Headlines

A troubled Chinese state-own firm is giving bondholders a stark choice on $1.25 billion of dollar bonds: take a haircut of as much as 64% or accept delayed repayment with sharply reduced coupons, a BloombergQuint reported. Tewoo Group Corp., which is owned by the Tianjin local government, proposed the exchange/tender offer on Friday on three dollar bonds due to mature over the next three years as well as a perpetual note. The news came after a bank paid a coupon on a $500 million bond last week which was backed by a standby letter of credit.

Creditors of Abu Dhabi-based Al Jaber Group are considering enforcing claims against the owners of the group after delays in executing a restructuring agreement, the latest in a long-running debt dispute, two sources familiar with the matter said. Al Jaber, best known as a contractor but with interests across a range of sectors, has struggled since a construction downturn in the United Arab Emirates after the global financial crisis, Reuters reported.

Euro zone business growth has almost ground to a halt this month as a downturn in the manufacturing industry appears to be increasingly affecting the bloc's dominant services industry, a survey showed on Friday. Worryingly for policymakers at the European Central Bank, who have so far failed to stoke demand and inflation, forward-looking indicators suggest the bloc's economy is on shaky ground, the International New York Times reported on a Reuters story.

Italy's ruling parties failed to reach an agreement on Friday over a planned reform of the euro zone's bailout fund, two lawmakers said, as Rome frets about the impact the changes could have on the country's massive public debt, the International New York Times reported on a Reuters story. "There are strong critical points in the reform. We continue to work on it," Raphael Raduzzi, a lawmaker for the ruling 5-Star Movement told Reuters at the end of a meeting of top coalition figures including Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte.

Several factions of Argentina's bondholders are jostling for influence ahead of restructuring talks with incoming president Alberto Fernandez as Latin America's third-largest economy tries to avert a default, more than a dozen sources familiar with the process said, the International New York Times reported on a Reuters story. Argentina is once again buckling under the weight of its sovereign debts, which total around $100 billion, and Fernandez needs to urgently agree a deal with creditors to ease the burden and give his government space to try to revive the economy.

Private sector activity in the eurozone weakened in November as evidence mounted that the deterioration in the bloc’s export-driven manufacturing sector is increasingly affecting its hitherto buoyant services industry, the Financial Times reported. The IHS purchasing managers’ index for services in the single-currency area fell from 52.2 in October to 51.5 this month, pushing the composite reading — which includes services and manufacturing — 0.3 points lower to 50.3. The reading is close to the 50 mark, which indicates no change in activity levels. The equivalent inde

Nigerians are set to become poorer for the fourth year in a row, with economic growth, estimated by the IMF at 2.3 per cent, undershooting the 2.6 per cent increase in population, the Financial Times reported. The fund does not see this scenario reversing before 2022, a grim prospect for the 200m people in a country whose gross domestic product per head is a little over $2,000. Despite lower global prices, the oil sector has made modest progress this year. Production is up thanks to the Egina oilfield coming on line and fewer acts of sabotage by militants in the Niger Delta.

Chinese private equity group Hony Capital plans to tighten its grip on PizzaExpress with an agreement to buy an additional £80m of its bonds at a steep discount, giving it more control over any restructuring of the UK restaurant chain’s debts, the Financial Times reported. The move, which was opposed by some debt holders over concerns they could be marginalised, makes a restructuring more likely, analysts said. PizzaExpress, which was bought by Hony in a £900m leveraged buyout in 2014, revealed a debt pile of £1.1bn in its annual report in April.

Weak UK banking and wealth management performances dragged on Investec’s first-half profit, piling pressure on the Anglo-South African financial services firm’s shares, Reuters reported. Investec said on Thursday the spin-off of its asset management division next year was on track, a plan that will leave it with just banking and wealth management operations. Shares in Investec are down by almost 10% following a profit warning in September, and were around 2.5% lower in both London and Johannesburg by 0823 GMT.

A subsidiary of China’s largest construction group has suspended work on one of the nation’s tallest skyscrapers after the developer became the latest in a string of companies to default on a payment, the Financial Times reported. The default highlights the growing challenges faced by China’s construction groups as the slowing economy trims credit supply, putting the once runaway mega-tower building boom under stress.