Headlines

Indonesian clothing firm PT Sri Rejeki Isman plans to propose the reactivation of working capital facilities through a revolving loan in the amount of $275 million in a creditors’ meeting, Bloomberg News reported. The secured working capital revolver would help the Jakarta-listed company, known as Sritex, in the procurement of raw materials and reduce the needs to make cash advance payments to its raw material suppliers, according to a proposed term sheet dated Nov. 5 that was accessed through a link in a filing to Singapore exchange on Saturday.

French economic activity reached a level in August not seen since before the Covid-19 pandemic and has continued rising since, aided by a strong recovery in the service sector, according to a Bank of France’s survey of businesses, Bloomberg News reported. Economic output was about 0.5% above early 2020 levels in October and will rise again in November, putting the euro area’s second-largest economy on track for roughly 0.75% growth in the final quarter of the year, the estimates show.

Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey said on Monday that the rise of crypto assets was helping illegal activity, Reuters reported. "I'm afraid that the advent of digital means of payment, and in particular crypto assets, I'm afraid that the evidence suggests, and we see this, is that it is providing another means of payment for people who want to conduct criminal activity," Bailey said during an online question-and-answer session organised by the BoE. Read more.

The Bank of Canada risks cutting short the current economic expansion if it shifts its focus from reducing slack in the economy to tamping down inflation, potentially setting the stage for the next cycle of rate cuts, Reuters reported. The dilemma for the central bank comes from a situation where inflation is driven not so much by economic strength but by factors, such as supply shortages, that are outside of its control and could lead to more enduring price increases if inflation expectations were to rise.

Tanzania’s central bank is targeting lenders’ employees deemed responsible for approving non-performing loans in a bid to crack down on losses and boost credit to the private sector, Bloomberg News reported. An employee who issued loans fraudulently or without following due procedures will face legal action, Bank of Tanzania Governor Florens Luoga said in a statement. The central bank “will blacklist the concerned employees and bar them from being employed in any bank or financial institution operating in Tanzania,” Luoga said.

Sydney Airport has agreed to accept a A$23.6bn (£13bn; $17.5bn) takeover bid from a group of investors, BBC.com reported. If completed, the deal will one of Australia's biggest ever buyouts. The agreement came after Sydney Aviation Alliance (SAA) raised its bid in response to the airport's owner rebuffing its earlier offer. However, the proposed sale faces a number of potential obstacles, which means the process could still take months to complete.

President Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday that Turkey will remove two fixed payments from electricity bills to help consumers, adding his government had already subsidised some energy costs, Reuters reported. Erdogan faces tough elections no later than mid-2023 and his approval ratings have been hit by Turkey's nearly 20% inflation rate, with recent rises in staples such as food and gas.

Russia succeeded in overturning part of a judgment for a record $50 billion to former shareholders of Yukos Oil Co., meaning the 16-year legal saga that raged between the Kremlin and the owners of what was once Russia’s biggest oil company is set to continue, Bloomberg News reported. The ruling by the Netherlands’ highest court Friday overturned a prior opinion into the bankruptcy of Yukos. The Dutch Supreme Court said in a judgment that a lower court should review one ground of the case again.

Japan is considering an economic stimulus package worth more than 30 trillion yen ($265 billion) aimed at easing the pain from the COVID-19 pandemic, a plan that would require issuing new debt, Kyodo news reported, according to Reuters. Part of the spending will come from funds carried over from last year's budget, Kyodo reported late on Sunday. A government panel tasked with drawing up a blueprint for Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's so-called new style of capitalism is expected to issue proposals on Monday that will lay the backbone of the planned stimulus package.

Japan said it would allow short-term business travelers and foreign laborers to enter the country, responding to calls from companies that said they feared falling behind the West, the Wall Street Journal reported. The decision followed a sharp fall in new infections in Japan, which is reporting only a few hundred new Covid-19 cases a day. More than 70% of the population is fully vaccinated. The loosening up puts Japan closer to the rules in the U.S.