Asia Pacific

British Seafood, the fish importer and distributor part-owned by 3i Group (III.L), has gone into administration, wiping out gains made by the private equity firm's sale of healthcare company Ambea, Reuters reported. Tough conditions in financial markets have caused some banks to withdraw trade credit, choking the supply of working capital necessary for businesses like British Seafood. "It was a growing business and a good business," said a spokesperson for 3i, which bought a 28.5 percent stake in British Seafood in December 2007.

Two brothers' dreams of owning and running a large scale sheep and beef farming operation in New Zealand’s Central North Island have seen their ambitions disappear - with the announcement of a receivership sale of their sizeable landholdings, Voxy reported. Pohonui farm and Rosemerryn farm - both west of Taihape - were purchased only a few years ago when the farming sector was booming.

Strong results in a Hong Kong government land auction are the latest sign that the city's real-estate market is surging higher after a brief lull, as government officials here and elsewhere in the region grapple with how to cool off overheating property prices, The Wall Street Journal reported. On Monday, blue-chip developer Sun Hung Kai Properties Ltd. agreed to pay 3.37 billion Hong Kong dollars (US$434 million) bid for a 130,000-square-foot site in the suburbs of Hong Kong.

Japan Airlines Corp., the first major Asian flag carrier to file for bankruptcy, has its last trading day in Tokyo today, wiping out shareholders in a company that was worth more than $6 billion as recently as March, BusinessWeek reported. The carrier will be officially delisted tomorrow after seeking court protection with 2.32 trillion yen ($26 billion) of debts last month. Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama forced the bankruptcy in return for backing a $10 billion turnaround for Tokyo-based JAL, the recipient of at least four state bailouts in less than a decade.

Willcom Inc. will file for bankruptcy protection with the Tokyo District Court on Thursday, initiating a pre-negotiated rebuilding process that will tap taxpayer money, the Nikkei business daily said. The personal handyphone system (PHS) service provider's rehabilitation efforts will be sponsored by Softbank Corp and investment fund Advantage Partners LLP, the paper said.

Japan Airlines Corp. won U.S. court protection while it reorganizes through its main bankruptcy case in Tokyo, BusinessWeek reported on a Bloomberg story. U.S. Bankruptcy Judge James Peck in Manhattan today granted the Tokyo-based airline Chapter 15 protection in Manhattan court, giving Japan Air a shield against U.S. lawsuits and helping it to organize U.S. creditors’ claims. In operation since 1951, Japan Airlines is the largest domestic carrier in Japan and filed the country’s fourth-biggest bankruptcy. The company’s Jan.

Japan Airlines Corp plans to cut employee pay by 5 percent from April and eliminate bonuses in fiscal 2010 in an attempt to swiftly turn around its business, the Nikkei business daily reported. The proposed wage cuts are the first detailed restructuring plans to come out of JAL since the company filed for bankruptcy in January and was placed under the oversight of the state-backed Enterprise Turnaround Initiative Corp. of Japan, the daily reported.

JSC Alliance Bank, the sixth-largest bank in Kazakhstan by net loans, filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy to protect itself from U.S. lawsuits and creditor claims while it reorganizes at home, BusinessWeek reported on a Bloomberg story. The Almaty-based company listed both debt and assets of more than $1 billion in documents filed today in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan. JSC “experienced severe liquidity difficulties” following the worldwide financial crisis, according to the papers.

Irish software firm First Derivatives has bought Cognotec Holdings Ltd in a deal worth up to $4.7 million (€3.5 million). Cognotec was placed into receivership on January 22nd, The Irish Times reported. The terms of the purchase comprise a cash payment of $4.7 million, $500,000 of which will be held in escrow pending delivery of certain agreements by the receiver following completion. The purchase will be paid for in cash from the company’s existing banking facilities. Cognotec has operations in Dublin, London, New York, Singapore and Tokyo.

New Zealand-owned kitchen and appliance chain Autel is in receivership after being buffeted by the housing downturn and pressure from big international chains, The New Zealand Herald reported. Kerryn Downey and William Black of McGrathNicol have been appointed receivers and managers of three companies that sell imported kitchen and laundry goods: Autel TV Services Limited, Lifestyle Appliances (2004) Limited and Prestige Appliances NZ Limited.