Property investment in China fell 10.1% in the first five months of 2024 from a year earlier, after dropping 9.8% in January-April, even as policymakers doubled down on efforts to support the ailing sector and shore up consumer confidence, Reuters reported. Property sales by floor area in January-May fell 20.3% from a year earlier, compared with a 20.2% slump in January-April, National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) data showed on Monday. New construction starts measured by floor area fell 24.2% on year, after a 24.6% drop in the first four months.

China’s central bank left a key interest rate steady for the tenth straight month, displaying caution on monetary easing given abundant liquidity and the pressure to prevent the yuan from weakening further, Bloomberg News reported. The People’s Bank of China kept the rate on one-year policy loans, the so-called medium-term lending facility, steady at 2.5% on Monday, in line with the forecast in a Bloomberg survey. It withdrew a net 55 billion yuan ($7.6 billion) from the banking system to avoid excessive liquidity.

China ramped up warning against bond bulls via state-media reports as a debt-buying frenzy re-emerged, Bloomberg News reported. Funds investing in bonds will find it difficult to sustain the returns, which have exceeded 10% in some cases so far this year, the People’s Bank of China-backed Financial News said in a report Saturday. If yields rise, long-duration bonds will “face larger risks of a retreat in capital gains,” the report said, citing unidentified people close to regulators.

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has issued a notice to SpiceJet over an insolvency plea filed by Engine Lease Finance BV, an aircraft engine lessor of the debt-ridden air carrier, the Economic Times of India reported. The single-member NCLT bench has asked SpiceJet to file a response over the Engine Lease Finance (ELF) plea and directed listing the matter for hearing on August 2. During the proceedings, SpiceJet raised objections over the maintainability of the plea, in which ELF has claimed a payment default of over USD 12 million (around Rs 100 crore).

Lawyers appointed by the liquidators of China Evergrande Group (3333.HK), opens new tab are investigating some of the property developer's service providers including its former auditor PricewaterhouseCoopers, to potentially recoup losses for creditors, Reuters reported. Evergrande, once China's largest property developer, was ordered to be liquidated by a Hong Kong court in January, after it failed to deliver a concrete restructuring plan for its $23 billion worth of offshore debt deemed to be in default.

New bank lending in China rebounded far less than expected in May and some key money gauges hit record lows, suggesting the world's second-largest economy is still struggling to regain its footing even as the central bank seeks to bolster confidence. Chinese banks issued 950 billion yuan ($130.93 billion) in new yuan loans last month, compared to 730 billion yuan in April, according to Reuters calculations based on the latest data from the People's Bank of China (PBOC) released on Friday.

The Bank of Japan said it would reduce government bond purchases in a signal of monetary tightening, as it left its policy interest rate unchanged, the Wall Street Journal reported. Monetary tightening in general should support the yen, but the Japanese currency instead weakened Friday because the central bank didn’t offer specifics on its bond plans. The yen was trading at around 158 to the dollar after the move, compared with around 157 before. Later Friday the yen recovered some of the lost ground.

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) in Mumbai has admitted the Prudent ARC’s application to initiate personal insolvency resolution proceedings against Mahesh R Shetty, promoter of the listed coaching firm MT Educare, formerly known as Mahesh Tutorials, for a Rs 16.64 crore default by the company. Shetty was a personal guarantor against these loans, the Economic Times of India reported. The tribunal has also directed the resolution professional Santanu T. Ray to issue a public notice to invite claims from all creditors.

Chinese electric-vehicle makers, increasingly a global force, have been bracing for months for the prospect of hefty tariffs in Europe, one of their most promising markets. When that day arrived on Wednesday, many were prepared, the Wall Street Journal reported. Some have already started building factories on the continent, while others have set up joint ventures with companies in the bloc.

Taiwan’s central bank held interest rates steady as cooling inflation and solid economic growth give it space to keep policy settings unchanged for now, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Central Bank of the Republic of China (Taiwan) kept its benchmark discount rate at 2.000% on Thursday, as expected in a poll of seven analysts by The Wall Street Journal. It maintained its secured loan rate and unsecured loan rate at 2.375% and 4.250%, respectively. The Taiwanese central bank attributed the decision to cooling inflation and a solid outlook on its economy.