India’s central bank unveiled steps to encourage banks to lend more to small businesses and home buyers in a bid to spur credit growth in the struggling economy, Bloomberg News reported. Banks will be exempt from setting aside the mandatory cash reserve ratio of 4% of fresh loans for automobiles, residential housing and small businesses until July 31, the Reserve Bank of India said Thursday. It also extended a relaxation of rules on the classification of loans and introduced a 1 trillion rupee ($14 billion) facility for banks to borrow cheaply from the central bank.

A formula is emerging for Chinese state-run firms to resolve offshore debt failures after a major commodities trader and a prominent aluminum producer imposed nearly identical losses on holders of their defaulted bonds, Bloomberg News reported. The decisions by Tewoo Group Co. and Qinghai Provincial Investment Group Co., which have since December committed the two biggest dollar-bond defaults from China’s state sector in 20 years, could offer a roadmap to investors as Beijing allows more ailing state firms to go bust.

Hong Kong’s Cathay Pacific Airways asked its 27,000 employees to take three weeks of unpaid leave, saying preserving cash was key for the carrier and that conditions were as grave as during the 2009 financial crisis due to the virus outbreak, The Irish Times reported. Cathay is also asking suppliers for price reductions, putting in place hiring freezes, postponing major projects and stopping all non-critical spending, chief executive Augustus Tang said in a video message to staff seen by Reuters.

China’s massive pile of soured debt is set to get even bigger, giving foreign investors more opportunities to try to profit from the cleanup, Bloomberg News reported. Nonperforming loans and stressed assets are likely to keep growing after reaching $1.5 trillion in 2019, according to a new study from PricewaterhouseCoopers. The mountain of soured borrowings is rising as the world’s second-largest economy opens further to foreign capital. As part of a recent trade deal, China is now allowing U.S. firms to apply for licenses to buy non-performing loans directly from banks.

The Bank of Thailand cut its benchmark interest rate to a record low as the coronavirus outbreak, a stalled government budget and bad drought imperil economic growth, Bloomberg News reported. The central bank lowered the policy rate by 25 basis points to 1% on Wednesday in a unanimous decision, the third cut in its last five meetings. Fourteen of 29 analysts in a Bloomberg survey predicted the decision, with the rest expecting no change. “They have come to terms with a continued slowdown this year.

Dewan Housing Finance Corp. Ltd (DHFL), India’s first non-bank lender to face bankruptcy proceedings, has a curious mix of operational creditors, Mint reported. On one end of the spectrum, there’s investment bank Rothschild & Co. India Pvt. Ltd. And then, on the other end of the spectrum are neighbourhood tea shops and florists, all claiming that their dues haven’t been cleared by the company, according to documents reviewed by Mint.

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Tuesday reserved its order over a batch of petitions over Bhushan Power and Steel''s sale to JSW Steel under the insolvency process, Outlook reported. An NCLAT bench headed by Justice S J Mukhopadhaya concluded its hearing as arguments in all seven petitions, including JSW Steel and former promoters of Bhushan Power and Steel Ltd (BPSL), are over.

The government notification stating that third-party assets, or loan pools sold by non-banking financial companies (NBFCs), must be serviced even when the company is under insolvency proceedings will give a boost to securitisation transactions, rating agency Icra said on Tuesday, The Financial Express reported. The notification was issued after defaults on securitisation transactions originated by troubled mortgage lender Dewan Housing Finance (DHFL) following a court-ordered moratorium on repayments to creditors.

China’s biggest health crisis since at least 2003 has worsened the outlook for defaults in the world’s second-biggest bond market, likely tipping a raft of distressed borrowers over the edge this year, Bloomberg News reported. With scores of millions of citizens barred from travel, and companies, factories and retail outlets shuttered for a period of weeks, strains on cash flow add an unexpected layer of stress on Chinese borrowers. Market participants had already anticipated that defaults in 2020 would be on par with 2019, which saw a second straight annual record high.

Aqua Munda, the little-known investor looking to purchase about S$1.8 billion worth of Hyflux’s debts, has extended the deadline of its offer for the second time, CNA reported. It is giving eligible creditors about three more weeks until 5pm on Feb 22 to submit their bids, Aqua Munda said in a press statement on Monday (Feb 3), citing “significant additional concerns” about Hyflux’s situation following a change of legal advisers at the embattled water treatment firm.