India's finance ministry has asked managing directors of public sector banks to review monthly the top 20 insolvency cases, financial services secretary told reporters, Reuters reported. The government has asked for reviews of insolvency cases as there are delays in admission of cases in insolvency courts. "There are delays in admission stage,” Vivek Joshi, Vivek Joshi, said.

The bankruptcy court in Kolkata has approved the acquisition of Khaitan family-promoted listed engineering firm McNally Bharat Engineering Co by BTL EPC Ltd, the Economic Times of India reported. McNally Bharat had admitted liabilities of Rs5,015 crore. The lenders have approved the Kolkata-based EPC firm’s over Rs 441-croreresolution plan with 90.06% votes in favour. Originally, the Kolkata bench of the National Company Law Tribunal had admitted the company under the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) in 2020 following an application filed by its lender, Bank of India.

China’s biggest banks are lowering the deposit rates offered to savers, a move that could pave the way for the central bank to make interest-rate cuts to spur economic growth, the Wall Street Journal reported. Five state-owned lenders and joint-stock bank China Merchants Bank said the rate cuts took effect on Friday. The five were Industrial & Commercial Bank of China, China Construction Bank, Agricultural Bank of China, Bank of China and Bank of Communications.

Japan's finance minister on Friday said he would strive to contain the risk of runaway debt after unveiling an annual budget as speculation mounts the central bank will shift away from more than two decades of ultra-easy monetary policy, Reuters reported. The world's third-largest economy is under pressure to restore its fiscal health after prolonged stimulus and spending worsened a national debt that is the heaviest in the industrialised world.

Japan’s labor market remained relatively tight in November, keeping pressure on employers to boost pay in order to fill positions as companies prepare to engage in annual wage negotiations with unions, Bloomberg News reported. The job-to-applicants ratio eased a tad to 1.28, meaning there were 128 jobs offered for every 100 applicants, the labor ministry reported Tuesday. Economists had forecast the reading would be unchanged at 1.30. A separate report from the ministry of internal affairs showed the unemployment rate held steady at 2.5% in November.

China Aoyuan Group Ltd. filed for chapter 15 protection in New York on Wednesday, a move by the defaulted property developer to seek U.S. court recognition for its offshore debt restructuring and ward off litigation, Bloomberg News reported. The Guangzhou-based developer, which had about $6 billion of total offshore interest-bearing liabilities as of the end of 2022, is undergoing restructuring in Hong Kong, Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands after deciding last year to forgo paying debt.

Turkey's central bank lifted its key interest rate by 250 basis points to 42.5% on Thursday as expected as it faces down years of soaring inflation, but promised to end the aggressive tightening cycle as soon as possible, Reuters reported. Some analysts said one more rate hike was on the cards after seven straight months of tightening. The central bank has lifted its one-week repo rate by 3,400 basis points since June, when President Tayyip Erdogan appointed former Wall Street banker Hafize Gaye Erkan as its governor to conduct a sharp pivot toward more orthodox policies.

After weeks of financial uncertainty and talks of looming liquidation, Farfetch has found its saving grace in South Korean e-commerce company Coupang, Jing Daily reported. Earlier yesterday, Coupang announced its acquisition of the UK-based luxury marketplace, offering $500 million in emergency funding. According to Farfetch, the capital infusion will enable the company to “continue providing exclusive brands and boutiques with bespoke, cutting-edge technology and giving leading designers access to consumers around the globe.” The news arrived at the final hour for Farfetch.

The Bank of Japan maintained ultra-loose policy settings on Tuesday in a widely expected move, as the bank opted to await more evidence on whether wages and prices would rise enough to justify a shift away from massive monetary stimulus, Reuters reported. The central bank also made no change to its dovish policy guidance, dashing hopes among some traders it would tweak the language to signal a near-term end to negative interest rates.