PwC, one of the world's biggest accounting firms, is paying HK$1.3 billion ($166 million) in fines and compensation in Hong Kong over its audit work for the failed Chinese property developer Evergrande, which was said to have overstated revenues, the Associated Press reported. Hong Kong's accounting regulator on Thursday also announced a six-month ban on PwC from working for new clients and said it had issued a public reprimand to two of its former partners for misconduct, fining each of them a separate HK$5 million.

Goldman Sachs has agreed to settle a class-action lawsuit accusing ​the Wall Street bank of defrauding shareholders about its work ‌for 1MDB, a Malaysian sovereign wealth fund that became embroiled in a corruption scandal, Reuters reported. In a letter filed on Wednesday in Manhattan federal court, Goldman and the ​shareholders said they reached an agreement-in-principle to settle, and plan ​to submit a settlement for preliminary approval by May ⁠20.

The State Bank of India has moved a petition in the Supreme Court seeking a review of its February 13 judgment, which held that spectrum, a finite public resource, cannot be used as “assets” owned by telecom service providers (TSPs) during Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code proceedings, TheHindu.com reported. The bank (SBI), acting on behalf of creditors to the bankrupt Aircel group, said the judgment had a far-reaching impact on lenders in insolvency and liquidation proceedings. It argued that the verdict may potentially affect bank financing and risk assessment.

South Korean and Vietnamese companies signed 73 business deals on tech, energy and infrastructure on Thursday as South Korean President Lee Jae Myung visited Hanoi, a ‌list seen by Reuters showed. The agreements, which were mostly non-binding with no value mentioned, followed the signing a day ‌earlier of 12 cooperation pacts at a meeting between Lee and Vietnam's top leader To Lam, including on Korean possible investment in a new nuclear ​plant in southern Vietnam.

Indonesia’s central bank held interest rates steady again, as the war in the Middle East casts a shadow over the Southeast Asian country’s economic outlook, the Wall Street Journal reported. Like its peers, Bank Indonesia is grappling with the economic fallout from the war, which has roiled energy markets, raised inflation risks and pressured the oil-sensitive rupiah. On Wednesday, the Indonesian central bank opted to leave its benchmark seven-day reverse repo rate at 4.75%, extending a pause stretching back to its last cut September.

The Middle East crisis and prolonged U.S. interest rate hikes are squeezing Korea's construction sector, triggering massive job cuts at major companies and a surge in bankruptcies among smaller contractors, The Korea Times reported. Cost pressures have deepened due to the conflict in the Middle East, which has caused severe supply disruptions of naphtha, a key petrochemical feedstock, heightening the financial strain on builders. The broader economic downturn is driving the industry to downsize rapidly.

State Bank of India (SBI), on behalf of lenders to the bankrupt Aircel group, has approached the Supreme Court of India seeking a review of its February 13 judgment that barred telecom spectrum from being treated as an asset under insolvency proceedings, warning of far-reaching implications for the banking system and infrastructure financing, the Economic Times of India reported. In a review petition filed on March 30, SBI argued that the ruling contains “errors apparent on the face of the record” and fails to address key legal questions framed earlier by the court.

The Adani Group on Tuesday strongly defended the integrity of the resolution process in the Jaypee Associates insolvency matter before the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT), where Vedanta has challenged the decision of the Committee of Creditors (CoC) to approve Adani's bid, TribuneIndia.com reported. Senior Advocate Ritin Rai, appearing for the Adani Group, submitted that the challenge mechanism was conducted in a fair, transparent, and structured manner, with equal opportunity provided to all prospective resolution applicants.

Real estate asset resolution company ReaRCo Private Limited has acquired KV Developers through the insolvency resolution process, giving hope to nearly 400 homebuyers in Greater Noida who had invested in the project in 2013, the Economic Times of India reported. The firm has also secured Rs 195 crore from the government-backed SWAMIH Fund to complete the project. “Currently, construction of 646 units across five under-construction towers is underway to enable possession for existing homebuyers by the end of the year.

India’s central bank governor warned of persistent inflation risks as the Middle East conflict continues, citing the country’s exposure to the region, the Wall Street Journal reported. “What began as a supply shock can become embedded in the general price level,” said Reserve Bank of India Governor Sanjay Malhotra in a recent speech at Princeton University. “Second-round effects are the real concern,” he said. Such effects refer to spikes in costs that spill into goods and services prices and wages. These can turn a temporary shock into sustained, economy-wide price pressures.