Headlines

Israeli-Russian businessman David Sapir has offered to buy joint control of financially strapped El Al Israel Airlines, promising to use his business ties to return Israel’s flag carrier to profitability, Reuters reported. Sapir, whose businesses include infrastructure, telecoms and tourism, has offered to pay $51 million for 190 million new shares in El Al, which is the same amount of shares held by controlling shareholder Knafaim Holdings (KNFM.TA), and a 20% premium to El Al’s closing share price on Tuesday in Tel Aviv.

Hospitality firms sitting on large debt piles are now looking to go for a one-time restructuring, with the moratorium period now over, Business Standard reported. On account of being highly leveraged, 15 per cent of the total 160,000 rooms —nearly 24,000 — are facing the risk of permanent closure, show industry estimates. The hospitality sector, by nature, has a high fixed cost structure and the lockdown led to significant erosion in revenues and margins. The industry now has its eyes set on the recommendations of the KV Kamath Committee.

The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) Wednesday allowed mutual funds to side pocket debt in cases where borrowers have approached the Asset Management Company (AMC) for debt restructuring, Mint reported. Earlier, SEBI rules only permitted debt downgraded below investment grade (rating below BBB-) or defaulted debt to be restructured. The new circular, which will be in effect till 31st December will allow even higher rates debt to be side pocketed. The date on which the restructuring proposal is received by the AMC is to be treated as the trigger date for side pocketing.

Europe will create thousands of “zombie companies” and lose competitiveness against the US and other countries if it keeps extending state aid to shield the economy from the coronavirus pandemic, Deutsche Bank’s chief has warned, The Irish Times reported. Christian Sewing told a conference in Frankfurt on Wednesday that “Europe threatens to suffer again from its greatest weakness. We are relatively good at counteracting the symptoms of a crisis.

A selloff in the Thai baht, underperforming stocks and pressure on the bond market reflect growing concern from global investors over political instability and the growth outlook in Southeast Asia’s second-biggest economy, analysts and fund managers say, Reuters reported. Thailand suffered its deepest economic contraction in two decades last quarter and a long haul to recovery looms as the COVID-19 pandemic has hammered its mainstay tourism industry.

Laos faces a growing risk of debt distress and sovereign default, according to credit rating agencies and economic advisers, as coronavirus and a debt-laden power sector take their toll on one of Asia’s poorest countries, the Financial Times reported. The country’s foreign exchange reserves have fallen below $1bn, less than Laos’ annual debt payments, and ministry of finance officials have asked China, the country’s biggest creditor, for advice on a possible restructuring, the Financial Times has learnt. Moody’s Investors Service last month downgraded Laos’ issuer rating a

Fitch Ratings has downgraded Indonesia-based developer PT Modernland Realty Tbk's (MDLN) Long-Term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) to 'C' from 'CC,’ Fitch Ratings reported. Fitch has also downgraded the rating on the USD150 million notes due 2021 and USD240 million notes due 2024 issued by its wholly owned subsidiaries, JGC Ventures Pte. Ltd. and Modernland Overseas Pte Ltd, respectively, and guaranteed by MDLN, to 'C' from 'CC'. The Recovery Rating on the notes remains at 'RR4'.

While the new board of IL&FS and the directors appointed by it on the subsidiaries of Infrastructure Leasing & Financial Services Limited (IL&FS) have immunity from prosecution in India for the actions of the group in the past, they may not have the same protection in cases filed against the group firms outside the country, The Indian Express reported.

The eurozone slid into deflation for the first time in four years, heaping pressure on the European Central Bank to increase its support for the bloc’s faltering economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic, the Financial Times reported. Headline consumer price inflation was minus 0.2 per cent in August, down from an increase of 0.4 per cent the previous month, according to data released by Eurostat on Tuesday, ahead of the ECB’s policy meeting next week.

Factories across Europe, Asia and North America continued to shake off the coronavirus gloom in August as the global economy emerged from a downturn triggered by the health crisis, thanks in part to massive fiscal and monetary stimulus programmes, Reuters reported. Surveys showing an expansion in manufacturing activity may reduce pressure on policymakers to take bolder steps to avert a deeper recession. J.P. Morgan’s measure of global manufacturing activity rose to a 21-month high of 51.8 in August from 50.6 in July, the second straight month above the neutral reading of 50.