Bad loan ratios in Indian banks are expected to worsen after falling to multi-year lows as stretched asset valuations, high public debt and prolonged geopolitical conflicts pose risks to financial stability, the Reserve Bank of India said in a report, Bloomberg News reported. Gross non-performing assets ratio of Indian banks will likely climb to 3% in March 2026, from 2.6% in September this year, according to the Financial Stability Report published by RBI on Monday.

South Korea's factory output fell more sharply than expected in November, government data showed on Monday, amid slowing exports and weakening business confidence, Reuters reported. The industrial output index fell 0.7% over the month on a seasonally adjusted basis, after no change in the prior month. That compared with a fall of 0.4% forecast in a Reuters survey of economists. On an annual basis, the index was up 0.1%, according to Statistics Korea, slower than gains of 6.3% the month before and 0.4% expected by economists.

Shares of South Korean budget carrier Jeju Air hit their lowest on record on Monday, after the deadliest air crash in the country killed 179 people, Reuters reported. Jeju Air shares traded down 8.5% as of 0312 GMT, after falling as much as 15.7% earlier in the session to 6,920 won, the lowest since they were listed in 2015. The share slide on Monday wiped out as much as 95.7 billion won ($65.2 million) in market capitalisation. Shares of AK Holdings, the holding company of Jeju Air, fell as much as 12% and hit their lowest in 16 years.

Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries has acquired technology-driven and oncology-focused healthcare platform Karkinos for Rs 375 crore, the firm said on Saturday. Reliance Strategic Business Ventures (RSBVL), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mumbai-listed India's most valuable company, completed the acquisition of Karkinos Healthcare Pvt Ltd with allotment of requisite shares, the firm said in a stock exchange filing, the Economic Times of India reported.

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has begun insolvency proceedings against Hero Electric, following a plea by operational creditor Metro Tyres over an alleged default of Rs 1.85 crore, Devidiscourse reported. The tribunal also appointed Bhoopesh Gupta as Interim Resolution Professional to manage the company after the board's suspension. Hero Electric's defense, citing a pre-existing dispute with Metro Tyres, was rejected by the Delhi-based NCLT bench.

Inflation in Tokyo accelerated for a second month in December while the labor market remained tight, results that largely keep the Bank of Japan on track for an interest rate hike next year, Bloomberg reported. Consumer prices excluding fresh food rose 2.4% in the capital, quickening from growth of 2.2% the previous month, the Ministry of Internal Affairs reported Friday. Tokyo’s figures serve as a leading indicator for national trends.

Former tycoon Lim Oon Kuin has been declared bankrupt in Singapore, following the collapse of his oil trading empire, the South China Morning Post reported. The name of the founder of Hin Leong Trading Pte. and his children Lim Huey Ching and Lim Chee Meng were listed as having been issued a bankruptcy order on December 19, the government gazette showed. The younger Lims were both directors at the company. Leow Quek Shiong and Seah Roh Lin of BDO Advisory Pte. Ltd. are the trustees, according to the gazette.

Imran Khan, founding chairman of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), has acknowledged that the current government has managed to stabilise Pakistan’s struggling economy, which was on the verge of collapse, Express News reported.

Japan's factory activity shrank at a slower pace in December as declines in production and new orders eased, a private-sector survey showed on Monday, edging closer to stabilisation after recent falls, Reuters reported. The final au Jibun Bank Japan manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to 49.6 in December, indicating the softest contraction in three months. The index was slightly higher than 49.5 in the flash reading and 49.0 in November but stayed below the 50.0 threshold that separates growth from contraction for the sixth straight month.

India is considering cutting income tax for individuals making up to 1.5 million rupees ($17,590) a year in February's budget to provide relief to the middle class and boost consumption as the economy slows, two government sources told Reuters. The move could benefit tens of millions of taxpayers, especially city dwellers burdened by high living costs, if they opt for a 2020 tax system that strips exemptions like housing rentals. Under that system, annual income of 300,000 rupees to 1.5 million rupees is taxed at between 5% to 20%. Higher income draws 30%.