Headlines

South Africa’s insolvent national arms company is seeking to fire 13% of its workers in a bid to survive after the government spurned its plea for a bailout, Bloomberg News reported. Denel SOC Ltd., whose predecessor was established to bypass sanctions against the apartheid regime, has told 379 workers in its artillery, ammunition and armored-car divisions that they could lose their jobs, according to Helgard Cronje, a representative of labor union Solidarity. The so-called section 189 notice sent to the employees is a legal step needed before cuts can take place.

Spain on Tuesday ordered banks to comply with a six-month extension of a state-backed loan scheme to June next year, designed to help companies struggling with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, Reuters reported. Economy minister Nadia Calvino told a news conference bank clients who have no overdue payments can request these loans. Banks should also provide these loans with longer maturities and grace periods if customers ask for them, the minister said.

Shares in AirAsia fell as much as 8 per cent on Wednesday after the Malaysian budget carrier said it would review its investment in India, the strongest signal yet it is reassessing its south Asia business, the Financial Times reported. The statement on Tuesday night came hours after AirAsia’s Japanese unit filed for bankruptcy in the Tokyo District Court, citing “insolvency resulting from a demand slump in travel induced by lockdown restrictions related to the coronavirus pandemic”.

Tsinghua Unigroup, a major government-backed player in China’s technology race, has defaulted on a 1.3-billion-yuan ($197.96 million) bond, three sources said, as several high-profile delinquencies by state firms rattled the country’s bond market, Reuters reported. The default by Tsinghua Unigroup, a wholly-owned division of the prestigious Tsinghua University in Beijing, on Monday immediately triggered a credit rating downgrade that is expected to weaken the company’s financial health.

A new framework to resolve debt crises in developing countries, meant to ensure that Chinese and private creditors share the burden of providing relief, faces a key test after Zambia became the first African nation to default during the coronavirus pandemic, The Wall Street Journal reported. Finance ministers from the Group of 20 major economies said Nov.

German carmaker BMW said on Tuesday there was no indication that its deal to increase its stake in its joint venture with Brilliance China Automotive would be affected by debt issues at Brilliance's parent, Reuters reported. BMW said in 2018 that it would pay 3.6 billion euros ($4.2 billion) in 2022 for a further 25% stake in the venture with Brilliance - its main joint venture in China - adding to its existing 50% holding and giving it control of BMW Brilliance Automotive (BBA).

Petra Diamonds on Tuesday reported a 36% fall in revenue and a net loss of $223 million (168.7 million pounds) as the pandemic hit production, sales and prices, Reuters reported. Petra, which operates three diamond mines in South Africa and one in Tanzania, kept production guidance for 2021 on hold due to ongoing uncertainty, noting the risks to production if further COVID-19 restrictions are required. CEO Richard Duffy said Petra had “unprecedented challenges” to contend with in 2020.

As employers shed and furlough staff in an effort to stay afloat during the COVID-19 pandemic, one employer in Switzerland has launched a recruitment drive - the Zurich liquidation service, Reuters reported. In an ominous sign of what could lie ahead, the service has quadrupled the number of staff who visit shuttered companies, take inventory and collect assets which can be sold to pay creditors. The Ascot Hotel and Swissotel in Zurich are among businesses which have already permanently closed after bookings evaporated.

Beleaguered water treatment firm Hyflux has come under judicial management (JM) after a High Court ruling yesterday, following a marathon debt restructuring effort that has yet to put money on the table for creditors, The Straits Times reported. Mr Hamish Alexander Christie and Mr Patrick Bance of Borrelli Walsh, the restructuring firm advising the unsecured working group (UWG) of 19 banks that hold more than $931 million of Hyflux debt - were appointed the judicial managers and took over the firm's operations yesterday.

A series of unwelcome surprises in China’s huge corporate-bond market has knocked investors’ confidence in the local governments that stand behind many issuers, The Wall Street Journal reported. In one high-profile example, Yongcheng Coal & Electricity Holding Group Co. shocked investors last Tuesday by failing to repay a maturing short-term bond worth 1 billion yuan, or the equivalent of $151 million.