The Penang government in Malaysia has dismissed claims by its detractors that the state is heading towards bankruptcy, the New Straits Times reported. Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, in allaying such fears during his winding up speech at the last day of the state legislative assembly sitting, said the state still has an accumulated reserve of RM1.82 billion as of last year and not RM888 million as stated by Lim Guan Eng.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) on Thursday filed an application for initiation of Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) against debt-ridden Reliance Capital at the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), the Economic Times of India reported. The Reserve Bank had on November 29 superseded the board of Anil Ambani-promoted Reliance Capital Ltd (RCL) in view of payment defaults and serious governance issues. The central bank had also appointed Nageswar Rao Y (former executive director, Bank of Maharashtra) as the administrator of the company.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appointed a new treasury and finance minister early Thursday after Lutfi Elvan stepped down from the post as the currency has been tumbling to record lows, the Associated Press reported. Erdogan named Nureddin Nebati, who was deputy minister, to the post, according to an announcement published in the Official Gazette. It said Elvan asked to be “pardoned from the job” and that his request was accepted.

Advisers to China's government will recommend authorities set a 2022 economic growth target below the one set for 2021, giving policymakers more room to push structural reforms amid growing challenges to the outlook, Reuters reported. Investors are closely watching for clues on next year's policy and reform agenda as President Xi Jinping and other top leaders hold the annual Central Economic Work Conference due this month.

Turkey’s central bank moved Wednesday to prop up the country’s collapsing currency, selling foreign reserves after the lira reached new lows following comments by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in defense of his unorthodox economic policies, the Wall Street Journal reported. The lira rebounded after the bank said it was taking action to address “unhealthy price formations in exchange rates.” The free-falling lira has heaped economic pressure on ordinary Turkish people, who are struggling with rising prices of food, fuel, medicine and other essential goods.

The European Union will seek to mobilize 300 billion euros ($340 billion) in public and private infrastructure investments by 2027 to offer developing countries an alternative to China’s massive Belt and Road program, Bloomberg News reported. The EU’s “Global Gateway” project unveiled on Wednesday outlines spending on digital, transport, energy and health projects. And while the proposal doesn’t mention China directly, it offers a counter to Beijing’s overseas development plan that critics say has pushed countries to unsustainable levels of indebtedness.

The specter of freezing weather in Japan and surging energy prices are raising risks the nation’s power retailers could follow their U.K. and Singaporean peers into bankruptcy, Bloomberg News reported. Japan’s government and utilities, stung by last year’s record rally in spot electricity prices, are now preparing for what could be the tightest power supply in a decade. Liquefied natural gas inventories have been boosted to their highest seasonal level in five years, while some regional utility companies are curbing power output.

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has initiated insolvency proceedings against NCR-based real estate firm MGF Developments Limited, on a petition filed by a group of homebuyers, the Economic Times of India reported. The NCLT has also appointed a Interim Resolution Professional. “Since, the financial creditor satisfies all the requirement of section 7 of IBC, 2016. We are therefore, satisfied that the applicant/financial creditor has made out a case under Section 7 IBC for admission and a clear case of default has been established.

Indonesia’s central bank bought 58 trillion rupiah ($4 billion) of government bonds, the first transaction in its latest round of debt monetization, Bloomberg News reported. Bank Indonesia purchased 14.5 trillion rupiah each of four series of notes due in five to eight years via a private placement, the finance ministry’s debt management office said on Tuesday. Future bond-buying by the central bank will be done gradually, in line with the government’s need to fund its pandemic stimulus, the office said in a statement Tuesday.

Turkey’s top investigative body will focus on foreign currency purchases when it probes the reasons behind the lira’s plunge in November, Bloomberg News reported. Investigators from the State Supervisory Council will be authorized to seek prosecution if criminal activity is suspected, the person told Bloomberg on Monday, speaking on condition of anonymity to disclose confidential details. The state-run Anadolu Agency, which first reported the impending probe on Saturday, said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has ordered the council to determine whether currency manipulation took place.