Headlines

Abu Dhabi’s government has stumped up around $22 billion for Etihad Airways since it began flying in 2003, underscoring the ambition of the oil-rich emirate to turn its national carrier into a global player before the effort faltered in recent years, Bloomberg News reported. The heavy investments, made before Covid-19 lockdowns strangled demand for air travel, were likely a prelude to support for the carrier this year, given the sector’s dire need for cash during the pandemic.

The Australian Financial Security Authority has issued a warning around dodgy insolvency advisers ahead of an anticipated spike of bankruptcies, nestegg reported. The personal insolvency regulator has now launched a public campaign to raise awareness on the prevalence of dodgy insolvency advisers and telltale signs for the public to look out for. The Australian Financial Security Authority’s campaign comes as it is particularly concerned that those experiencing financial stress because of the economic impact of COVID-19 may be easy targets.

With the pandemic having pushed any talk of austerity to the sidelines, the race is on in Europe to spend its economies out of recession and back to some semblance of normality, Reuters reported. While the total cash being thrown at the challenge amounts to trillions of euros, that masks deep national differences between the amount and type of aid on offer.

AIRASIA X Bhd’s (AAX) plan to restructure RM63.49 billion worth of debt owed to its creditors has already hit a few hurdles, the Edge reported. The Edge has learnt that BOC Aviation Ltd — one of the 1,200 unsecured creditors that are being asked to write down their dues by AAX — has applied to intervene in the long-haul, low-cost carrier’s application for leave to hold a scheme creditors’ meeting to vote on the scheme.

Apparel retailer Esprit announced Sunday the insolvency plans it developed for its six German subsidiaries have been approved by creditors and confirmed by the Dusseldorf court, FashionUnited reported. The process allows “a complete restart for the group” enabled by substantial debt forgiveness for the six German subsidiaries. The company said that after the final and official conclusion of the proceedings, expected by the end of the month, Esprit “will go back to normal operations”.

Lazard Ltd has hired restructuring banker Sam Whittaker from PJT Partners to oversee negotiations between companies and their creditors across Europe, the Middle East and Africa as a second wave of COVID-19 leaves many businesses fighting for survival, Reuters reported. Whittaker, who started his banking career at Lazard in 2005 and then moved to fellow investment bank PJT in 2015, will re-join Lazard as a London-based managing director in its EMEA restructuring franchise.

Like the coronavirus crisis itself, the response of the world’s governments has been on a scale never seen before, the Financial Times reported. The IMF estimates that fiscal spending and tax cuts worldwide add up to more than $11.7tn so far, on top of a monetary policy response in which trillions of dollars have been pumped into the global financial system by the US Federal Reserve and other central banks. Old policy prescriptions have been torn up. Once the guardian of austerity, the IMF has urged countries to spend as much as possible.

Bounty, the parenting club which has distributed samples of baby products to generations of new mums, is on the brink of insolvency after seeing one of its main revenue streams cut off by the coronavirus pandemic, Sky News reported. Sky News has learnt that Bounty is preparing to confirm a pre-pack administration later this week that will result in as many as 300 redundancies. Sources said that Bounty's current owner and chief executive, Alan Charming Chan, was expected to buy its sampling and consumer marketing division from Alvarez & Marsal, the prospective administrator.

South Africa’s Competition Tribunal on Friday approved a rescue deal for struggling airline Comair on condition that the carrier freezes job cuts for three years and investors allocate shares to a special purpose black empowerment vehicle, Reuters reported. Comair, which operates the British Airways franchise in South Africa and budget airline Kulula.com, was forced into a form of bankruptcy protection in May after South Africa’s coronavirus lockdown halted its operations two months earlier.

Activity in Covid-19-struck Europe is thought to have leapt in the third quarter, but finance ministers meeting early next week will take little comfort from coltish-looking economic figures, the Financial Times reported.. The reason is simple — the rolling series of new restrictions that have been announced in recent days have cast a new shadow over the region's prospects, making it all but impossible to know exactly where output will go next. With Europe's caseload soaring at a vertiginous rate, Germany and France imposed new lockdown measures on Wednesday.