Asia Pacific

The government debt burden shouldered by employees in the rich world will more than double between 2007 and 2015 as an ageing population puts rising strain on welfare and health systems in advanced economies. In new calculations for the Financial Times, Eswar Prasad, a former International Monetary Fund official now at the Brookings Institution and Cornell University, finds that the rich economies will owe a rapidly rising share of public debt worldwide, while contributing relatively less to global growth.

One-third of Hawke's Bay's apple business will soon be for sale, with Opey Holdings Ltd and Edenz Ltd joining Mr Apple, placed on the market by receivers, Hawke’s Bay Today reported. South Canterbury Finance receiver McGrathNicol has appointed investment bankers Goldman Sachs & Partners New Zealand Ltd as sale advisers for investment assets owned by the finance company, including Scales Corporation of which it owns 80 per cent. Deutsche Bank AG has been appointed as sale adviser for SCF's core finance business. South Canterbury Finance was put into receivership in August.

South Korea is expected to start selling a $6 billion majority stake in the country's largest financial company, Woori Finance Holdings, in a move that could create a Korean bank with the heft to compete on the global stage, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. A successful sale of Woori, which was cobbled together in 2001 in the wake of the Asian financial crisis as a holding company for several troubled financial firms, would be a significant step for the government of President Lee Myung-bak, which wants to privatize more of an economy that retains significant state ownership.

A U.S. bankruptcy judge said he'll give creditors of Awal Bank BSC more time to challenge the course of the Bahrain bank's unusual Chapter 11 case before deciding whether it can proceed, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported. Judge Allan L. Gropper of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan indicated at a Tuesday hearing that he would consider Awal's motion to proceed with its Chapter 11 case after giving creditors the opportunity to come forward, according to the administrator overseeing the bank's insolvency proceedings in Bahrain and elsewhere.

The "turnaround" man brought in to help the restructuring of South Canterbury Finance (SCF) is no longer working for the company, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. Kerryn Downey of receiver McGrathNicol confirmed Sandy Maier -- signed up as chief executive of SCF for one year last December -- went on "gardening leave" four or five weeks ago and would officially finish with the company at the end of the month, The New Zealand Herald reported.

Fashion chain Jean Jones has gone into receivership, with the loss of four stores, The New Zealand Herald reported. The remaining 14 stores will continue to operate while receivers Deloitte, who took control of the company last Thursday, found a buyer for the chain. Spokesperson Mike Horne said that while the receivers were still reviewing the company's position, it appeared the basic business model was viable and its problems were primarily caused by factors outside the business.

Listed franchise brand manager Allied Brands has lost its battle for survival, with the company placed in voluntary administration this morning. However, chief executive Sean Corbin has told SmartCompany.com.au that all current franchisees will remain open for business, and have stock to continue trading, while the administrator sorts out the next steps for the group. Peter Dinoris and Peter Biazos of Vincents Chartered Accountants have been appointed as joint administrators, although Corbin says that not all of the company’s subsidiaries have been placed in administration at this stage.

Dubai World has succeeded in securing 100 per cent support for its $25bn restructuring after the only creditor that had not agreed to the plan was bought out, according to people familiar with the situation, the Financial Times reported. Aurelius Capital Management, a US distressed debt fund, has sold $5m – a tiny proportion of Dubai World’s outstanding liabilities – to Deutsche Bank, according to one of the people. Deutsche Bank and Aurelius declined to comment.

Ten million dollars' worth of trade with the Chatham Islands could be lost following the receivership of a Timaru shipping company, Stuff.co.nz reported on a Taranaki Daily News story. Black Robin Freighters went into receivership last week with BDO Christchurch notifying the receivership on Saturday. In August Black Robin Freighters director Kelvyn Leslie raised concerns there would not be enough business to support two shipping services, after Auckland-based 44 South Shipping launched a twice-monthly service to the Chathams.

The muddy big 1.33-hectare hole that is the failed $250 million Soho Square development in Auckland's Ponsonby could soon be alive with construction crews, with first mortgagee United States hedge fund Fortress cleared by the High Court to buy the site, Stuff.co.nz reported on a Dominion Post story.