Headlines

Wirecard’s fabricated Asian business was not its only deception. The rest of the once-lauded German payment provider’s business was chaotic, beset by byzantine reporting lines, hobbled by lamentable IT and racking up losses, according to a report by Wirecard’s administrator and accounts of former employees, the Financial Times reported. The picture that emerges of the Wirecard businesses that did exist is a stark contrast to the one painted by former chief executive Markus Braun, who hailed the group as a highly profitable pioneer in the payments industry.

Thailand’s central bank is set to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at an all-time low Wednesday as it calls on the government to use fiscal stimulus to spur the pandemic-hit economy, Bloomberg News reported. All 22 economists in a Bloomberg survey predict the Bank of Thailand will keep the key rate at 0.5% after reducing it three times earlier this year. Policy makers are keen to preserve their limited ammunition to respond to any further downturn as the coronavirus pandemic weighs on global growth.

Abu Dhabi-based KBBO Group, once one of NMC Health Plc’s biggest shareholders, has hired a turnaround specialist to restructure its $2 billion debt pile, people familiar with the matter said, Bloomberg News reported. The privately-held investment firm with assets in health care and food named Bruno Navarro as its chief restructuring officer, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private.

Avianca Holdings SA, one of Latin America’s largest airlines, lined up a $2 billion bankruptcy-loan package to finance its stay in chapter 11 from a group of investors and lenders including United Airlines Inc. and Chairman Roberto Kriete, The Wall Street Journal reported. Since filing for bankruptcy in May after the coronavirus pandemic curtailed flying, Avianca has been working to raise capital to stay in business as air travel remains deeply depressed world-wide.

Creditors have started to enforce claims against Abu Dhabi-based Al Jaber Group, in a dispute triggered by a construction downturn in the United Arab Emirates more than a decade ago, Reuters reported. Al Jaber, a contractor with interests across a range of sectors, has struggled since building up debt in the wake of a UAE real estate crisis and began talks with creditors in 2011. Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, which is working as restructuring and security agent, said in a document dated Sept.

Struggling British companies have been forced to borrow close to £58bn in emergency loans backed by the government during the coronavirus pandemic, according to figures released by the Treasury, the Financial Times reported. The data published on Tuesday — which show a rise of almost £5bn in the past month — comes ahead of an expected extension for the four schemes put in place to support bank lending to companies to help them survive the effects of the economic lockdown.

Zambia has asked investors in its US dollar bonds to accept delays in their interest payments into next year, in what would be the first African debt default on private creditors since the pandemic, the Financial Times reported. President Edgar Lungu’s government said on Tuesday that it was seeking “the suspension of debt service payments for a period of six months” from holders of its $3bn worth of international bonds, beginning in October.

Argentina’s economy contracted a record 19.1% in the second quarter versus the same period a year earlier as the coronavirus pandemic crippled production and demand, though was slightly better than analyst forecasts, Reuters reported. The steep fall, deeper than a 16.3% drop during Argentina’s major 2002 crisis, came as the South American country imposed a strict lockdown in mid-March to stem the virus. The country has over 640,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases, and nearly 13,500 deaths.

Large conglomerates are rapidly restructuring their businesses in an effort to help cushion the negative impact caused by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, The Korea Times reported. As corporations are struggling with looming challenges from the global recession induced by the virus pandemic, they are selling not only cash-strapped units but also cash-generative businesses to secure liquidity. The Fair Trade Commission (FTC) said mergers and acquisitions (M&As) rose sharply in the first half of this year compared with the same period in 2019.

Premier Oil’s biggest lender, hedge fund Asia Research and Capital Management (ARCM), plans to auction $200 million of the energy producer’s debt ahead of a $530 million equity raise by the company, three sources told Reuters, Reuters reported. ARCM, which holds more than 15% of Premier’s debt instruments, would retain about $240 million of the company’s debt if the auction succeeds. The bid deadline is set for Friday, one of the sources said.