Headlines

China is using the eastern province of Zhejiang to test a series of initiatives to promote “common prosperity” as the country grapples with gaps between urban and rural development, unequal income distribution and a lack of consistency in development, The Hill reported.

Former Malaysian prime minister Najib Razak faltered in his bid to get a High Court to halt bankruptcy proceedings against him for failing to pay a tax bill totalling RM1.74 billion (S$560 million), Bloomberg News reported. Kuala Lumpur High Court Judge Ahmad Bache on Monday dismissed Najib’s application for a stay of execution, according to an email exchange between the court and relevant parties. Separately, the court of appeal will hear Najib’s plea on June 16, according to his lawyer Farhan Shafee.

A series of coronavirus outbreaks in Thai factories is raising concerns that the export sector could be hit hard, threatening to further undermine an economy as it struggles to recover from the pandemic's crippling blow to the crucial tourism industry, Reuters reported. The virus has swept through over 130 factories, including those supplying international brands, with more than 7,100 cases across 11 provinces, making manufacturing one of the top sources of infections along with prisons and construction camps.

Indorama Ventures Ltd (IVL) has competed the acquisition of the recycled polyethylene terephthalic (R-PET) assets of CarbonLite Holdings and its subsidiaries in Dallas, Texas, the Thailand-listed producer said today, ICIS.com reported. IVL has completed all formalities with regards to the acquisition "and has taken charge of the plant effective from 11 June 2021", it said in a filing to the Stock Exchange of Thailand. IVL won a $63.8m bid for CarbonLite's Dallas rPET facility during a May 24 auction. CarbonLite in March this year filed for chapter 11 protection in the U.S.

Representatives of the whiskey and dairy industries have called on the Government to pressure the European Union to recognise Irish products that contain some level of input from Northern Ireland as having EU origin status, the Irish Times reported. When the Brexit transition period ended at the start of the year and the UK officially left the EU, a range of goods deemed to be produced in the Republic lost their EU originating status and – as a result - their access to lower or zero preferential trade tariffs with some markets.

Costa Rican authorities executed dozens of searches and arrests Monday as part of a sprawling public corruption investigation centered on the awarding of road construction and maintenance contracts, the Associated Press reported. Walter Espinoza, director of the Judicial Investigation Organization, said it was one of the most impactful public corruption investigations ever. With bribes ranging from vehicles to properties, cash and personal favors, a group of private companies ensured that public officials helped them win and pad government contracts, Espinoza said. At 7 a.m.

South Africa agreed to sell a majority stake in the country’s grounded national carrier to a local jet-leasing company and private-equity firm, ridding the government of an entity that has long been a drain on state finances, Bloomberg News reported. A consortium comprised of Johannesburg-based Global Airways, which owns recently launched domestic airline Lift, and private-equity firm Harith General Partners will take a 51% shareholding in South African Airways, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan said on Friday. The government will retain a minority stake.

Samarco Mineracao SA, a bankrupt joint venture between Brazilian miner Vale SA and BHP Group Ltd, proposed on Thursday a plan to restructure 50 billion reais ($10 billion) in debt with an offer of preferred shares or a cash payout in 2041 equal to 15% of the current value of holdings, Reuters reported. Samarco filed for bankruptcy protection in April to prevent creditors' claims from affecting operations that restarted at the end of 2020, more than five years after a tailings dam collapsed causing one of Brazil's worst environmental accidents.

Creditors of PT Sri Rejeki Isman, Indonesia’s biggest listed clothing firm, have submitted about 20 trillion rupiah ($1.4 billion) of outstanding claims as part of a debt-restructuring process, Bloomberg News reported. The claims include about 700 billion rupiah submitted by secured creditors and around 19 trillion rupiah from unsecured creditors as of June 10, according to Alfin Sulaiman, a member of an administrator team appointed by Indonesia’s Semarang commercial court. Verification is ongoing and the final amount will be released soon, Sulaiman said on Friday.

As the European Union readies bond sales for its pioneering COVID-19 recovery fund, the scale and duration of the borrowing programme may disappoint those who had visualised last year’s deal for pooled debt as Europe’s Hamiltonian moment, Bloomberg News reported. Agreed in July as the pandemic raged, the deal sparked hopes among investors that Europe would finally have a large and liquid "safe" asset to rival U.S. Treasuries, in turn burnishing the euro's attraction as a reserve currency.