Big banks in Britain are preparing for any future escalation of Western sanctions on China and have shared their "scenario planning" with the British and U.S. governments, a senior banking official has told Reuters. The project involves sharing lessons learned from other sanctions frameworks, including those on Russia, and discussions about the effect any measures imposed on China might have, Neil Whiley, director of sanctions at lobby group UK Finance, said.
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Lackluster inflation and declining trade numbers in China have stoked concerns that the world’s second-largest economy is still on shaky footing, despite recent signs of stabilization, the Wall Street Journal reported. Consumer prices unexpectedly flatlined in September after rebounding in August, pointing to weak demand and suggesting only a limited effect from Beijing’s recent efforts to put a floor under the economy. Outbound shipments also continued to contract last month, though at a less steep pace than August, according to official data released on Friday.
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Crypto exchanges in Australia will soon be required to hold a financial-services license issued by the markets regulator as the country seeks to support the growth of digital assets while protecting consumers, Bloomberg News reported. A government proposal that builds on existing laws will mean digital-asset platforms that hold more than A$5 million ($3.2 million), or A$1,500 for an individual, must get a permit from the Australian Securities and Investments Commission or ASIC, according to a Treasury department document Monday.
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Grounded Indian airline Go First has received an expression of interest (EoI) from Jindal Power Ltd, two banking sources and two people aware of the development told Reuters. An EoI is the first step in the bidding process and may not result in a financial bid. "Jindal Power was the sole successful applicant whose expression of interest was accepted by banks," said a banker with a state-run bank that has exposure to Go First.
The largest private Chinese property developer still standing is likely to be on its knees soon, the Wall Street Journal reported.That in itself won’t be enough to spark a broader Chinese debt crisis. But it could certainly undermine Beijing’s halting attempts to put a floor under the housing market. Mounting damage to banks’ balance sheets from the property meltdown could also make stabilizing other parts of the economy more difficult.
China has for the first time issued a notice prohibiting domestic brokerages and their overseas units from taking on new mainland clients for offshore trading, according to an official document seen by Reuters and confirmed by four sources. New investments by existing mainland clients are also to be "strictly monitored" to prevent investors from bypassing China's foreign exchange controls, said the notice.
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The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) will decide later this year if it should eliminate Imperial Pacific International (IPI) from its casino plans. It may not have to wait, though, as two new lawsuits in Hong Kong want the company to be deemed insolvent, Casino.org reported.
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China reached a tentative debt agreement with Sri Lanka, front-running separate talks the International Monetary Fund and other creditors are holding with the South Asian nation and catching them by surprise, Bloomberg News reported. The deal between Export-Import Bank of China and Sri Lanka was reached late last month, China’s Foreign Ministry said Tuesday, without providing details of the pact. The IMF, Paris Club members including Japan, and other lenders like India are expected to hold talks this week in Morocco on a debt restructuring plan.
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As more Chinese property developers move towards restructuring billions of dollars of debt, their offshore creditors are expected to face another setback - the prospects of revamp terms being tightened due to a worsening outlook for the county's real estate sector, Reuters reported. So far, developers accounting for 40% of Chinese home sales have defaulted on their debt obligations since 2021, according to JPMorgan. Those defaulted companies, mostly private, have issued around $110 billion worth of high-yield offshore bonds.
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Chinese electric vehicle startup WM Motor has filed for bankruptcy, marking the demise of a promising standout among China's EV makers as price competition in the world's largest auto market heats up, Reuters reported. A court in Shanghai is handling the bankruptcy case, according to a filing dated Monday on the national enterprise bankruptcy information disclosure platform. "WM Motor's planned reorganisation will introduce strategic investors from across the globe to achieve its rebirth," the company said in a statement posted on its official Weibo account on Tuesday.
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