16/02/2017 Asia Business Report

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

Take two - the prosecutors office of South Korea gets another shot at

arresting Samsung's group chief. And gridlock in Delhi - commuters

struggled to get to work as Uber drivers keep off the road.

Welcome to this edition of Asia Business Report.

We begin with the corruption scandal in South Korea and, for the second

time in three weeks, a court will decide whether to grant a request to

a rest ahead of South Korea's largest company. A hearing is about

to start, where prosecutors will try to persuade a judge of that there is

enough evidence to arrest JY Lee. He is a suspect in a bribery

investigation which could bring down the country's president. The

prosecutors office explains why it is seeking an arrest warrant for Mr

Lee. TRANSLATION: For three weeks after the first arrest warrant was

denied we secured additional evidence that we can be sure about

and, after careful deliberation, we have requested an arrest warrant for

the second time. Earlier, I asked James Rooney, Korea watcher, if they

have a better chance this time around. They certainly hope so, and

they will try to avoid being embarrassed as second time around,

but career is in chaos these days, so nothing is as expected as once in

the past. If indeed Mr Mr Lee is arrested, James, what will happen to

Samsung is, will operations suffer? Not in my opinion, because he

doesn't run the day-to-day operations, there is a vast army

with senior managers with great depth and breath who make the

regular day today decisions but when the boss is locked up in prison

there becomes a certain caution amongst those other folk. They don't

want to step out of line, they don't want to get blamed for something and

they don't have their boss to give them a cover. Plus, of course, he is

becoming an important figure in public for Samsung, or he has been,

and that plays into negotiating deals and Saifon and so forth.

Samsung is a very large organisation. I have educated some

of their senior managers over the years, especially the foreign ones

that they hire, and I don't imagine that, you know, it will impact of

the next year or even two years on the financial performance or

anything like that. But, as you say, it is the largest conglomerate in

South Korea. If Mr Lee is indeed arrested, could this have a wider

impact on business confidence in South Korea? To be honest, I don't

think so. The issue here isn't about business, the issue here is really

about the President. However, you know, Samsung got themselves tangled

up with the President through trying to do a restructuring to help

transfer the ownership and the control of the company from one

generation to the next generation, which he is a beneficiary to. In

other news: making headlines - US President Donald Trump's choice for

Labour Secretary has withdrawn from consideration. Andrew passed a law

support from Republican senators after he employed an illegal

immigrant as a housekeeper. He has been criticised for his remarks on

women and employees at his restaurants. He is the first cabinet

pick the failed to secure nomination. Lenovo was one of the

first Chinese companies to transform itself into a global company.

One decade after buying IBM's personal computer business it

leapfrogged HP and Dell to become the biggest PC maker, but expansion

into the tablet and smart phone market hasn't gone as smoothly.

After taking over motor Rohler, thousands of jobs have been cut. The

head of the company's earnings, I asked an analyst why the firm is

struggling in its home market -- Motorola. In China, what Lenovo

hasn't done well is it has lost its focus. A few years ago in China,

Lenovo got to the number-1 position because of a strong of budget lines.

But, as China shifts away from first-time smartphone users, going

to replacement models, now people want expensive, high quality

devices, Lenovo has fallen out. So, did the acquisition of Motorola

verdant -- burden Lenovo? It was seen as an addition bite Lenovo has

struggled to integrate the Moto brat into its portfolio. They have three

brands into its wing. -- as an addition to Lenovo. Without clear

focus, without a clear brand and no key volume driver, Lenovo has

suffered. So what has made Lenovo's personal computer is still relevant

in this highly competitive space? Lenovo has been able to maintain the

momentum it gained after the IBM acquisition and created quality

products, especially PCs and notebooks. It is also working hard

in terms of innovation, for example recently with the double

touchscreen. And, briefly, we have seen a clash between the Chinese and

the Americans under the Trump administration - good operations and

ambitions end America be under threat? -- could. It is too early to

say for now but for Lenovo we still expect it to see a very healthy

business in the Americas. It has a very strong brand, its channel is

very established, and as a result even if there is a big change to

Trump's trade policy, that would only be in the long run.

Global businesses such as Lenovo might be affected by proposed border

taxes in the US if President Trump goes ahead with the initiative but

American resale giants such as Target and Gap are concerned, they

are waiting in on the plans. Let's have a look at what is at stake.

-- weighing in. It is good to have you here, thank

you very much. Good job. Thank you. So, we will go around the room a

little bit... The best opportunities to really impact our economy...

Commuters in India's capital Dehli have struggled to get to work this

last week with a driving strike at the country's two mean right hailing

services Uber and Hola. Our correspondent reports.

Thousands of drivers in Delhi two mean right hailing apps Hola and

Uber are on strike and that has brought parts of the capital to a

standstill. Most drivers have stopped taking bookings via the

smartphone apps which connect them with nearby passengers.

Attempting to book a ride on either app and both say no cars are

available. In some places where they are available the waiting time has

increased from 30 minutes up to one Allah and this shows a surge in in

pricing because of increased demand. Many Indian drivers work for both

companies to make sure they get enough work but as the number of

drivers signing up has increased, they say that minimum fares and

other incentives have been cut, making it hard to earn a living --

hours. TRANSLATION: The car firms promised us pick things. The

incentives have reduced. They also take a bigger commission now.

TRANSLATION: Like many others, I took out a loan to buy a new car on

the guaranteed high monthly earnings. Now I am struggling to

repay my debts. I now have to work long hours to pay my loan. Ola is

working with the government to solve the issue. The firm has turned to

the courts for help. We received an order from the Delhi High Court

which stops anyone from disrupting operations from Uber across India

and we have urged authorities to make sure they are able to endorse

those orders, which will enable drivers to go back online and start

serving riders again. The real problem is that for both right

hailing companies there is pressure to keep the rates down as they

battle it out in the market, which is thought to be worth about $12

billion, and, as they squeeze on prices, the drivers are trying to

unionise. This is the first sign of them flexing their muscles. Whoever

wins the state of, for commuters of the weight to hail a cab has just

got longer. A look at the markets, and not an

exciting start to Asian equities, Tokyo stocks opening flat despite

rallies on Wall Street overnight to record highs. Despite optimism about

the market. Thank you