28/02/2014 Asia Business Report


28/02/2014

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they wouldn't be prosecuted. Now on BBC News all the latest

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business news live from Singapore. Ahead of official growth figures,

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look at how a sharp economic slowdown in India is using ordinary

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people. We talk to a workers union in

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Australia about sweeping job cuts announced by Qantas airlines.

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Welcome to Asia Business Report. We start with India. Its economic

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growth figures are due to be released later today. These are for

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the last three months of 2013. The country has been seeing a sharp

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slowdown, which is in stark contrast with the growth it looked to rack up

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a couple of years ago. What has is meant for ordinary people in India?

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We travelled to a northern state to find out.

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It isn't bright enough to light up a small room. More darkness may lie

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ahead for this couple. This man recently lost his job in a car parts

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factory. His wife is pregnant and due to give birth soon. She has had

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to take up a job to keep them going, at least for a while. Every

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morning, he makes his way to factories in the area, hoping to

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find some work. TRANSLATION: Every company I go to, they say there is a

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slowdown and less production. They are not hiring any workers right

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now. I have been looking through a job for two or three months. I get

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the same answer everywhere. He is not alone. Manufacturing is

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considered the big job generated here. That has been slowing. More

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than half of the country's 1.2 billion people are under the age of

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25. Although they have not yet been large`scale cuts, a drop in

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employment creation is a big worry. While manufacturing has had a rough

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ride over the past year, it has been quite a different story in farms

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across India. The harvest has been good this season. That has prevented

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the economy from taking a sleep as `` steeper slide. This man grows

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wheat and mustard in his fields. He tells that good rainfall has helped

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farmers him. The production of wheat in particular increased

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substantially. That has put some money in their hands. TRANSLATION:

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During the festival season last year we had good celebrations. We could

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afford to spend some money. My son bought a car. This is all thanks to

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the weather god. Who knows how long it will last and what it will be

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like this year? Even though agriculture grew nearly three times

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over the previous year, the country cannot afford to take comfort from

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this. Strong action from the government making easier to do

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business is what industry is calling for. Elections are due soon. Many

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are hoping that if a stable government comes to park, growth

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could turn a corner. Until then, things in India are unlikely to pick

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up pace. Executives from a straight's

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union officials this morning to union officials this morning to

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discuss the 5000 jobs it plans to cut. Union leaders have told the ABC

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that the meeting has resulted in more questions and not answers.

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Yesterday, the company's CEO announced the cuts alongside half

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yearly pre`tax losses of $211 million. Workers unions in Australia

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say members are suffering from poor management decisions. They say there

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is no clear understanding of how the airline came up with the number of

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job cuts. I spoke with a member of the transport workers union. What we

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need to see is a turnaround in the strategy for the airline. Perhaps

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then we will see an improvement in promises fortunes. In terms of the

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government, they are providing conflicting guidance publicly. Who

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knows what they have said privately. The treasure was giving indications

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that they would be providing a debt guarantee. The Prime Minister has

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hosed down the speculation. How bad could it potentially be before the

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government staff to step in law Qantas start a look at seriously

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changing their strategy? If they are not seriously reviewing their

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strategy now, I am not sure that this current board will. We are

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looking at an airliner with six to 5% share of the stricken domestic

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market. There are effectively only two groups. Qantas have 65% share,

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they do not seem to be able to turn a profit. They have sunk hundreds of

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millions of dollars into a failed Asian expansion, which may have been

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a good idea a few years ago, but has failed. They seem to be incapable of

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acknowledging that it has failed. Staying with the airline industry,

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Virgin Australia posted a net loss. That compared to a $20 million

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profit last year. It continues to compete against rivals like Qantas.

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The rivals are battling for market share in the face of rising fuel

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costs and a strong local currency. A stream of official economic data out

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of Japan showed consumer prices have risen. Japan has been faced with

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serious depletion problems for close to 20 years. In a sign that the

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economy could be turning around, today's data shows a year on year

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rise for the eight months in a row. It is not include food prices. A

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court in the US has charged a British man with hacking into the

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computer system of a central bank. He faces charges of posting names,

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numbers and contact details of the Federal reserve. For lots more news

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and analysis from around the region and across the globe, you can head

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to our website. A Malaysia and billionaire famously became one of

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the country's richest man after winning the McDonald's franchise in

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the 1980s. Now he oversees a business empire that includes

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business, gambling and results and property. He has become a household

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name after buying a Welsh football club. We spoke exclusively to him

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and asked that were still plans to publicly list the team. It is

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obviously not possible with the situation the club is in. Most

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likely will not be listing at all. I will keep this has made private

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investment. That is until I can be sure that the club can be in the

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Premier League on a sustainable basis. We need a strong squad, good

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management that and keepers in the Premier League, here in and year

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out. If that can happen, maybe we can listed. Is your aim profit, or

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to be part of the club? Is success on the pitch more important to you,

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or are you in this for profit? Is any business investment, I regard

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this as a business investment, profit is important. But the board

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to be profitable at the same time as doing well on the page. We have to

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balance things, are not going overboard. We will not buy players

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for $40 million. We are not in that league. If you do things reasonably,

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not overspending, with good football management, look at Southampton.

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They do not spend a lot of money, but they do well. You have signed

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the giving pledge, you will give half of your wealth during your

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lifetime. I your children happy with that? The strike are your children

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happy? And they understand. I have explained it to them. I was inspired

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by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. You want to give you children are

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the need to work. They must work. I do not understand people who do not

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work. I have worked all my life. I work 18 hours a day. I do not

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understand people who do not work. I want when children to make sure that

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they work. I do not want to give them too much. They should not have

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too much. That was the Malaysia Berlin are. A quick look at the

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markets. They have all turned lower. That is in the past hour.

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markets. They have all turned lower. That is in It is essentially due to

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concerns about volatility brought on by violence in emerging markets. We

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have seen the Chinese currency is set for its worst month in 20 years.

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The Japanese yen has been rising. That is taking a toll on a love of

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export related stocks. That is it for Asia Business Report. `` a lot

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of export related stocks. The top stories this hour: There are

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reports from Ukraine that a group of armed men in military uniforms has

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seized the airport in the capital of Crimea, hours after the Parliament

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building was occupied. Latest reports say the airport is

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operating normally. Armed men can be seen outside the perimeter.

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The World Bank has postponed a loan to Uganda, just days President

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Yoweri Museveni, signed a bill that significantly toughens the country's

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already strict legislation against

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