14/03/2014 Asia Business Report


14/03/2014

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four passengers onboard were killed. Now on BBC News all the latest

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business news live from Singapore. As India gears up for elections, the

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government seeks to tame inflation. Crisis communications - Malaysia has

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come under fire for how it has released information about the

:00:30.:00:30.

missing flight. We begin in India where the country

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is weeks away from national elections. As with past polls, the

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economy is set to play a key role in the government is under pressure to

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make sure that growth is on track. Later today we get the indications

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on cost of living when the February inflation figures RLS. The data will

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be closely watched. It is much cheaper to buy food in

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India now that it was in late 2013. That is the main reason why

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inflation has come down substantially. The latest data

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showed that consumer price inflation based on a basket of goods was its

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lowest level in two years. The wholesale price index, the number

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that India considers the main indicator of inflation, is thought

:01:32.:01:36.

to have fallen to under 5%. For most of last year food prices were high.

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Some vegetables cost triple what they normally do. What we see now is

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mainly due to favourable weather conditions and a good harvest rather

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than government intervention. The current leadership is likely to hope

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that this will benefit them in the upcoming elections. For many on the

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street the cost of living is a big factor when it comes to deciding who

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to vote for. But there is a worry that this dip is only temporary and

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that prices might shoot up. The central Bank has raised interest

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rates three times to try and hold inflation down. Many believe that

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inflation levels will depend on economic policy measures taken by

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whichever government comes to, in the long-term.

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It has been nearly a week since a Malaysia Airlines plane disappeared

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while en route to Beijing. A rescue effort has been under way but there

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has been no sign of any wreckage so far, leaving the world with few

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answers and a lot of questions. In Kuala Lumpur were, authorities have

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been holding daily news conferences but have recently come under heavy

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criticism for their handling of the crisis. Earlier I spoke to two

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aviation experts. It is a difficult crisis but -- and are not a normal

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type of accident. But these things have happened before and there

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should not have been such a state of confusion or lack of co-ordination.

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Information is key for families because of them time has stopped.

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There is no going forward and certainly no going back. The best

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that the Malaysia government and Malaysia Airlines could have done in

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this incident is not make it worse. Unfortunately they have made it

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worse. They will ever regain the trust and confidence of the

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families. Other accidents have happened and we do not find them for

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72 days or longer. The earth is a big place. Could anybody have done

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better? I expect that governments and airlines have done better and

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could do better. You don't like kicking people when they are down

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but it is frustrating and I am sure horribly frustrating for family

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members who have two go to the media to get information and get their

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hopes raised and then be told it is incorrect. It is the lack of

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consistency and it makes everyone wonder - who do you believe? That

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should be the airline and the government. It is a simple case of

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too many cooks in the broth. You have the Malaysia in government, the

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defence Minister, Malaysia Airlines clarifying rumours, and did not have

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anyone to look for for the facts rather than corrections of rumours.

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Then there is the situation of 56 vessels from seven or ten different

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countries co-ordinating the effort. There is a lack of leadership. There

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needs to be one source of information. We advise airlines in

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these situations that customers are looking for one point of information

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and for facts. Rather than releasing lots of information from lots of

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sources, just point to one source. Then you do not have an air force

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chief making a statement and then retracting it. Perhaps it can all

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come from the airline CEO. In other business News, General Electric's

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credit card unit is looking to raise $100 billion through an IPO in the

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US. The move is part of plans to spin off the retail finance business

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with -- which some estimate it could be worth $18 billion. McDonald's is

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being sued by workers in three US states for stealing wages. The fast

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food giant is facing seven class action lawsuits in New York,

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California, and Michigan. The workers claim they were forced to

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work off the clock and not paid overtime. McDonald say it is

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committed to fair treatment of employees. Singapore is set to

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become the second country in the world after the US to regulate

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virtual currencies such as Bitcoins. Under a new proposal, middle man

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like virtual currency exchanges will need to verify the identity is of

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customers and restored suspicious transactions. The move is meant to

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at -- meant to address money and terrorism concerns. We spoke to an

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analyst at about the situation. Given the timing of the statement it

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has to do with the release of the ATM network data here and a

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concerned about money laundering. About the statement, it looks like a

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positive note because it means that the government is looking at the

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growth curve that Bitcoins is taking, looking out over the next

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year or two and seeing that adoption which will continue. We know that

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many countries have banned the currency. You would be one of these

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middlemen that the authority would look to the potentially report

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suspicious activity. What would prompt you to report to them? I

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would have to read the guidelines first. As a member of the community

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here, if I knew of any suspicion activities or Corel activities I

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would naturally report them to the police. Most of the exchanges here

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are already doing proper due diligence. I require that people

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send money via the eye bank in system. We are self regulating very

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well. I see very little new in this statement or anything that will

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change our operations. If you're employed big corporation and they

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send you a broad for work that transition is often helped by a

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relocation package. This can involve subsidised housing, flights home,

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and other things but now Panasonic is offering staff moving to China a

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payment to help cope with the notorious smog in the country.

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A thick smog hangs over the streets of Beijing, making it difficult to

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see and more difficult to breathe. Pollution is the price China pays

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for the economic growth of the past decade. It is the result of rapid

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industrialisation and the burning of millions of tonnes of coal every

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year. Now the Japanese electronics firm Panasonic says it will pay its

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foreign workers in China next dash of pollution premium to compensate

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for the poor air quality. It is not unusual for funds to pay staff more

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when they work overseas, especially if they go to dangerous or

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uncomfortable places. In the oil industry for example employees get a

:09:05.:09:10.

premium for working offshore. This is the first time a company has paid

:09:11.:09:15.

workers in China extra for having to breathe smog. It is a first from our

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perspective but it will be taken up by other companies. It is specified

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as an air pollution allowance rather than being bundled into a hardship

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premium. It is part of a wider drive by organisations to be transparent

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about the allowances they give to expatriates. As the annual National

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People's Congress drew to a close, the country 's Premier admitted the

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economic model was unsustainable. TRANSLATION: Our existing

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difficulties and problems are on our mind. We will confront serious

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challenges and some challenges may be even more complex. We need steady

:10:06.:10:12.

growth, employment, prevent inflation and defuse risks. Beijing

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faces the challenge of trying to maintain rapid economic growth by

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the same time encouraging businesses to clean up their act.

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