Sri Lankan lawmakers on Wednesday elected an unpopular prime minister as their new president, a choice that risked reigniting turmoil in the South Asian nation reeling from economic collapse and months of round-the-clock protests, the Associated Press reported. The crisis has already forced out one leader, and a few hundred protesters quickly gathered after the vote to express their outrage that Ranil Wickremesinghe — a six-time prime minister whom they see as part of the problematic political establishment — would stay in power.

A group of angry suppliers to China Evergrande Group are threatening to stop paying their bank loans to protest the struggling developer's unpaid bills, hitting a property sector already reeling from a mortgage-payment boycott, Nikkei Asia reported. China has seen a wave of debt defaults among real-estate developers including Evergrande, which is saddled with about $300 billion in liabilities.

An Indian court agreed to send Future Retail Ltd. into bankruptcy, allowing the creditors to find a new owner for the beleaguered retailer that once operated the largest chain of department stores across the country and was the prized trophy for two retail sector giants, Bloomberg reported. The National Company Law Tribunal on Wednesday gave its verdict on a petition by Bank of India to start the bankruptcy-resolution process for the cash-strapped retailer. It dismissed allegations from the local unit of Amazon.com Inc.

New restrictions on U.S. dollars introduced last week by the Central Bank of Myanmar (CBM) have come as a crippling blow to businesses already struggling in an economic recession resulting from post-coup political turmoil and the COVID-19 pandemic, The Irrawaddy reported. The new restrictions saw the bank revoking the exemption from mandatory currency conversion given to companies with a minimum 10 percent foreign ownership.

Singapore law firms Advocatus Law, Solitaire LLP, WongPartnership, Latham & Watkins and offshore firm Ogier are advising on the downfall of cryptocurrency-focused hedge fund Three Arrows Capital Ltd (3AC), law.com reported. Until April this year, 3AC, which was established in 2012, had roughly $3 billion in assets under management. Its downfall was triggered in part by the collapse of algorithmic stablecoin, TerraUSD, and its sister token Luna in May.

The president of the Industry and Commerce Federation of Macau Central and Southern District, Lei Cheok Kuan, suggested that the government distribute MOP15,000 to residents across three months in a bid to help sustain local businesses, the Macau Daily Times reported. According to the official, the first two MOP15,000 can be given in cash, while the remaining stimulus could be handed out in a form of e-vouchers as a way to support the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) due to near-bankruptcy of these firms.

The Zipmex cryptocurrency exchange on Wednesday blocked users from taking direct custody of their coins, citing volatile market conditions, Coin Desk reported. "Due to a combination of circumstances beyond our control, including volatile market conditions, and the resulting financial difficulties of our key business partners, to maintain the integrity of our platform, we would be pausing withdrawals until further notice," the exchange announced on Twitter.

The Bank of Japan is set to raise its inflation forecast on Thursday but maintain ultra-low interest rates and warn of risks to a fragile economy, reinforcing its position as an outlier in a wave of global increases to borrowing costs, Reuters reported. The decision will come hours before that of the European Central Bank, which will consider a bigger-than-expected 50-basis-point rate increase to tame soaring inflation.

A day after Sri Lanka’s president fled, Mohamed Ishad waited outside an immigration office near the capital, clutching a file of documents that he hopes will get his passport renewed so he can leave, too, the Associated Press reported. With the nation in the throes of its worst economic crisis, Ishad has no job, relies on relatives for financial help and sells vegetables to feed his wife and three children. He wants to go to Japan and find work there so he can send money back home.