Headlines

Korea Technology Finance Corp. announced on May 11 that it had signed a business agreement with the Busan Bankruptcy Court to support the utilization of intellectual property (IP) held by bankrupt companies and to promote technology transactions among small and medium-sized enterprises, The Asia Business Daily reported. This agreement was established in response to the increasing number of corporate bankruptcies due to prolonged high interest rates and inflation.

Uzbekistan will establish a new Chamber of Court Administrators bringing together all court-appointed insolvency managers under a unified self-governing system, according to a presidential decree signed on May 6, Daryo.uz reported. The new body will be created on the basis of the Uzbekistan Association of Court Administrators and will operate through regional branches in Karakalpakstan, all regions and Tashkent.

Brazilian airline Azul expects a hit of about 1 billion reais ($204.15 million) ‌from higher jet fuel prices this year, but believes it is better positioned than peers to absorb the impact after a recent restructuring, CFO Antonio Carlos Garcia told Reuters. Garcia, who joined Azul in April from planemaker Embraer just as the ​carrier exited chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, noted that fuel accounts for roughly 30% of the firm's ​costs, with the sharp rise in oil prices feeding through quickly.

Already grappling with unresolved audit issues after many of its finance team members left the company, taking with them years of historical financial knowledge, Mary Chia Holdings is now facing claims filed by a creditor amid mounting financial pressure, The Straits Times reported. The Catalist-listed beauty and wellness group said on May 5 that its creditor, Fullink Capital, had officially commenced court proceedings against Mary Chia and wholly owned subsidiary Organica International Holdings, as well as chief executive Ho Yow Ping and chief financial officer Su Jun Ming.

A number of major U.K. businesses have entered administration this week as they struggle amid a wave of expense hikes, Mirror.co.uk reported. This year, high street staples have collapsed into administration including beloved fashion retailers and accessories shops. 1,631 UK businesses filed for administration in 2025, according to the law firm Shakespeare Martineau. Now, even more have been added to the list for this year. Companies entering administration include a longstanding mattress maker, juice brand and construction company.

A U.K. manufacturing company founded more than 60 years ago has entered administration. Compact Orbital Gears Limited, which was founded in 1964, operates as a highly specialised engineering firm, Express.co.uk reported. The business designs, manufactures, and supplies a comprehensive range of gearboxes and test rigs. Gearboxes are components of a machine that control speed and power, while test rigs are custom machines used to test how well other equipment performs before it is used in the real world.

Winnipeg-based clothing retailer Warehouse One is moving to liquidate all of its 128 stores, including Bootlegger, CBC.ca reported. The company began proceedings in Manitoba under the Companies’ Creditors Arrangement Act, saying it was insolvent and could no longer pay staff or rent unless it got court protection.

A small group of bankers in Hong Kong tasked with cleaning up the city’s unprecedented pile of bad debt is done playing nice, Bloomberg News reported. They number under 200 people, less than 0.07% of the city’s finance workforce. But these so-called special asset bankers are up against a large and increasingly urgent task: cutting a HK$200 billion pile of soured debt that’s pushed the city’s distressed loan ratio to a two-decade high.

China’s exports and imports each set monthly records in April, further cementing the country as the world’s leading trading nation as Beijing prepares to welcome President Trump for a summit this week with Xi Jinping, China’s leader, the New York Times reported. China also ran a trade surplus — the excess of exports over imports — of $84.8 billion last month, according to data released on Saturday by the General Administration of Customs. However, that surplus did not set a record.

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey has warned of a "coming wrestle" with the U.S. over stablecoin standards, claiming Friday that dollar tokens lacking direct redemption could flood Britain during a crisis, Decrypt.com reported. "If we want stablecoins to be part of the architecture of payments globally [...] they're only going to work if we have international standards," Bailey said. Bailey, who also chairs the Financial Stability Board (FSB), has long warned that dollar-pegged tokens could erode monetary sovereignty, pushing UK banks toward tokenized deposits over stablecoin issuance.