Headlines

Malaysia Airports Holdings Bhd (MAHB) says its filing of a RM78mil lawsuit against AirAsia X (AAX) will not derail the latter’s debt restructuring scheme. “Malaysia Airports is pursuing its legal rights to recover the debt from AAX which is critical for the upkeep and maintenance of the airports, ” it said, The Star reported.

Turkey’s ruling party laid out details of a plan to restructure some debts and administrative fines in an effort to support companies under pressure from the coronavirus crisis, Bloomberg News reported. The plan includes tax debts, administrative fines and social security payments. The proposal amounts to about 500 billion liras ($63 billion) of restructuring, Mehmet Mus, the AK Party’s parliamentary whip, said on Friday, according to the Sabah newspaper. The proposed bill has been approved by the planning and budget commission of parliament.

Edinburgh Woollen Mill has been given more time to find buyers or new investors for its struggling businesses as an alternative to putting them into administration, the Financial Times reported. The group, controlled by Switzerland-based tycoon Philip Day, had already filed a notice of intent to appoint FRP as administrators, giving it protection from any legal action by its creditors. The notice was extended for two weeks on Friday.

The UK economic recovery lost steam in October as tighter Covid-19 restrictions limited activity more than expected in both the manufacturing and services sectors, prompting further job cuts and fuelling fears of a renewed economic downturn, the Financial Times reported. The IHS Markit flash, or interim, purchasing managers’ index for services fell to 52.3 in October, down from 56.1 in the previous month and the lowest since June.

Global miner Rio Tinto is seeking court approval to sell its partner’s share of diamonds from a mine in Canada’s Northwest Territories, a filing this week showed, hoping to recover around C$120 million plus legal fees and other costs, Reuters reported. Rio owns 60% of Diavik Diamond Mines Inc (DDMI) and says it is owed C$119.5 million plus about C$2.4 million in fees by junior partner Dominion Diamond ULC. Dominion holds a 40% stake in the northern mine, located about 300 kilometers (186 miles) north of the territorial capital of Yellowknife.

Some of Argentina’s biggest bondholders have issued a sharp rebuke to the government over its handling of the country’s deteriorating economic situation, just a few months after reaching a compromise to restructure $65bn worth of debt, the Financial Times reported. In a statement released on Thursday, two creditor groups at the heart of the recent negotiations to resolve Argentina’s unsustainable debt burden accused the government of putting forward policies that “undermine” its own economic recovery, such as its recent decision to tighten capital controls.

Banks have asked specialist debt collectors to help lead the recovery of tens of billions of pounds of government-backed small business loans, as they prepare for an expected wave of defaults and fraud cases, the Financial Times reported. UK Finance, the trade group, is leading discussions to create a centralised “utility” that will deal with defaults on government-backed bounce back loans.

Canadian fashion retailer Le Chateau Inc said on Friday it had sought creditor protection and was preparing to liquidate its assets and wind down operations after taking a hit from the COVID-19 impact, Reuters reported. The 60-year-old chain, which sells occasion- and party-wear, saw its sales slump 72% in the second quarter ended July 25, as Canadians avoided venturing out due to fears of contracting the coronavirus. Apparel retailers across the globe have been facing mounting debt and bankruptcies as the virus outbreak wreaked havoc on the economy.

Ireland will be the eurozone’s biggest loser from a no-deal Brexit, which threatens to cause an economic “double whammy” on top of the fallout from rising coronavirus infections, the Irish central bank’s governor has warned, the Financial Times reported. Gabriel Makhlouf told the Financial Times that if the UK left the EU without a trade deal at the end of this year, the new tariffs on goods would hit Ireland’s agricultural and food sectors hardest, knocking 2 percentage points off the country’s economic growth next year.  “This whole process is lose-lose,” said Mr Makhlouf.

More than £3bn might have been stolen in furlough money by criminal gangs and fraudulent employers, according to estimates used by parliament’s spending watchdog in a report into the government’s flagship jobs protection scheme, the Financial Times reported. The National Audit Office said there was evidence of “significant levels of furlough fraud” from both organised gangs “hijacking” claims and employers taking money collected on behalf of staff. More money will be lost through staff working hours that they were claiming for, the NAO added.