China's banking and insurance watchdog issued a draft guideline on Friday aiming to improve its regulation over insurance group companies to prevent financial risks as the world's no.2 economy strives to recover from the impact of COVID-19, Reuters reported. China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) is seeking public advice on the draft and the amendments it makes to a 2010 version of the rules regulating such companies.

Singapore Exchange's new rules for special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) are likely to help it attract regional funds and fast-growing firms, as it seeks to revitalise a staid market for equity listings, market participants said, Reuters reported. Some of them expect Southeast Asian startups, especially from the tech sector, to take advantage of SGX becoming the first Asian bourse to allow SPAC listings since the investment frenzy in SPACs started in the United States last year, although the interest is peaking there.

India’s Punjab National Bank on Thursday urged a tribunal to quash the rescue plan for defunct debt-laden Jet Airways, alleging irregularities in it, a move that risks delaying any return of the airline grounded two years ago, Reuters reported. A consortium of London-based Kalrock Capital and a UAE-based businessman last year agreed to pump in 10 billion rupees as working capital and give funds to creditors of Jet, which was hit hard due to piling up debt in 2019.

French dairy giant Lactalis is in talks to buy Kwality Dairy (now Kwality) in a fire sale as the company’s creditors have failed to reach a timely agreement on its debt resolution, forcing the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) to send it to liquidation, the Economic Times of India reported. Talks between Lactalis and Kwality Dairy’s creditors have gathered steam over the past few weeks and could result in the former making a formal proposal for Kwality Dairy in the next 8-10 days. This could be Lactalis’s fourth acquisition in India, if the creditors agree to its proposal.

Factory activity faltered across Asia in August, with a resurgence in Covid-19 infections adding to global supply-chain disruptions and confirming fears of a slowdown in the region’s economic recovery, the Wall Street Journal reported. Gauges of manufacturing activity plummeted across major Asian economies, in large part because virus lockdowns, port congestion and higher input costs hampered production. There were also signs that global demand for some Asian goods has been leveling off, as consumers rein in spending in the West.

China will set up a new stock exchange in Beijing to provide financing for innovative smaller companies, President Xi Jinping said, as Beijing tries to increase the role of equity financing in its financial system, Bloomberg News reported.

Centerra Gold Inc. is claiming a Kyrgyz open-pit mine it once ran has flooded and poses safety and environmental risks, although the government-appointed administrator says the water has always been there, Bloomberg News reported. There may be at least 40 meters (131 feet) of water at the bottom of the Kumtor central pit, the Canadian mining company said on Tuesday in a statement, citing photos on Kumtor Gold Co.’s website and a company video posted mid August on Facebook.

India is set to absolve bidders for its loss-making flag carrier from any liability arising out of a lawsuit filed by Cairn Energy Plc, which has claimed the state-run airline’s assets over a long-running tax dispute with the government, Bloomberg News reported. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration will offer so-called indemnity to the financial bidders of Air India Ltd., which the government has repeatedly tried to sell without success.

Singapore Exchange is preparing to roll out easier guidelines for listings of special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs) in the city-state, which would make it the first major Asian bourse to accept such investment vehicles, Reuters reported. The changes come after SGX, which has struggled to capture large listings of high-growth companies, received market feedback that some of its earlier proposals were too strict.

Sri Lanka has declared an economic emergency empowering the authorities to seize stocks of staple foods and set their prices, to contain soaring inflation after a steep devaluation of its currency due to a foreign exchange crisis, Reuters reported. The president of the island nation, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, on Monday declared an emergency under the public security ordinance to maintain the supply of food items such as sugar and rice at fair prices. The emergency came into effect from midnight.