Headlines

Thames Water has won court approval to secure a £3bn cash lifeline from some of its biggest creditors, The Guardian reported. The company will need to hold a formal vote to win support from the majority of creditors in January, before its deal is rubber-stamped by the courts in February. The decision, which covers a complex debt-restructuring effort, was essential to ensure the company has enough money to stave off temporary nationalisation, Thames said.

The Financial Stability Board (FSB) on Wednesday pitched recommendations for governments to reduce risks around hedge funds, insurers and other non-bank financial intermediaries, which now account for almost half of global financial assets, Reuters reported. The sector of non-bank financial intermediation has grown by around 130% between 2009 and 2023, making markets more vulnerable for stress events, according to the Basel-based FSB, which acts as the G20's financial risk watchdog.

Indonesia’s apparel maker PT Pan Brothers avoided bankruptcy after it secured creditors’ approval to restructure 8.6 trillion rupiah ($537 million) of debt, Bloomberg News reported. More than 90% of the creditors gave their nod on the company’s latest debt proposal, according to Khusaini, a judge at Indonesia’s Jakarta court, after a voting on Wednesday. “The result will be formalized in a consultative meeting on December 23,” Khusaini, who goes by one name, said.

Indonesia’s central bank stood pat again at its December policy meeting, continuing to hold rates steady for a third straight time as it looks to support the rupiah and the economy, the Wall Street Journal reported. Bank Indonesia’s decision to keep its benchmark seven-day reverse repo rate at 6.00% on Wednesday had been expected to be a close one. Four out of seven economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had forecast a hold, while three had projected a 25-basis-point cut.

Distressed Hong Kong property firm New World Development Co. is in talks with banks to extend the due dates of some bilateral loans, adding to concerns over its ability to service one of the heaviest debt loads of its kind, Bloomberg News reported. It’s unclear how much of a delay the builder is seeking for each loan. But the efforts show the company — which had total liabilities of HK$220 billion ($28.3 billion) at the end of June — is exploring ways to alleviate financial pressure after recording its first annual loss in two decades.

Thailand’s central bank held its benchmark interest rate steady in a widely expected move as inflation remains low and the economy has yet to show firm signs of recovery, the Wall Street Journal reported. With the Thai economy facing headwinds from intensified external competition and higher uncertainty, the Bank of Thailand said Wednesday that its policy committee voted unanimously to maintain its policy rate at 2.25%. Seven economists polled by The Wall Street Journal had expected the central bank to stand pat.

Price pressures in Canada unexpectedly eased in November even as core measures of consumer inflation remained sticky, leaving the door open to further interest-rate cuts in the new year but backing the central bank’s shift to a more measured approach, the Wall Street Journal reported. The consumer price index was unchanged last month, where economists expected a 0.1% advance after an acceleration to 0.4% growth the month before, Statistics Canada said Tuesday. That left annual inflation to cool slightly to 1.9% from 2% in October, where economists had expected it to remain.

Chile’s central bank cut its key interest rate by a quarter point for the third meeting and delivered a stern warning on short-term inflation challenges, raising the odds of a coming pause to its easing cycle, Bloomberg News reported. Policymakers led by Rosanna Costa voted unanimously to lower borrowing costs to 5% late Tuesday, as expected by all analysts in a Bloomberg survey except three who forecast no change. Rates have tumbled from 11.25% in mid-2023. In an accompanying statement, policymakers wrote that the inflation outlook has become more daunting.

Hong Kong's securities regulator on Wednesday approved four cryptocurrency exchanges in the city's latest effort to stay competitive in a race to become a global centre for digital asset trading, Reuters reported. Hong Kong has been promoting itself as a hub for assets such as cryptocurrencies in a effort to maintain its attractions as a financial centre. The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission said it had granted licences to Accumulus GBA Technology (Hongkong) Co., DFX Labs Company, Hong Kong Digital Asset EX, and Thousand Whales Technology (BVI).

The number of people going financially insolvent across England and Wales was 25% higher in November this year than in the same month in 2023, according to Insolvency Service figures, the Independent reported. Some 10,012 people entered insolvency in England and Wales in November 2024, which was also a 12% jump when compared with the previous month. The insolvencies were made up of 589 bankruptcies, 3,693 debt relief orders (DROs) and 5,730 individual voluntary arrangements (IVAs).