Thailand’s government raised its new borrowing target by 560 billion baht ($15.7 billion) for the current fiscal year to finance budget deficit and new projects, Bloomberg News reported. Under a revised public debt management plan approved by the cabinet on Tuesday, new borrowing for government, state enterprises and other agencies will increase to 754.7 billion baht from 194.4 billion baht cleared by Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin’s government soon after it took power in September, according to an official statement.

The bankruptcy court has approved a proposal from a consortium comprising Shri Dutt India Pvt Ltd and Shri Dutt Biofuels Pvt Ltd to acquire Indian Sugar Manufacturing Company Ltd, the Economic Times of India reported. The consortium has offered to pay Rs 175 crore to acquire the company which has total admitted liabilities of Rs 523 crore. All the lenders of Indian Sugar Manufacturing had earlier approved the proposal.

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has dismissed a petition filed by Ashdan Properties against Chemhub Tradelink's committee of creditors-approved resolution plan for Pancard Clubs. Ashdan was one of the three bidders interested in acquiring the bankrupt Pancard, which develops and operates hotels and resorts, the Economic Times of India reported. Pancard Clubs has more than 1.5 million timeshare subscribers, who are classified as financial creditors.

New Zealand central bank governor Adrian Orr has issued a warning about crypto currencies such as stablecoins, saying they are no substitute for fiat money, Bloomberg News reported. Stablecoins are “the biggest misnomers” and “oxymorons,” Orr told a parliamentary committee Monday in Wellington. “Stablecoins are not stable. They’re only as good as the balance sheet of the person offering that stablecoin.” Stablecoins, a form of crypto token pegged to another asset, use large reserves to support their value.

Sushi is one of Japan’s most iconic cuisines with fans around the world, but in its home country restaurants are closing their business at the fastest pace since the Covid pandemic days in 2020, Bloomberg News reported. Rising material prices, staff shortages and reduction of Covid-era support measures have hit sushi joints in Japan. Five restaurants went bankrupt in Japan in January, the most in a month since August 2020, according to research firm Tokyo Shoko Research Ltd.

The Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal has ordered the liquidation of fugitive diamantaire Mehul Choksi-promoted firm Gitanjali Gems. The tribunal has also appointed Santanu T Ray as the liquidator, the Economic Times of India reported. The company was originally admitted under the Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) in October 2018. It has admitted liabilities of over Rs 12,558 crore.

New bank loans in China jumped by more than expected to an all-time high in January, as the central bank moved to shore up the sputtering economy, reinforcing expectations for more stimulus in the coming months, Reuters reported. Policymakers have pledged to roll out further measures to support the weaker-than-expected post-COVID recovery in the world's second-largest economy, amid a deep property crisis and prolonged stock market rout.

Singapore’s overall debt situation remains manageable thus far, with both individual bankruptcy and corporate winding-up orders below pre-pandemic levels, said Minister of State for Trade and Industry Alvin Tan in Parliament on Wednesday, the Business Times reported. He was responding to Member of Parliament Yip Hon Weng, who asked if the government was concerned about individual bankruptcy applications reaching an 18-year high, and increased corporate insolvencies in 2023.

China's central bank on Thursday said it would keep policy flexible and precise to boost domestic demand, while maintaining price stability, amid signs of a patchy economic recovery and rising deflationary risks, Reuters reported. In its quarterly policy implementation report, the People's Bank of China said the authorities face some difficulties and challenges in promoting an economic recovery amid global uncertainties. "Prudent monetary policy should be flexible, moderate, precise and effective...

Deflation is becoming more entrenched in China, with consumer prices falling in January at their steepest pace in more than 14 years—a stark symptom of deepening economic malaise that spells trouble for the global economy, the Wall Street Journal reported. The latest data suggest China faces a growing risk of slipping into a longer-term spell of falling prices that becomes harder to reverse the longer it lasts. That presents a special challenge for the rest of the world.