03/03/2014 Asia Business Report

speeches have made the show last longer than four hours. We can now

go to Singapore. The slide in the Chinese currency

comes in a time of investor concern. The reform plan should become

clearer later this week when the Parliament, the National People's

Congress, starts its annual meeting. Earlier I spoke with an analyst from

HSBC. There are speculations that in the next few months we could see a

further loosening of the grip that the Chinese central bank has over

the exchange rate. It will widen the band so we see more fluctuations.

Officials are trying to send a signal to the people who are

bringing in money into the country. They are saying, enough is enough.

We have too much liquidity. Do not bring in a more cash. We are looking

to the MPC that starts this week. The big meeting. What are some of

the announcements you are expecting from this? We already had a big list

in November. Now we need to see some of the details spelt out. Some of

the areas of reform continued to be financial liberalisation, for

example, liberalising deposit interest rates. Also, fiscal policy

that is offering alternative funding avenues. Currently, local

governments are issuing debt. The idea is to give them more additional

revenues they don't have to rely on debt to fund their ongoing

operations. Those would be two key areas. Thank you. For more on the

currency's movements and headlines from around the world, thick and had

to our website. Staying with China, official data showed a slowdown in

factory activity. The country's purchasing managers index edged

down. Any reading above 50 indicates expansion. The official data is in

contrast with the calculations, it had just been released. The final

reading for February was at 48.5, signalling a contraction in factory

activity. A Chinese carmaker has acquired enrolled automotive, a

British`based start`up specialising in electric vehicles. Ministries in

China are under pressure to reduce our pollution and ease traffic

congestion. The government wants 500,000 hybrid and electric vehicles

on the road by next year. Shares are trading higher in Japan. The broader

stock market is in negative territory. Shares are up on reports

that the owner of Hunico is interested in a US firm.

When you think of glitz and glamour, Hollywood comes to mind.

Especially today, when the Oscars are underweight. Increasingly, movie

money is moving towards Asia. Singapore is investing heavily in

not be Oscar`nominated movies, but not be Oscar`nominated movies, but

the money behind Asian film is growing. Box office receipts have

been rising. We have an increase in locally produced films. One of the

firms behind these films is infinite studios. They have just opened up

two sound stages, costing nearly $50 million. Its founder says the

investment should pay off, thanks to the fact that Singapore encourages

movie firms to set up. There is an incentive programme in Singapore

which is very attractive. It allows producers to take advantage of

government offsets that enable the government to look at the growth of

local industry. It is very important. The government subsidises

that. There is a rising amount of talent flowing through Singapore

from all parts of Asia. They are not the only ones. Lucasfilm, formed by

George Lucas, set up its industrial light and Magic division in

Singapore nearly a decade ago. The Singapore arm is behind movies like

Pacific rim. It has just opened a new facility in the city and plans

to hire more people. It is something Singapore's economic development

board is focused on. That job is to attract more investment to Singapore

and create jobs for locals. That Sherman says they saw another shared

the two leveraged off the growth of the entertainment industry. The

media and digital entertainment industry is exciting in terms of

growth. Countries like China, India, they are the fastest growing

markets for digital media and content, including movies. The

creative industry appeals to younger Singapore residents. They will find

these careers and jobs exciting. The Asia`Pacific led box office growth

for all films released in 2012. China led the list. Japan, South

Korea and others followed close behind. These companies are trying

to cater to a growth market. Last year, Asia accounted for over 40% of

the international box office. Singapore is it the many countries

trying to tap into that moviemaking magic.

Globalisation has meant a big increase in the number of people

leaving their home countries to live and work abroad. One of the factors

in choosing a new location is the availability of schools offering a

widely recognised curriculum. With a white expatriates community,

Singapore has seen a surge in demand for their schools. We took a look at

this. Getting ready to lead the foundations of his future, like most

kids of his age, this boy's life is tolerated by his education. In his

case, his parents, originally from India, opted for an international

school rather than a local one. When we moved to Singapore, we chose an

international school. We did not know how the years we would be in

the country. Even if we move to another country, we know that we can

stick onto an international school with this curriculum anywhere in the

world. His parents not the only ones that priority. It has created a huge

demand for international schools. The school that he visits has more

than 1000 students. This is one of the three campuses that the school

has in the State. Singapore has grown to become a key financial

centre and a regional hub for many global firms. That has seen a large

number of expatriates come here to work and live here. Many of them

have children, driving up the demand for international schools. There are

31 international schools here with more than 45,000 students enrolled.

The sector also has an impact on the economy, with hundreds of millions

of dollars of investment needed to set up such schools. Many more may

still need to be built to cater to the growing demand. All the

international schools of the moment are full. There is an equal all

larger number of expatriates returning. Despite measures to cool

down immigration, we are likely to see 9% growth in the expatriates,

Atlas resulting in education spaces for children. `` as well as

resulting. There are unlike his be any empty seats in the schools. As

parents go all`out to ensure that a future for kids, they are also

helping secure a good future for the schools their children are studying

at. A quick look at the markets. As we

said earlier, they are all slumping. Partly due to this flight to save

havens. We are seeing the Japanese Yen gaining. That takes a big toll

on the export related stocks. That is why the decay is down. ``

Headlines: Russian troops have seized control of Crimea. There are

growing fears that could be deployed across eastern Ukraine.

Ukraine's prime minister has accused Russia of declaring war and warned

that his country is