Australia has canceled agreements between China’s Belt and Road Initiative and the Victoria state government, in a move that could further worsen ties between the two nations, Bloomberg News reported. The Australian federal government scrapped both the memorandum of understanding and framework agreement signed between Victoria and China’s National Development and Reform Commission, Foreign Minister Marise Payne said in an emailed statement Wednesday. Two other deals between Victoria and the governments of Iran and Syria have also been scrapped.

After two weeks of relentless losses, China Huarong Asset Management bondholders are finally finding reasons for optimism, Bloomberg News reported. Huarong bonds jumped after China's financial regulator said on Friday (April 16) that the bad-debt manager was operating normally and had ample liquidity, its first official comments since the company jolted Asian credit markets by missing a deadline to report earnings on March 31.

Luckin Coffee Inc. said it has secured a $260 million investment from two Chinese private-equity firms, funding that the troubled coffee chain operator said would support its debt restructuring and help pay a U.S. regulatory penalty over allegations it fabricated sales to make its growth appear stronger, WSJ Pro Bankruptcy reported. The investment is led by Centurium Capital, a Luckin shareholder, which has agreed to invest $240 million in senior convertible preferred shares, Luckin said. Fellow shareholder Joy Capital has agreed to invest $10 million in senior preferred shares.

China’s distressed loan managers are facing mounting pressure as the pandemic has made it harder to dispose of assets, according to a closely watched survey by China Orient Asset Management Co., Bloomberg News reported. Increasing credit losses at the managers themselves threaten to hurt profits and have adverse impact on their capital strength over the long term, China Orient, one the nation’s four state-owned bad loan banks, said in a report published on Friday. It also warned of growing difficulties to manage the maturity mismatch as their liabilities are mostly short-term.

China’s exports rose 30.6% over a year ago in March as global consumer demand strengthened and traders watched for signs of what President Joe Biden might do about reviving tariff war talks with Beijing, the Associated Press reported. Exports rose to $241.1 billion, decelerating from the dramatic 60.6% rebound in the first two months of 2021, customs data showed Tuesday. Imports rose 38.1% over a year ago to $227.3 billion in a sign of reviving Chinese activity.

China’s finance ministry is considering transferring its stake in China Huarong Asset Management Co. to a unit of the nation’s sovereign wealth fund that invests in financial companies, Bloomberg News reported. One motivation for the proposed transfer to Central Huijin Investment Ltd. is that the unit has more experience resolving debt risks, the person said, asking not to be identified discussing private information. Deliberations over a transfer have continued as investor concern over China Huarong’s financial health sent the company’s dollar bonds tumbling to record lows this month.

China’s fast-moving campaign to curb the power of internet giants has hit its latest mark: Ant Group, the fintech sister company of the e-commerce behemoth Alibaba, the New York Times reported. Ant announced on Monday that it would undertake a sweeping, government-ordered overhaul of its business to allay regulators’ concerns about the way it competes with rivals, its large-scale collection of user data and the risks its business may pose to the wider financial system.

Alibaba Group, the world’s biggest e-commerce company, was fined 18.3 billion yuan ($2.8 billion) by Chinese regulators on Saturday for anti-competitive tactics, as the ruling Communist Party tightens control over fast-growing tech industries, the Associated Press reported. Party leaders worry about the dominance of China’s biggest internet companies, which are expanding into finance, health services and other sensitive areas. The party says anti-monopoly enforcement, especially in tech, is a priority this year.

China Huarong Asset Management Co. is preparing to offload non-core and loss-making units as part of a broad plan to revive profitability that would avoid the need for a debt restructuring or government recapitalization, Bloomberg News reported. The state-owned manager of non-performing loans, which spooked investors this month after delaying its earnings report, has submitted the plan to regulators and received positive initial feedback, the people said, asking not to be identified discussing private information.

China’s 36 million university students are starting to learn what it’s like to live without easy credit, Bloomberg News reported. Last month authorities effectively shuttered student access to the once ubiquitous online loan industry, a sprawling collection of apps, fintechs and other unregulated lenders. Internet platforms were told to stop offering online loans to students and unwind existing credit. Banks will need to seek regulatory approval before promoting such loans on campus.