23/06/2014 Asia Business Report

nearby. She was stabbed 16 times as she walked along a footpath in

Colchester last Tuesday. Now it is time for all the latest business

news. The race to be Indonesia's

ex`president heats up. Will the stronger economic candidate win the

vote? India facing severe power shortages, blackouts in packed in

many of its factories. `` impacting many. Welcome to Asia Business

Report. Election day in Indonesia is storing close`up, and polls suggest

that a largely one`sided race has turned into genuine competition.

Indonesians had another opportunity to see the two main presidential

candidates in action last night. The two men debated the major issues

facing the country. What would each candidate to four Indonesia's

economy? Their policies are quite similar if you look at their

agendas. One is a bit ahead because he has proved his governance record

before in Jakarta. The only major sort of difference, when it comes to

subsidy reform. One will do it, one will cut subsidies. But either

government, when they come to power, they will have to do some level of

subsidies. We know that Indonesia's economy drew `` grew at its was

paced since 2009. Both will be under pressure to perform. What can they

do? When you come to power, the monetary tightening will have to

continue. They need to rebalance the economy towards a bit less domestic

manned and infrastructure. Wendy's two candidates come to power, the

best thing they can do is to fast track some of the infrastructure

projects that are stuck. Manufacturing growth has been

lacking. India is facing severe power

shortages which becomes acute because of increased demand during

the summer months. Ready businesses in the capital have an asked to make

do without power for a few hours a day. Factories and many other parts

of India have to tackle electricity cuts.

Bright lights and air`conditioned comfort does not come cheap. At this

upscale shopping more, like all the others in Delhi, it has no

electricity supply after ten o'clock at night. The regular power outage

is a planned move by the government to reduce the pressure on the

creaking power grids. So this is what they rely on, a network of

diesel powered generators that keep them running. The head of the

operations as they have to store over 60,000 litres of diesel to fuel

just the backups. This is the economy at work, 24/7. We cannot

afford to have a power cut. Power is the fundamental for any economic

element. India has frequent power cuts because demand often outstrips

supply, causing grids such as this one to fail. But the bigger problem

is that more than 300 million people across the country lacked access to

electricity. They are not even connect to grids of any kind. It

makes consumption of electricity among the lowest in the world. In

spite of the low consumption, India is still unable to power its

industry. Factory owners say that it hurts their global competitiveness.

If you look at countries such as China and others, we are competing

with them. Their electricity is 24/7. If you look at us, we have to

rely on... It does impact their lot on our costings. Our buyers do not

understand that. Coal `based power plants generate 70% of India's

electricity. There is sufficient domestic coal, the country's real

system cannot support it from the far`flung mines are fast enough,

leaving power producers with a shortage. As India's economy

expands, the shortfall will only increase. The last few years, there

has been a slump. The demand has been moderated. As soon as it picks

up, you will see shortages again. Unless urgent `` urgent action is

taken, it could stifle India's growth and business.

In other business news, China's manufacturing activity picked up

pace in June, according to a preliminary survey. The purchasing

index rose to 50.8, from 49.4. The first time since December that the

Reading has been above 50. The indicator is a key part of the

sector's health, a reading above 50 means expansion. A Chinese company

has pulled out of paramount's upcoming Transformers movie. It was

ending its sponsorship and has demanded that its locals and

properties be edited out of the film. The firm has also asked China

to suspend screenings of the blockbuster. The movie is scheduled

for worldwide release this Friday. In a country famous for its love of

football, a combination of match watching and work does not really

go. Retailers and businesses are closing early to watch the games.

Cities are coming to a standstill. What effect does it have on an

economy that is already slowing down?

When the Brazilian team is playing, traffic ahead of the game is not

pretty. Everyone wants to get home to watch the match. For those who

cannot make it, businesses are still making time for football. This past

a shop closes for each game. Employees get to watch the match

inside. It is a month that has its challenges. TRANSLATION: With banks

and other businesses, it is just like a public holiday. They close

and do not reopen after the match. If you leave it too late to pay a

bill, you will struggle. It as the game kicks off, Brazilians clearly

have their priorities. Sao Paulo is Brazil's financial capital and its

biggest city. I am on a commercial Street that is normally packed and

it is rush`hour. But all the shops are shut. Business is taking a back

seat to football. While Brazilians are taking the opportunity to enjoy

the tournament, what effect does it have on the economy that grew at a

0.2% in the first three months of this year? People have been very

negative about Brazil's economic prospects in the run`up to the World

Cup. People are excited about the country again. The confidence is

gradually improving, as the tournament is evolving and

everything is right. So it will help a little bit. For Bruno and his

pastor company, at least demand for takeaway is holding up. That keeps

him and his workers happy, even if their team does not always score

winning goal. There is very little doubt about the

economic impact of major sporting events. Payments firm Visa says that

international travellers put $27 million on their credit cards in

just the first weekend of the World Cup. Earlier I spoke to the vice

president of Visa. There are ten countries that make up most of it.

It is the countries that you would expect, the US, UK, France, Mexico.

That is where they are coming from. If you look at the Asia`Pacific

numbers, what is interesting, the Australian number, jumping a

whopping 600%. We know the Australians have a team in the World

Cup. You think that it comes down to the increase from countries who have

a team represented? Number one, soccer is a world sport. People

everywhere are excited about it. Everyone is into it. In Asia,

Australia is seeing a big jump. We are also seeing it from places like

New Zealand, a 90% jump from New Zealand. 70% from Singapore. I think

it is a universal thing. Asians have caught the fever. If you take a look

at the spending, it is a big boost to Brazil's economy. People spending

more. All of it eventually is pretty much offset by the cost of hosting

the event. What is the determining factor in a country hosting an event

like this? How much do they gain out of it? There are many different

reasons why a country may choose to host a sporting event, such as the

World Cup or the Olympics. They do tend to be expensive. But at least

as it relates to the benefits of tourists coming in, 600,000 expected

to come into Brazil. Over four days, $27 million. Does help the

local economy. Where we are seeing the spending, hotels, of course,

restaurants and other merchants. It does help the local economy. That is

it for this edition of Asia Business Report.

This is BBC News. The headlines: ISIS fighters had taken full control

of Iraq's borders with Syria and Jordan. They have also seized