Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund reached a much-awaited preliminary agreement Wednesday for the release of $700 million from a $3 billion bailout fund approved by the international lender in July, the Associated Press reported. The standby credit fund is meant to save cash-strapped Pakistan from default. The two sides reached the staff-level agreement during talks in Islamabad, a statement from the IMF said. Pakistan's government also confirmed the deal and and hailed it.

Singapore awarded a batch of in-principle license approvals to stablecoin issuers, intensifying the competition among Asian financial hubs for a slice of a key crypto segment with a market value of $127 billion, Bloomberg News reported. The approvals for Paxos Digital Singapore Pte and StraitsX open up a pathway for issuing such tokens under regulatory oversight. Stablecoins are typically pegged 1-1 to major currencies and backed by reserves like cash and bonds.

Australian dealmakers are battling to rescue A$38 billion ($24 billion) worth of mergers that have been terminated or challenged by regulators and shareholders, Bloomberg News reported. The value of these deals is equivalent to about 40% of the year’s A$96 billion in announced transactions targeting Australian companies, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Many of the takeover proposals were abandoned or challenged in the second half of this year as concerns have mounted over higher borrowing costs and an uncertain economic outlook.

Japan's economy contracted in July-September, snapping two straight quarters of expansion on soft consumption and exports, complicating the central bank's efforts to gradually phase out its massive monetary stimulus amid rising inflation, Reuters reported. The data suggests stubbornly high inflation is taking a toll on household spending, and adding to the pain for manufacturers from slowing global demand including in China. "Given the absence of a growth engine, it wouldn't surprise me if the Japanese economy contracted again in the current quarter.

China's industrial output and retail sales growth beat expectations in October, but the underlying economic picture highlighted significant pockets of weakness with the crisis-hit property sector continuing to forestall a full-blown revival, Reuters reported. The world's second-biggest economy has struggled to mount a strong post-COVID recovery as distress in the housing market, local government debt risks, slow global growth and geopolitical tensions have dented momentum.

Turkey's new rules to regulate the crypto market are likely to focus on licensing and taxation, sector officials say, as the world's fourth-biggest crypto-trading country seeks to get off an international financial crime watchdog's "grey list," Reuters reported. Ankara promised the regulations last month amidst a years-long boom in crypto trading, as soaring inflation and a plunging lira currency drives a demand for alternative assets.

China plans to provide at least 1 trillion yuan ($137 billion) of low-cost financing to the nation’s urban village renovation and affordable housing programs in its latest effort to shore up the struggling property market, Bloomberg News reported. The People’s Bank of China would inject funds in phases through policy banks with the money ultimately trickling down to households for home purchases, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing a private matter.

China has ordered its local governments to halt public-private partnership projects identified as "problematic" and replaced a 10% budget spending allowance for these ventures with a vetting mechanism by Beijing as it tries to curb municipal debt risks, Reuters reported. The guidelines were mentioned in a cabinet document that was circulated among local governments, policy banks and state lenders last month, said the two sources with knowledge of the matter. The latest guidelines have not been reported previously.

Maike Metals International Co., once one of the most powerful traders in China’s massive copper market, filed for bankruptcy after more than a year of debt struggles, Bloomberg News reported. The firm founded by entrepreneur He Jinbi in the early 1990s was until recently responsible for more than a quarter of China’s copper imports. On Monday, Maike said the Intermediate People’s Court of Xi’an accepted its filing, a step toward a final ruling by the court to wind up the company.

China’s show of support for one of its top builders has reinvigorated the property sector, but investors want to see more concrete measures before diving back in, Bloomberg News reported. Market players are looking for Beijing to unveil further steps to reverse a long-running slump after a pivotal week where authorities signaled their backing for China Vanke Co., the second-largest developer by contracted sales. On Tuesday, policymakers met firms including Vanke, Longfor Group Holdings Ltd, Gemdale Corp (China) and Poly Developments and Holdings Group Co.