The operator of major eye clinic chain Kanagawa Clinic Ophthalmology Department has filed for bankruptcy proceedings after dozens of infections following laser surgery at a clinic and a warning from the government over misleading pricing, iStockAnalyst reported on a Kyodo News story. The operator, the Hakubikai foundation based in Tokyo, said Friday that the Tokyo District Court had approved bankruptcy proceedings on Thursday. The foundation said Kanagawa Clinic branches in Tokyo, Nagoya, Osaka and Fukuoka will be passed on to another healthcare group.
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The Bank of Japan moved to offer Y2,000bn ($21.6bn) in overnight liquidity on Friday to “increase markets’ sense of security” because of turmoil resulting from the debt crisis in Greece, the Financial Times reported. It is the bank’s first exceptional offer of overnight funds since the scare over Dubai’s sovereign debt in December 2009 and its biggest since the height of the financial crisis in December 2008. The move shows that fears about sovereign debt default in Europe are rippling across global markets, with the Bank of Japan the first central bank to react by adding liquidity.
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Commercial RE Co., a Japanese real estate management company whose largest stakeholder is Goldman Sachs Group Inc., filed for bankruptcy protection today, BusinessWeek reported on a Bloomberg story. The Tokyo-based developer has had to sell assets at a cheaper price, hurting its income as Japan’s real estate market deteriorated following the subprime mortgage crisis, the company said in a release to the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Commercial RE had liabilities of 15 billion yen ($159.7 million) as at the end of March, according to the statement.
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China’s biggest developers are borrowing record amounts in Hong Kong, taking advantage of lower interest rates to circumvent a lending crackdown at home, Bloomberg reported. While banks demand at least 5.2 percent in annual interest for three-to-five year money in mainland China, the cost of credit in Hong Kong dollars has fallen to the least since November 2004, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. China Overseas Land & Investment Ltd. agreed to an HK$8 billion ($1.03 billion) loan in February that pays 1.45 percent at current market levels, the data show.
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The sell-off in global markets has accelerated amid fears that the eurozone debt crisis would worsen and that China’s recovery is faltering, the Financial Times reported. From Hong Kong to New York, there was mounting concern that the €110bn international rescue package for Greece would not prevent the crisis spreading from Athens to other highly indebted eurozone nations. The euro dropped to a one-year low against the dollar, European shares plumbed two-month lows and the bond markets of weaker eurozone economies fell as rattled investors sold risky assets.
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Sydney-based printing group Scott Printing has entered voluntary administration, though the director said he was confident of being able to return to trading, ProPrint reported. Director Andrew Scott told ProPrint that Crouch Amirbeaggi was appointed administrators on 27 April. The Scott Printing Group comprises Hippo Books, Centatime Publishing and Edgecliff Print, though the director said Edgecliff Print was not included in the administration. Scott said the group was continuing to trade, and he expected them to do so into the future.
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A trustee yesterday moved against one of the country's largest property businesses, putting it into receivership. Finance company St Laurence, which owes 9000 investors $245 million, had proposed investors take a shareholding in the company as an alternative, The New Zealand Herald reported. But yesterday Perpetual Trust appointed Barry Jordan and David Vance of Deloitte as receivers. The St Laurence board this morning issued a statement saying it was "disappointed" that Perpetual Trust had appointed a receiver.
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Property investment company St Laurence has been placed in receivership by its trustee a day after the company put forward an alternative debt for "equity" swap, The National Business Review reported. Perpetual Trust has appointed Barry Jordan and David Vance of Deloitte as receivers of St Laurence, which owes 9,000 investors $245 million. The move to receivership comes after St Laurence indicated yesterday it was insolvent and could no longer meet its scheduled moratorium payments to investors.
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A leading Australian fruit exporter has collapsed with debts in excess of A$10m (US$9.25m). Mildura-based JAK Fruit Pty Ltd, run by managing director Jason Kotz, went into voluntary administration on Tuesday 27 April, the Sunraysia Daily reported. The company's primary interests were exporting citrus and table grapes, and it also exported avocados. Administrator Wayne Benton from Melbourne-based insolvency company BRI Ferrier said Mr Kotz had called his firm to ask them to take control of the company, with JAK Fruit owing growers A$4.1m and its banks around A$6m.
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