Asia Pacific

Despite the critical breakthrough made on foreclosures legislation on Friday, when the cabinet approved the fifth and final bill comprising the insolvency framework, Finance Minister Harris Georgiades’ optimism that both bills will be voted by the House may yet prove misplaced, the Cyprus Mail reported. Opposition parties on Monday continued to voice reservations – or outright rejection – with regard to their provisions.

Disgraced liquidator Stuart Ariff will be released on parole on March 25 after serving four years in jail on 19 counts of criminal fraud, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. Ariff, who triggered a Senate inquiry into the insolvency industry in 2010 and a set of recommendations that called for an overhaul of the sector, will serve the remainder of his six-year sentence supervised on parole until it ends in September 2017.

The guarantor’s obligation to repay any amount outstanding after considering the value of any collateral posted by borrowers is included in the fifth and final insolvency bill, which was approved by the cabinet on Friday, Cyprus Mail reported. The set of laws is designed to protect insolvent borrowers.

China property developer Kaisa Group Ltd will hold a conference call for its offshore bondholders next week to discuss a proposed restructuring plan, a notice on the company's website said, Reuters reported. The call, to be held on Monday morning at 1000 local time(0200 GMT), will provide an overview of the struggling homebuilder's current situation, the proposed acquisition of the company by Sunac China, and its restructuring plan.

A new Chinese policy plan that promotes a shift to an economy driven by consumers and entrepreneurial vigor also recognizes that the transition from state spending and smokestack industries is years away, The Wall Street Journal reported. The annual budget and policy program, unveiled by the government Thursday, acknowledged China’s entrance to an era of slower growth and outlined the need for new sources of job creation by nurturing innovative small businesses.

A family-owned strawberry producer that has supplied fresh berries to Coles supermarkets for more than 40 years has collapsed into voluntary administration. Victorian-based Oz Fresh Farms called in administrators Ernst & Young on February 24, with Philip Campbell-Wilson and Adam Nikitins appointed to manage the administration process. Campbell-Wilson told SmartCompany Oz Fresh Farms is still trading and he intends to keep trading the business throughout EY’s appointment.

For most of her career, Mana Nakazora has taken a pre-dawn train to work regardless of whether she arrived home just hours earlier, Bloomberg News reported. Her colleagues describe BNP Paribas SA’s Tokyo head of investment research as a powerhouse, and she was Japan’s No. 1 bond picker from 2010 to 2012 and No. 2 for the last two years in Nikkei Veritas newspaper polls. Making it to the top in an industry whose corporate bond sales exceeded $70 billion last year can be tough.

Troubled Chinese property developer Kaisa Group announced an onshore debt restructuring plan involving 48 billion yuan ($7.6 billion) in a move aimed at restoring the financial and operational stability of the company. The debt plan, which would not entail changes in the guarantees, securities or outstanding principal claims, involves a reduction in interest payments and tenor extensions, the Shenzhen-based developer said in a stock exchange notice. Further details about the key terms and implementation of the onshore restructuring plan would be announced later, it said.

Hours after China's central bank cut interest rates to battle slowing growth and rising deflationary risk, an official survey showed on Sunday that activity in China's factory sector contracted for a second straight month in February, the International New York Times reported. The official Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) inched up to 49.9 in February from January's 49.8, a whisker below the 50-point level separating growth from contraction on a monthly basis, but nevertheless above more pessimistic analyst forecasts for a 49.7 reading.

African Minerals said on Friday its Chinese partner in its sole asset, the Tonkolili iron ore project in Sierra Leone, has taken on some of its multi-million dollar debt and is demanding repayment, Reuters reported. The loan is secured against certain assets of the borrower and by taking ownership of the debt, Shandong is in a position that could allow it to take control of the project. "The borrowers and guarantors do not have sufficient funds available to make the payment demanded," African Minerals said in a statement on Friday.