Headlines

Finablr, the payments group embroiled in an accounting scandal, said on Monday that founder BR Shetty would resign as director and co-chairman with immediate effect. The company, which grew out of a United Arab Emirates remittance house and is part of the Indian entrepreneur’s business empire, last month appointed law firm Skadden to help investigate potential wrongdoing and theft in relation to about £1bn of undisclosed debt discovered on its balance sheet earlier this year, the Financial Times reported.

The Dutch economy looks set for a less dramatic fall in 2020 than previously expected, economic policy adviser CPB said on Monday, Reuters reported. The euro zone’s fifth-largest economy is expected to shrink 5.1% this year because of the coronavirus crisis, the CPB said, before rebounding with growth of 3.2% in 2021. This year’s recession would still be the worst on record, but it would be less deep than the 6.4% contraction the CPB forecast in June. “This is still an unprecedented blow,” CPB Director Pieter Hasekamp said.

AZB & Partners and De Brauw Blackstone Westbroek advised the resolution professional managing the insolvency of Jet Airways when the airline sold two floors of a Mumbai building to a company controlled by Brookfield Asset Management, the Indian Business Law Journal reported. Khaitan & Co advised Brookfield. The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had given the go-ahead for the ₹4.9 billion (US$65 million) sale after both HDFC, to which Jet Airways had mortgaged the premises, and the committee of creditors of Jet Airways had approved it.

Thailand’s bankruptcy court said on Monday it had scheduled two more days of hearings to consider Thai Airways International Pcl’s request for restructuring, Reuters reported. The Central Bankruptcy Court said in a statement 16 creditors opposed the airline’s restructuring proposals, of which three were institutional creditors and the rest, individual creditors. The court scheduled Aug. 20 and Aug. 25 for additional hearings for those opposing the plan. Thai Airways acting president, however, remained confident after the first hearing on Monday.

EU competition regulators on Monday cleared a 1-billion-euro ($1.2 billion)(915.40 million pounds) plan by Denmark and Sweden to recapitalise virus-hit SAS, saying the measure would prevent the Scandinavian airline’s insolvency, Reuters reported. The plan is part of a larger recapitalisation package which will result in private investors holding a significant stake in SAS following the conversion of outstanding privately-held debt instruments into equity.

Quebec’s pension fund said it spent $75 million in February to double its stake in Cirque du Soleil Entertainment, an investment it was forced to write off in June when the company filed for bankruptcy protection, Bloomberg News reported. Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec’s decision to buy an additional 10% of the live performance company from founder Guy Laliberte came after months of discussions with shareholders, Caisse Chief Executive Officer Charles Emond said Monday. The fund spent $71 million for its initial 10% stake in 2015, he told a panel of lawmakers in Quebec City.

The lira weakened for a fourth day in a sign to traders that the central bank’s efforts to stem its declines by raising the average cost of borrowing are falling short, Bloomberg News reported. The Turkish currency slid almost 0.4% versus the dollar, bringing its depreciation this month to almost 6%, the most in emerging markets. The central bank has sought to anchor the currency by raising the cost of funding ahead of Thursday’s policy meeting. While the benchmark one-week repo rate is at 8.25%, policy makers are offering funding though more expensive channels.

CNN Money Switzerland (CNNMS) will cease operations and file for bankruptcy after the coronavirus pandemic hit revenues, the Swiss business media company said on Monday, Reuters reported. While audience figures for the company’s audiovisual programmes rose sharply over the past six months, revenues contracted as business partners hit by the crisis cancelled or postponed contracts, CNNMS said in a statement.

Libya’s sovereign wealth fund head plans to ask the United Nations to allow it to invest billions of dollars sitting idle in its accounts, after missing out on some $4.1 billion (3.1 billion pounds) in potential equity returns during nearly a decade of sanctions, Reuters reported. The Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) was blacklisted in March 2011 because it was then controlled by the family of toppled ruler Muammar Gaddafi. Its assets were valued at $67 billion in 2012, but LIA plans to update that in October after a review by its financial adviser Deloitte.

Debenhams has insisted its decision to appoint a potential liquidator was merely a matter of procedure as its administrators continue their search for investors to secure the future of one of Britain’s best-known retailers, the Financial Times reoprted. The department store entered administration in April but has continued to trade while taking a series of measures to reduce costs to cope with the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Lazards was appointed to explore a sale in July.