China's central bank lowered a short-term lending rate for the first time in 10 months on Tuesday, to help restore market confidence and prop up a stalling post-pandemic recovery in the world's second-largest economy, Reuters reported. The cut to the lending rate signals possible easing for longer-term rates over the next week and beyond as demand and investor sentiment weaken, adding to the case for urgent policy stimulus to sustain growth.

China's new bank loans picked up in May from the previous month, as the central bank kept policy accommodative to support the economy, but signs of slowing momentum have raised expectations that more stimulus may be needed to sustain the recovery, Reuters reported. The weaker-than-expected credit data could strengthen the case for policymakers to roll out more support steps, including a cut in the benchmark lending rate this month, analysts said, amid deflationary risks and mounting local government debt.

Just last year, billionaire Wang Jianlin had appeared to cement his reputation as one of the few remaining Chinese property tycoons to sidestep a wave of debt defaults sweeping the industry, Bloomberg News reported. The Dalian Wanda Group founder was confident enough in his financial position to offer help to a fellow Chinese mogul who wanted to sell a portfolio of shopping malls for 700 million yuan ($98 million), according to people familiar with the matter.

Days after welcoming Secretary of State Antony Blinken as part of efforts to reset relations with the US, Saudi Arabia turned its attention to boosting ties with one of Washington’s main competitors: China, Bloomberg News reported. For the past two days, the Saudi capital has played host to the largest ever Chinese-Arab business gathering. Under the chandeliers and vaulted ceilings of Riyadh’s grandest conference hall, Saudi officials spoke of integrating China into the Arab region and Chinese executives said they stood ready to “de-Americanize” the world’s top oil exporter.

Adani Group is in talks with lenders, including global banks, as it seeks to refinance up to $3.8 billion of a loan facility taken for its acquisition of Ambuja Cements Ltd. last year, Bloomberg News reported. The ports-to-power conglomerate owned by Indian tycoon Gautam Adani is mulling whether to convert the original loan into debt with a longer maturity period and has started talking to banks individually about that plan, said the people, who asked not to be identified as the discussions are private.

Spain's BBVA and Bank of Cyprus reopened the market with the issuance of the first euro-denominated contingent convertible bonds (CoCo) since the rescue of Credit Suisse in March, in what is seen as an attempt to restore confidence in the banks' riskiest debt instruments, Reuters reported. The Spanish bank said it aimed to raise between 750 million euros ($810.08 million) and 1 billion euros with this issuance. According to a lead manager memo seen by Reuters, the issuance had already received orders worth over 3 billion euros.

Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Chang-yong flagged growing financial sector risks amid a rise in real estate loan delinquencies— even as the broader housing market slowly recovers, Bloomberg News reported. “In the mid- to long-term, it is necessary to find a way to smoothly deleverage household debt in cooperation with relevant institutions so that financial imbalances don’t accumulate again,” Rhee said in the text of a speech he gave Monday to mark the central bank’s 73rd anniversary.

Pakistan’s central bank left interest rates unchanged to stop growth from weakening and rein in inflation as the cash-strapped nation and the International Monetary Fund remain deadlocked over bailout loans, Bloomberg News reported. The State Bank of Pakistan’s monetary policy committee decided to keep the target rate at a record 21%, a move expected by a majority of the 44 economists surveyed by Bloomberg. Seven forecast a hike of a 100 basis points and one saw a 200 basis points jump.

In the latest attempt to boost consumer spending, China’s largest state-run banks lowered interest rates on deposits last week. The rate cuts, the second such reductions since last year, reflect a growing concern that the world’s second-largest economy has not rebounded as strongly as expected after lifting its restrictive “zero-Covid” measures, the New York Times reported. Six commercial banks all announced that they had lowered the rate for demand deposits, essentially a checking account, to 0.2 percent from 0.25 percent.