Headlines

A Turkish energy producer and distributor started preliminary talks with lenders to renegotiate interest rates on $3.9 billion of debt to try and benefit from lower borrowing costs, Bloomberg News reported. Bereket Enerji approached nine lenders about adjusting rates on debt that had previously been restructured, people with knowledge of the matter said. Some banks are reluctant to meet the demand, while others are more sympathetic, the people said, asking not to be identified as the deliberations are confidential. Negotiations are continuing, they said.

United Arab Emirates energy firm Dana Gas has raised a $90 million loan allowing it to redeem $309 million in bonds due at the end of October and avoid a third debt restructuring, Reuters reported. The company whose main assets are in Egypt and in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq said on Thursday it had obtained a one-year $90 million loan from Mashreq Bank. “In conjunction with the company’s cash reserves, the facility will allow full redemption of the sukuk at the maturity date of 31 October 2020,” it said.

AirAsia X Bhd (AAX), now at an existential crossroads, is in dire need of massive debt forgiveness from its creditors, or be prepared to shut its business down for good, AviationPros.com reported. The low-cost, medium-haul airline, which has grounded all its flights due to the Covid-19 outbreak, is asking creditors and suppliers to forgo over RM63bil in liability and instead accept a maximum RM200mil in payment. While the proposal may sound atrocious, analysts think many creditors would, in fact, accept the offer.

Irish households and businesses secured the second-highest level of payment breaks from banks at the height of the coronavirus pandemic across a group of 11 western European countries, according to a report from debt ratings agency DBRS Morningstar, The Irish Times reported. Some 13.4 per cent of Irish loans across the State’s three domestic banks were subject to payment freezes at the end of June, second to Portuguese loans at 21.5 per cent, and almost double the 7 per cent average, the report said. German loans came in at the other end of the scale, at 1.6 per cent.

The High Court has appointed provisional liquidators to two related companies that operate 13 Pamela Scott and Richard Alan retail stores across the Republic, The Irish Times reported. The court heard the companies sought to be liquidated after coming under pressure from landlords, changes to the wage subsidy scheme, a sustained reduction in footfall, and further restrictions expected imminently due to the increasing number of Covid-19 infections.

A sale of Banca Monte dei Paschi to UniCredit would be inappropriate after UniCredit announced it would appoint former Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan as chairman, lawmakers from Italy’s ruling 5-Star Movement said, Reuters reported. Padoan oversaw the bailout of Italy’s oldest bank, Monte dei Paschi, back in 2017, with Rome spending 5.4 billion euros ($6.31 billion) on a 68% stake. Under an agreement with European Union authorities, the stake must be sold by mid-2022. “It would be paradoxical if, after the public commitment that provided for a support of several billion euros ...

Arabtec Holding asked banks this week for a three-month standstill on debt repayments for its subsidiary Target, sources said, as the Dubai-listed builder that is facing liquidation seeks to save some of its business, Reuters reported. Target specialises in oil and gas projects and marine work with operations in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, its website says. Shareholders, including Abu Dhabi state fund Mubadala Investment Co, voted last month to liquidate Arabtec after losses deepened due to the coronavirus crisis.

Zambia skipped an interest payment on its debt, moving closer to becoming the first African nation to default on dollar bonds since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, Bloomberg News reported. Holders of Zambia’s $3 billion of Eurobonds will vote next week on the country’s request for a six-month interest-payment holiday. A core group of creditors have already rejected the proposal, prompting Zambia to say it won’t be able to service its commercial debts including the bonds unless it gets the relief.

Two Turkish construction groups in a consortium that includes General Electric Co. started talks to restructure 900 million euros ($1.1 billion) of loans, the latest sign of corporate distress following a plunge in the local currency, Bloomberg News reported. The firms, which used the debt to build hospitals, are negotiating with lenders on the foreign-currency loans, according to two people familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified as negotiations are private. The consortium is made up of Gama Holding AS and Turkerler Insaat AS, while Boston-based GE’s stake is around 10%.

Germany’s economy is losing steam but will do slightly better than government forecasts as fears grow over rising coronavirus infections, according to the country’ s five leading research institutes, Bloomberg News reported. Gross domestic product will contract by 5.4% in 2020 and grow 4.7% next year, the experts predicted in their latest bi-annual outlook published Wednesday. In their spring report, they expected a contraction of 4.2% this year and growth of 5.8% in 2021.