India may need to inject up to 1.5 trillion rupees ($19.81 billion) into its state-owned lenders as their pile of soured assets is expected to double during the coronavirus pandemic, three government and banking sources told Reuters, Reuters reported. The government initially considered a budget of around 250 billion rupees for bank recapitalisations but that has risen significantly, a senior government source with direct knowledge of the matter said, with loan defaults likely to rise as businesses take a severe hit from nationwide lockdowns to tackle the coronavirus.

Sri Lanka’s finances were fragile long before the coronavirus delivered its blow, but unless the country can secure aid from allies like China, economists say it may have to make a fresh appeal to the IMF or default on its debt, Reuters reported. All the tell-tale crisis signs are there: a tumbling currency, credit rating downgrades, bonds at half their face value, debt-to-GDP levels above 90% and almost 70% of government revenues being spent on interest payments alone.

South Korean bank stocks have gone from cheap to extremely cheap in a matter of months as concerns grow over their loan books tied to the nation’s flagging property sector, Bloomberg News reported. The MSCI Korea Financials Index, in which banks carry a 65% weighting, is trading at 0.34 times its members’ book value, down from about 0.5 times at the end of 2019, according to Bloomberg-compiled data.

Thai Airways International Pcl on Wednesday said it appointed board members as rehabilitation planners in a bankruptcy court submission, Reuters reported. The court accepted the airline’s request for bankruptcy protection earlier in the day, setting the first hearing for August 17. It gave creditors until three days before then to submit objections. The rehabilitation committee comprises the flagship carrier’s chairman Chaiyapruk Didyasarin, acting president Chakkrit Parapuntakul and three newly appointed board members, including its former CEO, Piyasvasti Amranand.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe doubled Japan’s stimulus measures as he looked to deliver on his bold promise to keep businesses and households afloat with the world’s biggest virus-response package, Bloomberg News reported. His cabinet approved Wednesday a 117 trillion yen ($1.1 trillion) set of measures that includes financing help for struggling companies, subsidies to help firms pay rent and several trillion yen for health care assistance and support for local economies.

New Zealand’s central bank warned that the coronavirus pandemic presents a significant challenge to the country’s financial institutions, which could be stressed by failing businesses and loan defaults, Bloomberg News reported. While the financial system entered the crisis in good shape, “it’s capacity to absorb shocks is not unlimited,” the Reserve Bank said in its semi-annual Financial Stability Report published Wednesday in Wellington.

The worst crisis in more than two decades among Indonesia’s smaller companies will boost loan losses and curtail profit at the nation’s largest lender, according to PT Bank Rakyat Indonesia Finance Director Haru Koesmahargyo, Bloomberg News reported. Bank Rakyat expects more than 10 million customers in its core segment -- micro, small and medium enterprises -- to be affected by the Covid-19 outbreak, Koesmahargyo said.

At a time when fresh bids have been invited for the grounded Jet Airways, the deadline for completion of its insolvency resolution process has been extended till August 21 due to the nation-wide lockdown, imposed to contain the spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, Business Standard reported. The full service carrier, which shuttered operations in March 2019, is under Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP) and the time period given for its completion was to end on June 13.

To truly get an idea of how much the COVID-19 pandemic seems poised to change life in Japan over the next few months or so, just take a few minutes to check out the hundreds of online crowdfunding drives currently in operation nationwide, The Japan Times reported. Campfire, Japan’s largest crowdfunding website, has created a devoted section featuring campaigns that help stores, artists and other institutions in need of financial assistance in the wake of the novel coronavirus outbreak.

The Bank of Thailand cut its benchmark interest rate to a fresh record low and said it was ready to use additional policy tools if needed with the economy expected to shrink further. By a 4-3 vote, the central bank lowered the policy rate Wednesday by 25 basis points to 0.5%, its third cut this year, Bloomberg News reported. All but three of 24 economists in a Bloomberg survey correctly predicted the decision, with the others expecting no change.