20/01/2016 Asia Business Report

Will we be replaced by robots? The world economic forum discusses how

the next industrial revolution will change the global economy. And how

the bauxite mining boom in Malaysia takes a toll on the environment - we

speak to a local politician about his concerns -- World Economic

Forum. Hello, world, good morning, Asia, glad that you can join us for

this edition of Asia Business Report. Business leaders from around

the world are gathering in Davos for the world economic forum. The thing

is the effect artificial intelligence will have on the world

of work and as we report, many companies have to rethink their

approach to getting the job done -- World Economic Forum. Robots have

arrived in Davos. This is from South Korea, World Economic Forum, Hubo,

embodying the fourth industrial revolution. Hubo is being told what

to do but many big thinkers see an age already dawning in which

machines will make their own decisions. Summit strange things are

happening. -- some strange things. If you walk down the street and you

see someone talking to the phone, they are likely talking to a

machine, not another human, which has never happened in human history

before, the ability to talk to machines, which are beginning to

recognise objects in images, diagnosing diseases like cancer and

others. That is something that is quite remarkable and that has

transformed the world. So, what will this mean for how things will get

done in the future? And, how companies will need to change, how

they manage their biggest asset, their workforce. I have never been

more excited about the future and at the same time I have never been more

scared about the future. Cannibalising your business to be

able to change fast enough, and being able to skilled people, or

being able to have a ready workforce which can take advantage of these

opportunities, that is where my challenges are -- skill people. The

task over the next couple of days in Davos is to hammer at what skills

workers will need to stand the test of time. Bear in mind that computers

can learn some things much faster than humans. We are not just talking

about robots replacing people in the factory line and so on. We are

talking about the incursion of artificial intelligence for the

first time in a big way in all of those professional skills and

qualifications, in the professions so-called, whether in health, legal,

accountancy and finance. In other words, don't be fooled into thinking

something needs to look like a robot in order to take your job. Robots do

appear to be increasingly able to handle tasks which involve

collecting information and then responding to it. But there are some

things that still require that human touch Tom alike, for example, how

you like to be served your cocktail. Thank you. -- that human touch,

like, for example. And, at the forum, Tanya spoke to the president

of the biggest search engine in China, asking him if he is worried

about slowing Chinese growth. The GDP growth rate is 6.9%, which is

actually impressive for a large economy. You know, China, it is

about $10 trillion. Obviously it has slowed down quite a bit from a

couple of years ago, but overall it is bullish in the long run. If you

look at a couple of sectors, customer spending and services, it

is doing pretty well. And also the sectors have to do with Internet are

doing well. So I expect China to go through this difficult stage weekly

in the transition, but in the long run it is doing well. And you

interact with consumers a great deal and so you would have inside Astro

how tastes are changing. So far there are two factors, one is the

overall service and consumer sector, the other is the speed, moving from

off-line to online. We have seen quite healthy state in both

directions. For the last quarter, the growth rate was over 30%. And

also, if you look at China, lots of investment in technology and

innovation is beginning to pay off. I don't know if you have been to

Beijing before, but if you walk the streets of Beijing, there are lots

of entrepreneurial activities, and start-up companies are changing

essentially the industry. The International Monetary Fund has cut

its outlook for global growth for the third time in less than a year,

starting the slowdown in trade in China and weak commodity prices. The

forecast that the world economy will expand to 3.4% in 2016 is down from

3.6%. BHP Billiton cuts the iron ore production forecast from June,

reducing the estimate 10 billion tons. The company sees no recovery

in iron ore or call prices over the next couple of years, though it is

hopeful for a rebound in copper and oil. Malaysia has a temporary ban

over bauxite mining. It is a key component in aluminium, which is in

huge demand in China. Ivan had spoke to an opposition state legislator

who is worried about the environmental impact and asked him

whether there are environmental impact and asked him

whether there -- whether the government listen to their concerns.

They have but they are not doing enough. I started raising the issues

in early 2014. That was when this bauxite mining exploded. Yes. The

middle of 2014 it exploded. The environment has become more and more

polluted during that time. I talked about it again in the middle of

2014. We are still talking about what is the action from the state

government, the authorities, in order to curb these issues. Do we

actually know what the environmental damage is from this bauxite mining?

There are many aspects that have been damaged by this bauxite

industry. Number one, all of the infrastructure, the roads, signage,

because of the trucks. The rivers have been polluted, with all of the

contaminants from heavy metals, from the toxic and so on. As well as

recently, the sea, because rivers flow to the sea. The same for the

drinking water of the people. We are taking water from the river for

public consumption. All of this damage has been done by this bauxite

mining. In terms of benefits. I mean, obviously, some people have

made a lot of money. If we think about the numbers. If you export a

20 billion tons come that is worth about $900 million. Who got rich

here? Exactly the people that operating and involved directly with

bauxite mining is the people that getting richer and richer. The state

is not. Not even $10 million have been collected by the state for

2015. Jonathan Head. Writing a talked to raise for charity is not

an obvious use for the three wheeled scooters popular in Asia -- bauxite

in its work for one group which has raised funds to help rural

communities in India and Sri Lanka. We look at the business of getting,

catching up with the founder of Tuk Tuk. -- Pimp My Tuk Tuk. Pimp My Tuk

Tuk started back in 2013. Initially it was an idea for one of my

friend's 50th birthday. So, we were in a bar discussing what to do and

he decided he wanted to drive or ride tuks tukjs across India. All of

the guys are in Asia -- tuks tuks. We just thought that we have

everything and there is no point, we have as much as we want, so why not

we do something to help, to give back and make a course out of the

trip? We raised $100,000, Singapore dollars, and we built a four

classroom school in Chennai. It was such an eye-opener. Visiting these

countries on a grassroot level, places that not spots, was such a

fantastic trip. The buzz and the energy and giving back just meet

everybody's mindset change completely. So, about a month after

the trip from India, we have sort of thrown the idea out, shall we start

it again? Three of us got together and sort of co-founder the whole

Pimp My Tuk Tuk into the bigger picture that it is now. Naturally we

just moved across the globe and the next country along that had tuks

tuks was Sri Lanka. Then we found a foundation, Foundation of Cattina

goodness, which we partnered with -- tuk tuks. The team and writers are

dedicated people and they are passionate about what we are doing.

-- riders. Hopefully we get bigger and better, the numbers increase and

we can make some change somewhere in someone's life. And, before we go,

here is a quick look at the markets, and what you can see right now on

the market board is a mixed bag for both the Japanese and the Australian

stock markets. This is after US equities closed mixed overnight with

investors by jesting Chinese weak quarterly economic reports, with

numbers strengthening more stimulus initiatives in Beijing. The Nikkei

is down 234 points at this hour -- suggesting Chinese. Thank you so

much for investing your time with us. I am Rico Hizon. Goodbye for

now.