10/02/2014 Asia Business Report

Now on BBC News, all the latest business news, live from Singapore.

Putting on a show. The biggest aviation event kicks off in

Singapore, attracting people from around the world.

And doing business in India. The competition is heating up as more

foreign companies enter the market. Hello and welcome to Asia Business

Report. We begin with Asia's biggest aviation event, which is the

Singapore Air Show, which starts on Tuesday. Aviation leaders have

already arrived there, hoping to do some major deals. More than 1000

companies from over 20 nations will be present. In the previous airshow

in 2012, deals worth around $31 billion were announced. The United

States will have a strong presence. It is the feature country. Earlier,

I spoke to the American ambassador to Singapore to ask him how

important it is for US firms. Is crucial. We all know Asia over

the next 20 years is going to do more business than the rest of the

world combined in the aviation space. We have 163 companies here

that represent from the largest of the Boeings two small planes that

have been brought over on trade missions. If there is a need in

aerospace, we have a company that fits that need. Asia is it right

now, everyone wants to invest there. Where I US companies looking at?

Which industries? -- where are. The beauty about the aerospace industry,

because it is so mobile, you can do a bit here and there. You can do

Vietnam and Myanmar at the same time and China in the same fashion. But

this airshow allows us to talk to all the same people at the right

time from all the different nations. Ideals done on the commercial side

and also the military aspect, how does this fit into the Asia-Pacific

policy of President Obama? -- deals are done. This is where we get to

show the world about how we have... We have over ten for stars or above

coming here, admirals and military generals coming, to talk about

different products. They are standing alongside CEOs. With the

economic potential and funkier markets. There are challenges. For

example, Myanmar. New navigation systems. Safety is a big concern for

commercial airlines like Boeing? Safety is always the primary concern

but the one thing we see in every country in the region is moving to

improve. It is better battery we are excited about. -- trajectory. We

have the FA administrator here, talking about some of the things

going on in civil aviation. We just want to be part of a conversation

and companies want to be part of the solution. The US ambassador to

Singapore. Indonesian defence officials have pulled out of the

Singapore airshow amid a disagreement over an Indonesian

warship. The spat between Singapore and Jakarta is over Indonesia's

decision to... You can get a whole lot more information and a dates

from the airshow on our website. Including in-depth analysis on

spending in Asia. Indian companies are facing

increasing pressure from international rivals, as the

government opens up sectors like retail and aviation to overseas

firms. But doing business in India is notoriously difficult.

More now on how multinational companies are coping.

This is the Indian home to some of the most well-known global giants.

There are annually to London 50 multinational companies here and

more and more are setting up. India, with a middle-class besides the US

population, is not a market that most international companies can

ignore. The country was hailed as one of the world's most promising

growth markets but unpredictable regulation and bureaucracy are

slowing -- and slow economic growth have shaken the confidence of

companies from making big investments here. Take Siemens. They

make industry software to help companies design and manufacture.

They have been here for decades but the company says, in India, you have

got to be prepared for the unexpected. The basic surprise in

the market is the applicability. Unpredictable at you with customers

and business and the operating environment. With a compensated

market, global business is coming to India often turn to people like

these -- local businesses. They guide companies through the process.

They say their business has grown over 70% in the past year. What is

the advice they give clients? Planning for the longer term is

key. Having the expectation that it will take time to succeed and not

expect results in the early stages. India remains a promising but

challenging market that many are trying to crack. But while most

people feel there is money to be made in India, there are plenty of

question marks. The upcoming general elections brings another element of

uncertainty. That's not conducive to investment.

In other news, investigations have been launched after a newspaper

reported thousands of confidential files related to Barclays Bank

customers were stolen and sold to brokers. The Mail newspaper on

Sunday said an anonymous whistleblower handed it a memory

stick with a personal data of 2000 customers. The bank said it was

investigating the matter. To owners of a Bangladesh Garment factory

where over 100 people died in a fire two years ago have turned themselves

into authorities. West warrants were in December. The case marks the

first time the country has sought to prosecute factory owners in the

influential Garment industry. -- arrest warrants. Japan has posted a

current account deficit of over $6 billion, slightly lower than

forecast. Asia's second largest economy is dealing with a weaker

yen. In recent years, Japan has needed to buy a fossil fuels to make

up for energy loss due to the shut down nuclear power facilities.

Moving to Indonesia. The dispute between the government and mining

industry continues. In the latest move, the government is planning to

force mining companies to make downpayments towards the cost of

building new smelters. This row started in 2009 when a law was

passed, requiring mining companies to process mineral ores inside

Indonesia and allowing only exports of processed minerals. The law was

relaxed to a degree but finally incremented last month. Earlier, I

spoke to someone from IHS. I asked for more detail about the law and

its impact on the sector. The law has been on the cards since 2009.

Its implementation raises questions because it seems very confused and

uncoordinated. The lead up to the implementation of this requirement,

that the process onshore... The minister was trying to quieten it

down a bit. Job losses have been there because of the commodity

prices. Are we likely to see more of this job reduction as a result of

this? It depends now on how we move forward. The miners are trying to

negotiate with the government to try to ratchet down the exports, for

example. If they can bring it down, I suspect they will carry on with

exports. At the moment, exports have stalled. If that happens, jobs are

preserved. But if exports stall, we expect job losses will persist. It

is election year. We will indeed see a new president coming to power.

Could he overturned this law, to basically a piece the mining

industry? Not overturn the law. Leading up to elections, there's no

way it will do that. After the elections also, the new president

will be voted based on what he or she can do. They can try to tweak

it. But the overall plan, processed onshore, that is now part of it.

A quick look at the Asian stock markets. Most of them are in

positive territory. US stocks rose on Friday. The market was dulled by

harsh weather conditions and expectations of further economic

strength. Thank you for investing your time with us.

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