Headlines

Lenders to Essar Steel India Ltd., the biggest mill being sold under the nation’s insolvency process, are voting to finalize a bid from ArcelorMittal, people with knowledge of the matter said. Arcelor has offered to make an upfront payment of about 395 billion rupees ($5.4 billion) to the banks, the people said, asking not to be identified because the information is private, Bloomberg News reported. The Luxembourg-based suitor later plans to pay the lenders about 25 billion rupees from Essar Steel’s retained earnings, according to the people.

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is arranging 220 billion yen ($2 billion) in financial support for its aircraft unit, which has struggled to deliver its first passenger plane, national broadcaster NHK reported on Tuesday. Mitsubishi Heavy said in a statement that it was considering ways to resolve excess liabilities at the unit, but added it had not yet made any decisions, Reuters reported.

India’s non-bank financial companies have had a tough few months amid the fallout from defaults by one of their own, conglomerate IL&FS group, Bloomberg News reported. The next few months also present a challenge to the NBFCs, which rely heavily on debt issued to the nation’s money market funds for short-term financing. The financiers must repay about 1.2 trillion rupees ($16.3 billion) of commercial paper in October-December, near a record 1.46 trillion rupees in August-October, according to data from Securities and Exchange Board of India. The timing isn’t ideal.

Active fund managers in Europe’s junk bond market believe the end of easy money may give them new grounds to fight back against ETFs, Bloomberg News reported. Some bond pickers claim investors will find it increasingly difficult to exit funds tracking benchmark indexes as liquidity is drained by central banks tightening monetary policy. Illiquidity is especially a concern in high-yield credit, where investors holding cash bonds can face steep penalties if they rush for the exit.

Venezuela’s state-run oil company is preparing to make a $949 million bond payment that’s due Oct. 29, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter. Petroleos de Venezuela SA’s plan to make the coupon and partial principal repayment on the 2020 notes would mark a rare exception for Nicolas Maduro’s government, which has racked up nearly $7 billion in defaulted debt to investors, Bloomberg News reported. This bond is backed by a majority stake in Citgo Holding Inc., meaning a non-payment would allow bondholders to lay claim to the crown jewel of Venezuela’s U.S. assets.

Corporate debt investors navigating an expanding minefield of bond delinquencies in China are reaching for a hedging tool similar to credit-default swaps that was last used more than two years ago, Bloomberg News reported. Since September, China Bond Insurance Co. and Bank of Hangzhou Co. have sold four instruments called credit risk mitigation warrants, which insure creditors against defaults of the underlying debt. These risk hedging instruments are set to become increasingly popular as bond failures pile up, according to Golden Credit Rating International Co.

Creditors of Kenya’s ARM Cement, once the country’s second-largest cement maker but which has been in administration since August, approved on Tuesday the sale of a subsidiary or assets to reduce its debt of $190 million, Reuters reported. The creditors did not identify which subsidiary or assets would be sold, or the possible value of a sale, under Tuesday’s rescue plan, during which the company will remain operational. George Weru, one of the co-administrators from PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), told Reuters they had 12 months to rescue the company.

Jet Airways India Ltd. has approached banks for a moratorium on loans and asked for fresh funds to ease a cash crunch, according to people with direct knowledge of the matter, adding to signs the carrier is sliding deeper into trouble, Bloomberg News reported. The airline has already grounded about a dozen planes as part of a review of its network aimed at reducing unprofitable domestic routes, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the plans aren’t public. The Mumbai-based carrier is also studying laying off more employees in non-core areas, the person said.

Saudi Arabia’s international bonds are underperforming lower-rated emerging market sovereigns, in a sign of how deeply the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi has damaged sentiment toward the kingdom, Reuters reported. Rated A1 by Moody’s, A- by S&P and A+ by Fitch, Saudi Arabia has sold $52 billion in U.S. dollar-denominated bonds since its first international issue in 2016, becoming one of the biggest debt issuers in emerging markets.

The board at India’s Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services Ltd (IL&FS) said on Monday it has appointed two advisers for assisting them in its debt resolution exercise, Reuters reported. The newly appointed board has chosen advisory firms, Arpwood Capital and JM Financial Consultants, which will provide financial and transaction advisory as well as “undertake valuations across divestments and monetisation”, the company said.