India’s central bank plans to permit local lenders to finance mergers and acquisitions, a move expected to boost the country’s $40 billion-plus deals market, Bloomberg News reported. The Reserve Bank of India will soon propose a framework enabling banks to directly fund corporate takeovers, Governor Sanjay Malhotra said in Mumbai on Wednesday after the central bank kept interest rates unchanged. The proposed relaxation in rules was part of a slew of measures announced by the RBI.

Thailand's new central bank chief said on Wednesday that he will maintain the independence of the Bank of Thailand (BoT) while collaborating with the government to address the country's economic challenges, the Bangkok Post reported. The central bank remains firm in its primary mission to ensure macroeconomic stability, Vitai Ratanakorn, 54, told reporters as he took over as governor effective from Oct 1, succeeding Sethaput Suthiwartnarueput.

Turkish lawmakers are reportedly planning to consider legislation that would grant the country's financial crimes watchdog sweeping new authority to freeze bank and crypto accounts suspected of illegal activity, Decrypt.com reported. The draft bill would empower Masak, Turkey's financial intelligence unit, to take direct action against accounts suspected of criminal use across financial institutions and cryptocurrency platforms.

The Singapore High Court has prevented foreign liquidators from suing Standard Chartered and BSI Bank over transactions allegedly linked to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal, ruling that Singapore’s cross-border insolvency framework cannot be applied to deals executed before the law took effect in 2018, the BusinessTimes.com.sg reported.

Appellate Tribunal NCLAT has set aside an appeal by Future Consumer Ltd (FCL) seeking to initiate insolvency against Aussee Oats Ltd, the Economic Times of India reported. A two-member NCLAT bench has upheld the orders of the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), which had rejected the claims of FCL, part of the debt-ridden Future Group. FCL had claimed an amount of over Rs one crore due from Aussee Oats. It had given Rs two crore to Aussee Oats in the form of an Inter-Corporate Deposit.

Westpac is facing a lawsuit filed by the liquidators of collapsed investment companies who claim the bank ignored red flags while large sums moved through accounts linked to a scheme run by businessman Chris Marco, The Aussie Corporate reported. The case, lodged in the Supreme Court of NSW, accuses Westpac of failing to prevent investor losses and continuing to process questionable transactions after inquiries were made by financial regulators.

China's manufacturing activity shrank for a sixth month in September, an official survey showed on Tuesday, suggesting producers are waiting for further stimulus to boost domestic demand, as well as clarity on a U.S. trade deal, Reuters reported. The official purchasing managers' index (PMI) rose to a six-month high of 49.8 in September versus 49.4 in August. It remained below the 50-mark separating growth from contraction. The prolonged slump underlines the twin pressures on China's economy: domestic demand has failed to mount a durable recovery in the years since the pandemic while U.S.