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The number of corporate bankruptcies in Japan in fiscal 2024 climbed 12.0% from the previous year to 10,144, topping 10,000 for the first time in 11 years, Tokyo Shoko Research said Tuesday. The annual figure rose for the third consecutive year, the Japan Times reported. The result reflected a surge in the number of bankruptcies due to labor shortages, particularly among small and midsize companies, and rising prices. The number of business failures linked to soaring labor costs and labor shortages increased 1.6 times to 309, the highest since fiscal 2013.
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Singapore’s policymakers are wrapping up the public feedback process on proposed changes to its insolvency law, part of a broader effort to enhance its appeal as a hub for corporate restructuring in Asia, The Straits Times reported. A key change would broaden a provision in restructuring plans, known as cross-class cramdowns, to prevent shareholders from dissenting, according to a Ministry of Law report. The proposals would also streamline the process of disposing a debtor’s property or issuing new shares, and recommend building incentives into restructuring managers’ compensation.
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China pledged to retaliate against Donald Trump’s latest tariff threat and mobilized state organs to send a message of resilience, raising the risk of a prolonged trade war between the world’s two largest economies, Bloomberg News reported. “The US threat to escalate tariffs on China is a mistake on top of a mistake,” the Chinese Ministry of Commerce said in a Tuesday statement, hours after the US president vowed to impose additional import taxes.
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The European Commission proposed counter-tariffs of 25% on a range of U.S. goods on Monday in response to President Donald Trump's tariffs on steel and aluminium, a document seen by Reuters showed. The tariffs on some goods will take effect May 16 and others later in the year, on December 1, the document said. The goods are wide-ranging and include diamonds, eggs, dental floss, sausages and poultry. The counter-tariffs on almonds and soybeans will take effect on December 1. Read more.
Thailand will increase U.S. imports, lower some of the higher taxes on American goods and address non-tariff barriers, the finance minister said on Tuesday, as the government seeks to negotiate a better deal on new U.S. tariffs, Reuters reported. The tariff of 36% imposed on Southeast Asia's second-largest economy is among the higher rates imposed by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, greater than officials had anticipated.
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Indonesia announced a raft of concessions on U.S. imports Tuesday, including reducing taxes on electronic goods and steel, ahead of trade negotiations with Washington over President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs, Reuters reported. Southeast Asia's biggest economy will send a high-level delegation to the United States next week in hopes of securing a deal to ease the impact of a 32% tariff due to take effect on Wednesday. Indonesia plans to buy U.S.
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German economic institutes have cut their forecast for this year to 0.1% growth from the 0.8% growth expected in September, two sources told Reuters on Tuesday, adding that the revision does not include yet the latest tariffs announced by the United States. Germany was the only G7 economy that failed to grow for the last two years. The tariffs announced by President Donald Trump will deal a major blow to Europe's biggest economy, possibly putting it on track for a third year of recession for the first time in history.
Representatives from top European auto manufacturers met with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and urged politicians on both sides of the Atlantic to lower tariffs, the Wall Street Journal reported. BMW, Volkswagen and Stellantis were among automakers invited to voice their concerns over U.S. tariffs at the meeting on Monday. The Commission said in a statement Tuesday that the industry leaders highlighted the uncertainty tariffs create for integrated supply chains, while voicing their concern over the risks to trade.
China's regulatory body for state assets said on Tuesday it would support central government-owned companies to increase their stock holdings and share buybacks to mitigate the impact of an escalating global trade war on the country's stock market, Reuters reported. Several Chinese state-owned companies, including oil giant Sinopec have already announced plans to buy back shares to bolster investor confidence.
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Panama’s top auditor said Hong Kong-based CK Hutchison owes hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid fees and failed to get necessary clearances for two key Panama Canal ports, dealing a blow to plans by U.S. asset manager BlackRock to buy the ports as part of a $22.8 billion transaction, the Wall Street Journal reported. BlackRock’s acquisition of the ports situated at each end of the Panama Canal, along with some 40 other ports around the world, has become a flashpoint between the U.S. and China as the two superpowers are also squaring off in an escalating trade war.
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