Vietnam

Two Australian Qantas executives have been held in Vietnam and the former boss of joint venture Jetstar Pacific arrested over losses at the budget carrier, The Australian reported. Qantas executives Daniela Marsilli and Tristan Freeman have not been formally charged but were forced to spend Christmas in Vietnam and are still prevented from leaving the country. The two are part of a team seconded to modernise Jetstar Pacific, 27 per cent owned by Qantas.

Vietnam boasts one of the developing world's most resilient economies this year, but economists fear the success masks serious problems, as loose state-directed lending risks pushing Vietnam into a new speculative bubble, The Wall Street Journal reported. Those concerns were highlighted Tuesday, when Fitch Ratings downgraded Vietnam's local currency rating, citing "a steady deterioration in the country's fiscal position" and a banking system that's "vulnerable to potential systemic stress" as the government floods the economy with credit. Similar worries affect the U.S.

According to a recent study conducted by Asian Banker Research, Malaysia is listed fourth in the Asia Pacific region's most creditor-friendly bankruptcy regimes where creditors can expect to recover more than 80 cents in the dollar of assets they are owed, the Malaysian national news agency reported. The findings of the study released today said Singapore and Japan were Asia Pacific region's most creditor-friendly bankruptcy regimes where creditors could expect to recover more than 90 cents in the dollar. Taiwan came third with a similar rate of recovery with Malaysia.