Asia Pacific

Last week, the Government of Singapore's investment arm filed a plan in court to pay $1.48 billion for control of five luxury resorts that went into bankruptcy at the start of the month, an aggressive move that would wipe out the owners, an investor group led by Paulson & Co. and Winthrop Realty Trust, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. It seems those owners don't think much of Singapore's offer. In a phone interview Wednesday, Michael Ashner, chairman of Winthrop, ridiculed the action, suggested the bid was not a serious one.

Australian toll road operator RiverCity Motorway said it will consider appointing an administrator later Friday after lenders refused to give it a reprieve on $1.3 billion it owes, Reuters reported. RiverCity, which operates the Clem Jones Tunnel in Australia's third-largest city, Brisbane, said in a statement lenders did not approve its request for a standstill agreement by a Feb. 24 deadline.

Vietnam's leaders unveiled measures aimed at curbing soaring inflation rates Thursday, even as residents worried over electricity- and fuel-price increases that are sending energy costs as much as 24% higher, The Wall Street Journal reported. It's a time of spreading unease about the stability of this fast-growing economy. Communist-run Vietnam has one of Asia's worst inflation problems, with a consumer price index that hit a two-year high of 12.31% this month.

The Justice Department's bankruptcy trustee is protesting Bahrain's Awal Bank BSC's request to withhold from public view amounts owed to creditors and other financial details typically exposed in Chapter 11 bankruptcy cases, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. The objection filed Wednesday puts the bankruptcy trustee at odds with the foreign administrator that Bahraini authorities have appointed to manage Awal's insolvency proceedings around the globe. That administrator has said that withholding specific creditor details is in line with procedures followed in Bahrain.

Kuwait's Investment Dar, owner of half of luxury carmaker Aston Martin, proposed asset sales of about $1.69 billion over three years to creditors to restructure its debt pile, banking sources said Wednesday, Reuters reported. Dar, as part of a $3.58 billion restructuring plan, will sell its stakes in Kuwait's Boubyan Bank and Bahrain Islamic Bank. The 20 percent Boubyan stake, whose ownership is under dispute, is valued at $752 million while its 40 percent Bahrain Islamic stake is worth around $155 million, based on current market capitalization.

South Korea’s financial regulator said Tuesday that it has suspended one more savings bank reeling from massive construction financing loans defaults, The Korea Times reported. The Financial Services Commission (FSC) announced it had suspended Domin Savings Bank, based in Chuncheon, Gangwon Province, for six months. The lender closed its six branches there voluntarily earlier in the day for fear of a bank run. Domin is one of five savings banks that have failed to meet the government’s recommendation of a 5-percent capital adequacy ratio.

A bankruptcy judge granted Bahrain's Awal Bank BSC a two-week extension to control its bankruptcy case, setting up a showdown with its only U.S. creditor, HSBC Bank USA, which is seeking to have the Chapter 11 case thrown out, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. The extension Judge Allan L. Gropper of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan approved Thursday will allow Awal to make its argument to maintain control of its bankruptcy until August at the same hearing that HSBC Holdings PLC's U.S. unit will ask the judge to dismiss the case. That hearing is set for March 1.

Hong Kong bankruptcy petitions in January fell 10.5 percent to 630 from December and were down 22.6 percent compared with a year earlier, government data showed on Friday, Reuters reported. The number of bankruptcy orders totalled 613 in January, down 33.4 percent from a year earlier. Hong Kong's economy has bounced back strongly from the global financial crisis. Last November, the Hong Kong government revised upwards its full-year 2010 GDP growth forecast to 6.5 percent from a previous forecast of 5-6 percent.

Administrators of the Australian parent company of New Zealand bookseller Whitcoulls are beginning preparations for a first meeting of creditors, The National Business Review reported. REDgroup Retail is the parent company of Australasian book chains Borders and Whitcoulls, which were put in administration yesterday. REDgroup -- which manages operations in both countries -- called in voluntary administrators, Ferrier Hodgson. REDGroup is controlled by private equity group PEP.

The historically high level of Korean household debt seems to be a ticking time bomb for the economy, but this isn’t keeping policymakers from encouraging people to borrow more to secure the concrete in the crumbling housing market, The Korea Times reported. The government is planning to announce a package of measures next month aimed at helping potential homebuyers and tenants. The crux may include loosening the country’s debt-to-income (DTI) and loan-to-value (LTV) ratios, which restrict the borrowing proportion of homebuyers in relation to their earning abilities.