Headlines

The number of companies that became insolvent in July was 16% higher than during the same period last year, according to official data, the Independent reported. In England and Wales, 2,191 businesses went bust, according to the Insolvency Service, compared with 1,890 in July 2023. The figures included 320 compulsory liquidations – when a company is forced to shut down, usually because it has debts it cannot pay – which is the highest monthly number since before the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Supreme Court in India on Tuesday refused to restrain the Interm resolution professional (IRP) of debt-ridden Think & Learn Pvt Ltd, the parent of online educational services company Byju's, from constituting a committee of creditors (CoC), the Economic Times of India reported. A bench led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud agreed to hear the case in detail on Thursday, including the bankrupt edtech company’s request to stall the formation of CoC.

The bankruptcy court in Kolkata has approved the Simplex Projects revival plan submitted by its promoter Sudarsshhan Das Mundhra, the Economic Times of India reported. Before the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) nod, the company’s lenders approved the plan with 99.51% voting in favour of Mundhra’s resolution plan. The plan involves a proposal to pay Rs 235.28 crore against the total admitted liabilities of Rs 2,108.49 crore. The Kolkata-based infrastructure developer is a medium enterprise under the Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises Development Act, 2006.

Synlait Milk said on Tuesday it aims to raise NZ$217.8 million ($133.34 million) from its top two investors in a bid to reduce its debt, a failure of which could lead to the New Zealand-based dairy producer's insolvency, Reuters reported. Synlait will issue shares worth NZ$185 million to Bright Dairy & Food Co at NZ$0.6 apiece, raising the Chinese company's stake in Synlait to 65.25% from 39.01%.

More than 6,400 Fisker Ocean SUVs had been delivered as of April, but if – as seems increasingly likely – Fisker goes out of business and its assets are liquidated to pay off creditors, all those vehicles and their owners could essentially be left out in the cold, the Globe and Mail reported. Fisker began delivering the Ocean SUV to Canadian customers at the end of 2023. The company hasn’t disclosed how many were sold here, but they’re a rare sight on the roads. There were issues related to customer service and vehicle reliability.

Thailand’s central bank held its benchmark interest rate at a decade high again, amid renewed political uncertainty and some calls to start easing to aid the economic recovery, the Wall Street Journal reported. The Bank of Thailand said Wednesday that its policy committee voted six to one to maintain its one-day repurchase rate at 2.50%. One member voted to cut the policy rate by 25 basis points, “to reflect Thailand’s lower potential growth as a result of structural challenges,” and help ease debt-servicing burdens for borrowers, it said.

Indonesia’s central bank kept interest rates on hold for a fourth straight meeting, declining to join some of its peers in Asia who have kicked off their easing cycles ahead of the Federal Reserve, the Wall Street Journal reported. Bank Indonesia kept its benchmark seven-day reverse repo rate at 6.25% on Wednesday, as widely anticipated. All seven economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected the Indonesian bank to maintain policy settings untouched, though some analysts saw a slim chance of a cut as inflation cools and the rupiah steadies.

Argentina's economic activity likely fell in June versus the same month a year earlier, analysts said, back in the red after a rare rise the month before amid tough austerity measures and cost-cutting under libertarian President Javier Milei, Reuters reported. The median forecast from 16 analysts sees economic activity down 1.9% year-on-year in the sixth month of the year, dropping back from May's 2.3% rise, as growth in the grains and gas sectors is weighed down by weak consumption and construction.

German authorities have seized almost 25 million euros ($28 million) in cash in a nationwide operation targeting cryptocurrency ATMs, the country's financial regulator BaFin said in a statement on Tuesday, Reuters reported. Authorities seized 13 machines that had been operating without the necessary permits, posing a risk of money-laundering, according to the regulator. The ATMs had been used to trade bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies and were located in 35 different locations, the statement said.

China told some trust companies to stop raising money from individuals to fund local government financing vehicles in its latest effort to curb growing financial risks, Bloomberg News reported. The National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA) recently banned some lower-rated trust firms from selling wealth products underpinned by LGFVs on concerns of potential defaults. It’s unclear how many of China’s 67 trust firms received below-par ratings in the watchdog’s latest assessment.