China's factory activity unexpectedly contracted in April as orders fell and poor domestic demand dragged on the sprawling manufacturing sector, a private survey showed on Thursday, imperilling the broader economic outlook for the second quarter, Reuters reported. The Caixin/S&P Global manufacturing purchasing managers' index (PMI) fell to 49.5 in April from 50.0 in March. The 50-point index mark separates growth from contraction on a monthly basis.

Indian banks such as Bank of Baroda and IDBI Bank are among the financial creditors whom Go First, which filed for bankruptcy on Tuesday, owes Rs 6,521 crore, the Economic Times of India reported. According to the bankruptcy filing by Go First, banks such as Central Bank of India and Deutsche Bank are also among Go First's financial creditors. Central Bank of India's shares plunged over 5% in early trade on Wednesday, while Bank of Baroda, IDBI Bank and Axis Bank were down 2.5%, 1.1% and 1.9%, respectively.

Cash-strapped Indian airline Go First filed for bankruptcy proceedings on Tuesday, blaming "faulty" Pratt & Whitney engines for the grounding of about half its fleet, Reuters reported. The move marks the first major airline collapse in India since Jet Airways filed for bankruptcy in 2019, and underscores the fierce competition in a sector dominated by IndiGo and the entry of newer operators such as Akasa Air.

A Japanese hotel chain, once at the center of a bidding war between US private equity firms Blackstone Inc. and Lone Star Funds, faces a reckoning with its creditors, Bloomberg News reported. Unizo Holdings Co. became the first Japanese company to default on its bonds in six years when it filed for a court-supervised restructuring in April. The firm, which has hotels and office buildings, said it didn’t have the money to pay debt worth 10 billion yen ($72.8 million) maturing in May. Several of the country’s regional banks warned they may not get repaid.

KWG Group Holdings Ltd. securities tumbled Tuesday after the firm became the latest Chinese developer to default, even as new-home sales gain steam nationally, Bloomberg News reported. The company didn’t pay 212 million yuan ($31 million) of principal due Friday on bank and other borrowings, it said in a Hong Kong stock exchange filing that night. The delinquency triggered 31.2 billion yuan of debt becoming repayable on demand.

Australia’s central bank signaled further policy tightening ahead after unexpectedly raising interest rates by a quarter-percentage point on Tuesday, sending the currency and bond yields surging, Bloomberg News reported. The Reserve Bank increased its cash rate to 3.85%, the highest level since April 2012, in a decision predicted by only nine of 30 economists. Money markets rapidly revised up expectations for further moves and are now pricing in a rate of just under 4% by October, from around 3.6% before today’s decision.

Australia's biggest landlords and developers played down concerns about inflated commercial property valuations at a conference on Tuesday, while acknowledging economic uncertainty was making investors and renters more cautious, Reuters reported. Commercial real estate prices are a major concern for investors globally as public markets price the impact of a slowing economy and the growth of remote work, while owners, especially unlisted players, resist major changes.

Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said on Tuesday the downside risks to Asia's economy were smaller than those to other parts of the world, partly due to the region's resilience to U.S. and European banking sector woes, Reuters reported. His remarks underscore optimism over the outlook for Asia's economy, which has a big influence on Japan's fragile recovery due to its proximity and huge market size.

Turkey’s central bank asked lenders to limit dollar sales to companies that don’t have urgent payments and to prioritize meeting demand from special government-backed lira deposits, Bloomberg News reported. The monetary authority made the requests verbally on Tuesday, the people said, asking not to be named because the demands weren’t public. The central bank declined to comment. The lira savings plan, known locally as the KKM program, is designed to boost demand for the local currency with a state-guaranteed return on lira deposits that matches or beats any decline against the dollar.

The International Monetary Fund’s chief said China is shifting its thinking about participating in debt restructuring after being confronted by countries unable to pay what they owe, signaling hope the world’s second-largest economy will help provide relief for distressed nations, Bloomberg News reported. China — now the biggest lender to developing economies — has joined traditional western creditors from the Paris Club in recognizing the need to create a better mechanism for debt overhauls, Kristalina Georgieva said.