China Huarong Asset Management is putting 380 billion yuan ($58.8 billion) of bad assets up for sale after the scandal-plagued bad-debt manager reported a record loss last year, Nikkei Asia reported. Huarong secured a long-expected rescue plan last month led by state-owned giant Citic Group, China's second-largest financial holding company. Citic is wholly owned by the State Council, the country's cabinet. The sale of bad assets reflects Huarong's determination to speed up revitalization and restructuring of its idle assets and distressed subsidiaries.

Australian employment dived in August as coronavirus lockdowns in Sydney and Melbourne forced businesses to lay off workers and slash hours, while the jobless rate was nudged lower by a sharp fall in the number of people looking for work, Reuters reported. Thursday's data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) showed employment fell by 146,000 in August, compared to median forecasts of a drop of 90,000. The unemployment rate dipped to 4.5%, having already fallen to 4.6% in July when lockdowns also distorted the data.

South Korea’s leading opposition candidate warned of a potential collapse in the housing market and a spike in bankruptcies as interest rates rise, blaming President Moon Jae-in for letting debt levels hit a record through expansionary spending, Bloomberg News reported. Hong Joon-pyo, one of the top-ranked conservatives seeking to be the next president, said the current level of fiscal spending is unsustainable with government debt expected at over 1,000 trillion ($855 billion) next year.

Chinese authorities have told major lenders to China Evergrande Group not to expect interest payments due next week on bank loans, according to people familiar with the matter, taking the cash-strapped developer a step closer to one of the nation’s biggest debt restructurings, Bloomberg News reported. The Ministry of Housing and Urban-Rural Development told banks in a meeting this week that Evergrande won’t be able to pay its debt obligations due on Sept. 20. Evergrande is still discussing the possibility of getting extensions and rolling over some loans.

The committee of creditors of Vasan Health Care Pvt. Ltd and the resolution professional, S. Rajendran, have gone on appeal before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) against the order rejecting extension of time frame under the insolvency process, The Hindu reported. Last month, the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) said that the corporate insolvency resolution process for Vasan Health Care Pvt.

India’s largest conglomerate the Tata Group has submitted a financial bid for state-run Air India Ltd. as the government tries to sell the money-losing carrier after two failed attempts, Bloomberg News reported. The bid was entered Wednesday by Tata Sons Ltd., the group holding company, which controls Jaguar Land Rover and owns a majority stake in AirAsia India, according to a Tata spokesperson. The bid has boosted prospects for the sale after the government sweetened the deal by allowing suitors to decide how much of the carrier’s debt they want to take on.

Malaysia’s long-haul budget carrier AirAsia X Bhd has obtained court permission to extend the deadline to convene its creditor meetings to March next year, it said on Wednesday, Reuters reported. AirAsia X said the High Court granted an order for an extension until March 17 for it to convene separate meetings of the creditors “for the purpose of considering and, if thought fit, approving with or without modification” a restructuring scheme to be proposed.

China's factory and retail sectors faltered in August with output and sales growth hitting one-year lows as fresh coronavirus outbreaks and supply disruptions threatened the country's impressive economic recovery, Reuters reported. Industrial production rose 5.3% in August from a year earlier, narrowing from an increase of 6.4% in July and marking the weakest pace since July 2020, data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed on Wednesday. Output growth missed the 5.8% increase tipped by analysts.

Cash-strapped property group China Evergrande Group said on Tuesday that it has engaged advisers to examine its financial options and warned of default risks amid plunging property sales, sending its stock and bond prices sharply lower, Reuters reported. The real estate giant has been scrambling to raise funds it needs to pay lenders and suppliers, with regulators and financial markets worried that any crisis could ripple through China's banking system and potentially trigger wider social unrest.