20/05/2014 Asia Business Report

since Thursday, but the American search was called off on Sunday. Now

on BBC News, all the latest business news live from Singapore. Five

Chinese military officials are charged with stealing US trade

secrets through cyber`espionage. Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse

pleads guilty to charges of aiding American tax invaders. Welcome to

Asia Business Report. We start with China, which has warned the US that

it may jeopardise co`operation between the two sides after the US

charged five Chinese officials with economic espionage. They are accused

of hacking into US company computers to steal trade secrets. They have

denied all the charges, with its Foreign Minister saying they are

based on fabricated. Our correspondent has more from

Washington, DC. But American authorities say it has a real impact

on the lives of ordinary Americans. The world of corporate espionage can

seem quite abstract, I am joined by an expert, the US Attorney for the

district of Pennsylvania. What impact does it have on the lives of

ordinary people? It has a real and painful impact on ordinary people. I

come from Pittsburgh, which is a steel town and the cradle of

American industry. It should be obvious when steel companies invest

huge amounts of money into research and development in an increasingly

competitive global economy and to have these investments stolen from

them through cyber`espionage, there are real consequences. Plants close,

people get laid off and lose their homes. The charges that you brought

against these Chinese hackers involve companies in your state.

What proof do you have? Today, we have employed the American criminal

justice system. But in simple strokes, these individuals who are

affiliated with the military in China, were using spearphishing to

intrude on the victims who were named in the indictment, leaving

bugs there and creating backdoors to get into other compromised computers

to exfiltrate compromised data. But governments around the world have

not made the same distinction. I really can't say. I can tell you

that this is a United States law enforcement action, and the use of

our criminal justice system through a criminal indictment based on

evidence that was put before me. I signed it and presented it to a

grand jury. There you have it. Talking about the commercial damage

and the human cost that results from that. The action taken today will

add further strain to the relationship between the United

States and China. Credit Suisse has become the first bank in more than a

decade to admit to crime in the US. The wealth manager and two of its

units pleaded guilty of two charges of helping its clients to evade

taxes. It agreed to a settlement of $2.6 billion in American Federal

Court. We spoke to an expert to get her views on the case. There may be

a chilling effect. If you have a choice between a bank that has no

criminal conviction and a bank that does, you will go with the bank with

a better reputation. So this can have a serious effect on business

and its prospects. As stakeholders decide that they want to do business

with a more potentially Conservative or higher behavioural standard kind

of organisation. Thailand's military has declared martial law, following

months of anti`government protest, it caused a drop in its currency.

The army said they are looking to restore peace and order but they

stressed the move was not a coup d'etat. It could continue to hurt

the economy. It posted weaker than expected growth figures for the

first part of the year. I was told earlier it was possible that

Thailand could fall into a recession because of the crisis. This region I

have seen up and down growth. As long as there is not severe

disruption to trade and investment flows, we will be able to ride

through this period. So you don't see any disruption. But what will it

mean for Thailand? Obviously, long`term prospects. After all, the

drag on the economy is likely to happen again. We are expecting lower

estimates for the rest of the year. For us, supply chain disruption is a

risk, as in the auto sector. So far that has not happened. If that

happens, the disruption to trade region meet will be minimal. In

Singapore and elsewhere. It should be fairly contained. We have seen

growth coming out a little bit stronger for the quarter. But just

how integrated our south`east Asian economies. You have the ASEAN next

year. We are the largest trading partner. A reflection of growing

wealth as well as rising consumption and investment within the region.

2015 is an important year for ASEAN. So all of this going on in

Vietnam and Thailand doesn't help. It distracts from the aim of getting

together to talk about a more seamless front on trade and people

flow. As you heard, Singapore's economy grew by more than estimated

in the first three months of 2014. That was because of stronger

manufacturing. GDP rose to buy an annualised 2.3% compared to

forecasts of 0.1% growth. But what the locals think of the growth so

far? We took to the streets of Singapore to find out. They are

doing quite well. We will continue to grow, with a lot of external

events and we have made wise investment so far. The Singapore

economy will probably start picking up, but probably at a slower pace as

we move to a more developed economy itself. Things will be slower but

eventually will move up. I believe the economy is very good in

Singapore. I believe that many people are able to work and find

good jobs. We are paid well. So I am very happy to be in Singapore

actually. And other business News, the company that owns the

Australia's Penfolds wine brand has rejected a takeover bid. The

world's second`largest listed wine company said the offer was too low.

The shares surged on that news. Indonesia is made up of 70,000

islands, but most are protected IR law if the environment or its people

are at risk. There are fears that law is being eroded. Our

correspondent reports from a small environment where despite local, a

Chinese company is in the first stages of setting up an iron iron

ore mine. Once, all the I could see on this island. Life here had hardly

changed for generations. Until this arrived. A Chinese company have been

granted a license to explore half of the island for an iron ore mine. The

local villagers are outraged. They tried to stop the trucks from being

unloaded. That they were powerless against the armed police. Or

generations people he lived without roads linking villages. And now,

this road is being built by the mining company and will go up to

where the mine will be. The villagers say the company has no

right over this land and it is destroying their lifestyle. This

woman has lived here all her life. She does not have much, but she

knows that she does not want the mining company here. It will kill

the fish. TRANSLATION: How are we going to eat? The villagers have

filed a lawsuit against the company, and they won, but that law has

expired and the company has now secured a new permit. This man

allowed the company to keep mining. He is convinced it was the right

position TRANSLATION: Of course the mining operation will destroy the

land. But we will reclaim it later. We know how to do it. Despite

concerns, the local ministry defended the government's decision.

The mining sector plays an important role. What we are trying to do is

determine which activity can generate the maximum benefit for

local people first. I believe that mining activities will give them a

good choice to enhance the quality of life. But does sound like empty

promises for these villages. They feel powerless in the face of

development, worried about their way of life vanishing. And that's it for

Asia Business Report. Thank you for watching. You are watching BBC News.

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