In March this year, the Australian Government implemented new measures to assist financially distressed businesses and individuals to navigate the economic impacts of COVID-19, Mondaq reported. As expected, we have seen a drastic downturn in the filing of Wind Up Applications and Creditors' Petitions with the Courts, and the uptake of voluntary administrations. The number of Wind Up Applications filed between July and August 2020, as compared to July and August 2021, are down by 89% and Court Liquidations have also significantly decreased by 74%.

The International Monetary Fund sounded a warning over rising global debt levels and proposed reforms to the debt-restructuring process for countries that struggle to meet their obligations, a number that is set to rise as the pandemic batters economies, Bloomberg News reported.

The Treasurer says he expects the reforms to cover around 76% of businesses facing insolvency today – 98% of whom who have less than 20 employees, The Weekly SOURCE reported. Taking elements from the United States’ Bankruptcy Code, the measures – which have yet to be legislated but will start on 1 January 2021 – will see a shift from the current ‘creditor-in-possession’ regime to a ‘debtor-in-possession’ system.

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.