Malaysia’s Finance Minister Zafrul Aziz is confident the economy will expand faster than expected in the current year, supported by strong private consumption amid risks from a global slowdown, Bloomberg News reported. The economy, which expanded 8.9% in the second quarter, will likely see the momentum continue in the third quarter, he said at a Standard Chartered Bloomberg Live forum in Singapore. The central bank estimated full-year growth to be at the upper end of its 5.3%-6.3% forecast. New estimates on growth will likely be announced during the annual budget next month, Zafrul said.

Long Covid is costing the Australian economy the equivalent of $3.6 billion a year in lost output, the Australian Financial Review reported, citing an exclusive data analysis, Bloomberg News reported. Based on data from the country’s Treasury estimating some 31,000 workers called in sick because of the condition in June, the analysis by think tank Impact Economics and Policy found the economic cost came in at A$100 million ($68 million) a week, according to the AFR. That amounts to some A$5.2 billion on an annual basis.

Lenders of struggling Chinese developer Evergrande Group have appointed a receiver this week to seize its Hong Kong headquarters, two sources said, as the world's most indebted developer struggles to emerge from its debt crisis, Reuters reported. Saddled with more than $300 billion in liabilities, Evergrande has been trying to sell its 26-storey China Evergrande Centre in Hong Kong's Wan Chai district after a potential $1.7 billion deal collapsed late last year, as part of the asset disposal effort to raise funds.

China is increasingly counting on its banks to step up mortgage lending and help boost a sinking housing market. But there is a problem: Lenders are stuck with many mortgages from boom times that are at higher risk of not being repaid, the Wall Street Journal reported. Chinese property developers wrote at least $300 billion of mortgage guarantees over the past few years for partially built apartments that they presold, according to regulatory filings.

According to research, insolvency case recoveries increased slightly from 26% in Q1 of the previous fiscal to 30.6% in Q1 of the current fiscal, although the number of insolvency cases filed/admitted increased by 23.5% during this time, India Infoline News Service reported. The total amount of financial creditors' acknowledged claims increased from Rs6,84,901.3 crore in March 2022 to Rs7,67,384.9 crore in June 2022, although the liquidation value of these cases remained essentially the same at Rs1,31,447.9 crore and Rs1,31,468.6 crore, respectively.

Burdened with a growing pile of souring loans to the developing world the past few years, Chinese lenders have been rescheduling payments and offering more credit to borrowers in financial straits, the Wall Street Journal reported. Those strategies—reminiscent of “extend and pretend” practices of banks unwilling to recognize bad debts—failed in Sri Lanka, whose government collapsed recently under the weight of unpayable loans. Now, China’s tactics face further tests, as other developing countries flirt with financial instability amid higher inflation and rising interest rates.

State-owned companies of the Chinese northeastern city of Shenyang bought China Evergrande Group's shareholding in Shengjing Bank in an auction for 7.3 billion yuan ($1.05 billion), Alibaba auction platform showed yesterday, Reuters reported. In July, Evergrande, the world's most indebted property developer, said its unit, Evergrande Nanchang, had been ordered to pay an unamed guarantor 7.3 billion yuan for failing to honour debt obligations.

China's exports and imports lost momentum in August with growth significantly missing forecasts as surging inflation crippled overseas demand and fresh COVID curbs and heatwaves disrupted output, reviving downside risks for the shaky economy, Reuters reported. Exports rose 7.1% in August from a year earlier, slowing from an 18.0% gain in July and marking the first slowdown since April, official data showed on Wednesday, well below analysts' expectations for a 12.8% increase.

State-owned Central Bank of India has opened a new front to recover dues from the Biyanis, promoters of the debt laden retail conglomerate Future Group that is facing bankruptcy proceedings, the Economic Times of India reported. The bank has filed a personal insolvency case against promoter Kishore Biyani, his elder brother Vijay Biyani and cousin Sunil Biyani with total claims of Rs 1,047 crore. The claims were filed in the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) a few days ago and are yet to be admitted by the court, documents seen by ET show.

Turkey is priming a new round of cheap loans for businesses through a government-backed program, according to a person familiar with the matter, promising a fresh dollop of stimulus before next year’s elections to spur growth in an economy at risk of a slowdown, Bloomberg News reported. The government disclosed plans to extend loans under the Credit Guarantee Fund at a closed-door meeting held by Treasury and Finance Minister Nureddin Nebati in Ankara, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss information that isn’t public.