Headlines

India is considering setting up a body comprising of independent experts that will take over the role of privatizing state-run companies once the government decides to divest, Bloomberg News reported. The panel will replace bureaucrats, who currently manage privatization, as well as minority stake sales, the people said asking not to be identified because the discussions are private. The proposal is at an early stage and a final decision hasn’t been taken, they said. An external panel will help accelerate the asset sale process and bypass red tape, according to the people.

Kenya plans to raise more money from foreign than domestic loans as it takes advantage of global appetite for high-yielding debt, Bloomberg News reported. The East African nation intends to raise 123.8 billion shillings ($1.13 billion) from sovereign bonds sold to foreigners in the next four months and an additional 124.3 billion shillings during the fiscal year starting in July, according to the National Treasury. The funds will help finance the budget.

McNally Sayaji Engineering Ltd is going to face bankruptcy, the first casualty of the financial turmoil at Williamson Magor Group, TelegraphIndia.com reported. The company is an unlisted subsidiary of McNally Bharat Engineering Ltd, which is at the heart of the woes in the group. The Calcutta bench of the National Company Law Tribunal admitted McNally Sayaji for the corporate insolvency resolution process (CIRP) at the behest of ICICI Bank. McNally Bharat managing director Srinivas Singh said the company was examining the order.

Airline maintenance provider Lufthansa Technik Philippines (LTP) will lay off 300 employees in April due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the airline industry that forced some of its clients into bankruptcy, The Star reported. "This decision comes after careful study and consideration of the business situation as a result of the pandemic, its effects on the aviation industry," LTP president and CEO Elmar Lutter said in a letter to employees dated Feb. 11.

Steinhoff said on Monday former auditor Deloitte has agreed to pay $85 million to certain claimants as part of the retailer’s proposed $1 billion global lawsuit settlement plan, and that a company opposing the plan had withdrawn its court application, Reuters reported. The announcement sent Steinhoff’s Johannesburg-listed shares soaring 15.70% to reach their highest in nearly two and a half years, while its primary Frankfurt-listed shares jumped by 18.55% by 1231 GMT.

The board of the tour operator Neckermann, which runs a chain of travel agents across Belgium, has given itself until 22 February to solve its cash problems or declare bankruptcy, the Brussels Times reported. The deadline is a last-ditch effort to save the company, and the jobs of its 150 employees. In 2019 Neckermann Belgium was saved from the brink of bankruptcy after the collapse of the British parent company Thomas Cook when 62 of the 91 branches were taken over by Spanish tour company Wamos and rebranded as Neckermann.

Mario Draghi, the former head of the European Central Bank, has been named Italian prime minister after persuading nearly all of the country’s squabbling parties to support his government, raising hopes that he can succeed where many others have failed: in leading Italy out of its deep economic malaise, the Wall Street Journal reported. Italy’s head of state, President Sergio Mattarella, appointed Mr. Draghi and his proposed ministers late Friday, ahead of a formal swearing-in to be held the following day and a parliamentary vote of confidence early next week. Mr.

A Japanese real estate developer that pulled off a $1.9 billion employee buyout with U.S. private equity firm Lone Star is under pressure from a leading creditor to consider filing for bankruptcy protection, the Financial Times reported. Unizo, which owned a portfolio including hotels and central Tokyo office space, was at the centre of a 2019 bidding war between SoftBank-backed Fortress and other potential buyers including Blackstone and local property companies, having attracted high-profile interest in a market where real estate assets are only occasionally sold as a bloc.