Headlines

Israeli property developer Africa Israel Investments may struggle to stay in business, its auditors warned on Tuesday, after its Russia-focused subsidiary AFI Development continued to be hit by the weak Russian economy, Reuters reported. "Various factors raise substantial doubt about the continued existence of the company as a going concern," auditors Deloitte and KPMG said in a statement as Africa Israel reported a 163.3 million shekel ($43 million) loss in the second quarter, against a 179 million shekel loss a year earlier.

Mortgage lending in the UK has fallen to its lowest level in 18 months and consumer borrowing has slowed down, suggesting consumers are turning away from large purchases after the Brexit vote, the Financial Times reported. The comprehensive official figures from the Bank of England for July were worse than economists expected and also showed that non-financial companies borrowed less in July than the average of the previous six months. The figures will intensify arguments over the short-term economic effects of the vote for Brexit.

Restructuring the debt of struggling offshore oil service vessel (OSV) and drilling rig companies will take years to complete and complex cases must go through multiple stages, an executive at top Norwegian bank DNB told Reuters on Tuesday. Dozens of exploration rigs and more than 100 service vessels have been mothballed since the plunge in oil prices began in mid-2014, leaving owners unable to repay billions of dollars to banks and bondholders.

Britain should continue paying into the EU budget as part of a post-Brexit deal that would allow it to maintain access to key areas of the single market, according to a paper prepared by a group of five senior policymakers and scholars, the Financial Times reported.

Hanjin Shipping’s creditors have moved up their meeting to consider whether the cargo carrier’s restructuring plan is enough to prevent the company from facing bankruptcy and court receivership. According to The Korea Times, the date for creditors to vote on whether to put the shipper under receivership, originally set for Sept. 2, has been moved up to Tuesday, which has already begun in South Korea. The largest creditor, Korea Development Bank, had set a deadline of Sept.

The number of firms in Singapore being wound up after encountering financial trouble is set to be on a par with last year's number, which was the highest in 11 years, The Straits Times reported. These figures may even understate the levels of distress as such a formal procedure is always the last resort, industry observers note. More companies seem to be going under, and the number of these cases could creep up to higher levels than during the global financial crisis, said Mr Chua Beng Chye, partner in the restructuring and insolvency practice at Rajah & Tann.

A few weeks ago the provincial government in British Columbia made headlines by instituting a 15% extra land transfer tax on any real estate transactions from foreign buyers in an attempt to cool Vancouver’s red-hot real estate market, The Motley Fool reported. Reaction to the new law was strong on both sides of the issue. Realtors, mortgage brokers, and bullish investors decried the move, calling it unfair and racist. This group not only thought the law itself was unfair, but the decision to implement the new tax immediately drew extra ire.

Pacific Andes group executives are disputing creditors' notion that the Peruvian insolvency proceedings for its fishmeal companies can block the New York court's access to those assets, Undercurrent News reported. In recent days, Pacific Andes International Holdings (PAIH) executive director, Jessie Ng, as well as representatives from its Peru-based China Fishery Group subsidiary and suppliers to the Peruvian companies have made statements before the court asserting that China Fishery's current management is best suited to operate the company during its restructuring.

The Alba Iulia Court of Appeal cancelled the insolvency of state-owned energy producer CE Hunedoara at the end of May, but the company filed again for insolvency at the end of June, Romania-Insider.com reported. The two-month intermezzo worsened the company’s financial indicators as its total debt went up by almost EUR 22.5 million, reports local Profit.ro. The company’s liabilities thus reached EUR 320 million. CE Hunedoara is the biggest company in the Valea Jiului area and in the Hunedoara county. It is the only provider of thermal energy in the area.

Cash-strapped Hanjin Shipping Co. said Sunday that its creditors' extended help is crucial for its survival as its negotiations with owners of chartered ships over a cut in leasing rates and to postpone debt repayments to foreign creditors made significant progress, the Yonhap News Agency reported. The country's No.