Fraudulent transactions worth Rs 17,394 crore happened at debt-ridden mortgage firm DHFL during FY07 to FY19, according to transaction auditor Grant Thornton, Business Today reported. Earlier this year, the administrator of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation Limited (DHFL), appointed under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), obtained assistance from Grant Thornton to conduct investigation into the affairs of the mortgage firm. Last year, the Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had admitted the company for insolvency resolution.

Hospitality firms sitting on large debt piles are now looking to go for a one-time restructuring, with the moratorium period now over, Business Standard reported. On account of being highly leveraged, 15 per cent of the total 160,000 rooms —nearly 24,000 — are facing the risk of permanent closure, show industry estimates. The hospitality sector, by nature, has a high fixed cost structure and the lockdown led to significant erosion in revenues and margins. The industry now has its eyes set on the recommendations of the KV Kamath Committee.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) Wednesday allowed mutual funds to side pocket debt in cases where borrowers have approached the Asset Management Company (AMC) for debt restructuring, Mint reported. Earlier, SEBI rules only permitted debt downgraded below investment grade (rating below BBB-) or defaulted debt to be restructured. The new circular, which will be in effect till 31st December will allow even higher rates debt to be side pocketed. The date on which the restructuring proposal is received by the AMC is to be treated as the trigger date for side pocketing.

A selloff in the Thai baht, underperforming stocks and pressure on the bond market reflect growing concern from global investors over political instability and the growth outlook in Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy, analysts and fund managers say, Reuters reported. Thailand suffered its deepest economic contraction in two decades last quarter and a long haul to recovery looms as the COVID-19 pandemic has hammered its mainstay tourism industry.

Laos faces a growing risk of debt distress and sovereign default, according to credit rating agencies and economic advisers, as coronavirus and a debt-laden power sector take their toll on one of Asia’s poorest countries, the Financial Times reported. The country’s foreign exchange reserves have fallen below $1bn, less than Laos’ annual debt payments, and ministry of finance officials have asked China, the country’s biggest creditor, for advice on a possible restructuring, the Financial Times has learnt. Moody’s Investors Service last month downgraded Laos’ issuer rating a

Fitch Ratings has downgraded Indonesia-based developer PT Modernland Realty Tbk's (MDLN) Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'C' from 'CC,’ Fitch Ratings reported. Fitch has also downgraded the rating on the USD150 million notes due 2021 and USD240 million notes due 2024 issued by its wholly owned subsidiaries, JGC Ventures Pte. Ltd. and Modernland Overseas Pte Ltd, respectively, and guaranteed by MDLN, to 'C' from 'CC'. The Recovery Rating on the notes remains at 'RR4'.

While the new board of IL&FS and the directors appointed by it on the subsidiaries of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited (IL&FS) have immunity from prosecution in India for the actions of the group in the past, they may not have the same protection in cases filed against the group firms outside the country, The Indian Express reported.

Factories across Europe, Asia and North America continued to shake off the coronavirus gloom in August as the global economy emerged from a downturn triggered by the health crisis, thanks in part to massive fiscal and monetary stimulus programmes, Reuters reported. Surveys showing an expansion in manufacturing activity may reduce pressure on policymakers to take bolder steps to avert a deeper recession. J.P. Morgan’s measure of global manufacturing activity rose to a 21-month high of 51.8 in August from 50.6 in July, the second straight month above the neutral reading of 50.

Efforts by banks including HSBC Holdings Plc and ABN Amro Bank NV to recover $3.5 billion from a collapsed oil trader in Singapore have hit a snag over attempts by a court-appointed manager to tap other assets of the family that ran the firm, Bloomberg News reported. PricewaterhouseCoopers, judicial managers of Hin Leong (Pte) Ltd., has urged the family to repay creditors with 95% of their assets, estimated to be worth at least S$2 billion ($1.5 billion), according to people familiar with the matter.

India’s top court approved a plan giving phone companies 10 years to pay back a combined 1.4 trillion rupees ($19 billion) in outstanding fees, a significant concession from the original three month deadline but only half the time the carriers had sought, Bloomberg News reported. A three-judge panel on Tuesday said 10% of the dues must be paid in the first tranche and the written judgment, which is awaited, will provide more details on the repayment structure. Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government had proposed a 20-year repayment window, which the telecom companies had supported.