Asia Pacific

Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda reaffirmed that he is open to more interest-rate increases, clearing up doubts about the central bank’s intention to continue on its path of policy normalization, the Wall Street Journal reported. “There is no change to our basic stance of adjusting the level of monetary easing going forward if we can confirm that the outlook for the economy and prices is more likely to realize as we expect,” Ueda said in a parliamentary session Friday. The BOJ governor’s comment fueled rate-hike expectations, causing the yen to strengthen against the dollar.

China is cranking up its massive export machine again, and this time there’s nowhere for competitors to hide, the Wall Street Journal reported. A Massachusetts startup called CubicPV bet on silicon wafers, a high-tech component in solar panels. Buoyed by President Biden’s climate legislation enacted two years ago, with billions of dollars in tax credits and government loans, CubicPV announced plans in late 2022 for a $1.4 billion wafer plant in Texas. Since then, China has nearly doubled its output of silicon wafers, way more than it needs.

PwC China has informed its clients it expects a six-month business ban by Chinese authorities as early as September as part of punishment for its audit of collapsed property developer Evergrande, the Financial Times reported. The ban would prevent it from signing off on financial results and initial public offerings and from conducting other regulated activities, the report stated, citing multiple clients. PwC has been under scrutiny for its role in auditing Evergrande since the troubled property developer was accused in March of a $78-billion fraud, leading to an exodus of clients.

The insolvency of Indian education technology company Byju's threatens to be the biggest upset in a celebrated startup sector, unleashing a long battle by thousands of panic-stricken employees to recover dues and protect their careers, Reuters reported. Once a darling of global investors, valued at $22 billion in 2022, Byju's became popular by offering online training courses during the COVID-19 pandemic, but is now locked in a dispute with U.S. lenders seeking $1 billion in unpaid dues.

South Korea’s central bank held interest rates steady but cut its inflation and growth forecasts for the year and signaled that it will pivot to easing in the coming months, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Bank of Korea on Thursday kept its benchmark seven-day repurchase rate unchanged at a 15-year high of 3.50% for a 13th consecutive time—the longest such run in the country. Twenty-four of the 27 analysts polled by The Wall Street Journal ahead of the decision had expected no rate change in August, but all forecast a rate cut in October or November. BOK Gov.

Thailand needs to urgently tackle its high levels of household and public debt, and focus on policies that can propel the country’s growth rate to match some of its Southeast Asian neighbors, according to former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra, Bloomberg News reported.

The Supreme Court in India on Tuesday refused to restrain the Interm resolution professional (IRP) of debt-ridden Think & Learn Pvt Ltd, the parent of online educational services company Byju's, from constituting a committee of creditors (CoC), the Economic Times of India reported. A bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud agreed to hear the case in detail on Thursday, including the bankrupt edtech company’s request to stall the formation of CoC.

The bankruptcy court in Kolkata has approved the Simplex Projects revival plan submitted by its promoter Sudarsshhan Das Mundhra, the Economic Times of India reported. Before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) nod, the company’s lenders approved the plan with 99.51% voting in favour of Mundhra’s resolution plan. The plan involves a proposal to pay Rs 235.28 crore against the total admitted liabilities of Rs 2,108.49 crore. The Kolkata-based infrastructure developer is a medium enterprise under the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006.

Synlait Milk said on Tuesday it aims to raise NZ$217.8 million ($133.34 million) from its top two investors in a bid to reduce its debt, a failure of which could lead to the New Zealand-based dairy producer's insolvency, Reuters reported. Synlait will issue shares worth NZ$185 million to Bright Dairy & Food Co at NZ$0.6 apiece, raising the Chinese company's stake in Synlait to 65.25% from 39.01%.

Thailand’s central bank held its benchmark interest rate at a decade high again, amid renewed political uncertainty and some calls to start easing to aid the economic recovery, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Bank of Thailand said Wednesday that its policy committee voted six to one to maintain its one-day repurchase rate at 2.50%. One member voted to cut the policy rate by 25 basis points, “to reflect Thailand’s lower potential growth as a result of structural challenges,” and help ease debt-servicing burdens for borrowers, it said.