31/10/2016 Asia Business Report

In the race for the White House, pressure mounts on the FBI

to explain what it knew - and when - over Hillary Clinton's e-mail

Senior Democrats accuse the FBI of being partisan and even breaking

the law following Friday's revelation - which they say

is designed to help one political party over another.

Large numbers of people in central Italy are spending the night

in temporary accommodation after a strong earthquake struck

the region on Sunday - the third one in a fortnight.

And this story is trending on BBC.com:

There's been mixed reviews to an Australian government plan

to ban for life asylum seekers who arrive illegally

will be introduced into parliament this week.

That's all from me now. Stay with BBC News.

The government is considering reforming the way people

are assessed for disability benefits following claims

more targeted and personalised support.

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

A volatile start to the trading week threatens a recent rally in Tokyo

stocks, which had hit a six-month high. And a scary business. How one

amusement park in Hong Kong is banking on thrills this Halloween.

Welcome to Asia Business Report. Investors are waiting to see the

results of earning reports due out later today from some of Japan's

biggest companies. It includes an automaker and an airline, just to

name a few. The numbers could indicate if Japan's economy is

starting to show signs of recovery. The Japanese yen remains close to

its weakest level against the US dollar in three months, which had

said Tokyo stocks to a six-month high last Friday. The Nikkei had

gained Sarah Coyte 6%, closing advertised level since April. --

0.6%. You can see that as a huge difference, a far cry from almost a

year ago. Earlier I spoke with the chief economist at Japan Micro Kerr

advisers and asked him by the yen is weakening and if the trend will

last. The yen weakness is more US driven. The US Federal Reserve is

expecting to raise their policy rate in December. So the yen is basically

we weakening because of that. Do you see this influencing corporate Japan

as well? Are we seeing Japanese companies growing, singing good

profits, because of growth in markets like the US. A lot of these

companies are export reliant -- ceiling. Or is it entirely due to

the wiki game? I would say it is entirely due to the weakening yen,

but the yen weakening has helped the Japanese economy significantly. It

has been one of the biggest drivers for Arboyne mix. Raising profit

growth and Japanese inflation -- Abenomics. I don't think this yen

weakness will continue. The bank of Japan has pretty much used up all of

its policy tools to weaken the yen. I do not think the yen weakening

will continue. In terms of corporate Japan, outpacing growth in markets

like the US and elsewhere? Unfortunately, the Japanese

exporters are actually losing market share. Despite the yen weakening.

When you look at the export growers of Japanese companies in volume

terms, it is actually growing less than the global trend. I don't think

Japanese companies are actually expending their market share. It

doesn't help as well but we have a lot of uncertainty over the next few

weeks for the market. You have the US election coming up. The Federal

Reserve and the bank of Japan are both meeting this week. What in fact

might this have on the market? I don't think the bank of Japan will

do any policy action. If they do, that will be surprising. The yen

could weaken on the back of the news, but I think it is unlikely. So

in terms of other news, Brexit, I don't think it is that important for

Japan, but if it does to the extent that it has a negative repercussions

to the global economy, it made for Japan. Overall, on balance, I think

there is bad news brewing somewhere in the world that will impact

Japanese growth negatively. Won Australia's third biggest bank,

ANZ, is scaling back on its Asian exposure. It will offload its retail

and wealth businesses in around nine Asian countries. Singapore's biggest

lender, DBS, will buy the assets from ANZ, including in markets like

China and Indonesia. DBS said it posted a slight increase in

third-quarter net profit but bad debt charges doubled because of the

bank's exposure to the troubled oil and gas sector.

