07/03/2016 Asia Business Report

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

China rejects suggestions of a hard landing NSAIDs and economic growth

target of 6.5% to 7%. And setting. Welcome to Asia Business Report. The

head of China's National development commission has brushed aside

suggestions that a hard landing for the China's economy is predicted,

saying it is doomed to fail. His comments followed the national

people's Congress decision to downgrade China's growth target to

6.5 -7%. Will the move provide any reassurance? The message is partly

due to the wrong expectations of the world. China has said for the last

ten years it wants to slow its growth rate. A lot of people would

say they have actually been successful in achieving a slower

growth rate, but of course nobody is happy about the words flow. -- would

slow. A lot of world economy is one China to at least maintain two digit

growth. That is now clearly impossible. 6.5% is the current

expectation given that the five-year plan wants to achieve a doubling of

incomes and some other indicators by 2020. You mentioned the five-year

plan. What is China need to do to move its economy forward when you

take into account state owned enterprises and so-called zombie

companies? To move forward should not mean to move numbers up. The

impetus is on quality. If we look through the plan, and there is now a

draft circulating among the media, we expected to be similar to what is

past, it shows the word quality in place of some previous numerical

values. So you want to see leaner and meaner state enterprises going

into global markets. We will still see China in some of the big

industrial fields. It cannot fold up industry in a hurry because of the

employment indications, but we expect to see a concentration on key

industries like communications, IT. You also say this restructuring is

good news for the Chinese, but bad news for the rest of the world. What

impact will it have on the rest of the world? We have already seen

economies like results starting to slow and Australia's minors being

impacted by the China slowdown. The economy is often on a lag. Those

impacts in Brazil, well, Brazil could have been adapting to the

changes five or ten years ago. Australia would have been adapting

five or ten use ago. But a lot of people in the business world did not

want to know -- years ago. That was David Kelly speaking earlier. Trade

in Hong Kong listed shares of Chinese telecommunications have been

suspended. But his following news that the company faces US export

restrictions and the US commerce Department is reportedly set to

place export restrictions on Z TE for alleged violations. The Reuters

news agency say the restrictions will apply for an export licence

before shipping any American-made equipment or parts to the company.

Myanmar has granted operating licences to form or Asian banks,

bringing to 13 the number of foreign banks allowed to open for business

in the country. They will be given 12 months to demonstrate they can

fulfil their business plans before their licences are made permanent.

The MR's tanking system was closed to the outside world for decades --

side. Sharp shares are about 4% higher, defying the slump in the

Nikkei. That is in the continuing expectation about a takeover bid

from another company. It would accept any $6 billion offer. Then

they backed down saying it received new information about the financial

status of Sharp. But shares rose as they are doing today on rumours that

the deal was by contract. The chief Taiwan correspondent for the Nikkei

Asian review has been following the story. From what we know right now,

the two sides are expected to sign an agreement by Wednesday at the

earliest. But still, at this moment, we don't know exactly when or which

day they will sign this agreement. But the two sides are still eager,

and the chairman is interested in getting Sharp's technology in order

to secure more orders from Apple. As you say, the chairman is keen on

train to get this technology from Sharp but is taking on a big risk.

Warrant buying it mean taking on its huge debt burden? -- won't buying

it? Looking at the financial performances and the report, it is

possible comeback Sharp will pay out 350 billion yen in liabilities, but

this hurdle in the talks should not be that high, and the contingent

liabilities should not become an issue. At the same time, the company

is known for its efficiency. Especially ability to help Sharp. Do

you think shareholders think this is a good deal? Investors have not been

very happy about this acquisition deal because they think this could

put pressure on their cash position, and their cash dividend

and future investments. In most developed economies, people on low

incomes are often in eligible for financial support from the

government whether it is direct benefits or subsidised prices. That

requires reliable information about their income. In India, the

government wants to take away fuel subsidies from those authorities

that can afford to pay full price, but it is not that simple.

The cylinders containing gas that millions of Indian households use

for cooking. A canister in Mumbai costs around $10. And last year,

this woman would receive about $3 back from the government every time

she bought a cylinder. That money was a subsidy, making the gas

cheaper. Now the rules have changed. Any household where tax reports show

someone and about $15,000 a year or more must now pay full market price.

Sofa this woman, who falls in that income bracket, the subsidy has been

withdrawn and she's not happy -- so for this woman. Price of living

Mumbai is very high. The difficulties to meet our daily needs

a different to other areas in India. This policy that has been made in

the form for all will be a little bit difficult for us. Up to $44

million a year could be saved by the scheme, and the government says the

money will be used to help poor households by cooking gas instead of

kerosene, whole, would and cow dung. -- oil, wood. When you talk about

small nuclear families, they consume seven cylinders a year, which does

not make any difference. In any case, we're able to support people

on lower incomes. It is a way of doing something kind of like

charity. The past year or so, the government has run a campaign called

give it up, asking people to volunteer to give up their cooking

subsidy. But unsurprisingly, few willingly came forward, and that is

why the state is trying to link subsidies more closely to income.

The problem is in terms of identification. That is a major

challenge the government has because most of the Times when you are

declaring your income it is a self declaration. We don't have too many

taxpayers in the country, so mostly it will be a case of us voluntarily

saying I am poor or rich. I think that will be the major issue when

trying to rationalised subsidies based on income. It is near

impossible to work out who should get the benefit, and that means the

subsidies remain a tricky issue to grapple with. Let's take a look at

the markets before we go. If we take a look at the Hong Kong Hang Seng,

it has opened higher alongside its counterparts in China. Those markets

are also higher despite the downgrade in the growth forecast we

were telling you about at the start of the programme. Australia is well

gaining due to a rally in commodities and oil prices, however

the Nikkei continues like to to profit-taking. That is it for this

edition of Asia Business Report. Thank you for