02/04/2014 Asia Business Report

Office says the company has been sold off to cheaply. Now time for

the latest business news live from Singapore.

In the limelight, find out why the Indonesian currency is the best

performing in Asia. Aviation safety industry 's trade body warns against

airlines being complacent. We start things off with a focus on

currencies and the recent transformation of the Indonesian

currency. Lastly it fell by 20% against the US dollar and was

labelled the worst performing currency in the region. Now, it has

emerged as Asia's best with recent gains due to an unexpected trade

surplus banks to eight jump in pole oil prices and a slowdown in

imports. Last year there were concerns about

the Indonesian currency. When the facts started appearing about

tampering, the focus started to go on vulnerable countries and

Indonesia was the most vulnerable so the currency fell by 20%. They took

active steps to address the situation. They made interest rates

higher. This year we are starting to see some of the benefits of that.

You mentioned that trade accounts turning into surplus so that is a

real positive. Can this be sustained as it will not be as extensive going

forward. The other thing that has affected the currency is the

premium. We have seen the currency respond very positively. A lot of

activity around Chinese currency. Is this an introduction for the yuan to

move into full convertibility. The by 2020 it seems most likely, they

have taken another step two weeks ago with the doubling of the yuan

trading band. We will seek further steps in that direction. Are we

likely to seek the band falling below six against the US dollar? I

do not think the yuan will appreciate that strongly but the

recent weakness looks to be done. I expect it to stabilise and show some

appreciation eventually. Living up to a virtual currencies.

The CEO of MtGox has been ordered by a US judge to appear in Dallas in

two weeks time. At the offices of the law firm that represents the

Bitcoin exchange. They want him to explain why the exchange shut down

in February and what happened to their 750,000 Bitcoin. The exchange

said that those coins was stolen in a computer hacking attack the

customers are alleging that MtGox insiders may have stolen their

Bitcoin. Singapore 's Noble group is selling 51% of its agricultural unit

to Chinese state`owned twopenny. The final price is yet to be determined.

They said they will make an initial payment of one half billion dollars

in cash. This deal gives China access to a stable supply of

agricultural resources. Oil giant, BP will be ceasing production at a

refinery in Brisbane due to competition from bigger and more

cost effective refineries in Asia. Operations at BP's Island will stop

by the middle of next year. Australia's refineries are mainly

owned by EP, Shell and Caltex. Many of them have recorded losses over

the last few years due to a high Australian dollar and the rise of

mega refineries in the region. In aviation, Germany has cancelled

thousands of flights in anticipation of a strike. The cancellations will

affect 425,000 passengers. The carrier said earlier this week that

the industrial action will cost the airline tens of millions of Euros.

The dispute with its pilots over pay has been going on now for if you

months. The airline has been trying to cut costs amid tougher

competition from European budget carriers and aggressively expanding

government owned Gulf airlines. How is it that a plane goes missing and

despite best efforts cannot be found? The International air

transport Association have called on government and industry to improve

global tracking of aircraft and make more effective use of passenger

data. In 2013, there were over 29 million flights with 12 Hull

losses. That is one accident for every 2.4 million flights. Accident

are rare but the current search for MH370 is a reminder that we can

never be complacent on safety. Earlier I spoke with an aviation

expert from the Singapore Management University. That are lots of

improvements that could be made. The industry organisation will have to

get together and make sure that they can advance the agenda. You have to

understand also that the airlines are subject to the regulations of

the respective government. An industry body can push but it is

ultimately up to the local government to decide what

regulations they will put in. These types of multilateral actions takes

times, once and years. Shouldn't this type of incident, what happened

to MH370, shouldn't there be changes to prevent another plane

disappearing? I agree. They should make sure that the conclusions of

such suggestions be readied by the end of 2014. We are still talking

about months but we at talking about authorities that... This is still

from the industry body and we have to wait for the regulatory

authorities to make the decision. Cut the red tape! All of these

airlines should have these tracking system. I fully agree with you. The

question operationally. Once we have a new system, they must be certified

and put into existing air planes. And that will take a lot of time to

a low of the revelatory measures take time.

They say that laughter is the best medicine. Some are born with the

gift of comedy and others think they could learn from it but can you make

a career out of teaching people to be funny? In a look at some of

Asia's coolest jobs, our correspondent beat a stand`up

comedian. My wife is British and so polite

that she got money from the ATM and she said thank you. If you want to

be a comedian, you had better feel comfortable poking fun at your

spouse. Making strangers laugh can be a tough gig but it is something

that this man thrives on. I always wanted to be a comedian, laughing

and being the first one to tell a joke. He started out more than two

decades ago at a university competition. But it was not until

years later that he got the courage to take a chance at going

professional. He now owns a comedy are in Asia where revenue has

tripled over the past seven years. His club is in Hong Kong's Soho

district. A bustling neighbourhood known for its fine dining and

nightlife. Most of his customers are young professionals, looking for a

fun night out. He lives to perform and it is obviously his first love.

He is also an entrepreneur, creating a sustainable business will stop

that is why his club welcomes not just established performers but also

trains complete newcomers. The first 30 seconds is when the audience

decides whether they like you or not. He teaches comedians.

Microphone techniques, how to deliver a punchline and what to do

if the audience just is not laughing. About four minutes is

better than a bad six minutes. If you are not having it, don't keep

digging it. Walk off. You a pig in `` digging a big hole for the next

comedian. Is just one of the challenges that he faces as a comedy

teacher. So what is the worst part of the job? Paperwork and

accounting, associated with running a business. In spite of the

pitfalls, many comedians feel stand`up is the coolest job around.

When you get it right, it might just be worth quitting your day job for.

Thanks for watching Asia Business Report. Sportsday is up next. A new

story is this hour. Authorities