Asia Pacific

The European Commission said on Friday that it had launched an in-depth investigation into the restructuring of Belgian-French financial group Dexia, Reuters reported. The Commission said in a statement it intended to make sure the restructuring plan would guarantee the long-term viability of the group, hit hard by the financial crisis. But the executive arm of the 27-nation European Union also authorised guarantees worth $16.9 billion from the Belgian and French governments to aid in the sale of FSA, the bank's U.S. subsidiary.

New Zealand investors have nixed Babcock & Brown’s hope of staying afloat, rejecting a restructure proposal and an 0.1% payout on their $225 million investment in Babcock subordinated notes, The National Business Review reported. Babcock is now in administration, as the vote that was to be held later today in Australia will no longer take place. Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu have been appointed as administrators. They will ask creditors to nominate a committee of representatives at the first meeting to be held on March 25.

South Korea's seventh largest shipping line Samsun Logix has filed for Chapter 15 bankruptcy protection in Manhattan, Seatrade Asia reported. Samsun Logix has more than $100 million of assets and debts, the firm said in its filing. A series of firms failing to pay charter hire sent Samsun to the wall. It filed for court receivership in Seoul in February. Established in 1980 as Samsun Shipping Corporation, the firm maintains it was not paid fees worth $40 million by a Swiss company which filed for bankruptcy protection late last year.

Personal insolvencies in New Zealand have jumped in the first full year after a simplified alternative to bankruptcy was introduced, but new restrictions may not provide much more of a barrier to people taking up the option, The National Business Review reported. "No asset procedures" or NAPs, provide a one-off chance for people with no assets to wipe off up to $40,000 in debt and emerge a year later with a clean slate to borrow again. Further restrictions on NAPs were proposed this week in a bill introduced to Parliament by Commerce Minister Simon Power.

Pacific Holdings, one of Japan’s largest real estate investment fund sponsors, filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday with liabilities of Y163.6 billion ($1.6 billion) after failing to receive a capital injection from 10 Chinese investors to help repay part of its debts, the Financial Times reported. The failure of Pacific--which sponsors both Nippon Residential and Nippon Commercial real estate investment trusts--reflects the difficulty many property companies are facing raising funds either in the capital markets or from banks.

The number of corporate bankruptcies in Japan rose 10.38% in the 12 months to February to 1,318, according to Tokyo Shoko Research Ltd. Compared to January, the number of bankruptcy cases fell 3.08% from 1,360. The credit research firm also reported that the total debt of bankrupt companies increased 236.55% year-over-year in February to ¥1.23 trillion. On a monthly basis, the amount of debt rose 46.5% from January's level. Read more.

China sees signs economic growth is recovering but is watching closely to determine whether it needs to expand its huge stimulus effort as global conditions worsen, top economic officials said Friday. Zhang Ping, the chairman of the country's planning body, the National Development and Reform Commission, and central bank Gov. Zhou Xiaochuan said positive data showed Beijing's policies were working.

Foreign lenders that rushed into China in recent years are watching nervously as a number of companies there teeter on the brink of insolvency. Their worry: The nation's bankruptcy laws may leave them with virtually nothing, The Wall Street Journal reported. Several big Western investors--Citigroup Inc., hedge-fund manager Citadel Investment Group LLC, Credit Suisse Group and CLSA Capital Partners--are seeking to get back between $100 million and $200 million in loans extended to a Chinese steelmaker, according to people familiar with the matter.

The world waited with bated breath on Thursday for a beefed-up China stimulus that did not come, but the non-news should generate more a sense of relief than disappointment, Reuters reported. Relief that Beijing thinks its policies are hitting the mark, that the economy is getting back on its feet--and that it has the fiscal power to give an extra push, though only if needed.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao may announce new stimulus measures tomorrow, adding to a 4 trillion yuan ($585 billion) spending plan as the government tries to revive growth in the world’s third-biggest economy, Bloomberg reported. Wen will announce “a new stimulus package” in his annual address to the nation’s legislature, former statistics bureau head Li Deshui told reporters in Beijing.