Headlines

The deadline for completion of Jet Airways (India) Ltd's insolvency resolution process, which was earlier extended till 21 August due to the nationwide lockdown to contain the spread of the covid-19 virus, will be extended further due to the pandemic, Mint reported. However, the resolution professional (RP) entrusted by the lenders of the airline to complete the insolvency process, hasn't given a fresh deadline yet.

One in 10 businesses have admitted they are at risk of insolvency due to the pandemic. The figure is revealed in the latest business impact of coronavirus survey from the Office for National Statistics, which shows 10 per cent said their enterprise is at “moderate risk of insolvency” and one per cent put the risk at “severe,” Peer2Peer Finance News reported. The survey also found that 12 per cent of the workforce remain on furlough leave, with 67 per cent of furloughed employees receiving top-ups to their pay.

Lebanon’s central bank will only subsidise fuel, wheat and medicine for three more months, an official source said on Thursday, as critically low foreign currency reserves dwindle, Reuters reported. A central bank official was not immediately available for comment, and the caretaker economy minister referred questions on the matter to the central bank. The source told Reuters the bank had informed the government it would end the subsidies then in order to prevent reserves from falling below $17.5 billion.

Expressing concern over non-payment of the Adjusted Gross Revenue (AGR) related dues by the telecom companies which are under insolvency, the Supreme Court on Thursday said "without paying for the horse, telecos are taking a ride,” Deccan Herald reported. The apex court said it is “extremely worried” that almost the entire AGR dues will be “wiped out” in the IBC process. The top court wondered can a liability like AGR related dues be wound up, under the guise of selling spectrum under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC).

Concern is growing in Germany that a rule introduced as a part of the country’s emergency response to coronavirus is fuelling the creation of thousands of so-called zombie firms that could end up sapping the economy for years to come, the Financial Times reported. Under a government waiver introduced in March, German companies adversely affected by the pandemic do not have to file for insolvency. The rule was supposed to be phased out at the end of September, but justice minister Christine Lambrecht wants to extend it until next March.

Genting Hong Kong, one of the territory’s leading cruise ship operators, has halted payments on debts of almost $3.4bn in the latest financial blow for an industry that has been devastated by the coronavirus pandemic, the Financial Times reported. The company, controlled by Malaysian billionaire Lim Kok Thay, said on Wednesday evening that it would “temporarily suspend all payments to the group’s financial creditors” and seek to restructure its debt.

The eurozone is likely to suffer a sharp increase in unemployment this autumn even as the economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic takes hold, the European Central Bank has warned, the Financial Times reported. Top ECB policymakers voiced fears that the labour market was lagging behind the rest of the economy at their monetary policy meeting last month, according to minutes published on Thursday.

The Swiss parent company of STA Travel has filed for insolvency but says “day to day operations may continue” at subsidiaries including the UK business, Travel Weekly reported. STA Travel Holding AG is the holding company of the youth travel specialist which is owned by Diethelm Keller Holding (DKH). Administrators are due to be appointed to determine the “next steps” for the holding company, but the firm confirmed the process applies only to the Swiss business and not to STA Travel in the UK, which has 52 stores and an Atol licence to carry more than 34,000 passengers a year.

Fosun International Ltd. is poised to lose its 20% stake in Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group, the latest in a series of failed overseas deals for the Shanghai-based insurance, health care and tourism conglomerate, Bloomberg News reported. A consortium of Montreal-based Cirque du Soleil creditors is set to take control of the struggling circus operator, people familiar with the matter said. The company filed for bankruptcy protection in June as the Covid-19 pandemic slammed its distinctive global chain of musical, acrobatic shows.

Offshore oil servicers are going bust at the fastest pace in three years as explorers spurn high-cost drilling to deal with a worldwide slump in commodity prices, Bloomberg News reported. The debacle, triggered by the pandemic-driven drop in oil prices, has already claimed some of the biggest companies that supply rigs, transportation and other support services to deep-water drillers. Noble Corp. and Diamond Offshore Drilling Inc. have filed for Chapter 11 since the start of the pandemic-driven oil downturn, while Valaris Plc filed for bankruptcy Wednesday. Firms including Transocean Ltd.