22/07/2016 Asia Business Report

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

The China threat. Will Donald Trump deliver on his campaign promise to

label Beijing as a currency manipulator?

And one female train driver breaks the glass ceiling.

Welcome to Asia Business Report, I'm Mariko Oi. Republican national

convention is Cleveland is due to wrap up with a speech from Donald

Trump. That will happen within the next couple of hours. If elected Mr

Trump plans to impose massive tariffs on imports from China. He

has also announced plans to label Beijing as a currency manipulate. We

caught up with his policy adviser at the convention and asked if Donald

Trump would follow through on that campaign promise. Barack Obama

promised in 2008 on the campaign trail that he would crack down on

China. He didn't do that. Donald Trump wheel. China is a currency

manipulator. The fact that we owed China over $2 trillion in current

trade deficit is evidence of that. It is very realistic. The Treasury

Department will do that and Trump doesn't have to go to Congress or

anything like that. He has it within his control. That will be done if

the Chinese continue to manipulate the currency. Donald Trump doesn't

want to impose tariffs on China, but if China continues to cheat in the

trading arena we have no other choice but to defend the American

people. What about the Trans-Pacific Partnership? Is Mr Trump really

going to scrap it? DPP is gone in the Trump world. -- TPP. But that

doesn't mean we won't have really good trade agreements with countries

in Asia. As a principal, Donald Trump is a free trader. He is also a

tough negotiator. He will enter into any trade deal in which our GDP, any

growth -- economic growth expands and our trade deficit expands.

Simple. Simple. If we can negotiate deals with countries in the world,

all those countries will prosper. The plot is beginning. Singaporean

authorities are taking action against several financial

institutions in the wake of an investigation into the Malaysian

state fund 1MDB. They have seized around $77 million in assets and

properties from a number of individuals. The announcement

followed the US's decision to seize more than $1 billion in assets

connected to 1MDB. Could the bank's connection to the scandal dead

Singapore's reputation as the south-east Asian financial hub?

Earlier I asked someone who consults with a number of banks in the area.

The important thing is to know that compliance and risk management,

there is no such thing as a perfect solution or a perfect end-stage.

There will always be persons or individuals or corporations that

look to challenge regulations and controls that tends to work around

the rules and see if they can get away with it. So what's important is

not the fact that there was a fraudulent activity or breach,

what's important is how quickly the banks can bounce back. Would you say

the Singapore government has been under pressure from the US

authorities and this might actually affect other industries as well?

Absolutely. This has just opened up Pandora's box, as we call it. But it

isn't a bad thing. There's a reason why not only the MAS are involved,

but even the police are involved. It is because they want to investigate

how much of the capital has spilt over beyond the financial

institutions to other sectors, such as real estate. So we will be in it

for the long haul is -- in terms of investigation. Do you think this

would impact Singapore's reputation in the long-term? I think it will be

great for Singapore. Singapore plays a pivotal role in ensuring it's a

beacon of transparency, from governments. The equivalent in terms

of legal jurisdictions to New York at London and other major

jurisdictions. So foreign firms and institutions that want to comment

Asia and take advantage of the growth year want to come and set up

their companies in Singapore concert is only jurisdiction in Asia that

allows you an equivalent sort of regime and jurisdiction. So

Singapore has two really the thing which itself from its neighbours,

who are deemed rather as corrupt and politically unstable, and they are

taking the right approach in doing so.

But what about investor confidence in Malaysia? Earlier I talk --I

caught up with a consultant to business and government in the

region and asked whether the scandal would dampen Malaysia's reputation

as an investor nation. Surprisingly the scandal has had little impact on

Malaysia and also on the investment willingness of companies to invest

in Malaysia. It is still a relatively good investment

destination. It is not that the country is falling apart, the

government is still there, things are working. Nothing has changed.

In other business news, Starbucks has reported a 4% jump in quarterly

sales, but that is short of industry's target. The world's

biggest coffee chain says the drop in demand is an anomaly. The firm's

chief executive said the company is confident about delivering stronger

growth in the future. American car giant General Motors

says the UK's decision to leave the EU will cost $400 million due to

currency and market disruptions. The comments were made by the world's

third biggest automaker as it was the -- revealed a bumper set of

results for the second quarter of this year. GM recorded a record

profit of $3 billion, driven by strong sales in the United States.

Britain's budget airline easyJet is also warning its profits are being

damaged by the decline in the value of the British pound after the

Brexit boat. That took place about one month ago. -- vote. Passenger

numbers are up at the airline is earning less per head. He was one

analyst on why easyJet is struggling. EasyJet clearly have a

problem. Have announced the fuel costs have on a ?40 million in the

four weeks since the Brexit boat. -- vote. But easyJet is very reliant on

France, as both a destination and departure point and they are the

largest airport into Nice. All airlines will face the fact that

fuel has caught up in pound terms. Nice says it will reduce flights to

the UK. They say long haul passengers are falling, in

particular Americans and people from the far East who are deciding that

Europe isn't the place to go this summer.

Mumbai is one of the most congested cities in the world, so it is no

wonder that the population of --a large proportion of the population

uses public transport. Most of the people running this transport are

men, but one woman is bucking that trend.

TRANSLATION: I drive trains in Mumbai. I am the first and the only

woman train driver on the Western Railways line, one of the busiest

commuter routes in the city. People are surprised to see a woman doing

my job and often ask questions. Children want to know how to become

a train driver and sometimes people salute me. It is a great feeling.

Driving a train is hard work. You've got to be focused. In a single

journey we are carrying five to 6000 passengers and the responsible -- we

are responsible for getting around safely.

Since I was a child my dream was to do something that was different and

challenging. But I never imagined I would get so much attention. On my

first day as a train driver between 150 and 200 metre outlets covered my

story. -- media outlets. My family has been supportive from the

beginning. They knew I wanted to do something offbeat. My parents

encouraged me and later my husband and my daughter as well. That's why

I can do the job without destruction. -- destruction. Indian

society is changing. Parents are more aware of the importance of

education for their daughters and girls want to stand on their own

feet, so this is good. Nothing is impossible in life. If you know what

you want and you work towards it, then you will definitely succeed.

Today there is no job that a woman can't do. Women are entering all

professions. They should go, make their mark and progress. That's it

for this edition of Asia Business Report. Sport Today is coming up

next. Donald Trump is poised to accept

the Republican nomination for President of the United States

at the party's convention in