29/04/2014 Asia Business Report


29/04/2014

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has been arrested. The teacher, Anne Maguire, was 61, and a long serving

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number of staff. Time for Asia Business Report.

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President Obama seals a major security deal in Asia, but is it too

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early to pop open the champagne on trade? And, big business, by

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Singapore has become a key hub for transactions in China's currency.

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Looking to Asia Business Report. President Barack Obama is wrapping

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up his four nation trip to Asia today, after signing a ten year

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military agreement with the Philippines. Last night, he was

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feted with a state dinner in Manila. One of his main mission is was to

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boost economic ties and set what is to be known as one of the biggest

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trade deals, the TPP. How has he fared? We heard that the deal is a

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lot closer now because of President Obama's visit. The trip has been a

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success. It doesn't mean there is a lot of work left to do between now

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and when the agreement goes into force. What are some of the work

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that needs doing? The TPP is market access, and there is a lot that goes

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into making it a 21st`century trade agreement, including environmental

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rights, IP protection, and border issues. All of that only occurs if

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there is increased market access. The biggest obstacle to market

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access for a lot of countries is agriculture in Japan. So what the US

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and Japan did in this past week, getting a pathway forward on these

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difficult agriculture issues and water issues, is going to make

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getting to the next round much better. Is it just about Japan?

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Whistle medicines in Malaysia being an issue, and the US themselves.

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President Obama went on this trip, but he failed to get approval from

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Congress to push the TPP, so what is the likelihood to push it through?

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One issue is the 12 party organisation, there has to be

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accessed from all parties, including the US. Once the negotiators reach

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an agreement, then the lawyers will have to come in from all 12 parties

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to make sure that all of the highs are dotted and the keys are crossed.

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Each of the countries has to pass the TPA from the Rome government.

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That doesn't have to come now, he didn't have to get fast track or TPA

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prior to the visit, but it will have to come after the general elections.

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`` their own government. How important is Asia's economy right

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now for the US? For US businesses, Asia is not an option, it is

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essential. Trade and business is one of the three key components to the

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rebalance the US towards Asia. It is political, military and trade. The

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TPP is the cornerstone to that pivot. The use of China's currency,

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the yuan, has grown exponentially in recent years. It is now the seventh

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most used currency for global payments. Processing those payments

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is big business, and according to new data, Singapore has just

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overtaken London as the world's second largest clearing centre for

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the yuan behind Hong Kong. This is really a story about China and South

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East Asia. China has very extensive relationships in South East Asia,

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and the role of Singapore as a hub in the region, particularly a

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trading hub, is really important behind the growth of these numbers

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as well. Singapore is growing 375% in use of the Chinese currency in

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the last 12 months. That is a staggering amount, Michael. We know

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that the UK finance minister, George Osborne, has put in a series of

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measures to try to enable London to become a trading hub. What does it

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take to be the top clearing centre? Singapore does it with

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infrastructure. There is a dedicated clearing bank, which is by CBC in

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Singapore, so infrastructure matters. Ultimately, you want very

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convenient and good payment processes between a bank that is

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making a payment on behalf of the customers to settle a supply

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arrangement from China. Infrastructure matters. Relationship

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with China is important as well. Singapore and its social, cultural,

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and geographic relationship with China, it is on the same time zone,

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and there are extensive sociocultural ties with China, that

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is important. The market in Singapore is very organised these

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days, in terms of its development of the services in its marketplace, the

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central bank. And the financial community work together to develop a

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market. How much should countries be competing for this business? What

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does it take to compete with ease, and how much do you see it growing?

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You should remember it is growing from a small base. There are still

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other very big currencies that are used widely around the world, but

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the Chinese one is growing very quickly. London is growing at over

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200%, places like Taiwan, Australia, they are growing at over 200% as

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well. The world's biggest make of

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smartphones, Samsung electronics, have reported a 4% decline in sales

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at its mobile phone division in the first quarter. Revenues at the

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division fell to $32 billion in January, from the previous quarter.

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It has been hit by slowing growth in smartphone sales in lucrative

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markets like the US and Europe. Continuing with Samsung, the

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high`stakes court battle that has with Apple, is expected to wrap up

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this week in the US. Closing arguments will begin later today.

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They are accusing each other once again of ripping off designs and

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features, and the case could cost Samsung $2 billion if it loses. A

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Japanese economic giant, Panasonic, has returned to profit. It has been

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struggling with intense competition from Apple and Samsung, as well as

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falling prices for gadgets. A weak yen, and efforts to restructure the

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company, have paved the way for its gradual recovery. It is forecasting

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further rises this year. Shares in Pfizer jumped $1 29, or 4%, on Wall

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Street, following its offer to buy AstraZeneca for $100 billion. Pfizer

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is now working on its next move, after AstraZeneca rejected its

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second merger bid, which saw its shares jumped 12%. Talks are set to

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continue with Australian food manufacturer, Goodman Fielder. It

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rejected a bid of close to one point $2 billion. `` one $.2 billion. ``

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1.2 billion. It makes some of straight's most recognisable food

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products, but its financial performance has been weaker than

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expected. Designers and manufacturers are doing some

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amazingly creative things with 3`D printing. They make jewellery,

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furniture and even industrial components. One company in China is

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taking it a step further. They are using recycled materials, and they

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have made ten houses with a 3`D printer, and has put them to use in

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eastern China. At first glance, these houses look

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like many others in Shanghai, but ten of them have been put up in a

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day, without a single brick, tile, or even a builder involved in the

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construction. They are China's first buildings to be made with 3`D

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printing technology. Giant printers spread mixture of cement, sand and

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other construction materials to build the walls, one layer at a

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time. Like icing cake. `` like icing a cake. These houses are equipped,

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easy and relatively cheap solution. TRANSLATION: You can construct the

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whole walls in the factory and deliver them. Their work just needs

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to pile them up with cranes. They are hollow inside, with columns. It

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is very simple to do. The company says these buildings are

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environmentally friendly, and can be printed to any digital design. The

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cheap materials and the lack of manual labour mean that each one can

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be printed for less than $5,000. The groundbreaking technology still has

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a long way to go before mass production. Perhaps, with such a

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small pricetag, we may see more of these 3`D buildings, even

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skyscrapers, in Shanghai before very long.

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A quick look at the markets, because most Asian stocks are currently a

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tad lower. most Asian stocks are currently a

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Essentially, markets are lower, a bit of caution sitting in because

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the Federal Reserve in the US will be starting their two`day meeting on

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interest rates a little later today. Our top stories: A BBC team has

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gained rare access to Syria's biggest city, Aleppo, where

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civilians remain under constant and indiscriminate attack. Rescuers are

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digging through rubble for survivors of powerful tornadoes that have

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ripped through central and southern

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