29/09/2014 Asia Business Report

for Ed Miliband. Now on BBC News, all the latest

business news live from Singapore. Police crackdown on protesters in

Hong Kong. Stock market opens though banks suspend operations.

Rockstar welcome for India's Prime Minister. Will it translate to

business deals? Hello and welcome to this edition of

Asia Business Report. Hong Kong traders braced for a

sell`off on Monday and make plans to work outside the financial district

after the biggest police crackdown on the city since it was returned to

Chinese rule. Police used tear gas to break up the demonstration

following protesters surrounding government buildings and blocking

traffic. It is home to the fifth largest stock market. The central

bank says 29 branches of 17 banks have been suspended with the

operations. We will look at the markets as the open. Let's speak

with the CEO of Cathay asset management. These dramatic images of

protest ers being tear gas on the streets of Hong Kong. What message

does this send to investors around the world? These are scenes we

haven't seen in Hong Kong for a long time. It's a confrontation with the

authorities and with police that flared up on Sunday. It has been

covered widely in the press. Investors will be concerned. Perhaps

not by the scenes, but where this leads, whether the stand`off

continues and what the outcomes might be. We have the stock market

opening about now and the expectation is that the market will

sell off initially. We have a truncated week with the national day

holidays. With banks in shutdown, 29 branches, it is the long weekend

coming up and there are concerns that Chinese tourists might stay

away. This will impact China's service oriented economy. This is a

question of access. Access to officers, the shopping and public

transport. That's where the disruption is heavily felt this

morning. A number of train stations empty and others congested as there

are restrictions. Ask services in key areas on the island, they have

been rerouted. This has made life more difficult for those getting to

work. Schools in the central area on the island have been closed, which

eased traffic this morning. As you say, tourist arrivals could be

hurt. This comes at a time with the clampdown on conspicuous consumption

in China affecting the retail industry in Hong Kong more broadly.

Do you think this will be a short term impact, or other concerns this

could go on long`term, especially as protesters and no sign of China or

the government giving in? That is the point. That is where investors

will focus. It started as a student protest and has taken on the Occupy

Central movement. The leadership has pulled back, suggesting the

stand`off has become a control. Whether or not this leads to further

stand`off, whether it extends in terms of further protest in the

business district remains to be seen. It rest in the reaction from

the leadership and from the authorities and the possible

comments which aren't guaranteed, from Beijing, and what reaction we

will get. Given it is a short week and things could get difficult in

and around the public holiday. Thank you so much for joining us from Hong

Kong. The markets are just opening.

Let's take a look at what they are doing. They are slightly lower, I

believe, they are falling and that says investors and traders remain

sidelined, many in the financial district having trouble getting to

work this morning as protesters blockade the streets. If we look at

the other markets. Lots of them are flat. Many shrugging off Wall

Street's rebound on Friday because of the political unrest in Hong

Kong. The Indian Prime Minister, Narendra

Modi, was given a welcome reserved normally for rock stars on his visit

to the US. He's a parent at Madison Square Garden on Sunday sold out. ``

his appearance. The trip is focused on building trade and Prime Minister

Modi is holding meetings with several Fortune 500 companies

including PepsiCo and Google. He came to power promising economic

change and our correspondent, Michelle Fleury, asked the head of

the US India business alliance if he can deliver.

His track record is a very good, that's why he got elected with such

a mandate. The difference is the mandate he has. The prior government

announced a lot of policies, whether in retail or not, because of the

coalition, they were checkmated, stalemated. He has a clear mandate.

With that, he can get things done. The odds are that he will.

Is this visit hitting the reset button? It is more than hitting the

reset button. For a person who was persona non grata up until one year

ago, his meeting with President Obama twice, his meeting with the

vice president and Secretary of State, he is meeting the defence

secretaries, he is meted Ivy Tour by the Fortune 500 CEOs. Buttons have

been hit hard `` he is being met with Fortune 500 CEOs.

Japan's bank is in talks to acquire DreamWorks, a Hollywood animation

studio behind the move Shrek and Madagascar, worth $3.2 billion. It

would make the bank the second Japanese tech company to buy a

Hollywood studio following Sony's acquisition of Columbia pictures in

1989. Alibaba iMac buys a 15% stake in the

Chinese hospitality technology provider, and information technology

company `` Alibaba. It is the biggest investment since

the record`breaking share listing in New York. The $416 million deal

paves the way for Alibaba to develop its travel business and help migrate

hotel customers to Alibaba's e`commerce website.

The Norwegian telco launches in Myanmar, the second foreign

telecommunications company operating in the country formerly known as

Burma. After decades of military rule,

Myanmar is one of the world's least connected nations. Last month, the

government said one in ten people had a mobile phone. We speak with

the head of the company. We need to get into the remote areas as soon as

the ball. There are infrastructure

challenges. We start with the cities and then we roll out our services in

the villages. Our aim is that, within the first five years, we

should covered 90% of the population. You say there are

infrastructure challenges. What are some of the other challenges and the

business risk of going into a market like Myanmar? We have been operating

in Asia for 15 years, in markets like Bangladesh, Pakistan,

Thailand, India and Malaysia. We were prepared. However, this is more

difficult than we have done before. If I should give you two or three of

the issues, that would be land rights. When we roll out towers, we

need to know who the land owners are. There are no papers. We have

problems with finding the right talent, we are hiring around 1000

people and we need to take them fresh from university and train

them. Then there are infrastructure challenges like lack of roads, lack

of electricity grids and so on. This takes time.

For the first time, Xbox goes on sale in China, following the lifting

of a government ban on game consoles. The three makers of

consuls, Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo, wanted access to China's

multibillion dollar market. A quick look at the markets. They are just

opening and as you can see we have those numbers are for Hong Kong's

Hang Seng. Dramatic falls, down almost 300 points. That is in

reaction to those protests that we saw over the weekend and that our

continuing this morning. Protesters have been tear gas on the streets of

Hong Kong. Something that hasn't happened for a number of years with

teargas and pepper sprayed being used `` tear gassed. The Nikkei is

up about 80 points. That is boosting export oriented stocks. In

Australia, we haven't seen great numbers. Iron ore prices impact it.

We have seen the ASX All Ordinaries down about 40 points `` impacted. As

I mentioned, the weakness of the yen. The US dollar is at a near four

year high, against other currencies. That is it for this addition of Asia

Business Report. Thanks for watching. `` edition. Hello. You are

watching BBC News. Our top stories: Hong Kong's protests escalate:

thousands are continuing to defy police and the authorities as they

call for full democracy. The Islamic State