Asia

State Bank of India (SBI), the lead creditor to Jain Irrigation Systems (JISL), is likely to consider a Rs 4,000-crore debt restructuring plan for the company next week, sources close to the development told FE. According to the restructuring plan, of the Rs 4,000-crore debt, Rs 2,800 crore will be converted into a sustainable portion, payable at 8.5% interest to lenders, The Financial Express reported. The remaining Rs 1,200- crore unsustainable debt will be converted into debentures, payable after eight years at 0.01% interest.

One of Southeast Asia’s biggest conglomerates faces its gravest challenge yet as the pandemic roils Genting group’s collection of casinos, cruises and resorts, Bloomberg News reported. Cracks were already starting to show even before cruise operator Genting Hong Kong Ltd. said it would suspend payments to creditors. This week, the group holding company and a Malaysian unit could show some of their worst declines to earnings as second-quarter results are due.

AirAsia Group Bhd.’s long-haul arm said it needs to reach agreements with major creditors to restructure outstanding debt as it faces “severe liquidity constraints” that threaten its ability to resume flying and continue as a going concern, Bloomberg News reported. The warning came in an exchange filing Wednesday, in which AirAsia X Bhd. also reported a net loss for the three months ended June 30 of 305.2 million ringgit ($73 million), worse than a 207.1 million ringgit deficit a year ago. Sales tumbled 91% to 91.4 million ringgit.

India’s central bank governor has warned that the state-dominated banking system will need to push ahead with an infusion of funds to withstand the country’s deepening coronavirus crisis, the Financial Times reported. Several of India’s largest and best-performing banks, including Kotak Mahindra, ICICI and State Bank of India, have been raising more equity in the months since the coronavirus pandemic broke out. But Shaktikanta Das, the Reserve Bank of India governor, said smaller private and public lenders needed to shore up their capital bases ahead of an expected bad loans shock.

Thailand’s bankruptcy court on Tuesday said it will hand down its decision on Thai Airways International Pcl’s request for restructuring on Sept. 14, Reuters reported. The court held two additional hearings on Aug. 20 and Aug. 25 when minor creditors opposed the carrier’s restructuring request. “The court will allow those who oppose the plan to submit their petitions within seven days from today,” the court said in a statement. Thai Airways submitted its petition for bankruptcy protection in May and received a stay on its debt.

The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) took control of PMC last September after it was accused of fraud and concealing non-performing loans, Reuters reported. PMC’s top officials and the owners of a realty company that received the bulk of the loans were arrested. The withdrawal cap has left many of PMC’s over 900,000 depositors in deep difficulty. Some say they are struggling to clear loans or pay their children’s school fees, while others say they depend on friends for their groceries.

The BOT (Bank of Thailand) has launched a new programme aimed at helping businesses severely hit by Covid-19 to expedite debt restructuring and facilitate their recovery amid the crisis. Launching the debt restructuring programme for businesses – known as ‘DR BIZ’ – the BOT said it wants to provide a mechanism to support coordination among multiple creditors and enable businesses to lessen their debt burdens, Regulation Asia reported.

The Supreme Court on Monday reserved its order on the issue of recovery of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues of insolvent telcos, Mint reported. The apex court said it will also clarify additional liabilities, if any, of Reliance Jio and Bharti Airtel on account of past dues on the spectrum they bought from Reliance Communications, Videocon and Aircel respectively. SC noted that if the seller of spectrum did not clear its dues before sale, the liabilities would be transferred to the buyer as per trading guidelines.

The Hong Kong-based cruise operator that spooked creditors this week by suspending all payments is still sailing a fully booked ship despite the crippling pandemic, in what may be one bright spot for the beleaguered firm seeking to revamp debt and raise fresh capital, Bloomberg News reported. About a month ago, Genting Hong Kong Ltd. restarted two- and three-day excursions around Taiwan, exclusively for residents of the island that’s seen success in containing the coronavirus outbreak.

Troubled Peking University Founder Group Corp’s (PUFG) administrator is not recognising the keepwell deed the Chinese conglomerate provided for a $300 million dollar bond issued by Nuoxi Capital, financial intelligence provider Redd reported, Reuters reoprted. Keepwell deeds are used by some Chinese companies to facilitate offshore bond sales by their subsidiaries. The deeds are similar, according to lawyers, to “letters of support” where the issuer would be backed by an onshore company, but they stopped short of guaranteeing the debt.