In a bid to avoid frivolous applications under the IBC, one of the amendments to the insolvency law passed in Parliament on March 13 — the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (Amendment) Act, 2020 — put in place a minimum threshold for certain class of creditors to initiate insolvency proceedings, The Hindu Business Line reported.

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on Wednesday allowed 90 days' extension for the corporate insolvency resolution process of Jet Airways, Firstpost reported. Jet Airways' resolution professional had last week filed an application in NCLT seeking 90 days' extension for the insolvency process of the grounded airline after it failed to attract any bidder. The NCLT bench, comprising Bhaskara Pantula Mohan and Rajesh Sharma, granted the extension as the Committee of Creditors (CoC) voted for the same, with 70 percent votes in favour.

Corporate undertakers are divided over pleas for the government to impose a "moratorium" on insolvent trading laws to keep businesses afloat and protect directors, with some insolvency practitioners warning it will hurt creditors and worsen the economic downturn, the Financial Review reported. Thousands of businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises (SMEs), face collapse in coming months because of a severe downturn in economic activity from the coronavirus disruption.

The Bank of Thailand has demanded all financial institutions continue providing seven financial services, including deposits, money withdrawals, fund transfers, payments, cash management and settlement systems, in an effort to avoid potential coronavirus-related disruption, the Bangkok Post reported.

Hong Kong plans to introduce its version of U.S.-style “Chapter 11” bankruptcy provisions, a senior government official said, as the city’s worst economic predicament in decades threatens the viability of many companies, Reuters reported. Hong Kong does not have a formal corporate rescue framework, unlike most other major financial centers including fierce rival Singapore, after previous attempts to introduce one met with resistance from lawmakers and labor representatives who were worried plans did not offer enough protection for workers.

The coronavirus pandemic will bankrupt most airlines worldwide by the end of May unless governments and the industry take coordinated steps to avoid such a situation, an aviation consultant warned, Bloomberg News reported. Many airlines have probably been driven into technical bankruptcy or substantially breached debt covenants already, Sydney-based consultancy CAPA Centre for Aviation warned in a statement Monday. Carriers are depleting cash reserves quickly because their planes are grounded and those that aren’t are flying more than half empty, it said.

South Korean structured notes, favored by local retail investors, could face massive losses after European banking shares plunged more than 40% in the past month, Bloomberg News reported. At least four Korean products linked to the Euro Stoxx Banks Index are likely to record losses of more than 50% if the underlying gauge stays at around the current level until their maturity, according to terms compiled by Bloomberg. The gauge has fallen 45% since a mid-February high on disappointment over European Central Bank stimulus measures. Korea Investment & Securities Co.

Vodafone's Indian joint venture was thrown a potential lifeline on Monday after the government proposed that telecoms groups should be given a period of 20 years to pay about $13bn in retrospective levies and penalties, the Financial Times reported. The application submitted to the Supreme Court comes after it ruled in October that telecoms companies must pay the historic fees within months, in a judgment that threatened the survival of Vodafone Idea and hit foreign investor confidence. It is unclear if the Supreme Court will accept the application when it next meets.

China’s industrial output contracted at the sharpest pace in 30 years in the first two months of the year as the fast spreading coronavirus and strict containment measures severely disrupted the world’s second-largest economy, data showed on Monday, Reuters reported. Urban investment and retail sales also fell sharply and for the first time on record, reinforcing views that the epidemic may have cut China’s economic growth in half in the first quarter.

An investigation into Coffee Day Enterprises Ltd., initiated by its board after the death of founder V.G. Siddhartha, is likely to conclude that at least 20 billion rupees ($270 million) is missing from its accounts, according to people familiar with the matter. The months-long probe following the suicide of Siddhartha in July examined the financial transactions of India’s largest coffee chain and its dealings with dozens of private companies owned by the entrepreneur, Bloomberg News reported.