Asia Pacific

Food delivery giant Zomato is facing an insolvency plea from uniform supplier Nona Lifestyle, alleging unpaid dues of Rs 1.64 crore, as reported by Bar and Bench on March 17, the Economic Times of India reported. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has adjourned the case to April 3, requesting the petitioner to clarify its next steps.

The Australian-based Village Roadshow Group is not impacted by the US-based Village Roadshow Entertainment Group’s (VREG) bankruptcy filing and has set plans to terminate its association with the company, Deadline.com reported. Village Roadshow Group released a statement this morning following news of bankruptcy at Village Roadshow Entertainment Group. VREG is an entirely separate operation from Village Roadshow Group, which was formed in 1954 and includes Village Roadshow Theme Parks, Roadshow Distributors, Roadshow Productions, Village Roadshow Studios, and Village Cinemas.

Property developer Sunac China said on Monday it expects to report a wider loss for the year ended December 2024, Reuters reported. Beijing-based Sunac, once among China's largest real estate developers, attributed the higher net loss forecast to the absence of gains that it had logged last year after the completion of its offshore debt restructuring. In late 2023, Sunac completed a comprehensive overhaul of its $9 billion offshore debt, exchanging its existing debt for a combination of notes, among others.

India's central bank-regulated entities can leverage artificial intelligence internal controls to address consumer complaints on mis-selling and aggressive practices, central bank governor Sanjay Malhotra said on Monday, Reuters reported. Ninety-five commercial banks in India received over 10 million customer complaints in the 2023-2024 financial year, Malhotra said. "With the rapidly growing customer base and expanding suite of products, this may grow if we do not get our act together," he added.

The Bank of Korea (BOK) is set to initiate a pilot program for its central bank digital currency (CBDC), named "Hangang," involving 100,000 participants, CoinMarketCap.com reported. Scheduled to run from April to June this year, the pilot will allow citizens to convert their bank deposits into tokenized deposits for use in local transactions, according to reports from local media.

A liquidator is investigating whether a failed international student agency improperly transferred funds out of Australia in the weeks before its collapse, ABC.net reported. GrowPro Experience, a Spain-based company which helps arrange global study for international students, was put into administration earlier this year. Its collapse has left hundreds of students at risk of losing years of savings and the opportunity to study in overseas destinations, including Australia. Liquidation firm Taylor Insolvency has been appointed to wind up the Australian arm of the business.

A unit of Ola Electric Mobility Ltd. is facing insolvency petitions from two of its key vehicle registration service providers in India over unpaid dues, adding to the EV maker’s mounting troubles, Bloomberg News reported. Rosmerta Digital Services Pvt. and Rosmerta Safety Systems — suppliers of vehicle registration services and high-security registration plates respectively — have separately filed insolvency pleas against closely held Ola Electric Technologies Pvt., citing unpaid invoices.

China's property slump persisted in February, with official figures on Monday showing declines in prices, investment and sales, as government measures and promises of more stimulus did little to boost demand in the crisis-stricken sector, Reuters reported. New home prices dipped 0.1% versus a month earlier after two months of relatively steady prices, showed Reuters calculations based on National Bureau of Statistics data. On a year-on-year basis, new home prices fell 4.8% versus a 5.0% drop the previous month.

The protectionist policies of U.S. President Donald Trump are likely to deteriorate the soundness of the financial industry and expand market volatility, ChosunBiz.com reported. According to a report from the Korea Financial Research Institute on the 16th, titled "Implications of Strengthened Protectionism for the Domestic Banking Industry," a slowdown in exports due to global protectionism could lead to deteriorating performances of corporations and industries, causing the insolvency of vulnerable corporations and undermining the soundness of the financial industry.