Japan’s financial watchdog expects the local unit of Sam Bankman-Fried’s failed crypto empire FTX will repay funds to customers starting next month, according to a senior official, Bloomberg News reported. “We have been in close communication with FTX Japan,” said Mamoru Yanase, deputy director-general of the Financial Services Agency’s Strategy Development and Management Bureau. A mid-February timeline for withdrawals announced last month by the firm is likely a product of such communication so “we are expecting that they will properly take steps based on that,” he said.

Pakistan’s prime minister said Thursday that the United Arab Emirates agreed to extend a $2 billion loan to his country and provide an additional $1 billion as his nation struggles to recover from devastating floods this summer and a dire economic crisis, the Associated Press reported. Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s office made the announcement after he met with the leader of the UAE, Abu Dhabi ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

Saudi Arabia said Tuesday that it was considering providing up to $11 billion to Pakistan, a potential lifeline to a country facing default, the Wall Street Journal reported. The United Arab Emirates and Qatar in recent months have said they might also offer help to Pakistan, with potential loans and investments from Gulf nations now totaling at least $22 billion after the latest announcement from Riyadh. Gulf countries have said they could extend a similar level of support to Egypt, which is also struggling economically.

US-based cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global Inc. is closing the bulk of its operations in Japan as part of a move to adjust international investment amid a slump in the digital-asset sector, Bloomberg News reported. The shift comes as the firm cuts 20% of its workforce globally, the latest layoffs at the San Francisco-headquartered firm. Coinbase is scaling back in Japan even as the nation loosens some crypto rules, which has spurred rival Binance — the largest digital-asset exchange — to seek a license to return to the country.

Hong Kong securities watchdog will propose a subset of tokens it would allow for retail investors' trading, its chief executive said on Wednesday, as it presses on with a new regulatory regime that will make the city more friendly to crypto startups, Reuters reported. As investor protection will continue to be the focus of the new virtual asset service provider (VSAP) regime, the Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) will also seek public views about specific guardrails for retail trading, said Julia Leung, chief executive officer at the commision.

China’s new regulation to increase scrutiny of companies’ foreign debt will become effective Feb. 10 in the market’s biggest overhaul since 2015, Bloomberg News reported. The effort will encompass debt instruments with tenors of over one year that are sold by Chinese firms or their controlled offshore entities, according to a Tuesday announcement on the National Development and Reform Commission’s website.

Adani Goodhomes Pvt. is a step closer to acquiring Radius Estates and Developers Pvt. at a 98% discount to what the bankrupt company’s creditors had been seeking, Bloomberg News reported. Adani offered to pay 319.7 million rupees ($4 million) to financial creditors, compared with their ask for 16.58 billion rupees and 15.2 million rupees to employees, the person said, asking not to be identified as the details are private.

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) on Tuesday upheld the order of NCLT, directing removal of the resolution professional (RP)of Shree Ram Urban Infrastructure Ltd., the Economic Times of India reported. The appellate tribunal also directed the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India to conduct an enquiry against the RP and take appropriate steps in accordance with the law.

Bank of India has initiated insolvency proceedings against Kolkata-based commercial equipment manufacturer TIL (Tractors India) to recover its dues as previous recovery efforts have failed, the Economic Times of India reported. Five banks, including BoI, have total receivables of ₹600 crore from the company that has been classified as a non-performing asset by banks. "The case has been filed in the NCLT pending admission. There was no other recourse since the company is bleeding and no resolution is in sight," said a person aware of the process.

Sri Lanka’s bondholders aren’t living up to their obligations and should cancel debt to allow the country to get out of its economic crisis, a group of international academics said in a letter, Bloomberg News reported. Private creditors own almost 40% of the country’s external debt, mostly in the form of International Sovereign Bonds, but higher interest rates mean they receive more than half of debt payments, the group said in the letter, which was signed by more than 180 professors from around the world.