22/03/2016 Asia Business Report

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

Australia's stock exchange surges as the current was steps down --

current boss. And, some Japanese companies are pinning their hopes on

older workers. Welcome to 80 Business Report. --

Asia. The Australian business exchange will open this morning

without its CEO. He resigned amid allegations of ride in a company he

used to run. Earlier I asked our reporter in Sydney about these

allegations and what they focus on. It is alleged that a bribe was paid

to the family of the Cambodian president about six years ago, and

that that ride was allegedly paid by Australia's gambling giant, TabCorp,

when the CEO was at that company. They were looking for a way into

Cambodia's lucrative online gambling industry, and that alleged payment

is now the focus of an international anti bribery investigation headed by

Australia's Federal Police. Ye outlined some investigations, but

there has been no actual admission of wrongdoing? No, TabCorp has made

no admission of wrongdoing. They have said that they take the

allegations very seriously. It is worth noting that it has been

reported in Cambodia that a government official has described

the allegations as absolutely baseless. We have heard from an

Australian newspaper that the former CEO said that the integrity of the

Australian stock exchange was far more important than his own personal

integrity, and that is why he step down. To protect the reputation of

the Australian Stock Exchange. He has denied any wrongdoing, saying

that the situation he has found himself in is unfair and a trial by

media. He also said it was a situation which was ruining his

life, but he had to rise above it for the good of one of Australia's

most important financial institutions. As you said, the

Australian Stock Exchange, one of the most important Australian

financial institutions. Has there been much reaction? There is an

appreciation in the media commentary. It is such an important

position that he held, he had no option but to step down while the

investigation takes its course. We have a breaking story this morning.

The FBI says that they may have found a way to access the iPhone

which was involved in the terrorist attack in San Bernardino last year.

They have been given time to try to break the phone with out Apple's

help. The US government has taken action against Apple, demanding they

write new software to help access the data on the phone. And a bidding

war over Starwood hotels. Marriot is back on top, having boosted its

offer to $13.6 billion. They have signed a merger agreement, but it is

not clear as yet whether there will be another bid. PayPal hopes to

bring its service to Cuba by the end of the year. Barack Obama has taken

a number of CEOs on his historic visit to Cuba, one of them was the

CEO of PayPal who says that they could help open up economic

opportunities in the country. Asia loses a fast -- vast amount of water

and revenue due to broken pipes. We will have a look at whether the

government plans to make changes to the systems will make a difference.

We spoke with the regional Managing Director. It is a physical plan, and

if you look back at the perspective of what they are trying to achieve,

they are trying to achieve efficiencies in the system. They

would don't want to reduce the cost of operation, they want to deliver

quality water to the people. At the same time, a big population in

Malaysia are not connected to the treatment facility. By doing this

rationalisation, they would be able to offer better service to their own

people. How can we be sure that the government could do this better? I

think it will take some time, but I am confident that over time they

will be able to achieve it. This process started a decade ago, it

doesn't happen overnight. They are trying to gain efficiency in the

system, with the effect of building capabilities to offer clean water to

a big population and take the economy to a next level. I am

confident it can be done. 36% of the water in Malaysia is being lost or

leaked. Why is that? Malaysia is not the only country. That 36% is pretty

typical. Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, they are all in that

ballpark. The interesting thing is that 50% of it can be prevented. The

losses are really eating into the grid. Discussion of an ageing

population is often dominated by worries about the potential drain on

the economy, with rising healthcare and pension costs. But in Japan,

some companies and communities are starting to see the benefits of a

rapidly growing number of older people. As part of our special

series, jumpstarting Japan, we take a look at the shift in attitude.

Turning to a client's rooftop garden in central Tokyo. Three years after

retiring from his life long job, this man signed up for part-time

work. This is the company which got him the job. The company name means

the elderly in Japanese. Their mission is to help retirees who are

still keen to be part of the workforce. Today, they have over 750

registered members. The average age is 69, with the oldest at 81 years

old. They can choose from various assignments, such as looking at

restaurants or being personal drivers.

TRANSLATION: At our age, most of us don't want to work full-time. But

putting in two or three days a week doesn't affect pensions, and being

able to earn an extra $1000 a month is nice. Our members say it is great

to be able to work again, because we feel like our energy and talent is

wasted. Japan is one of the fastest ageing populations in the world, and

it is a burden on the economy. With a falling birth rate, it means that

there are fewer people paying Social Security, spending on healthcare and

pensions accounts for a third of the national budget. Instead of doing

away with the old, the government wants companies and communities to

see them as a silver lining. Here, these retired business and greet the

children every morning and make sure they get to school safely. This is

75-year-old is the leader of the group, and he has been volunteering

for ten years. He says the key to a successful transition after

retirement is to shake off the hierarchy entrenched in the working

world. TRANSLATION: I was an engineer for a

company. He won't discuss his professional past, but he says it is

important for people in his group to be able to treat each other equally,

even if someone was or a diplomat. -- was a CEO or a diplomat. The

children have put together this surprise ceremony to thank the

volunteers. The mix of young and old has been a hit for this community,

but it is still a rare success story.

Our series, Jumpstarting Japan, continues tomorrow. We will take a

look at whether there is any help in the Japanese practice of paying the

younger workers more than their elderly colleagues. We will take a

look at the markets now. We can see the US dollar getting a boost. Some

talk about the Fed possibly changing rates sooner rather than later.