Asia Pacific

Receivers for Burrup Fertilisers are examining whether an Australia-India extradiction treaty could be used against Pankaj Oswal, The Australian reported. Mr Oswal left Australia just before ANZ Bank appointed receivers to his fertiliser empire on December 17. He confirmed at the weekend that he and his family would not return to Perth. He said he was living in New Delhi but may relocate to Dubai, close to where he has plans to develop a $400 million caustic soda plant in Oman.

Singapore’s bankruptcy applications last year fell to the lowest level since 1996 as the city- state’s economy rebounded, posting the world’s fastest growth after Qatar, Bloomberg reported. The number of bankruptcy filings dropped 20 percent to 2,202 in 2010 from a year earlier, according to data on the Ministry of Law’s website. Bankruptcy applications last year were less than half of the 5,404 cases at the peak in 2003. Singapore’s economic growth reached 14.7 percent last year as manufacturing surged, capping the biggest annual increase in output since independence in 1965.

Hyundai Motor Group on Friday signed a preliminary agreement to buy Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co. in a deal worth up to $4.72 billion, a step that brings nearer the completion of the drawn-out sale process for South Korea's largest construction company, which has been marked by a fierce family feud, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. Hyundai E&C, the founding component of what was once the country's largest conglomerate, was put on the block in July.

The Bank of Korea raised its benchmark interest rate Thursday, while the government issued a package of steps to stabilize consumer prices, moves that show the concern among policy makers about building inflationary pressures as the economy recovers, The Wall Street Journal reported. The central bank's surprise decision to raise its policy rate by 0.25 percentage point to 2.75% and the government's set of measures, including a freeze on public-service charges such as those for electricity and gas, show how the authorities now view inflation as one of their main policy challenges.

China went from scooping up the most Japanese debt in a year to selling the most, exiting the world’s lowest yields as forecasters expect the yen to retreat further from the 15-year high seen in November, Bloomberg reported. The country sold a net 81.3 billion yen ($979 million) of Japanese bonds in November, Japan’s Ministry of Finance said yesterday. China had been set for the biggest yearly increase since at least 2005 before unwinding with net sales in three of the four months through November.

Indonesia's troubled budget-carrier PT Mandala Airlines will temporarily cease operations Thursday, while it plans to restructure its debt and seek strategic investors, the company said Wednesday, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. "We will file a debt restructuring request to the Commercial Court tomorrow [Thursday]. This is the best step to safeguard Mandala's future," the airline's President Director Diono Nurjadin told a news conference. "We will cease operations temporarily so we can focus on debt restructuring and invite several potential investors," Nurjadin added.

Receivers have been appointed to the $500 million Raine Square office/retail tower project in Perth, which was being jointly developed by rich list member Luke Saraceni and fellow property developer Hossean Pourzard, SmartCompany.com.au reported. Major lender Bankwest – which has also signed on as the 20-storey tower's major tenant – called in receivers Mark Korda and Cliff Rocke of insolvency firm Korda Mentha in conjunction with fellow lender Bank of Scotland.

Five candidates, including midsized domestic non-bank financial institutions and foreign investment funds, are being considered for the role of rehabilitation sponsor for failed consumer lender Takefuji Corp, the Nikkei business daily reported. Candidates are to submit offer prices and final business plans by end February and the sponsor is expected to be finalized in March, the paper added. The five candidates have been selected from 14 in the first round of bidding in December through an examination of their submitted business plans, the business paper said.

The convoluted saga of debt-laden Australian shopping-center owner Centro Properties Group has taken yet another twist: Most of the banks set to decide Centro's fate by December have been replaced by hedge funds and other opportunistic investors, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. Gone are most of the lenders that originated Centro's roughly $5.5 billion in unsecured debt coming due at the end of this year, having sold their positions in recent months.

New Zealand likely avoided a recession last year due to a recovery in business confidence led by exports, consumer spending and construction, economists say. A net 8 percent of companies surveyed expect the economy will improve over the next six months, up from 6 percent in the third quarter, the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research said today in Wellington, Bloomberg reported. Home-building approvals rose 8.8 percent to a four-month high of 1,268 in November, Statistics New Zealand said in a separate report.