European Union leaders on Thursday agreed to align "relevant aspects" of their countries' insolvency laws for companies, as part of broader efforts to integrate capital markets and make the bloc more competitive, DPA International reported. EU leaders’ agreed to a declaration that commits to “harmonizing relevant aspects of national corporate insolvency frameworks,” among other measures to further integrate capital markets. The EU is struggling to compete with the United States and China, and commissioned former Italian prime minister Enrico Letta to come up with a plan.
Pride Group Holdings has sought creditor protection under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act (CCAA), after lender Mitsubishi HC Capital America filed a claim this week seeking damages of approximately US$100 million, trucknews.com reported. Three lawsuits on behalf of the Mitsubishi HC Capital named Sulakhan ‘Sam’ Johal and Jasvir Johal, accuse them of taking out credit lines to build inventories for Pride Truck Sales and Tpine Leasing. It accused them of defaulting on payments they had personally guaranteed. The claims have not been proven in court.
Chinese property developer Evergrande Group says it will withdraw the application for chapter 15 bankruptcy protection that it filed with a U.S. court last August, NHK World reported. The heavily indebted developer has been discussing with creditors how to repay its foreign-currency-denominated debts since it filed for chapter 15 protection. But the liquidation order made by a Hong Kong high court in January made it virtually impossible for the company to implement the debt-restructuring plan.
Liquidators of companies linked to the 1Malaysia Development Bhd scandal have filed for chapter 15 under the U.S. Bankruptcy Code, as they look to recover assets, Bloomberg News reported. A petition listing 1MDB Energy Holdings Ltd, Platinum Global Luxury Services Ltd, Aabar International Investments PJS Ltd, Blackrock Commodities (Global) Ltd, and Alsen Chance Holdings Ltd - all registered in the British Virgin Islands - was submitted in the Southern District of Florida court, dated Feb. 15.
The Local Court of Münster has opened regular insolvency proceedings for the assets of Gigaset AG. The communications technology provider published a corresponding announcement on its website on Tuesday evening, MarketScreener.com reported. Markus Wischemeyer was appointed insolvency administrator. Gigaset AG had filed for insolvency in September and is insolvent according to its own statements. The main reason for this was an unexpected and significant decline in revenue in the second half of 2023 and a business performance that was significantly below plan.
Nigeria’s central bank has released inaugural guidelines for banks opening cryptocurrency accounts, while retaining its ban on them holding or trading in virtual assets on their own behalf, Bloomberg News reported. The rules, published on the central bank’s website on Tuesday, flesh out the regulator’s decision last month to lift its prohibition on banks operating accounts for crypto service providers. “Current trends globally have shown that there is need to regulate the activities of virtual assets service providers which include cryptocurrencies and cryptoassets,” it said.
Companies that assembled new supply chain strategies in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic are having to put those plans into practice far faster than they may have thought possible, the Wall Street Journal reported. Global supply chains are entering 2024 roiled by disruptions at two of the world’s crucial trade corridors—the Panama Canal and the Suez Canal—even as geopolitical tensions appear set to take a more prominent role in sourcing and distribution. That could potentially force countries and companies to redraw trade maps that have been built over decades.
China's November industrial profits posted double-digit gains as overall manufacturing improved, although soft demand continued to constrain business growth expectations, emboldening calls for more macro policy support, Reuters reported. The 29.5% profit rise came on top of a 2.7% increase in October and alongside a pickup in industrial output in November, although other sectors of the world's second-largest economy still missed forecasts.
China's top planning body said on Saturday it had identified a second batch of public investment projects, including flood control and disaster relief programmes, under a bond issuance and investment plan announced in October to boost the economy, Reuters reported. With the latest tranche, China has now earmarked more than 800 billion yuan of its 1 trillion yuan ($140 billion) in additional government bond issuance in the fourth quarter, as it focuses on fiscal steps to shore up the flagging economy.
In Shenzhen, a metropolis born of China’s economic prosperity, Paibang Village is a reminder of the city’s modest past and the challenges ahead for reviving the country’s property sector. Paibang is what China calls an urban village, a labyrinth of low-slung apartment buildings and mom-and-pop storefronts connected by a maze of alleyways and narrow roads. There are hundreds of them in Shenzhen, a municipality of 18 million people next to Hong Kong, and thousands of such villages across China.