13/12/2013 Asia Business Report


13/12/2013

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Glasgow last month killing ten people. Now on BBC News all the

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latest business news live from Singapore.

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Apple comes under scrutiny in relation to the labour practices of

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its suppliers in Asia. The Hobbit hype and its impact on various

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industries. We begin with US technology giant Apple. It has

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revealed that it sent medical experts to China last month to

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investigate deaths at one of its suppliers. The deaths occurred at a

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facility in Shanghai. There have been four reported deaths

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amongst packet from staff in recent months. No suggestion that these

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people died on the production line itself, and of course this is a very

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large workforce we are talking about, 100,000 people. Apple has

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sent medical experts to investigate these deaths. The company says they

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have not found any evidence to link to working conditions there, but

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they realised that this will be of little comfort to families have lost

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their loved ones. One of the employees reported to have died this

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year was 15 years old. That is below the legal working age in China.

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Pegatron say that he obtains the job by providing fake identification,

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using the identification of an older relative. He is said to have died of

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pneumonia, and the company says it is very unlikely to be at related to

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the conditions at work. This is not the first time that

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Apple suppliers have come under scrutiny. Is there anything they can

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do, have they done anything in response?

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They have done a lot to try and audit working conditions. They've

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been working to allow for a labour organisations access to its plants

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and employs compliance officers to make sure that workers work no more

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than a 60 hour week maximum. The other problem that faces of course

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is that when we speak to some of those workers they say they would

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like to work more than 60 hours. Politicians in Australia are

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scrambling to save what is left of the country 's car industry. Earlier

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this week old and became another major car manufacturer to announce

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it will shut down its Australian line, following a similar

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announcement from Ford earlier this year. That puts the focus squarely

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on the remaining manufacturer, Toyota. And the workers involved in

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the car component industry. Just some of the thousands of

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workers who make cars in Australia and a part of what Holden is calling

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a perfect storm. High costs, a small domestic market and a strong local

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currency that makes the end product and expensive exporter. So despite

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successive Australian governments spending billions of dollars

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supporting the sector, its future has become increasingly clouded. We

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saw we had a future beyond 2017, but then, bang. Nearly 3000 workers will

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lose their jobs when Holden shuts down production in four years time.

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The government is promising to help. We will not let these people down,

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but our challenge is to get them from one job to another job and we

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will not fail. But it's what is left of the car industry that is now in

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the spotlight. That means to enter as the component businesses that

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make the 30,000 separate parts that go into every vehicle. The

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Australian component sector alone employs 33,000 workers and for those

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suppliers, big and small, volume is key. Many have already spent years

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trying to diversify with mixed success. They need domestic sales

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base. Even if stays, will one automaker be enough to keep them

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employed? There are still a few years before the last Holden and

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Ford rolled off Australian production lines. Time is now off

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the essence -- of. The union is consulting workers on ways to rally

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public support. I spoke to a representative of the Australian

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Manufacturing workers union and asked about his expectations of

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public support. We need to talk to our members and ensure they are

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happy with what we are doing. Those discussions are taking place today.

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We are also looking to hold public rallies on Monday in Adelaide and

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Melbourne and obviously also we will be seeking to extend the activity

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well beyond the Christmas period. You might be familiar with the fact

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that Australia more or less closes down for three weeks around

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Christmas. This is a campaign that will go on for a long time. How

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important is the support in saving the auto industry and its workers?

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The problem we have is that the current Liberal National party

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government basically has no idea about industry policy. The concerns

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we have are that Holden had made it very clear that they needed to be

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making decisions by about this time regarding their future investment

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strategies and unfortunately this government failed to deliver. On

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Tuesday Joe Hockey, the Treasurer, ethically Derek Holden to close down

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and unfortunately his blast has been called. -- bluff. Ford plans to hire

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a 6000 employees in Asia and around 5000 in the United States. They are

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looking to open a third facility in Brazil and two new factories in

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China next year. Ford sales in the mainland have increased by 50% this

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year. For more on that story and other business headlines from around

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the world, visit our website. The latest film in the Hobbit trilogy

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has opened at cinemas across Asia this week. It premiers in India,

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Indonesia and the US. They expect to rake in millions of dollars in

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ticket sales. The Hobbit brand is creating immense

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opportunities for thousands of businesses. The first film made $84

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million at the box office on its US debut weekend last year. Now its

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producers are hoping the second will smash those sales. It's not just the

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filmmakers who are benefiting. Nearly 3000 New Zealand firms are

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cashing in. Most of them are in the film industry. This medical scanner

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was created in Christchurch and is based on the 3-D cameras used to

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film the Hobbit. It is now being used at St Luke's Hospital in

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Singapore to help patients like this one. The hospital is the first in

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Asia to use the cutting-edge technology which takes 3-D

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photographs to track the healing process. Until now, medical staff

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used tracing paper and Reuters to measure the depth of loans to

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predict how long they would take the heel. -- to heal. This is better

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practice for infection control. Perhaps the most obvious winner is

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the tourism industry. The government invested $10 million in this

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advertising campaign, which has helped to inject $450 million into

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its economy. It is 100% Middle Earth, 100% New Zealand, a slogan

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aimed at capturing people 's fascination with the film. It's big

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business for New Zealand. It is not destroying crowd at cinemas across

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the globe at creating a buzz about New Zealand which has led to a 10%

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rise in the number of foreign tourists this year. One in 12 said

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the Hobbit was the reason for their visit. With visitors numbers up, Air

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New Zealand has painted its plans with characters from the film. On

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the surface it is movie about the Hobbit is running around, but for a

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country like New Zealand is so much more. Technology, filming in New

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Zealand, tourism, it is all about creating awareness and putting New

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Zealand out there as a credible player in those spaces. That is why

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Hobbit hype has many companies getting creative to talk and fans

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from their shires. In related news, Harvey and Bob

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Weinstein have filed a lawsuit against Warner Brothers, claiming

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they are owed a share of the profits from the second and third Hobbit

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films. They are seeking $75 million in damages, saying the sale of the

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Hobbit in 1998 applies to all sequels. The US House of

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Representatives has approved a two-year budget initiative designed

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to prevent another of -- government shutdown. John Boehner has urged

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sceptical conservatives to back the compromise. With that we end this

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edition of the Asian business report. Thank you for investing your

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time with us. The top stories this hour. North

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Korea says it has executed Jang Sung-taek, the uncle of leader Kim

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Jong-un, branding him "worse than a dog". The sign-language interpreter

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at Nelson Mandela's memorial has said he's a schizophrenic with a

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violent past - South Africa insists there was no security risk.

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Emergency air cover across the UK is being restored after twenty two

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helicopters, including air ambulances

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