Headlines

The National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), New Delhi Bench, has permitted the withdrawal of corporate insolvency resolution proceedings (CIRP) initiated against ATS Heights Private Limited, the developer of the ATS Knightsbridge project, in exercise of its powers under Section 12A of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), the Hindustan Times reported. The tribunal, through its order dated March 13, allowed an application seeking withdrawal of the insolvency proceedings and dismissed the company's petition as withdrawn.
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While there is currently no countrywide legal route to a financial fresh start in China, some provinces and cities have begun piloting local equivalents of a bankruptcy law, The Straits Times reported. That gap has drawn growing attention in China, where scholars, judges and policymakers – including during the country’s national parliamentary meetings in March – have renewed calls for a nationwide personal bankruptcy system to give failed entrepreneurs a legal way to start again. China adopted an enterprise bankruptcy law in 2006, but it applies only to companies, not individuals.
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Danish Volkswagen supplier Støtek A/S, based in Vojens, has filed for administration, according to boosted.dk. The relevant insolvency court in Sønderborg has placed the company into administration. As a result of the insolvency, all 55 employees have been made redundant. Støtek specialised in highly advanced melting and dosing furnaces for the aluminium industry and supplied the automotive sector in particular. Its customers included Volkswagen, Audi and BMW. Notably, the company had previously been praised by Volkswagen itself for its efficiency.
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Labour is under pressure to explain why the Government has handed a troubled housebuilder more than £300m in taxpayer-backed loans and contracts, The Telegraph reported. Paul Holmes, the shadow housing minister, said there were “questions about Labour’s judgement” after it partnered with Vistry to deliver affordable housing. The London-listed building firm has been handed around £315m in grants and loans, according to Matthew Pennycook, the housing minister.
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Brazil's new Finance Minister, Dario Durigan, plans to adjust the ministry's communication strategy and postpone ​tax measures, including rules on crypto taxation, as the ‌country heads into a presidential election this year, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters. Durigan, who took office on Friday after ​Fernando Haddad stepped down to run for Sao Paulo governor, ​intends to prioritize microeconomic legislation while delaying divisive fiscal ⁠plans to avoid losing political capital in Congress, the ​sources said.
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Dubai's property market is beginning to show early ​signs of weakening nearly three weeks into the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran, with data from analysts showing tanking transaction volumes and some real estate agents ‌pointing to price reductions, Reuters reported. The war, and Tehran's strikes against Israel, U.S. bases and Gulf states including the United Arab Emirates, have pierced Dubai's image as a safe haven for the world's wealthy.
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In 2022, central banks across Asia met a rise in inflation with rate hikes. As the Middle East conflict sends energy prices soaring, markets are watching to see how policymakers will respond this time around, the Wall Street Journal reported. A week of policy decisions saw most banks hold fire as they expressed alarm about the economic threat posed by the war in the Middle East. Central bankers in Japan, Indonesia and Taiwan opted to stay on the sidelines, as did their counterparts in the U.S., Canada, the U.K. and Europe.
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Brazil's Companhia Siderurgica Nacional (SID) jumped 10.9% in Monday's trading after saying it reached agreement for a group of banks to extend the company a $1.2B loan, easing concerns about its ability to meet near-term obligations, SeekingAlpha.com reported. The credit line is expected to be partially secured by certain assets designated for sale and can be increased to $1.4B, Bloomberg reported, citing a regulatory filing.
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For decades, New Zealand has relied on inflating the housing market to engineer a recovery during downturns, but the playbook has failed this time, putting policymakers ⁠in a quandary just as the Middle East war adds a new layer of uncertainty, Reuters reported. Even after the Reserve Bank of New Zealand aggressively slashed the benchmark interest rate from 5.5% to 2.25%, house prices still languish some 20% below their pandemic peak, dismantling the wealth effect that long anchored the economy.
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South Korean President Lee Jae Myung has nominated Shin Hyun-song, a senior Bank for International Settlements official, as the country’s next central bank governor, the Wall Street Journal reported. Shin will replace departing Bank of Korea Governor Rhee Chang-yong, whose four-year term ends on April 20, Lee’s office said in a statement on Sunday. The nominee joined the BIS in 2014 and currently serves as economic adviser and head of the monetary and economic department at the Switzerland-based institution, often known as a bank for central banks.
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