Troubled Chinese forestry company Sino-Forest Corp., which has been accused of being a massive fraud, said Thursday that its former chief financial officer David Horsley is no longer employed by the firm, The Canadian Press reported. Horsley, who stepped down as chief financial officer in April after receiving an enforcement notice from the Ontario Securities Commission, had continued to work at the company to help with its restructuring. No reason was given for his departure in the brief statement by Sino-Forest announcing the change.

The construction affiliate of the Woongjin Group, a mid-tier conglomerate, was declared bankrupt Wednesday and filed an application to undergo a court-managed workout program, The Korea Times reported. The move is expected to strike a severe blow to the group, which is already suffering from a liquidity shortage. Woongjin Holdings also filed for court receivership with the Seoul Central District Court the same day, saying it was the only option to save the entire group.

Ecuador’s inability to borrow in international markets after its 2008 default is drawing the nation closer to China as the world’s largest commodities consumer grants loans in exchange for access to oil and metals, Bloomberg reported. Home to untapped copper reserves similar to those of Chile and Peru, the world’s top producers, Ecuador has signed loans for $7.3 billion from China since 2009, or about one-third of the Andean country’s annual budget, according to data compiled by Bloomberg based on government announcements.

Gunns' lurch into administration, and probable receivership, means the company will never get to build its proposed $2.3 billion pulp mill in Bell Bay, Tasmania, but it does not necessarily mean the end of the project, The Australian reported. The project, which was announced in December 2004, has been controversial from the outset, attracting fierce opposition from the Greens, environmentalists and community groups. Gunns had struggled since the global financial crisis to secure financing and find a 50 per cent partner. Management upheavals and a blowout in gearing didn't help.

The US hedge funds Apollo and Oaktree, investment bank Goldman Sachs and Nine Entertainment begin talks on Monday and Tuesday that will decide whether the television group gets new owners quickly or slides into the purgatory of receivership, The Sydney Morning Herald reported. Nine convened the meeting to try and resolve a stand-off between the hedge funds, which own most of Nine's $2.7 billion senior debt, and Goldman, which manages investment funds that own about 80 per cent of Nine's lower-ranking $1.1 billion tranche of mezzanine debt.

A court ruling that Indonesia's biggest mobile phone operator is bankrupt, after not paying a disputed debt of just half a million dollars, has revived concerns over flawed laws that invite abuse and can trip up even highly profitable companies in Southeast Asia's largest economy, CNBC reported on a Reuters story. Analysts and shareholders have brushed the decision aside as one of the quirks of the country's legal system, saying it is almost inevitable that it will be overturned when Telkomsel appeals to the country's supreme court.

Indian opposition parties and shopkeepers staged demonstrations and strikes across India on Thursday to protest against a burst of unexpectedly bold economic reforms unveiled by the Congress-led coalition government, the Financial Times reported. Demonstrators focused their anger on a cut in the subsidy for diesel fuel, which pushed up the price by about 14 per cent on Friday, and on a decision to allow foreign investors to own majority stakes in supermarkets and department stores.

Japan's central bank has ramped up its efforts to spur economic growth, following similar steps by central bankers in the United States and Europe, The New Zealand Herald reported. The Bank of Japan announced it would boost the size and duration of a government bond-buying program that's intended to encourage borrowing and spending and make Japan's exports more competitive. Purchases of government bonds keep downward pressure on interest rates and the yen, whose rise has made Japanese products more expensive relative to other countries' exports.

BTA Bank, the Kazakh lender seeking to overhaul its debt for a second time, said a Ukrainian court recognized the restructuring proceedings and extended protection over its assets, Bloomberg reported. “This recognition is a part of the bank’s current restructuring process and the order follows successful applications for recognition made by the BTA in the U.K. and U.S., which were obtained on July 11 and Aug. 16, respectively,” the Almaty-based lender said in a statement e- mailed today.

Costs associated with the receivership of the failed finance company Bridgecorp have topped $10 million, Radio New Zealand reported. The finance company collapsed in 2007, owing nearly $490 million to 14, 500 investors. The receivers, PricewaterhouseCoopers, are required to file six-monthly updates on the receivership. The latest report says receivers' fees for the past five years have reached $4.166 million, legal costs are $4.92 million, while other professional services total $1.42 million.