Headlines

Piaggio Aerospace, which entered extraordinary receivership in late 2018, has lined up €30 million ($35.79 million) in new financing, clearing the way for the Italian manufacturer of the Avanti Evo pusher turboprop to fully resume operations and continue the effort to find a buyer, Aviation International News reported. The financing agreement with Banca lfis follows approval from the Italian Ministry of Economic Development and the approval of the Supervisory Committee.

New regulations issued by China’s financial authorities may help to smooth the resolution of bond defaults and exchanges and to improve transparency surrounding the bond-exchange process, but the effectiveness of the changes will ultimately depend on how they are implemented in practice, says Fitch Ratings. The Shanghai and Shenzhen stock exchanges, under the supervision of the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC), released formal rules on corporate bond exchanges on 30 July, Fitch Ratings reported.

The U.K. is entering a critical phase in the coronavirus crisis that could shape the future of its economy long after the pandemic is gone, Bloomberg News reported. Employers are anxiously awaiting to see whether mounting pressure on Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak will force him to reverse course on plans to phase out wage-support programs. That would echo a proposal this week by Germany, where the finance minister wants to extend support to 24 months.

LATAM Airlines, South America’s largest carrier, on Tuesday reported a net loss of $890 million for the second quarter, hit by the coronavirus pandemic that drove the company into a Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing in May, Reuters reported. The carrier posted a 75% drop in revenue between April and June due to widespread travel restrictions around Latin America. “COVID-19 has had a very significant impact, which is reflected in the company’s numbers,” LATAM CFO Ramiro Alfonsin told journalists.

Scandinavian budget carrier Norwegian’s Swedish division has been denied a credit guarantee by the Swedish national debt office, FlightGlobal reported. The office states that it has “decided to reject” the application because guarantees can only be granted to airlines considered financially viable on 31 December 2019. It says there was a “very high risk” at the time – even before the air transport downturn – that Norwegian would not be able to meet its financial obligations, and that it would not be able to manage further debt.

Argentine bonds extended a recent dip on Tuesday after the government formalized its $65 billion debt restructuring offer, underscoring investor concern about the South American country’s shaky economy despite creditors’ rallying behind a deal, Reuters reported. Argentina’s over-the-counter bonds closed down an average of 0.3% and traded at around 45-50 cents on the dollar, well below the 54.8 cents net present value (NPV) of the government’s proposal. The country’s risk index also edged up.

Privately held restaurant group PizzaExpress said on Tuesday it would close 73 restaurants in the UK, impacting 1,100 jobs, as coronavirus lockdowns and higher costs hurt its business, Reuters reoprted. The UK-based restaurant chain said it has launched a company voluntary arrangement (CVA) to improve its finances by reducing rental agreements and temporarily moving from quarterly to monthly rents. “Hard as this process is, it will protect the jobs of over 9,000 of our colleagues,” Zoe Bowley, the company’s UK and Ireland managing director, said in a statement.

Troubled Spanish renewables firm Abengoa has begun preliminary insolvency proceedings for part of its business in an ongoing restructuring process, the company said in a regulatory filing on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Abengoa said the measure would give it more time to finalise negotiations with creditors and protect the interests of its shareholders. The proceedings relate to Abengoa SA, an entity that was already earmarked to be dissolved as part of the restructuring.

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has ruled that home-buyers cannot drag realty companies through the insolvency process for recovering monies awarded to them by a real estate regulator, The Hindu Business Line reported. The NCLAT ruled that a home-buyer cannot be treated as a financial creditor when the real estate company is unable to honour a decree awarded by the State-level Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA). Home-buyers need to take recourse to the civil law to recover the money.

New company registrations dipped to a five-year low in the first half of the year, as the coronavirus pandemic chilled the business environment, The Irish Times reported. But figures from credit risk analyst CRIF Vision-net point to more positive figures in June as a potential indicator of recovery. A total of 9,853 company start-ups were registered in Ireland in first half of 2020, the lowest number since the first half of 2015, when 8,981 were registered.