Headlines

PizzaExpress bondholders have warned the restaurant chain that its future is at risk, urging its Chinese owners to work with them on a financial restructuring, the Financial Times reported. A group of investors who own almost 70 per cent of the £465m of senior secured bonds told the board they were willing to provide extra money to secure the business, said two people with familiar with the situation.Their letter asked management to move quickly to restructure the group’s debt-laden balance sheet. Analysts from S&P on Monday said that a “distressed exchange or a debt re

Ghana has too much power and gas, and that’s a bad thing for government finances. With capacity that’s almost double the country’s peak demand needs, Ghana’s electricity utility has to pay independent producers about $450 million every year for energy that it doesn’t need or use, Bloomberg News reported. This adds to the sector’s liabilities, which are the biggest debt threat to a nation that seven months ago completed its 16th bailout program with the International Monetary Fund.

China Minsheng Investment Group Corp. once sought to be the nation’s version of JPMorgan Chase & Co. Instead it’s the country’s biggest dollar bond defaulter this year, Bloomberg News reported. With $2 billion of debt maturing in 2020, the company is scrambling to raise cash. It’s slashed executive pay as much as 83% and is selling assets. One of the largest private investment companies in China, the group was set up by 59 non-state companies in 2014 with a mandate to help Chinese private enterprise expand globally.

European Bank for Reconstruction & Development will present a set of proposals to Turkish authorities and banks on Friday on how to overcome the nation’s bad-debt predicament, Bloomberg News reported. The London-based lender is suggesting that the definition of non-performing loans be updated in line with those of the European Banking Authority and that guidance be given on how banks value and manage collateral for credit. It is also urging that a longer-term solution be put in place on how troubled debt is restructured.

South African Airways, the beleaguered state-owned airline that’s reliant on government financial support to continue operating, has started a restructuring process that could see its workforce cut by almost a fifth, Bloomberg News reported. As required by South African law, the carrier has started talks with labor unions about its plans, which could affect 944 of its 5,149 employees, SAA said in an emailed statement. The proposed restructuring includes all SAA divisions and departments, excluding its Mango Airlines, Air Chefs and SAA Technical units, it said.

British nursery retailer Mamas & Papas Retail was sold to private equity firm Bluegem Capital Partners, administrator Deloitte said on Friday, leading to the shutdown of six loss-making stores and 73 job losses, Reuters reported. The news comes three days after baby products retailer Mothercare said it would shut all its British stores. Mamas & Papas sells pushchairs, car seats, furniture, clothing and other nursery products.

British budget airlines easyJet and Jet2.com have bought the take-off and landing slots of failed travel company Thomas Cook at London Gatwick and Manchester airports, respectively, Reuters reported. Thomas Cook’s UK business and airline went into immediate insolvency when the company collapsed in September, and a court appointed an official receiver to liquidate its assets.

China’s local governments are helping inject fresh capital into small lenders across the country, part of an expanding campaign to restore confidence in the world’s largest banking system, Bloomberg News reported. At least 10 small Chinese banks have raised money this year by selling shares packaged with non-performing loans, in several cases to buyers controlled by local authorities. In at least one deal, the NPLs were sold at above-market rates.

Greece has lost the dubious distinction of being the riskiest government borrower in the eurozone after its bond yields dipped below Italy’s for the first time since 2008, the Financial Times reported. Greek bonds have staged a powerful rally this year as investors hungry for yields have snapped up debt from former euro area crisis spots — a trend that gained further momentum after Standard & Poor’s upgraded Athens’ credit rating to BB- late last month.

Investors in frontier-market bonds are on course to get their best returns in seven years. It looks like it’ll be a lot tougher in 2020, Bloomberg News reported. Some of the biggest money managers are already becoming more selective. BNP Paribas Asset Management, which oversees almost $500 billion in assets, is sticking to countries with sound fiscal management such as Ivory Coast, or those with investment-grade ratings like Kazakhstan, Uruguay and Morocco. Aberdeen Standard Investments sees opportunities to get above-market returns by buying the bonds of Sri Lanka, Ecuador and Ghana.