The world’s poorest countries could soon be facing a tough decision -- double up on debt relief from the G20 with the caveat they must default on private creditors, or quit the programme to try to keep financial markets on side, Reuters reported. Rich countries on Friday backed an extension of the G20's Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI), approved in April to help developing nations survive the coronavirus pandemic and which has seen 43 of a potential 73 eligible countries here defer $5 billion in 'official sector' debt payments.

October 7. That is when the tenure of Rajnish Kumar as the Chairman of State Bank of India gets over. And that is why the date has come in play in the Jet Airways insolvency process even as lenders, sources say, meet on September 30 and start the voting process, Moneycontrol reported. The moot question is: Will the airline get a new owner before Kumar completes his tenure and his successor Dinesh Kumar Khara takes over?

Singapore’s central bank on Wednesday directed embattled German payments firm Wirecard to cease providing services in the city state and return all customers’ funds, Reuters reported. Wirecard, which primarily processes payments for merchants and helps companies to issue pre-paid cards in Singapore, filed for insolvency in June after a 1.9 billion euro (1.8 billion pounds) hole was discovered in its books. Singapore police are among a number of global authorities investigating Germany’s biggest post-war corporate fraud.

Italy’s UniCredit SpA has sued Hin Leong Trading Pte Ltd over a letter of credit, court documents show, one of several the Singapore oil trader sought from lenders for oil purchases but used to pay debt instead, Reuters reported. The Singapore High Court documents seen by Reuters show the Italian bank has also sued commodity trading giant Glencore over the matter. A source familiar with the case confirmed the lawsuits had been filed.

The two companies building the stalled Etlik mega hospital in Ankara agreed to one of Turkey’s largest loan restructurings earlier this month, according to two sources, one of whom said the deal was was worth 1.1 billion euros ($1.3 billion), Reuters reported. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, which has invested some 650 million euros in big city hospitals in Turkey in recent years, confirmed it signed off on the deal that should allow construction of Etlik to resume.

As China’s largest property developer, Evergrande has never been short on figures to stir awe — and alarm. The company’s land reserves, built during a breakneck expansion as China urbanised, are vast enough to house roughly 10m people. But it is the $123bn in debt Evergrande amassed along the way that has led to wild trading in its shares and bonds over the past week, the Financial Times reported.

Singapore’s central bank is in talks with lenders about extending the nation’s debt moratorium program beyond Dec. 31 to provide extra relief for borrowers hit by the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, according to people with knowledge of the matter, Bloomberg News reported.

The full extent of the coronavirus pandemic-inflicted damage on Philippine companies and the local financial system will only begin to manifest itself over the next couple of years, as there is always “a lag time before you see the dead bodies,” INQUIRER.net reported. As such, banks and their large corporate borrowers will likely need to enter into contentious and difficult negotiations in the medium term to rehabilitate loans that would otherwise go into default as a result of the ongoing public health crisis. “[Banks’] problem loans have almost doubled in July. Was that the peak?

Bickering among Indian government ministries and a deferred top court decision on the sale of bankrupt telecom companies’ rights to use mobile phone spectrum has derailed the resolution of the industry’s biggest bankruptcies, leaving banks waiting for $5.7 billion in payments, Bloomberg News reported.

G7 finance ministers on Friday backed an extension of a G20 temporary freeze in debt payments and recognized the need for broad debt relief in the future, while taking aim at G20 member China over a lack of transparency in its lending, Reuters reported. The G20 Debt Service Suspension Initiative (DSSI), approved in April, is aimed at helping developing countries get through the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic. So far, it has helped 43 countries defer $5 billion in official debt service payments.