PRESS DIGEST- Financial Times - Feb 26

- British supermarket group Asda will hire 4,500 new workers to handle an expected expansion in online grocery orders, but plans to make 5,000 other store staff redundant. - British finance minister Rishi Sunak will use the Budget next week to reveal a new UK state-guaranteed loan programme as ministers turn the taps off on the emergency coronavirus schemes which have so far allowed businesses to borrow 73 billion pounds ($102.02 billion).

The following are the top stories in the Financial Times. Reuters has not verified these stories and does not vouch for their accuracy. Headlines

- EG Group to raise extra $1.8 bln debt to buy Asda petrol stations https://on.ft.com/2Nwpx6V - Asda business plan puts 5,000 jobs at risk https://on.ft.com/3svKHB0

- Sunak to unveil new business loan and scrap emergency schemes https://on.ft.com/3uBffmr Overview

- EG Group, the highly leveraged petrol stations business whose billionaire owners have bought UK supermarket chain Asda, is planning to raise an extra $1.8 billion in the next stage of the group's debt-fuelled acquisition spree. - British supermarket group Asda will hire 4,500 new workers to handle an expected expansion in online grocery orders, but plans to make 5,000 other store staff redundant.

- British finance minister Rishi Sunak will use the Budget next week to reveal a new UK state-guaranteed loan programme as ministers turn the taps off on the emergency coronavirus schemes which have so far allowed businesses to borrow 73 billion pounds ($102.02 billion). ($1 = 0.7156 pounds) (Compiled by Bengaluru newsroom)