09/01/2014 Asia Business Report

Sandra Bullock, is up for Best actress. Time for Asia Business

Report. Has inflation eases in China,

authorities seek ways to rebalance the mainland's economy.

The art of making noodles by hand. We find out why this is a vanishing

profession. We start off in China, where the

world's second-biggest economy said inflation eased in December from the

month before. Data shows inflation climbed in December from earlier,

below forecast and within the confidence owned. They have been

looking to rebalance the economy amid slowing growth. Authorities

have been announcing some key reforms. Stock will among the

announcements this week was that China could have up to five private

banks opened within the next 12 months. They will be tightly

supervised by the authorities, but it is being seen as a move to open

up the country's tightly controlled financial sector. The theme of

liberalisation continues with a couple of announcements in relation

to the free trade zone. Authorities said telecommunications and internet

could well be owned by foreign companies. There is a catch. These

companies will have to base all their infrastructure in the Shanghai

free-trade zone. In terms of computer users, particularly those

who play games, this week has been a big one. China has announced it will

overturn its ban on gaming consoles, which has been in force

for 14 years. That means Chinese consumers could get their hands on

the Xbox or PlayStation. The catch is that foreign companies wanting to

sell these devices in China will have to make them from the Shanghai

free-trade zone. Liberalisation within the Chinese economy is seen

as absolutely critical to future economic growth. What happens in the

Shanghai free-trade zone is being carefully watched by analysts,

because it could well be ruled out across the country. -- rolled out

across the country. Companies in China display their

wares this week in Las Vegas. This show attracts some of the biggest

technology companies from around the world. We sat down with the head of

Netflix, a video streaming company set on changing the way we watch

television. Netflix, the streaming service, has

made quite a splash this year, announcing that its new series of

House Of Cards Sentence Case Will Be Shown In Ultrahigh Definition. --

will be shown in ultrahigh definition. There is this bringing

together of the internet and television so people can watch what

they want to watch when they want to watch it. What is changing is to

become applications. On your Android phone, on your iPad, on your Sony

TV, on your XBox One, all these applications that allow you as a

consumer to watch the videos you want to watch on your own schedule.

How important has it been for you to start making your own content rather

than relying on buying stuff in from TV companies in Hollywood? We

realised that with each country there is a unique set of licensing

issues, and we weren't getting everything with the same release

date, and some countries were having to wait behind other countries and

it makes no sense. We had to do our own shows, and when we do our own

shows, then they are available around the world at the exact same

time. Does the rest of the industry, the established industry, see was a

threat? Mostly, they save we want you to pay $10 million for the show,

and we say, I can only pay 1 million, and they say, come back

when you can play 10 million. -- pay $10 million. Sometimes we compete

with sky, with other contributors, but mostly they have realised that

Netflix is an additional service. For example, in the US there are

over 30 million subscribers. And yet cable and satellite subscribers have

remained constant at 100 million and not conquer. You made a big deal

about ultrahigh definition television, what is exciting about

that? Daily Telegraph ultimately, ultrahigh definition will be the

first format that is internet only. It is focused on internet delivery.

Broadcast on cable or satellite, they won't have ultra HD at least in

the next five years. It will be internet delivery. You have

concentrated on growth rather than profits, are you following the

hammers en route? Were similar in that way. The internet is an

interesting opportunity, and we will continue to invest in content,

improving service, improving what we do and expanding into other

countries for many years ahead. The chief executive of Netflix.

In other business news, the big French food conglomerate which is

set to sue New Zealand's dairy giant following a food scare last year

which saw some food products recalled across Asia. The French

firm said the recall had caused serious damage to business. Moody's

has downgraded Qantas to below investment grade. Last month,

standard imports also cut the carrier's credit rating to below

investment level. The use of bitcoin is set to be

banned from next week on another Chinese website. This comes ahead of

a public offering of shares expected later this year by Ali Baba. We are

looking at the world's vanishing profession is, this time, Taiwan. We

discover the art of making noodles by hand. In Chinese culture, noodles

are written for breakfast lunch and dinner, especially for special

occasions such as birthdays and weddings. It symbolises something

that is long-lasting. Now there were only a handful of masters making

them the centuries-old traditional way.

This is one of only two people in this village making noodles by hand.

The use to be ten families here making noodles the traditional way.

It is a trend moving throughout Taiwan. This man is a

third-generation noodle maker. He grew up watching his grandparents

and parents make noodles by hand. His long working day begins at the

break of dawn, by mixing flour, salt and water. It might seem hard to

imagine, but this it blob of dough will be turned into noodles that are

really 1/10 of a centimetre thin. This machine only gets the go so

thin, the work will have to be continued by hand. He leaves the

noodles to lengthen on this bamboo racks. They will need to be about

four metres long. He makes fast work of it, but it is not as easy as it

looks. This way of making noodles is centuries-old, and is believed to

have been brought from China. The ancestors of most highways people

come from there. It was passed down from one generation to another, and

this man may be among one of the last ones. TRANSLATION: The money we

earn is earned in a hard way. If it looks like it is going to rain we

have to take the noodles inside, otherwise our efforts are wasted.

These noodles are made with just flour, salt and water. Behind them

at hours of hard work. This family began working at 5am today, and

won't finish until 7pm. All they will make is about $100. Although

the next generation is not interested in doing this kind of

work, he says he cannot imagine a world without handmade noodles.

TRANSLATION: Handmade noodles taste better. They are smoother. I don't

want my children to do this kind of work, but if they want to, I won't

object. After all that hard work, the family sits down for a lunch at

Worcester and noodles. The noodles are not pushy, but flexible. It is

really one of the best noodle dishes I have ever had. There is no telling

whether this product of hard work and patience will survive the

changing times. Here is a quick look at the Asian

markets. Stocks are currently weak in mid-morning Thursday trade. The

Nikkei is down by 206 points. The Hang Seng down by about 46 points.

Thank you for investing your time with us.

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