Bondholders caught in a $850 million state-backed corporate default in China were split over an offer to repay them roughly 40 cents on the dollar, in only the second distressed test of the country’s offshore bond markets in 20 years, Reuters reported. Qinghai Provincial Investment Group (QPIG), an energy and mining conglomerate, missed an interest payment on Jan. 10, triggering defaults on three dollar-denominated bonds. On Feb.

UK steel magnate Sanjeev Gupta has completed the acquisition of a bankrupt Indian steelmaker after a long court battle, the first foray by his GFG Alliance into the country’s fast-growing market following previous failed attempts, the Financial Times reported.

Indian mutual funds are carving out their investments in troubled Vodafone Idea Ltd.’s debt into separate portfolios as they seek to limit any fallout from a possible default by the telecom carrier, Bloomberg News reported. UTI Mutual Fund and Nippon Life India Asset Management moved to ring-fence their holdings in Vodafone Idea’s debt on Monday after credit assessor Care Ratings Ltd. downgraded the carrier’s borrowings, statements from the companies show. Last month, Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund also segregated the company’s debt.

India’s top court rejected a plea by mobile carriers seeking more time to settle billions of dollars in back-fees, threatening to push Vodafone Group Plc’s beleaguered local venture to the brink weeks after it warned of a potential collapse, Bloomberg News reported. The Supreme Court’s three-judge panel, headed by Arun Mishra, said Friday that operators including Vodafone Idea Ltd. and Bharti Airtel Ltd. -- owing a total of $13 billion in dues for spectrum and licenses -- must deposit the dues by March 17. Shares of Vodafone Idea plunged.

China’s provinces are facing the economic fallout from the coronavirus with depleted ammunition, given they were already bracing for a deterioration in public finances before the outbreak hit, Bloomberg News reported. More than half of mainland provinces expect slower expansion of revenue in 2020 than last year’s average local income growth, according to their budgets published before the disease outbreak became widespread in January. Hubei, the epicenter, was already expecting income to fall.

After a decade of efforts and $18 billion in state bailouts, Kazakhstan’s banking sector is still in a mess. Just ask the country’s president, Bloomberg News reported. “The financial system is sick,” President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev told a government meeting last month as he railed against declines in business lending and an increase in loans to consumers with little chance of repaying the money.

A state-owned Chinese aluminum producer’s proposal to settle $850 million of defaulted bonds is meeting strong resistance from investors, throwing in doubt a restructuring plan that entails steep losses for bondholders, Bloomberg News reported. On Friday, offshore creditors of Qinghai Provincial Investment Group Co. published a letter to Chinese government entities including top regulators in a Hong Kong newspaper, calling on the defaulter to withdraw its offer of a debt overhaul.

Krungthai Bank (KTB) could be required to set aside higher loan-loss provisions to deal with a potential bad-loan uptick this year as the deteriorating debt-servicing ability of clients is further hit by the sagging economy, the Bangkok Post reported. The bank has implemented several financial assistance measures, including debt restructuring required by the Bank of Thailand, to keep customers afloat during this difficult period, and these aid measures could weaken the bank's asset quality, said Payong Srivanich, KTB's president.

A top Chinese technology company that’s struggled for months to assure creditors of its financial stability has seen its efforts to secure a fresh loan disrupted by the coronavirus crisis, Bloomberg News reported. With payments on a dollar loan coming due next month, Tsinghua Unigroup Co. has been engaged with lenders on a $900 million financing deal. That loan has been delayed partly due to the coronavirus outbreak and the Lunar New Year holiday, a company spokesman said Tuesday. Even so, the financing market has been open for others.

Chinese airlines are rushing to refinance their fleets as they struggle with the impact of the coronavirus outbreak, according to the head of Avolon, one of the world’s largest aviation leasing companies, the Financial Times reported. “When the airline industry is impacted, it tends to move quickly to preserve cash. That is what we are seeing here. The phones have started ringing. We’ve seen a dramatic step up of airlines reaching out to do sale and lease back transactions,” said Domhnal Slattery, chief executive of the Dublin-based company.