Asia Pacific

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. this week fended off a bid by creditor Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. to seize more than $300 million in Lehman assets it is holding in the wake of the investment bank's collapse, the Wall Street Journal Asia reported today. At a hearing Wednesday, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan denied an attempt by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking to sell collateral as part of a $350 million loan it provided to Lehman and chastised the Japanese bank, part of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc., for moving too quickly to seize the collateral.
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The directors of Australian structured-finance firm Allco Finance Group Ltd. said Tuesday they have placed the firm in voluntary administration, after failing to reach agreement with bankers over further debt extensions, the Wall Street Journal Asia reported yesterday. Under Australian law, voluntary administration is an alternative to the traditional options of liquidation and straight receivership for a company that can't repay its debts.
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