Headlines

Indonesia's leading oil and gas shipper PT Berlian Laju Tanker reached a deal with creditors to restructure its $1.9 billion debt, averting what could have been one of the country's biggest bankruptcies in years, Reuters reported. Once the world's third-largest chemical shipper, the group secured support for its restructuring plan on Thursday, just four days before a court-mandated deadline. "A deal has been reached with 100 percent of secured creditors voting for it," William Shia, head of Asian investments at Berlian Laju creditor Gramercy, told Reuters shortly after the vote.

National Australia Bank Ltd.'s restructuring of its U.K. operations is on track and the unit is now profitable, however it continues to face challenges in a difficult U.K. market, its chief executive said, The Wall Street Journal MarketWatch reported. Consumer and business confidence in Australia also remains "fragile," and both companies and individuals here will likely remain reluctant to commit to major investments until sentiment regarding the economic outlook improves, Cameron Clyne said Sunday in an interview with Australian Broadcasting Corp.'s Inside Business program. Mr.

A ruling from the European Union's top court will force Spain to make it easier for mortgage holders to escape foreclosure by challenging onerous mortgage terms in court, The Wall Street Journal reported. Thursday's decision from the EU Court of Justice could open the door for thousands of Spaniards to renegotiate tough mortgages, but risks hurting Spain's efforts to fix a broken banking sector. Madrid already has asked other euro-zone countries for some €40 billion ($51.8 billion) in loans to prop up local lenders that had bet big on real estate during a decadelong economic boom.

A dispute over the sacking of civil servants has stalled talks between Greece and the “troika” of international lenders, delaying disbursement of €2.8bn in bailout aid due this month amid fears the country’s bailout programme is already veering off track, the Financial Times reported. A joint statement by the European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund said: “Significant progress has been made but a few issues remain outstanding.” It added that the mission would return in April after more technical work had been done.

Germany has boasted of its near-balanced budget ahead of Thursday's European Union summit in Brussels, calling itself a model for all of Europe, The Wall Street Journal reported. But German businesses and economists say there is a hidden price tag: Europe's biggest economy has been neglecting investment in its infrastructure for years, hurting the country's potential to grow and create jobs. Germany spends significantly less on public infrastructure than the U.S.

Nathan Tinkler became Australia's youngest billionaire in record time thanks to a series of aggressive bets on the country's coal mining sector, Reuters reported. But the man who started his career as a pit electrician acknowledged on Thursday he may have attempted one risky deal too many, leaving him with an undiversified portfolio that was heavily exposed to plummeting coal prices. "I got left holding the can," Tinkler told an Australian court during a grilling about his failure to pay junior coal explorer Blackwood Corp Ltd A$28.4 million ($29.1 million) for an agreed share placement deal.

The government has launched a review of pre-pack insolvencies, the controversial practices that can enable companies to dump pension liabilities, Professional Pensions reported. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills said the review, announced during a parliamentary debate, would begin in "late spring" although a timescale had yet to be set. Pre-packs involve arranging the sale of a business before an insolvency is triggered, with the transaction going through as soon as an administrator is formally appointed.

Dana Gas, the Abu Dhabi-listed energy firm, said a shareholder meeting to vote on the restructuring of the $920 million sukuk did not met the required quorum, Reuters reported. A new meeting has been scheduled for March 21, the company said in a filing to the Abu Dhabi stock exchange on Thursday. Dana became the first company in UAE to miss repayment of a maturing bond on October 31 but agreed new terms with a creditor committee representing bondholders, which included investment firms Ashmore Group and BlackRock, a week later.

The UK government’s Insolvency Service is all but insolvent, the Financial Times reported. Experts suggest the group, which polices bankrupt companies, liquidates failed businesses and disqualifies unfit directors, would be broke had it not received an emergency injection of cash from the government. After reporting an underlying deficit of £12m last year, the agency is heading for a deficit of £5m to £7m for 2012-13, according to Whitehall officials.

The lawmakers of the European Union gave austerity a poke in the eye Wednesday by overwhelmingly rejecting the bloc’s proposed budget of €960 billion in its current form, the International Herald Tribune reported. E.U. leaders deadlocked over the seven-year plan in November but finally reached a deal last month after a 24-hour marathon of talks that resulted in spending cuts for the first time in the Union’s history.