Doing business in Hong Kong increasingly comes with a new risk: the political cost of upsetting Beijing. Chinese clients recently dropped one big Chicago law firm after it recused itself from a politically sensitive case, the New York Times reported. A former Wall Street banker was muzzled for writing a “Hong Kong is dead” column. And Google was effectively cornered into enforcing a ban on a popular protest anthem. In all areas of life, Hong Kong is hewing closer to mainland China, blurring distinctions that once cemented the city’s status as mostly free from the politics of Beijing.

Pakistan’s new government is hoping to inject some fresh momentum into projects that fall under China’s Belt and Road Initiative, as it tries to boost the country’s troubled economy, Bloomberg News reported. The South Asian nation is looking at joint ventures for renewable energy projects, agriculture collaboration and possibly enticing some Chinese companies to relocate to Pakistan, said Ahsan Iqbal, Pakistan’s federal minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives, who also co-heads the committee responsible for the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, in an interview.

Australian retail sales remained weak in April, highlighting the plight of consumers in the face of elevated interest rates and rising costs, while signaling a sluggish economy for some time yet, the Wall Street Journal reported. Retail turnover rose 0.1% in April, the Australian Bureau of Statistics said Tuesday. Economists had expected a rise of 0.3% for the month. The weak result follows a 0.4% fall in March, and a 0.2% rise in February.

The Pre-packaged Insolvency Resolution Process (PPIRP) has resulted in the full settlement of operational creditors' claims in five cases, the Economic Times of India reported. They are - Amrit India, Sudal Industries, Shri Rajasthan Syntex, Enn Tee International and GCCL Infrastructure and Projects. The government enacted the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) in August 2021 and introduced the PPIRP for micro, small and medium enterprises. According to the newsletter of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI), these five cases resulted in a 25% realisation.

China has a very big housing problem with nearly four million apartments that no one wants to buy, according to a New York Times commentary. Xi Jinping, the country’s leader, and his deputies have called on the government to buy them. The plan, announced last week, is the boldest move yet by Beijing to stop the tailspin of a housing crisis that threatens one of the world’s biggest economies. It was also not nearly enough, according to the commentary.

Japan’s consumer inflation grew at a slower pace in April, but remained above the Bank of Japan’s 2% target amid growing expectations over additional interest-rate increases, the Wall Street Journal reported. Overall consumer prices rose 2.5% from a year earlier in April, compared with the 2.7% increase in March, government data showed Friday. While the rise in food prices excluding fresh food slowed down in April, the end of the government’s utility subsidies is expected to push up consumer prices starting May.

Singapore’s economy looks on track for a strong year, with hopes underpinned by better-than-expected growth, steadying inflation and improving trade, the Wall Street Journal reported. The city-state’s economy, one of the richest in Southeast Asia, picked up in the first quarter of the year as growth in the services sector helped offset weakness in manufacturing. Gross domestic product expanded 2.7% compared with the same period a year earlier, according to revised data released by the Ministry of Trade & Industry on Thursday. That improved on the fourth quarter’s 2.2% expansion.

A woman accused of converting bitcoin into cash and property to help hide the proceeds of a 5 billion pound ($6.4 billion) fraud was jailed for nearly seven years on Friday for money laundering after a trial in a London court, Reuters reported. Prosecutors said Wen Jian helped hide the source of money allegedly stolen from nearly 130,000 Chinese investors in fraudulent wealth schemes between 2014 and 2017. She was not alleged to have been involved in the underlying fraud, which prosecutors said was masterminded by another woman who Wen believed was independently wealthy.

A major Aussie fashion brand that made dresses worn by superstars such as Taylor Swift and Dua Lipa has entered administration. The Australian franchise of clothing and apparel brand Dion Lee has become insolvent after a partnership deal collapsed, the Daily Mail reported. Antony Resnick, a liquidator from insolvency firm dVT Group was appointed as the administrator for all Australian Dion Lee stores on Thursday. dVT Group is also in the process of considering investors who may be interested in providing financial capital for the venture.

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has dismissed JM Financial Asset Reconstruction's application to intervene in an insolvency resolution application filed by Bank of Baroda against Arch Pharmalabs, the Economic Times of India reported. In its application, JM Financial ARC had sought the tribunal's intervention to include it as a necessary party since it has acquired 97% of Arch Pharmalabs' debt and has credit exposure of over ₹9,500 crore.