26/11/2015 Asia Business Report

Millions of low paid families will not now see their benefits cut

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

More big losses for AirAsia's long haul service. Will the profits get

off the ground? And fancy a new luxury home away from home? Michael

Jackson's Neverland ranch is up for sale, and you do not have to travel

there to buy it. Welcome to Asia Business Report. It

has been a tough year for AirAsia, the region's biggest budget carrier.

A flight crashed last December, killing all 162 people on board. The

final report into the crash is due in a few days, but the long haul

service has just reported its eighth straight quarter of losses. It is

for its regional operations, the main part of its business, are

expected later today. I spoke to the deputy Asia editor about the

prospects of the flight. The underlying issue is the final

business model. This is moving away from the shorthaul model they are

using. It is extremely difficult to get right, because it cannot take

advantage of the efficiencies of shorter routs. No airline has been

able to make it work. How long can they continue with this? That is a

good question. They have deep pockets, but they might want to meet

a cash call at some point. They have about 80 aircraft. It is a

challenging environment they find themselves in. What about the

domestic operations with the parent company? Do we have any sense of the

impact of last December's crash on the company? The crash last December

has hurt operations in Indonesia. It affected sentiment for the group in

general. That said, AirAsia continues to be profitable. They

probably will make a profit and have been consistently profitable. What

do you expect out of the crash investigation? There is a lot of

potential, whether it is the pilot or the aircraft. It is impossible to

speculate. I hope they find a definite reason for what happened.

The need to make sure something like this does not happen again.

In other business news, facing a collapse in commodity prices, Rio

Tinto is going to approve an expansion of a port side project in

Queensland. Environment lists have long opposed the project, which has

faced delays regarding government approvals.

The publishers of Hong Kong's South China morning Post has confirmed it

has received an approach from an unnamed potential buyer for the

company's media assets. The group stresses there is no guarantee the

approach would result in a deal. India and China have featured

prominently in a new report on corporate fraud. Annual study

suggests that public fraud is on the rise in Asia. Developing markets are

particularly at risk due to the complexity of supply chains. With IP

theft being one of the key issues mentioned. It underlines the reason

with robust internal controls. If you look at India, India had a high

incidence of corruption. If you look at the environment in India, we have

had well-publicised events of economic issues, over importing. The

mood in India is changing. At a government level we have the

enactment of increased corporate governance and on the corporate

level, companies are coming to us to improve diligence.

It is less than a week until the UN climate summit in Paris opens. With

India being the world's third-largest emitter of greenhouse

gases in the Delhi has promised to generate 40% of its electricity from

renewables within 15 years. Is that a realistic target?

It is exam season for the students at this modern college. Although

writing papers can be stressful, students are thankful for one thing.

An uninterrupted supply of electricity keeping them cool and

giving them plenty of light. This college used to face regular power

cuts. Some of our projects we have to use an incubator, but when it

dies we have to start all over again. We do not have power cuts and

we do not face this problem. India produces three times more power from

wind and other so-called renewables like solar and Hydro. Windfarms like

this one eye popping up all over the country. The industry has some

specific problems in India. They include getting access to land

needed for when projects. And then there is crime, with the gangs

stealing copper cables. And even if the physical infrastructure is in

place, not everyone is convinced it will be enough. These projects

making sufficient returns it is bankable and appealing to invest?

The Indian government has made switching over to wind power more

attractive offering incentives. But some experts say that while wind

power is undoubtedly progress, expanding output needs a rethink.

The best windfarm sites in India have been taken. New windmills will

operate at lower efficiencies. We will need more investment for the

same output. For now, windfarms provide 8% of India's electricity

demands. The plan is to double that. But India still has to build a

stable power network that can provide continuous electricity. And

without that, the role of wind energy across India will be limited.

If you are in the market for a luxury property, what about this

one? The rather expensive former home of Michael Jackson, it has been

on the market for six months with no takers. There are high hopes of

finding a buyer in Asia. Equal pricetag of $100 million. We spoke

to the online entrepreneur tossed with selling Neverland.

As Mac tasks. It is an amazing property based in

California. It has tremendous appeal for people in Asia. Michael Jackson

is an iconic artist. He has a massive aura these days with people

in Asia. But this property has been on the market in -- since May. It

did not generate much interest among bidders on minor in China. --

online. How confident are you that an Asian investor will buy this

property? We are doing a lot of work online. We are also very active

off-line with private bankers. That can enable us to tap into the right

people. Chinese people are the biggest foreign investors in the US

property market. They invested in $20 billion last year. They will

definitely have some interest. Do you think it is a trend offering

western celebrity homes to Chinese buyers? We are about to feature one

of the properties of the famous basketball player. It is as popular

as Michael Jackson in China and Asia. There is an interest in this

part of the world. So you do not sell just property, you sell luxury

car is as well as jewellery and handbags to your customers. Many of

your products are second-hand. What is the appeal? Asian buyers are

looking for access to value and hard to find works. If you look at the

cars, for example, if you go to the dealer it will take a couple of

years to access. As a website we bring them immediately.

A quick check on the markets now. Japan is up 0.5%. That is it for

this condition of Asia Business Report. -- edition. Thank you for

watching. Russia and Turkey have released new

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