Headlines

French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said that he is confident the Group of 20 economies will back a deal on international tax, even as his country pushes for a higher minimum corporate rate, Bloomberg News reported. The G-20 meeting in Venice is poised to give its backing to a deal signed by 131 countries for a minimum corporate levy of “at least 15%,” and new rules for dividing up the tax revenues from the world’s largest companies -- particularly U.S. tech giants.

The bankruptcy hearing of Terence Loh, the co-founder of Novena Global Healthcare (NGH) on Thursday (July 8) resulted in the High Court granting the order, The Singapore Independent reported. His proposal to the High Court last April for a “white knight” to seek refinancing for his loan of $24 million with DBS Bank fell through. Moreover, he planned on entering a voluntary arrangement with his creditors, so he could repay them. But by June, his lawyer, Muralli Rajaram of K&L Gates Straits Law, told the High Court that he would no longer proceed with the voluntary arrangement.

Steinhoff International Holdings NV may soon release a revised proposal to resolve more than $8 billion of legal claims against the retailer after a previous deal recently fell through, Bloomberg News reported. The company “is considering its options” after a South African court ruled on July 2 that the deal related to debt refinancing was void. Steinhoff still believes that “a global settlement is in the interest of all parties,” and will “strive to achieve one,” a spokesman said on Wednesday. This is expected to include a revised offer to be made shortly.

A Mexican court has issued an arrest warrant on tax fraud charges for one of the founders of Mexican airline Interjet as the nation’s president targets an elite group that he calls corrupt, Bloomberg News reported. Miguel Aleman Magnani is accused of not paying 65 million pesos ($3.3 million) in taxes the airline collected from customers and employees but failed to forward to the government, said a person familiar with the matter who asked not to be named because the charges haven’t been publicly announced. Further charges may be forthcoming, the person said.

British finance minister Rishi Sunak called for progress on a global deal to agree a minimum corporate tax rate and how to split revenue from large multinationals, as finance ministers from 20 of the world's biggest economies prepare to meet, Reuters reported. Sunak chaired a meeting of finance ministers from the Group of Seven in London last month which reached a provisional agreement, and 130 countries backed similar wide-ranging changes after talks in Paris last week. After years of stalemate, global tax talks gained fresh impetus in recent months under the new administration of U.S.

Four African finance ministers urged the Group of 20 nations to pressure the International Monetary Fund to accelerate the disbursement of new loans the continent needs to overcome the economic devastation wrought by the coronavirus pandemic and avert an insolvency crisis, Bloomberg News reported.

After more than 12 years of back and forth between the Algosaibi family’s conglomerate AHAB and its creditors, one of Saudi Arabia’s largest debt disputes is set to finally reach a resolution, Reuters reported. A debt restructuring proposal was submitted to the Dammam commercial court this week after approval from a creditor committee, Simon Charlton, chief restructuring officer and acting chief executive of AHAB told Reuters on Thursday.

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has closed the insolvency proceedings against Oyo and its subsidiary Oyo Hotels and Homes (OHHPL), the Times of India reported. The tribunal’s order disallowed the intervention of external parties, including the Federation of Hotel & Restaurant Associations of India (FHRAI), in the matter.

Singapore’s richest property dynasty pledged to continue to limit its exposure to its cash-strapped China unit, which is now facing a bankruptcy claim, Bloomberg News reported. City Developments Ltd. said that it has “ring-fenced its current financial exposure to its investment” in Chongqing Sincere Yuanchuang Industrial Co. and “will not support” the continuing obligations of the Chinese developer. “Despite the bankruptcy proceedings, the group will continue to strenuously protect its position and limit further exposure,” CDL said in a statement filed to the Singapore Exchange on Thursday.

On the crowded waterside quay of Dublin’s Silicon Docks neighborhood, Google’s European headquarters tower above the skyline. Facebook and Twitter are neighbors. The European bases of Apple, Pfizer and hundreds of U.S. multinationals are implanted around the country, symbols of the commerce produced by Ireland’s famously low corporate taxes.