CK Hutchison Unit Says Panama Arbitration Claim Now Tops $2 Billion

A unit of Hong Kong conglomerate CK Hutchison said on Tuesday it had widened its claims in ‌an international arbitration case against Panama, saying damages had now risen to more ‌than $2 billion, Reuters reported. Panama Ports Company, which for nearly three decades operated the Balboa and Cristobal terminals near the ​Panama Canal, said it had supplemented its claims in proceedings under the International Chamber of Commerce's arbitration rules, a month after what it described as the state's illegal takeover of two port terminals and company property.
Panama
China
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NCLT Allows Withdrawal of Insolvency Proceedings Against ATS Group Project

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), New Delhi Bench, has permitted the withdrawal of corporate insolvency resolution proceedings (CIRP) initiated against ATS Heights Private Limited, the developer of the ATS Knightsbridge project, in exercise of its powers under Section 12A of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), the Hindustan Times reported. The tribunal, through its order dated March 13, allowed an application seeking withdrawal of the insolvency proceedings and dismissed the company's petition as withdrawn.
India
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Analysis: China Weighs Personal Bankruptcy Reform

While there is currently no countrywide legal route to a financial fresh start in China, some provinces and cities have begun piloting local equivalents of a bankruptcy law, The Straits Times reported. That gap has drawn growing attention in China, where scholars, judges and policymakers – including during the country’s national parliamentary meetings in March – have renewed calls for a nationwide personal bankruptcy system to give failed entrepreneurs a legal way to start again. China adopted an enterprise bankruptcy law in 2006, but it applies only to companies, not individuals.
China
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New Zealand Struggles to Regain Economic Mojo Without Housing Recovery

For decades, New Zealand has relied on inflating the housing market to engineer a recovery during downturns, but the playbook has failed this time, putting policymakers ⁠in a quandary just as the Middle East war adds a new layer of uncertainty, Reuters reported. Even after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand aggressively slashed the benchmark interest rate from 5.5% to 2.25%, house prices still languish some 20% below their pandemic peak, dismantling the wealth effect that long anchored the economy.
New Zealand
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South Korea Names BIS Official as Next Central Bank Chief

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has nominated Shin Hyun-song, a senior Bank for International Settlements official, as the country’s next central bank governor, the Wall Street Journal reported. Shin will replace departing Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Chang-yong, whose four-year term ends on April 20, Lee’s office said in a statement on Sunday. The nominee joined the BIS in 2014 and currently serves as economic adviser and head of the monetary and economic department at the Switzerland-based institution, often known as a bank for central banks.
South Korea
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Evergrande Liquidators, PwC to Face Off in Court Hearing in May

China Evergrande liquidators’ lawsuit to claw back funds from the builder’s auditors will finally reach its first public court hearing in May, about two years after being filed, Bloomberg reported. The parties in the case — China Evergrande Group (in liquidation) and PricewaterhouseCoopers International — will gather in the Hong Kong High Court on May 18, according to the court schedule on its website. The hearing will focus on whether PricewaterhouseCoopers International can strike out the claims, it said.
China
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