Headlines

Rio de Janeiro’s utility Light SA reached an agreement with creditors, moving a step closer to leaving a bankruptcy protection process that started last year, Bloomberg News reported. The deal includes 1 billion reais ($200 million) in equity injection from the company’s main shareholders, Nelson Tanure, Ronaldo Cezar Coelho and Carlos Alberto Da Veiga Sicupira, who own a combined 65% of the company.

The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) has stayed insolvency proceedings against Captain GR Gopinath's Deccan Charters till April 26, 2024, its next date of hearing, the Economic Times of India reported. Earlier, the Bengaluru bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) had directed initiation of Corporate Insolvency Resolution Process (CIRP), admitting a plea of financial creditor Krone Finstock claiming a default of around Rs 10 crore.

Thai retailer Central Group has acquired the landmark KaDeWe property in central Berlin from the insolvent Austrian company Signa in what it said was another step towards buying the group, Reuters reported. Central said in a statement on Friday that it was optimistic about talks to acquire the entire KaDeWe Group, which includes Alsterhaus in Hamburg, and Oberpollinger in Munich. The Thai retailer already holds a 50.1% majority stake in the group.

China's securities regulator issued draft rules on Friday to strengthen the supervision of company listings, delistings and computer-driven programme trading, in a move to improve the stock market and protect investors' interests, Reuters reported. The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) will raise the bar for initial public offerings (IPOs), force unqualified companies to delist, and strengthen the oversight of high-frequency trading, according to draft rules put out for public opinion.

Singapore’s central bank kept its monetary policy unchanged as it cautioned that inflation is set to stay high for at least a few quarters, the Wall Street Journal reported. The decision came as advance estimates for the city-state’s economic growth in the first quarter missed expectations, but not enough to cause much concern among analysts. After standing pat for a fourth straight time, the Monetary Authority of Singapore said Friday that the current settings are needed “to keep a restraining effect” on imported inflation and domestic price pressures.

Argentina’s central bank cut its main interest rate for the third time since President Javier Milei took office as investors bet on a fresh inflation slowdown in the South American nation, Bloomberg News reported. Policymakers lowered rates to 70% from 80% on Thursday, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. The drop was later confirmed by a central bank statement and communicated to traders on the local Siopel system. Borrowing costs have fallen from 133% in December, when the reference instrument was the Leliq note.

Colombia is trying to cut interest rates at a pace that won’t surprise markets, trigger destabilizing capital outflows or jeopardize the aim of hitting the inflation target range by mid-2025, the head of the central bank said, Bloomberg News reported. The fastest consumer price rises among peers, and above-target inflation expectations are “elements of concern” that call for prudence from policymakers, Governor Leonardo Villar said. But if the inflation outlook brightens the bank might accelerate the pace of monetary easing.

El Salvador returned to global debt markets with an offering that will pay investors a higher interest rate if the government fails to win credit upgrades or a deal with the International Monetary Fund, Bloomberg News reported. The Central American nation priced $1 billion in debt due in 2030 at 89.923 cents on the dollar to yield 12%, according to people familiar with the matter. The coupon is 9.25%, they said, and the note amortizes starting in 2028. The deal includes an additional interest-only security tied to nation’s credit score or an IMF deal.

South Korea’s central bank held its base rate steady for a 10th consecutive time, as widely expected, keeping its guard up against still-stubborn inflation, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Bank of Korea’s decision signals that it is in no rush to ease policy, especially at a time when expectations for the U.S. possible rate cut in June are receding after hotter-than-expected consumer inflation earlier this week. The BOK on Friday kept its benchmark seven-day repurchase rate unchanged at 3.50%, a 15-year high set in January 2023.

Seventeen months after exiting bankruptcy proceedings, Santiago-based Latam Airlines Group SA is feeling confident enough with its finances to seek new transactions and declare itself “open to opportunities,” according to its top executive, Bloomberg News reported. “The pandemic and the Chapter 11 process was very hard for Latam and for its shareholders that lost everything, but they allowed us to resurface as a group that is financially much stronger than before the pandemic,” Chief Executive Officer Roberto Alvo told Bloomberg News in Santiago.