Vietnam's nearly-bankrupt shipbuilder Vinashin yesterday said that it will be allowed to take out interest-free loans, in another concession after it reportedly defaulted on a debt to international lenders, Agence France-Presse reported, according to Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review today. Vinashin said Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung had authorized companies, workers, and former employees of Vinashin group to borrow money at zero percent interest from the state-owned Development Bank of Vietnam.

Hong Kong audit firm JBPB & Co., formerly called Grant Thornton, is suing six former partners for a minimum HK$640 million ($82.3 million) alleging that they failed to "act honestly and in good faith" to advance the plaintiff's business interests, Dow Jones Daily Bankruptcy Review reported today. The suit, filed on Dec.

Japan Airlines Corp. is privately placing stock with its top executives as the bankrupt carrier looks to boost accountability and reduce its tax burden, the Nikkei reported today, according to Reuters. About two dozen top executives, including President Masaru Onishi, took part in a recent offering, with each investing several hundred thousand yen. The combined stake comes to less than 1 percent. JAL needed to have multiple shareholders since a wholly owned subsidiary cannot adopt consolidated taxation, it said.

China raised interest rates for the second time in slightly over two months, signaling the authorities' resolve to combat rising inflation, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The People's Bank of China said Saturday that it will raise the one-year yuan lending rate by a quarter of a percentage point to 5.81 percent from 5.56 percent, and the one-year yuan deposit rate to 2.75 percent from 2.50 percent. The move comes after the central bank raised on Oct.

State-owned shipbuilder Vinashin's default on a $600 million loan late last week is just the latest crisis challenging Communist-run Vietnam's ability to get its economy under control after years of pell-mell growth and spiraling inflation, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Last week's default by shipbuilder Vinashin could be a make-or-break moment for Vietnam, say some analysts. Above, a ship is worked on at Vinashin's Nam Trieu shipyard in Hai Phong.

Takeovers in Australia surged to a record this quarter, renewing investment bankers’ hopes that 2011 will uncork a backlog of deals in a commodities-led revival, Bloomberg News reported today. The value of announced acquisitions since Sept. 30 more than quadrupled from a year ago to $63 billion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, the most since records began in 1998. Rio Tinto Group, the world’s third-biggest mining company, today offered A$3.9 billion ($3.9 billion) for Australian coking coal developer Riversdale Mining Ltd. Bank of America Corp. and Nomura Holdings Inc.

China plans to tighten up rules governing sponsors of initial public offerings (IPO) after a surge of new issues this year sparked concerns about the quality of disclosure in IPO prospectuses, Reuters reported today. Under the new rules, IPO sponsors will be interviewed by the securities regulator regarding the due diligence process of a new issue and IPO sponsors will also be required to complete a due diligence check-list and sign off a declaration that they are aware of the legal consequences of negligent acts.

State Bank of India, the country's largest lender by assets, today tapped into the debt market to raise short-term funds for the first time in three months, as the banking system continued to face a severe liquidity crunch, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The state-run bank privately placed 11.50 billion rupees ($255 million) of certificates of deposit maturing in March and the deposits will pay a yield of 8.97 percent.

DP World said Wednesday it sold 75 percent of its Australian port interests to an infrastructure fund managed by Citigroup Inc. for around 1.5 billion Australian dollars ($1.49 billion) to reduce debt, the Wall Street Journal reported today. The Dubai-based ports operator, majority-owned by government conglomerate Dubai World, will retain a 25 percent interest in DP World Australia, which operates five container terminals. The sale price includes repayment of loans owed to DP World by DP World Australia, it said.

The chief executive of the Indian Banks Association indicated today that banks will ensure microlenders remain fully funded in the short term to help them overcome temporary hiccups in repayments and maintain business as usual, the Wall Street Journal reported today. Indian microlenders have been plagued by liquidity issues after the southern Indian state of Andhra Pradesh recently enacted laws to tighten regulation of the microfinance industry.