China’s economy grew around 5.2% in 2023, surpassing the government’s official growth target for the year without relying on “massive stimulus,” Chinese Premier Li Qiang said in Davos, Bloomberg News reported. “Last year in 2023, the Chinese economy rebounded and moved upward with an estimated growth of around 5.2%, higher than the ‘around 5%’ target set at the beginning of last year,” Li said on Tuesday in his first appearance as China’s No. 2 official at the annual World Economic Forum. “In promoting economic development, we did not resort to massive stimulus,” Li added.

Shares in Brazilian airline Gol tumbled on Monday after local newspaper Folha de S.Paulo reported that the company was considering filing for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in the United States within the next month, Reuters reported. Gol's shares slipped as much as 13% on the report before paring some losses to trade down 8.8%. The carrier was the biggest loser on Brazil's benchmark stock index Bovespa, which was trading near flat.

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has admitted men's grooming and personal care firm Supermax Personal Care under the insolvency resolution process and appointed Kshitiz Gupta as the interim resolution professional of the company, the Economic Times of India reported. Mumbai-based Supermax Personal Care is a part of Super-Max Group. It is largely into products such as razors, blades and shaving creams, which it supplies to the market in India and other affiliates of Supermax Group abroad.

New bank lending in China rose less than expected in December, but 2023 lending hit a new record as the central bank kept policy accommodative to support an unexpectedly shaky economic recovery, Reuters reported. Chinese banks extended 1.17 trillion yuan ($163.31 billion) in new yuan loans in December, up from November but falling short of analysts' expectations, according to data released by the People's Bank of China on Friday.

India’s inflation accelerated to a four-month high as food prices climbed, justifying the central bank’s caution in keeping interest rates higher for longer, Bloomberg News reported. The consumer price index rose 5.69% in December from a year earlier, statistics ministry data showed Friday. That’s lower with the 5.88% median estimate in a Bloomberg survey of economists and compares with a 5.55% reading in November.

Jindal Power has proposed to top a bid by Adani Power (ADAN.NS), led by billionaire Gautam Adani, for a thermal power plant, two sources with direct knowledge of the matter said, as India looks to drum up investment in coal-fired power, Reuters reported. The tussle for the 1,980-megawatt plant in central India, ensnared in insolvency proceedings, comes after the power minister called last November for more private investment to meet a dramatic rise in electricity demand.

Pakistan won final approval for the disbursement of about $700 million in aid from the International Monetary Fund, vital support for the embattled South Asian economy ahead of elections next month, Bloomberg News reported. The IMF’s executive board approved the loan, the Washington-based lender said in a statement on Thursday. The nation’s dollar bonds rallied, posting the top five gains in emerging markets on Friday. The 2026 notes gained 1.5 cents to 71.6 cents on the dollar, extending Thursday’s 3.1 cent rally.

Creditors to Gayatri Projects (GPL), promoted by former Rajya Sabha MP T Subbarami Reddy, have voted to initiate liquidation proceedings against the company after rejecting the only bid from private equity fund Mark AB Capital Investment LLC, the Economic Times of India reported. Mark AB was offering a total of ₹650 crore, of which only ₹50 crore was upfront cash, ET had reported in October. It was the only serious offer lenders had received, which has now been rejected because of its low value.

State-owned lenders will soon evaluate the performance of legal firms engaged by them for insolvency and bankruptcy cases, the Economic Times of India reported. The move comes after government expressed concerns over large haircuts and delays in resolution under the Insolvency & Bankruptcy Code and directed lenders to build an effective framework for monitoring the progress of legal processes. Since the roll out of IBC in 2016, creditors have recovered 32.6% of their admitted claims against large, stressed firms.

China Aoyuan Group Ltd. is standing by for a pivotal Hong Kong court decision this week on its restructuring plan, a ruling that may accelerate the end of its tussles with creditors over $6 billion of offshore debt, Bloomberg News reported. After a two-day trial over a creditor’s objection to the offshore plan offered by the defaulted developer ended earlier this week, Judge Jonathan Harris said he will deliver his decision on Thursday.