07/08/2014 Asia Business Report

Health Act. Now on BBC News, all the latest business news live from

Singapore. Hot competition, home`grown phone makers are putting

the pressure on the big brands. And a little`known sport, which is big

in India and is looking to raise its profile. Thank you for joining us

for this edition of Asia Business Report on BBC World News, I am Rico

Hizon. The rise of the cheap home`grown smut phone manufacturers

have seen Samsun knocked off its perch as the number one seller in

the world's biggest market, China. That is because Beijing competitor

sold more smartphones than anyone else. Samsun has also been given a

run for its money in India, where the local phone maker Micro makes is

winning customers. Earlier I spoke to a local seller, and asked what

was behind the success of these kind of local phone makers. What is

really working for these companies is performance, spec, at a value

price. That is where those vendor 's art playing. They are operating

relatively strong spec devices at a great value price. But they are also

able to play in the lower end of the market as well, with some great

prices. They are indeed making a big bank in their respective home

markets, India and China. What could they be disruptive force outside of

their home countries? Is a big potential in that. We are starting

to see companies launch in India, which have been so out. Supply can't

meet demand. We are seeing Micromax now move into Russia. So those

companies are starting to branch out, roared on their portfolio of

companies around the world. But it will be a challenge. Remember we

have seen motor roller being acquired by Lenovo, so that they can

acquire the patterns they need to enter markets like the US and

Europe. They need those licensing agreements, those patents. So these

headaches, but this growth be sustainable? I think there is a

question over that at the moment. Do they have the right business model?

Certainly yesterday, one company had to apologise in India because their

supplier isn't meeting demand for their sales. So can they keep up

with the demand? And can Micromax build its brand outside of India?

Remember that both of these companies have also been boosted by

local sentiment, wanting to root for the home brand. In other business

News making headlines, Russia's President Vladimir Putin is set to

ban or restrict imports of food and agricultural product from the come

dumber countries that have imposed sanctions on Russia over its actions

in the Ukraine. A complete ban on all US produce is expected to be

announced. That amounts to about $1.5 billion in imports. A full list

of what is being banned will be published later this Thursday.

25,000 people have signed up a class`action lawsuit against

Facebook. The man behind the lawsuit is a data privacy campaigner who

says the weight his book monitors its members' activity on and off the

site puts the company in breach of European union laws. As part of the

claim, it has been alleged that Facebook or operated with a US

surveillance scheme called PRISM. It has been warned it could face more

fines over its money`laundering controls. The news came after a 20%

fall in profits. The bank said that regulators in the US have identified

you problems. How do you grow a business that has made its mark in a

narrow product range on and never ventured out of its comfort zone?

Well, that is a question facing a Singapore `based company which

started as a model of the Mac modest cellphone maker in the 1970s. Today

it is one of the region's largest reducers of leather couches. In the

latest instalment in our family business series, our correspondent

takes a look at how the next`generation is giving it a new

lease of life. In every imaginable colour, size, and shape, this

company makes sofas to meet anyone's need. This man started the

company, his sofa making business, in the 1970s with his brothers in

Singapore workshop now that small workshop is no longer. Singapore

remains the world's headquarters, where decisions on design,

manufacture, and marketing make place. But now several plants in

China turn out thousands of surfers a year. So how do you improve on

something you already do well? It is a question that the next`generation

of the are grappling with. Enter his daughter. She is one of many in her

family, including her brother, cousins, and even her husband, who

work with the company. With so many members of the family involved,

conflicts are sometimes inevitable. Sometimes we have a different

opinion. But I think we always can resolve, and because at the end of

the day, we have the same objective. The business. Conflict are only one

problem family businesses need to overcome. The other is how to

continue to grow in a competitive environment. A perennial problem for

most family businesses is bringing in the ideas of the new generation,

while still leveraging off what they know. In HTL's case, it is a ready

supply of leather for their sofas. So why not take on another

potentially lucrative market, targeting what most women want. Art

leather handbag. `` a leather handbag. The handbags were part of a

new move to start a new retail arm for the company. It took months to

convince the patriarchs that incorporating other leather products

was a way to move the business forward. To be honest, they had been

used to talking about big business, big orders, and the turnover. I

think from where we come in at, we are more about pushing for new,

small ideas today but it ideas tomorrow. HTL may be a family

business excelling at leather sofas now, but under the leadership of the

next generation, it a take on leather products of all shapes and

functions. The sport of kabaddi is played by millions in India, at an

Israeli in the news, and even the best players are relatively unknown.

So can a new tournament raise its profile, and the a viable is this?

`` is rarely in the news. correspondent reports from Mumbai.

Cricket may be India's sporting obsession, but this is the

country's traditional home`grown game. Kabaddi has been played here

for centuries, especially in rural India. Whether you are playing in

school or one of the thousands of kabaddi clubs up and down the

country, most of the games take place outside on dirt, dust, grasp,

or a hard surface like this one. Now though, we have seen the biggest

effort yet to bring the sport to a wider audience in India. But in a

very different environment `` grass. This is kabaddi in its purest

form, high tempo and plenty of colour. A recipe which creators hope

will make it more mainstream. It is not just about the games. There is

plenty of razzmatazz as well. Not least the famous faces from

Bollywood and Dion who are watching matches, owning teams, and quite

happy to get involved in the hype. One, two, three. And if the

of celebrity, showbiz, and sport, sounds familiar, you would be right.

This is the latest game here in spy by the way the Indian Premier League

or IPL revitalised cricket. And the league's lost doesn't mind admitting

it. They did Magas realise now part the world that new sport works well

`` make us realise, but if you can package it better, works better. We

are guilty of plagiarising that. Most sports could use a bit of that.

This channel is one of its main investors. Not just roared casting

pictures, with the long`term aim of making. `` broadcasting. It might be

slow going. In this first season, some teams have struggled even to

get sponsors. The big winners of the new league seem to be the players.

Salaries have let from around $500 a month to more than 5000. But can

these root recruits really propel the game to a new level. This is

going to be a big challenge, in India we need icons, and currently

kabaddi has no icons. Youngsters like these will keep paying again,

as well as cricket of course. But kabaddi's chance of finding

mainstream popularity still seems in the balance. Before we go, a quick

look at the markets. Asian investors remained on edge in mid`morning

Thursday trade. Japanese stocks are pulling away from six`week lows, as

a Russian troop build`up on the border of Ukraine saps risk

appetite. Japan down by 22 points. Hang Seng down by 85, and

Australia's benchmark index giving back 14. Those are