The reflation trade is carving out refuges in some curious places, case in point: emerging Asian debt. Credit-default swaps on the bonds of every Asian emerging market except for South Korea have tumbled this year, outperforming debt risk for the U.K. and for France, which has jumped amid the presidential election campaign, Bloomberg News reported. Inflows into developing Asian bond markets have also swelled in 2017 as investors bet the world’s fastest-growing region will be able to better withstand the volatility and outflows unleashed by a tightening Federal Reserve.

China is getting serious about dealing with so-called zombie companies through court-led bankruptcies as it seeks to cut overcapacity in industries and boost economic growth, Bloomberg News reported. The country’s Chief Justice Zhou Qiang said at the National People’s Congress Sunday that authorities will improve the country’s judicial system for dealing with bankruptcies in 2017 to support those goals.

Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), once one of Korea's biggest shipbuilders, faces a potential crisis, despite claims to the contrary. The financial authority here has assured the market that the company faces no such scenario where it could default on its debt, The Korea Times reported. But the question remains as to whether Daewoo can refinance and repay 440 billion won owed to investors next month. With the company running out of money without any new projects that can improve cash flow, the market remains concerned over the lack of liquidity.

China’s central bank governor said Friday the country needs to get soaring corporate debt under control but its economy and currency are stable and the decline in its foreign exchange reserves is no cause for concern, The Washington Post reported. Zhou Xiaochuan’s comments at a news conference held during China’s national legislature follows warnings a rapid rise in debt could lead to financial trouble. Beijing is trying to reduce reliance on credit and to clear away debts of state companies but private sector analysts say it needs to move faster.

Li Keqiang’s annual, 42-page “work report” to China’s parliament is packed with obscure details on matters such as mobile roaming and urban utility tunnels. But one of China’s biggest policy initiatives of 2016 — the reimposition of capital controls — went unmentioned in the premier’s address to the National People’s Congress, the Financial Times reported.

Singapore owes its existence, and its prosperity, to its place at the heart of intra-Asian trade, The Economist reported. In more than 50 years of independence, the city-state has striven mightily to attract investment from all over the world. Such has been its success, indeed, that others hope to imitate its open, low-tax model. In Britain, for example, there has been talk of the country turning into a “European Singapore” once withdrawal from the EU is complete.

For the second day running, China data have economists scratching their heads. Tuesday came a surprise increase in foreign-exchange reserves. Wednesday, it was an unexpected trade deficit—China’s first in three years—which made the rise in Beijing’s currency hoard even harder to account for, The Wall Street Journal reported. Economists say the two don’t fit together easily. Chinese imports in February were up 45% from a year earlier in yuan terms, accelerating from January’s 25% pace, while exports increased just 4.2%.

Global investors are returning to China’s swelling market for bad debt after several years of watching from the sidelines, the Financial Times reported. Private equity funds Lone Star and PAG over the past few months have started buying non-performing loan (NPL) portfolios in the country, according to several people familiar with the matter. The entrance of the groups marks the first time in years that foreign funds have braved China’s bad debt market without powerful local partners.

Global investors are returning to China’s swelling market for bad debt after several years of watching from the sidelines, the Financial Times reported. Private equity funds Lone Star and PAG over the past few months have started buying non-performing loan (NPL) portfolios in the country, according to several people familiar with the matter. The entrance of the groups marks the first time in years that foreign funds have braved China’s bad debt market without powerful local partners.

Bankruptcies of Chinese businesses have surged in the past two years, in a sign the state is beginning to take painful steps to trim the bloated industrial sector as it tries to rein in debt, The Wall Street Journal reported. China’s search for ways to manage its slowest growth in a quarter-century hangs over the annual National People’s Congress, which starts on Sunday. The challenge is expected to drive discussions among delegates on how to unwind the heavily indebted companies that account for much of the industry and jobs in their home regions.