Asia Pacific

Insolvency cases initiated by operational creditors, such as raw material suppliers and vendors, have crashed to their lowest this fiscal year, signalling their growing preference for faster out-of-court settlements with defaulters, Indian officials and experts said, the Economic Times of India reported. The number of insolvency cases admitted by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) on applications filed by operational creditors plunged 41% to 187 until December this fiscal from 316 a year before, showed the data compiled by the bankruptcy regulator.

Business tycoon Vijay Mallya, facing bankruptcy proceedings pursued by Indian banks in the UK, has expressed concerns that these legal actions have taken on an “unreal quality” following a statement made by India’s Union Finance Minister, Nirmala Sitharaman, in Parliament, the Economic Times of India reported. Mallya has now instructed his new legal team to pursue an annulment of his bankruptcy order, which was under review in the High Court in London this week, reported PTI, on Saturday.

China local governments are rushing to issue bonds to refinance hidden debt, further tightening liquidity in the financial system, Bloomberg News reported. Regional authorities are set to sell 1.7 trillion yuan (S$313 billion) of bonds in the first two months of 2025, an unprecedented amount for the period, data compiled by Bloomberg show. About half of the issuance, or 850 billion yuan, is to replace off-balance sheet debt, according to the data. The unusually big offering has exacerbated a cash squeeze this year, as banks rush to absorb the securities.

A sweeping overhaul of how Indonesia runs its powerful state companies will create a multibillion-dollar investment vehicle run by close allies of President Prabowo Subianto, giving the new leader a major cache of funds to deploy in his effort to supercharge growth in Southeast Asia’s largest economy, Bloomberg News reported.

Tens of thousands of people could be living inside illegal scam compounds in Myanmar that have proliferated near Thailand’s border, according to the head of Thailand’s anti-trafficking agency, who warned it could take months before all foreign nationals are repatriated, The Guardian reported. Thailand has launched a major crackdown on scam compounds over recent weeks, cutting off cross-border electricity and fuel supplies.

China’s distressed developers are increasingly asking local courts to drive their restructuring efforts, as weak home sales continue to weaken their ability to make headway or deliver on private debt workout plans, Bloomberg News reported. Chongqing Casin Property Development Group late last month became the newest among its peers to apply for the court to overhaul its debt. The move followed a Bloomberg News’ report that defaulter China Fortune Land Development is considering scrapping a creditor-approved debt plan for a court-led solution.

Japan's core consumer inflation hit 3.2% in January for its fastest pace in 19 months, data showed on Friday, reinforcing expectations that the central bank will keep raising interest rates from levels still seen as low, Reuters reported. Bond yields rose on the data, as markets factor in the chance that the Bank of Japan (BOJ) could hike interest rates more aggressively than initially thought as inflationary pressure mounts.