Asia

An Indian court put on hold on Monday an order restraining Future Group chief Kishore Biyani from selling personal assets, amid legal challenges to the group’s $3.4-billion retail deal, Reuters reported. The legal fight over Future’s assets has embroiled two of the world’s richest men, Jeff Bezos of U.S. e-commerce giant Amazon.com Inc and Mukesh Ambani of Indian congolomerate Reliance Industries. In various Indian courts, including the Supreme Court, Amazon has accused Future of violating certain contracts by agreeing to sell its retail assets to Reliance.

A Tokyo-based restaurant chain operator on Monday filed a damages suit against the Tokyo metropolitan government for ordering business hours be reduced as a public safety measure during the coronavirus pandemic, Nikkei Asia reported. Global-Dining claims the order "is illegal and unconstitutional as it infringes the right to freedom of business" in the first such lawsuit anywhere in Japan. The company runs dozens of restaurants including the Gonpachi "izakaya" Japanese-style pubs.

Thirty-four creditors of Greensill Capital Pty, the Australian parent of the collapsed British supply chain financier, submitted over A$1.75 billion ($1.35 billion) in claims to the company, administrators said on Friday, Reuters reported. About $1.15 billion of that was made by Japan’s Softbank Group, a source familiar with the situation told Reuters. The source declined to be identified as the person was not permitted to speak publicly.

India’s rupee is the only currency in Asia to strengthen amid this month’s rout in risk assets, thanks to a spree of share-sale offers that are luring foreign investors, Bloomberg News reported. The rupee has advanced 1.3% in March, boosted by $2.9 billion of overseas purchases of local stocks, including inflows related to initial public offerings. Nine share-sale offers worth about 59 billion rupees ($813 million) this month would have added to one of the highest inflows into emerging Asia, according to Emkay Global Financial Services Ltd.