Headlines

The Insolvency and Bankruptcy Board of India (IBBI) the regulator for bankruptcy proceedings in the country has issued 15 point guidelines to the committee of creditors (COC) while deciding insolvency cases with an aim to stem value erosion by curbing procedural delays and increase co-ordination among members, the Economic Times of India reported. The guidelines asks creditors to resolve any inter-se disputes between the members, particularly in relation to claims, preferably, through dialogue, or other non-adversarial means and avoid litigation.

India’s central bank left its policy rate unchanged, in an attempt to rein in relatively high inflation driven partly by elevated food prices, the Wall Street Journal reported. Reserve Bank of India Gov. Shaktikanta Das said Thursday that the monetary-policy committee decided to maintain its policy repo rate at 6.50%. He said that the committee will also remain focused on the withdrawal of accommodation.

With an offer of $5 million, U.K.-based outdoor and sports gear retailer Mountain Warehouse has emerged as the stalking horse bidder for Eastern Mountain Sports’ intellectual property. The bankruptcy auction ends by Aug. 30, when the deal is scheduled to close, per court documents, RetailDive.com reported. After that date, EMS will close any inventoried stores until the deal is complete, and it would be up to Mountain Warehouse to reopen them. If EMS accepts a higher bid, Mountain Warehouse is entitled to a $150,000 break-up fee, according to court filings.

South Korea announced a series of steps intended to increase housing supplies as it tries to temper a rebounding property market that has frustrated potential buyers and made the central bank cautious about a policy pivot, Bloomberg News reported. The government of President Yoon Suk Yeol plans to ease restrictions on redevelopment projects, help speed up the construction of apartments and provide loan guarantees to developers, according to a Finance Ministry statement that contained a slew of measures.

Chile’s consumer prices rose more than forecast in July, supporting the central bank’s decision to hold its interest steady last week, interrupting a year of aggressive monetary easing amid risks including higher energy costs, Bloomberg News reported. Prices increased 0.7% from June, more than the 0.6% median estimate from analysts in a Bloomberg survey. The annual inflation rate ticked up to 4.6% in the chained series, the National Statistics Institute reported on Thursday.

The Reserve Bank of Australia’s governor, Michele Bullock, warned again on Thursday that the central bank may still need to raise interest rates further as inflation risks continue to lurk more than two years after policy action started to cool it down, the Wall Street Journal reported. Bullock told a community meeting in her hometown of Armidale, New South Wales, that inflation is lower than where it was a year ago, but remains “too high.” “The board remains vigilant with respect to upside risks on inflation and will not hesitate to raise rates if it needs to.

Bank of Canada officials worried about the risk of a yearslong slump in consumer spending amid signs of labor-market weakness, according to a summary of their deliberations leading up to a July rate cut, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Bank of Canada delivered a second straight quarter-point cut in July, taking its policy rate to 4.5%, and signaled more reductions were in the offing given that economic slack, or spare capacity, has increased. Gov.

China Vanke Co.’s sales slump extended in July, adding to liquidity pressure at the developer that’s become the latest focal point of the nation’s property crisis, Bloomberg News reported. Contracted sales for the month slumped 13% from a year earlier to 19.2 billion yuan ($2.7 billion), following a 29.3% slide in June, corporate filings show. The total was 24% lower on month. The protracted sales slump is escalating investor concern over its liquidity.

Yorkshire-based developer Harworth has filed a winding-up petition against modular firm TopHat, HousingToday.uk reported. A petition was filed at the High Court on 15 July by Harworth Estates Residential Development Limited against TopHat Enterprises Ltd. The case will be heard at the business and property courts in Leeds on 13 August, with Harworth claiming it is a creditor of TopHat. A winding up petition is a legal action that can be taken by a creditor against a company that owes it £750 or more.

Banks are expected to take more enforcement actions on distressed buildings amid Hong Kong’s property market downturn, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, Bloomberg News reported. That’s based on the estimate of the firm’s partner Christopher So, whose team oversees a portfolio of real estate under receivership valued at more than HK$10 billion ($1.28 billion). “Lenders tend to give borrowers some breathing space at the beginning.