South Korea will provide financing to local shipping phones so they can

buy new vessels to remain competitive. The government is

stepping up support for local shipbuilding and the shipping

industries following the collapse of a big company in August. Canada and

EU have signed a landmark trade agreement that took nearly seven

years to negotiate. They hope it will generate another $13 billion

per year. We will find out later today if a

Brexit checkup is having an impact on the world's largest advertising

company when they release their most recent trading statement. Its chief

executive said TV and newspapers could see a substantial hit to their

bottom line. But what about digital advertising? Going viral on the

Internet is considered the new holy Grail. What does it take to maximise

your shares? I'm really is dedicated to analysing digital viewing habits,

and we spoke to their co-founder -- Unruly. We are seeing tremendous

growth in this region. In India we are seeing explosive growth with

mobile usage and with mobile advertising. India is interesting

because it is still early days for that market. A lot still goes into

old-fashioned media such as TV, newspapers and prayed. But we are

seeing a big shift. Up to $1 billion this year in digital ad spend, which

will double by 2020 -- print. What does it take for a video to go viral

in this world, and what numbers are we talking about? What we are

booking ads when we are tracking the reality is emotional impact and

social sharing. They are different emotions that trigger people in

different demographics to have a strong response and share the video.

A great example is the difference between baby Boomers and millennial

's. Millennial is a more inspired to share is a video makes them happy,

and they want to share quickly. Whereas with baby Boomers, they are

much more prepared to wait it out and find a bit of content. It

doesn't matter if it is a week or two old. If it has integral value in

their eyes, they will share that content. Ten years ago, we were

looking at a million views for a vile hate, and now it is tens of

millions. Are they shared across borders? -- viral hit. The extent to

which use a shared more broadly or narrowly is emotional trigger.

Videos tend to struggle to cross boundaries because you might does

not always cross borders well, whereas happiness is a global

trigger. We see brands looking to create inspirational heartwarming

content able to cross those national boundaries more easily.

That was Sarah Wood from Unruly. We have covered our fair share of scary

stories on this programme, but this Halloween, stock crashes and profit

warnings can step aside, because it is one of the most important times

of the year for theme parks. Over in Hong Kong, they are going all out

with spooky events to try to attract more visitors at a time when tourist

numbers have been dropping. We went to find out more.

Halloween. It is a chance to dress up in costumes, and for some, an

occasion for ghostly encounters. And for theme parks, it is a chance to

cash in on festivities. At Hong Kong's Ocean Park, they have hired

more than a dozen performers and lodged a Ghostbusters game for fans.

And this is peace be keep offering for visitors looking for that extra

right. -- this is the spooky offering. I think it was very scary.

It was fun. Even though I knew what is going in expecting, it was still

dramatic. You see one, and then the other one pops up. It gives you a

fight. Ocean Park expects 1 million visitors to its Halloween event this

year. There is a reason why theme parks very special event. They had

to be created to attract new customers. It has not been easy for

Hong Kong's tourism industry. Numbers dipped with mainland China

tourists dropping by 9%. Despite the drop, Ocean Park says it is

confident it can bring tourists back. We are continuing to see some

softening in the tourism market in Hong Kong because of some of the

social issues, also the currency and the strengthening of the Hong Kong

dollar has impacted inbound tourism. Right now we are seeing a trend

coming back. Groups from China are strong. We certainly hope to see

that continue. We have been looking at other markets. Tourism from the

Philippines, Taiwan, Singapore, and Halloween abstract that business as

well. As the sun sets, more ghosts, to play. Ocean Park is to be a

novelty for tourists and residents in Hong Kong. But now it faces

competition from Disneyland in Hong Kong and Shanghai. And several new

theme parks are set to open in Asia next year. While tourists are spoilt

for choice, Ocean Park will be hoping it's scary side keeps

visitors coming back for more. I can tell you, looking at the

markets, they are getting screwed as well buy fresh worries over US

presidential candidate's Hillary Clinton scandal a week ahead of the

election. The Nikkei reversing their six-month highs we told you about at

the start of the programme. The Hang Seng has also opened weaker. The

only one defined that is the stallion All Ordinaries, which is

currently five. That is it for this edition of Asia Business Report -- a

stallion. Thank you for watching. -- Australian.

The Democratic leader in the US Senate furiously denounces the head

of the FBI over the investigation into Hillary Clinton's e-mails.