Headlines

Reliance Capital on Wednesday asked the creditors of the company to submit their claims with proof by December 20 following initiation of corporate insolvency process against the firm, the Economic Times of India reported. In an order dated December 6, 2021 of the National Company Law Tribunal, Mumbai (NCLT), corporate insolvency resolution process has been initiated against Reliance Capital as per the provisions of the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), 2016. In this connection, the company made a public announcement on creditors' claims.

Nordic Aviation Capital AS is planning to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy this month to carry out its restructuring plan, Bloomberg News reported. The aircraft lessor has shored up support from its largest creditors to implement the plan, said one of the people, who asked not to be identified because the discussions are private. Major creditors have also agreed to provide financing to help fund Nordic Aviation’s operations through bankruptcy.

UniCredit SpA said that it plans to expand by hiring staff and investing in digitization as part of a three-year strategic plan that includes share buybacks and bigger dividends, the Wall Street Journal reported. The plan, the first since Chief Executive Andrea Orcel took the helm in April, targets annual revenue growth of about 2% and profit growth of 10% through 2024. UniCredit, Italy’s second-largest bank by assets, said it would distribute at least €16 billion, equivalent to $18.2 billion, to investors in dividends and share buybacks over the next three years.

The European Central Bank is studying whether to tweak how it reinvests its emergency bond purchases to help countries weather future moments of market turmoil, Bloomberg News reported. The Governing Council could expand the period of time in which it rolls over maturing securities and apply more flexibility to the geographic allocation of such buying in the so-called PEPP measure, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity as such discussions are confidential. They added that no decisions have been taken.

A deputy German finance minister warned of “permanent inflation risks” over the longer term, a contrast with the European Central Bank’s position that such pressures probably won’t endure, Bloomberg News reported. Florian Toncar, a deputy to new Finance Minister Christian Lindner, said inflation will likely moderate to 2% or 3% after the Covid-19 surge subsides, easing a once-in-a-generation cost-of-living squeeze in Europe’s largest economy. But supply shortfalls, rising wages and spending on Germany’s ambitious climate agenda will contribute to price pressures.

Mexican annual inflation accelerated faster than expected in November to its highest level in over two decades, official data showed on Thursday, reinforcing bets the central bank will raise its benchmark interest rate again when it meets next week, Bloomberg News reported. Figures from national statistics agency INEGI showed inflation in Latin America's No. 2 economy jumped to 7.37% last month from 6.24% in October. That compared with the consensus forecast of a Reuters poll for 7.22%.

China’s central bank is trying to restrain the rise of the yuan after the currency hit a 2 1/2-year high against the dollar, the Associated Press reported. Commercial banks were ordered Thursday to increase the amount of their foreign currency deposits that are held as reserves for the second time this year. That reduces the amount available for trading, making it easier for Beijing to manage the exchange rate. The People’s Bank of China is trying to make the yuan’s state-set exchange rate more flexible and market-oriented but has intervened over the past year to restrain its rise.

A group of Kaisa Group Holdings Ltd. bondholders is close to signing non-disclosure agreements with the developer in a move that would pave the way for discussions around a potential financing deal for the beleaguered firm, Bloomberg News reported. The creditor group is being advised by Lazard Ltd. An announcement about the agreements could come as early as Thursday morning in Hong Kong, one of the people said. Lazard is seeking more bondholders to join the group. The signing of NDAs is a crucial step as it would allow creditors to access data and information they haven’t yet seen.

HNA Group Co. has officially handed over control of its core airline operations to Liaoning Fangda Group Industrial Co., marking the end of an era for the Chinese conglomerate as it continues to restructure one of the country’s biggest piles of corporate debt, Bloomberg News reported. Gu Gang, head of a government taskforce in charge of HNA’s restructuring, will no longer serve as the group’s leading secretary for the Communist Party after the key handover of Hainan Airlines Holding Co., the company said in a statement on social media Wednesday.

The RBI has cited Reliance Capital’s default to Yes Bank in respect of dues amounting to Rs 1,417 crore as a key default while initiating insolvency proceedings against the Anil Ambani group finance company, the Times of India reported. The National Company Law Tribunal on Monday admitted the insolvency proceedings and announced a moratorium in terms of the bankruptcy code.