Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday proposed faster resolution of bankrupt companies by paving the way for amendments to the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), seeking to make cross-border deals easier and speed up voluntary unwinding of defaulting borrowers, the Economic Times of India reported. “Necessary amendments in the Code will be carried out to enhance the efficacy of the resolution process and facilitate cross- border insolvency resolution,” Sitharaman said.

India’s record borrowing plan prevents Fitch Ratings from reverting to a stable outlook from negative, keeping alive the possibility of a sovereign downgrade to so-called junk status over the coming year, Bloomberg News reported. The nation has the highest general government debt ratio among peers rated BBB-, Fitch said in a statement a day after India pledged to double down on debt-fueled spending. Active steps to reduce debt is key to revising the outlook, Fitch said.

India doubled down on its spending commitment, relying on an already swamped debt market to borrow and spend big to spur growth, Bloomberg News reported. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration will target a budget deficit of 6.4% of gross domestic product for the year starting April 1 -- wider than the median 6.1% seen in a Bloomberg survey -- as it prioritizes growth over fiscal consolidation.

Flag carrier Philippine Airlines (PAL) has named a new captain to pilot the company in its recovery path. PAL announced yesterday the appointment of its senior vice president for airline operations Stanley Ng as the company’s new president and chief operating officer (COO), in an acting or officer-in-charge capacity, the Philippine Star reported. Ng replaces Gilbert Santa Maria, who served as the airline’s president and COO during PAL’s Chapter 11 restructuring process which the company completed last year. PAL did not disclose the reason why Santa Maria was replaced.

Receivers have been appointed over land in Hong Kong that China Evergrande Group used as collateral for a $520 million loan, but the sale of the plot won’t affect the company’s broader restructuring, the troubled developer said, the Wall Street Journal reported. Evergrande was notified Wednesday about the move, which relates to a plot of undeveloped residential land located in Yuen Long, the property company said in a filing late Sunday in Hong Kong. It didn’t name the lender.

The appellate tribunal has upheld an order passed by the Chennai bankruptcy court to liquidate Siva Industries and Holdings while rejecting a settlement proposal endorsed by a majority of the lenders, the Economic Times of India reported. In a judgment dated January 28, the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) ordered liquidation stating that the plan was submitted to the tribunal after 330 days, which is the maximum time permitted to resolve a case under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC) failing which the company has to be liquidated.

Japan's factory output shrank for the first time in three months in December as a decline in machinery production outweighed a small rise in autos, casting a cloud over the strength of the economic recovery, Reuters reported. Retail sales posted their third straight month of year-on-year gains in December as low coronavirus cases encouraged shoppers. Record infections this month driven by the Omicron variant, however, are expected to have hit consumer sentiment.

Japan last year had the fewest bankruptcies in a half century, Bloomberg News reported. But economists warn there may be a darker side. Zero-interest loans and subsidies may have also helped prop up firms that were already non-performing before the crisis and probably should have been left to go under. While policy makers everywhere have trouble providing just the right amount of aid during a crisis, Japan has a long history of easy credit that’s been blamed for keeping “zombie” firms alive.

Imbalances in the Chinese economy have worsened and delayed China’s transition to consumption-led growth, the International Monetary Fund said in an annual review on Friday, slashing its outlook for the country this year, the Wall Street Journal reported. The IMF assessment, in its Article IV review, reflects growing concern among some economists and officials that greater state intervention in the economy could be hindering China’s long-held goal of “high-quality” growth—one driven by consumption rather than investment.

China's factory activity contracted at the sharpest rate in 23 months in January, underscoring the huge economic costs from the country's zero-COVID approach as surging cases and tough containment measures weighed on output and demand, a private survey showed on Sunday, Reuters reported. The Caixin/Markit Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index (PMI) fell to 49.1 in January - its lowest level since February 2020, when the economy was still suffering from country-wide COVID-19 lockdowns in the early days of the pandemic.