Asia Pacific

Korea’s national debt has increased at a rapid pace, spawning fears that the country could face a debt crisis akin to the one Europe has gone through in the wake of the global financial crisis, The Korea Times reported. What is of greater concern is that the pace of the debt growth is expected to gain momentum as the government must eventually spend more and more due to the rapidly aging population and possible reunification of the two Koreas. With snowballing debt, the ability of the Lee Myung-bak administration to manage the debt is being put into question.

Glen Grant Constructions, a company which supplies pipeline company Northern Network Alliance's sub-contractor EcoCivil, went into receivership yesterday, Sunshine Coast Daily reported. Northern Network Alliance manager John Palmer said he received a briefing at 9am from EcoCivil during which he was told the sub-contractor had released none of its staff despite the day's events. Mr Palmer said EcoCivil and the NNA had assisted PPB, the appointed receivers of Glen Grant Constructions, to locate and retrieve equipment and machinery.

Baskin Robbins and Cookie Man franchise holder Allied Brands has gone into voluntary administration, after the company lost its licence to operate 92 ice-cream stores in Australia, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. Allied Brands administrator Vincents Chartered Accountants said this morning creditors had withdrawn from talks with Allied following the termination of its Baskin Robbins contract and the company was no longer able to trade as a going concern. Allied had been seeking to raise funds through a convertible bond issue and equity line of credit.

Banks are prepared to accept "appropriate" reforms to increase competition in the sector, the sector's peak body has declared. However Australian Bankers Association chief executive Steven Munchenberg also defended the decision of the Commonwealth bank to increase its key lending rates by almost double yesterday's official 25 basis point rise by the Reserve Bank Australia.

Amid the gloom hanging over the U.S. housing market, Australia continues to defy critics who say one of the world's few property hot spots is overdue for a correction, The Wall Street Journal reported. Another test will come at the landmark Sydney Opera House on Monday, when real-estate agency Ray White Ltd. holds an auction of 11 luxury dwellings, 10 in New South Wales, one in Queensland. The firm hopes the iconic venue will help persuade the invited bidders, mainly Asian, to snap up the properties, some for as much as 10 million Australian dollars (US$9.9 million).

The number of companies globally at risk of defaulting on debt jumped in October for the third consecutive month, indicating deteriorating credit quality worldwide, risk management firm Kamakura Corp said on Monday, Reuters reported. The proportion of them at risk of defaulting on their debt leaped by 1.17 percentage points in October to 11.10 percent of the more than 29,000 companies Kamakura rates. The index has deteriorated for the last three months after generally seeing improvement for more than a year.

A stagnant climate in the property market could last for months, after the usual spring lift in the market failed to show up in October, real estate industry website realestate.co.nz says, The National Business Review reported. Spring is a pivotal time in the property market, as better weather returns and more houses are usually listed. In October, 11,911 properties came onto the market, a 12.1 percent drop from the same month last year.

One of WA's major dairy companies has gone into voluntary administration, after weeks of speculation that it was on the verge of collapse, ABC News reported. South West-based Challenge Dairy announced today it has gone into voluntary administration, admitting it owed substantial amounts to farmers. About half of the state's dairy farmers supply milk to the company, and a number of them say they have not been paid for milk supplied last month.

The Tokyo District Court has decided to start bankruptcy protection procedures for consumer lender Takefuji Corp., its administrator said Sunday, The Japan Times reported on a Kyodo News story. Takefuji, snowed under by mounting refund claims for excessive interest charges, filed for bankruptcy protection on Sept. 28. The number of borrowers who haven't sought reimbursement yet is meanwhile estimated at anything from 1 million to around 2 million, with potential claims estimated at ¥1 trillion to ¥2 trillion.

The Australian division of Krispy Kreme doughnuts has gone into voluntary bankruptcy, the company said, UPI reported. With bankruptcy, which is referred to as voluntary administration in Australia, the company is seeking to find a way to save any parts of its business. Krispy Kreme spokesman Matthew Horan told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. Monday the company troubles were the result of several poorly performing stores.