As the coronavirus outbreak roils credit markets around the world, Asia is under particular threat. The region has led the world in economic growth for years as debt helped fuel frenetic construction of airports, bridges and apartment towers for millions of people moving into cities, Bloomberg News reported. That model is now running up against an unprecedented spike in borrowing costs, as investors who piled into the region’s riskiest debt at a record pace grow anxious.

SoftBank Group Corp. lashed out at Moody’s Corp. after its debt was downgraded by two notches, accusing the ratings company of “bias” and “creating substantial misunderstanding” days after the investment group announced a $41 billion asset sale program intended to shore up confidence, Bloomberg News reported. SoftBank’s shares slid as much as 8.4% early in Tokyo trade. The Moody’s downgrade -- lowering SoftBank’s corporate family rating and senior unsecured rating to Ba3 from Ba1 -- pushed the company deeper into junk territory.

The Bank of Thailand has set guidelines for minimum assistance that financial institutions must offer to debtors to ease their financial burden amid the pandemic, effective from April 1, the Bangkok Post reported. Veerathai Santiprabhob, the central bank's governor, said the coronavirus outbreak has affected individuals and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) on a far-reaching scale, leading to the need for a guideline. "A policy rate cut is insufficient to help borrowers," he said.

Qantas Airways has raised A$1.05bn ($633m) to bolster its balance sheet, one of the first successful private debt raisings by an airline since countries around the globe began shutting their borders against coronavirus, forcing the industry to ground thousands of aircraft, the Financial Times reported. The 10-year loan advanced by a consortium of domestic and international banks is secured against part of the Australian carrier’s fleet at an interest rate of 2.75 per cent.

The committee of creditors (CoC) of beleaguered wind energy producer Suzlon Energy have started voting on the debt restructuring plan presented by promoters of the company, sources close to development told FE, The Financial Express reported. The process will conclude by March 26. “Out of 19 lenders, 16 have voted on resolution plan” the source added. The e-voting for Suzlon was supposed to be completed on March 21, but due to the existing scenario over Covid-19, it has been extended till March 26, a source further added.

Australia has one of the harshest regimes for insolvent trading in the world. But its laser focus on the interests of creditors, and harsh penalties, has served to distract directors in times of distress – and arguably stood in the way of better outcomes for everyone (creditors included), The Australian Financial Review reported. Refocusing directors’ attention to the interests of the company as a whole could change that.

India deferred deadlines for filing tax returns, extended a tax amnesty program and unveiled other procedural relief steps, while promising more measures to support the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic, Bloomberg News reported. Tax payers can file their annual returns by June 30 instead of the March 31 deadline for the fiscal year that ended March 31, 2019, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said in New Delhi Tuesday. Besides rules will be tweaked to check trigger of insolvency cases against companies, and norms relaxed for holding of board meetings, she said.

The global airline industry faces losing more than $250bn in revenues, according to the latest forecast from a trade body that has been forced to slash its outlook again as coronavirus spreads. The hit would amount to a more than 40 per cent fall in revenues from 2019, Iata, the industry trade body warned on Tuesday, the Financial Times reported. It is up from a prediction of $113bn made a few days ago and an initial forecast of $30bn at the start of the crisis.

Malaysia’s banks will offer broader loan deferrals that will involve 100 billion ringgit ($23 billion) of funds as the country seeks more ways to soften the pandemic’s impact on its economy, Bloomberg News reported. Banks will offer six-month deferrals for all loans held by individuals and small businesses and let people convert their credit card debt into a three-year term loan, the central bank said in a statement Wednesday.

Singapore is bracing for a further jump in bankruptcies after cases surged to the highest in years even before the coronavirus pandemic hit, Bloomberg News reported. The number of individuals filing for bankruptcy soared 47% from a year earlier to 434 in January, the highest since October 2004, according to the latest data from the Law Ministry’s Insolvency Office. Companies in liquidation jumped to 287 last year, the highest since records began in 2005. Singapore’s already-slowing economy is now poised to shrink as the virus slams trade and tourism.