Headlines

Minister for Finance Michael Noonan has dismissed comments made by the former IMF chief of mission to Ireland, that the Irish government blew an opportunity to get a debt writedown deal. Ashoka Mody, the former IMF mission chief, said Ireland should have gotten a superior deal in 2011, the Irish Times reported. Speaking on Newstalk’s Lunchtime programme Monday, Mr Mody said Ireland had its opportunity.

Chinese provincial governments have unveiled ambitious investment plans in recent weeks in a bid to shore up flagging growth, even as the central government in Beijing pledges to reduce the country’s heavy reliance on fixed investment, the Financial Times reported. Economists have warned that excessive and wasteful investment is leading to diminishing financial returns in China as well as rising debt and environmental degradation.

Kaisa Group Holdings Ltd. is seeking to expedite a debt restructuring as the troubled developer said it faces as much as 35.5 billion yuan ($5.7 billion) of repayments to creditors this year, Bloomberg News reported. An initial meeting with onshore lenders has been scheduled for today, Kaisa, which is being acquired by Sunac China Holdings Ltd., said in a Hong Kong exchange filing on Monday. Kaisa said it’s aiming to reach an agreement with its offshore creditors by the end of March and expects to complete the restructuring the following month.

The European Central Bank has extended another €5bn in emergency loans to banks in Greece, following fears that a spate of withdrawals could leave lenders in the country short of funding, the Financial Times reported. The ECB decision, made after a call with members of its governing council on Thursday, came as Alexis Tsipras, Greek prime minister, took his case for a new financial rescue deal to an EU summit in Brussels.

Creditors of Eneva SA stand to lose as much as 65 percent of their investment in the Brazilian power producer as part of a bankruptcy protection plan unveiled on Thursday. Rio de Janeiro-based Eneva, which in December filed for protection from creditors after failing to honor part of 2.33 billion reais ($822 million) in debt, offered a lump sum of 250,000 reais to each unsecured creditor, according to a securities filing. Creditors who accept the largest discounts will be given top priority when it comes to repayments, the filing said.

On 4 December 2014, the EU Council reported that it had endorsed a compromise agreement reached with the European parliament on the proposed regulation amending Council Regulation (EC) 1346/2000 on insolvency proceedings, aka the insolvency regulation. The announcement came after more than two years of evaluations, reports and ongoing discussions with the legislating bodies of the EU; it marks the final chapter in a drive to reform the insolvency regulation, economia reported in an analysis.

Ukraine’s $40 billion international bailout plan and cease-fire agreement are paving the way for the government to start debt restructuring talks with creditors, Bloomberg News reported. The International Monetary Fund-led package comprises of some $27 billion in aid from multinational lenders and foreign governments, as well as about $13 billion from Ukrainian“debt operations,” Finance Minister Natalie Jaresko said in an interview on Thursday.

In recent weeks Denmark’s fixed exchange-rate regime has come under extreme strain, as moves by the European Central Bank have caused the value of the euro to plummet, the International New York Times reported. That has led to grave concern here, as speculators bet that Denmark’s currency peg to the euro will break, giving them outsize profits on the Danish assets they hold as the crown rises in value. For the Danes, however, breaking the crown-euro peg could be an economic catastrophe.

Offshore bond investors of Kaisa Group Holdings Ltd. are becoming increasingly concerned about the risk the troubled Chinese developer embroiled in an anti-graft investigation could miss coupon payments next month, Bloomberg News reported. Kaisa must pay $16.1 million of interest March 18 on its $250 million of bonds due 2017, and $35.5 million March 19 on its $800 million securities due 2018, Bloomberg-compiled data show. It avoided a default last Friday by making an interest payment of $23 million on its 2020 notes before the grace period deadline.

Corporate debt restructurings will become easier in France under proposals being considered by lawmakers to restrict shareholder involvement in the process, Bloomberg News reported. France’s Parliament will begin discussions today on a reform bill to bolster the nation’s growth potential. Economy Minister Emmanuel Macron is proposing to speed up insolvency procedures by making it simpler for companies to negotiate with lenders.