courts by the central bank, Bloomberg Quint reported. R Subramaniah Kumar, the administrator appointed by the Reserve Bank of India, has so far admitted claims worth nearly Rs 80,980 crore before the insolvency proceedings begin, according to information available on the DHFL website. Mutual funds and other bondholders have claimed Rs 45,550 crore. The administrator admitted most of these claims.

Embattled water treatment firm Hyflux's TuasOne waste-to-energy facility is expected to be operational in January 2021, said the National Environment Agency (NEA), The Straits Times reported. The agency said it has been monitoring discussions among the stakeholders of the TuasOne project and "is supportive of the stakeholders' actions taken to complete the project expeditiously". Hyflux said in a bourse filing yesterday that the new agreement to ensure continued funding for the TuasOne waste-to-energy project will have an "overall material adverse impact" on Hyflux's financial performance.

Thailand is set to end 2019 at the weakest pace of growth in five years and little to cheer about next year, as South-east Asia’s second-largest economy faces headwinds from global trade tensions, a surging baht and rising political risks, Malay Mail reported. The export-reliant country has been sharply hit by the Sino-US trade conflict. Exports may fall 3.3 per cent in 2019 before rising just 0.5 per cent in 2020, according to the Bank of Thailand (BOT).