China cut its benchmark lending rates on Monday, adding to easing measures announced last week, as Beijing steps up efforts to spur credit demand in an economy hobbled by a property crisis and a resurgence of COVID infections, Reuters reported. The one-year loan prime rate (LPR) was lowered by 5 basis points to 3.65% at the central bank's monthly fixing, while the five-year LPR was slashed by a bigger margin of 15 basis points to 4.30%. In a Reuters poll conducted last week, 25 out of 30 respondents predicted a 10-basis-point reduction to the one-year LPR.

Cryptocurrency lender Hodlnaut, which is mired in financial woes, said that there are “pending proceedings” between the firm and the Singapore authorities, although it did not reveal more, the Straits Times reported. In a statement issued on Friday, it said the proceedings involve the Attorney-General’s Chambers and the Singapore Police Force, adding that it is unable to disclose any further information on the matter. In response to queries, the police said they are "unable to comment on the case as the matter is before the courts".

An apex court order giving the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) discretion over admission of insolvency cases even when default is proven has shaken bankers and lawyers, the Economic Times of India reported. They said that the ruling could deflate an already delayed process under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) and will most likely be used by unscrupulous promoters to argue against the admission of cases, potentially denting the potency of the dedicated recovery mechanism.

Turkey's central bank is expected to take steps soon to bring lending costs closer to its newly cut policy rate, especially for some corporate loans, three bankers told Reuters, after the bank said spreads between the two rates had widened, Reuters reported. The central bank unexpectedly cut its policy rate by 100 basis points to 13% on Thursday, despite 80% inflation. It cited the widening gap between its policy rate and rising lending rates as having reduced the effectiveness of its monetary policy.

Sri Lanka’s central bank chief said Thursday he is hopeful the crisis-ridden island nation can reach a preliminary agreement that could lead to a bailout package with the International Monetary Fund when officials from the financial institution visit Sri Lanka later this month, the Associated Press reported. The Indian Ocean country is facing its worst economic crisis and has been negotiating with the IMF while government leaders in Colombo have said Sri Lanka is effectively bankrupt.

Turkey’s central bank on Thursday lowered its key interest rate despite inflation surging to nearly 80% and making it difficult for people to buy what they need, falling in line with the unorthodox economic views of the country’s president, the Associated Press reported. In a statement following a monetary policy committee meeting, the bank said it decided to reduce the policy rate from 14% to 13%. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pressured the bank into lowering borrowing costs in a bid to boost economic growth, investment and exports, insisting that interest rate hikes cause inflation.

For decades, buying property was considered a safe investment in China. Now, instead of building a foundation of wealth for the country’s middle class, real estate has become a source of discontent and anger, the New York Times reported. In more than 100 cities across China, hundreds of thousands of Chinese homeowners are banding together and refusing to repay loans on unfinished properties, one of the most widespread acts of public defiance in a country where even minor protests are quelled.

State-owned SBI has filed an insolvency petition against the country's largest sugar firm Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar Ltd, the Economic Times of India reported. SBI as a financial creditor has filed the plea before the Allahabad bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT). In a regulatory filing, Bajaj Hindusthan Ltd informed that "we understand that State Bank of India, financial creditor through its advocate has initiated Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process of Bajaj Hindusthan Sugar Ltd." The petition has been filed under Section 7 of Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016.

China's central bank is set to take more easing steps, pressured by a shaky economy that is undercutting jobs, but it faces limited room to manoeuvre due to worries over rising inflation and capital flight, policy insiders and analysts said, Reuters reported. Analysts now expect cuts in the country's benchmark lending rates as early as Monday, after the People's Bank of China (PBOC) unexpectedly lowered two key rates this week as data showed the economy unexpectedly slowed in July.

China will boost economic demand in a strong, reasonable and moderate manner and accelerate infrastructure construction in the third quarter of the year, officials from the state planner said on Tuesday, Reuters reported. The comments came after bleak data for July, which showed the world's second-biggest economy unexpectedly slowed and property investment falling at the fastest clip this year.