Indian police have launched a preliminary investigation into the husband of ICICI Bank's chief executive, as well as officials at the lender and at Videocon Group, two sources said on Saturday, to assess whether there was any wrongdoing in lending practices, the International New York Times reported on a Reuters story.

Wu Xiaohui, the former chairman of China’s giant insurer Anbang, has expressed remorse and sought leniency at the end of his trial for alleged fraud of $10.4 billion (€8.45 billion) in Shanghai, the Irish Times reported. Mr Wu is one of the country’s best-known dealmakers, a politically connected investor whose aggressive drive to buy overseas assets has come to embody the hubris of China’s heavily indebted conglomerates.

Embattled tiremaker Kumho Tire Co. will likely face liquidation if it is placed under court receivership, the top financial regulator warned Thursday. A state-run creditor bank has warned that Kumho Tire will have to submit to court protection unless the tiremaker's labor union agrees on the planned sale of a majority stake in Kumho Tire to China's Qingdao Doublestar Co. by Friday, the Yonhap News Agency reported.

Default rates for bonds issued by emerging market companies have been lower than those of their developed world counterparts since 2004, according to analysis by Moody’s. The research confounds the popular perception that emerging economies are inherently less credit worthy than advanced countries and therefore should pay higher yields on debt to compensate investors for a greater default risk, the Financial Times reported.

Less than a month after it was seized by the Chinese government, Anbang Insurance Group, the giant conglomerate, is once again offering small investors “you snooze, you lose” investment opportunities — your money back, guaranteed. Sold like stocks or bonds in bank branches around China, the products carry names like Anbang Abundant Stability No. 10, suggesting the investments are conservative. They are anything but, the International New York Times reported.

Noble Group Ltd said on Wednesday that creditors holding the majority of its senior debt now accept its $3.4 billion restructuring plan, Reuters reported. The beleaguered commodity trader said support for the deal, seen as critical for the firm’s survival, has risen to 55 percent from 46 percent on March 14. The proposed restructuring agreement requires approval by a majority of existing senior creditors representing 75 percent in value of its debt. The firm said in a statement it is making “solid progress” towards the deal and would extend the deadline for subscriptions to April 11.

Noble Group Ltd warned on Monday that it would begin insolvency proceedings if the beleaguered commodity trader’s $3.4 billion debt restructuring proposal was not approved by shareholders, Reuters reported. Noble’s debt restructuring process is seen as critical for the firm’s survival. But the deal has been opposed by some bondholders and shareholders, including Goldilocks Investment Co, which has an 8.1 percent stake in the firm.

A battle for control of one of India’s largest industrial assets is moving into the courtroom after bids for Essar Steel from both ArcelorMittal and a Russian-controlled investment vehicle were declared ineligible under India’s tough new bankruptcy code, the Financial Times reported. Essar Steel was forced into insolvency proceedings last August after falling behind on debt repayments.

Tata Steel has offered to pay a little more than 350 billion rupees ($5.4 billion) to lenders of Bhushan Steel & Power to take over the bankrupt steelmaker, a source with direct knowledge of the deal said. Bhushan Steel’s panel of creditors approved the deal on Thursday, pending other regulatory clearances, the company said in a stock exchange filing on Friday without disclosing financial details, Reuters reported.

India’s largest cement maker, UltraTech Cement Ltd., aims to aggressively cut its debt over the next two years to help prepare for more acquisitions, Bloomberg News reported. UltraTech, controlled by billionaire Kumar Mangalam Birla, plans to prepay some loans through its internal cash accruals, according to Chief Financial Officer Atul Daga. It targets to cut the ratio of its net debt to earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization to 1 time by 2020, from 2.3 times currently, Daga said in an interview Thursday in Mumbai.