08/03/2017 Asia Business Report

What does it mean to be a woman in today's workforce? On International

women's Day, we ask how Asia is faring. And meet the families who

spend as much as a quarter of their income on their kids' education.

Good morning, Asia, hello, world. Glad you could join us for Asia

Business Report. It is Wednesday, I am Rico Hizon. This year, for

International Women's Day, the call is to be bowled for change. But what

does that mean for business and government? -- bold. What changes

would make the world a better place, and work towards equality. We have

been talking to women across the region about the challenges they are

facing today. Definitely the pay packet has to change. That is where

the discrimination comes in. They need to prove themselves 100% at

home and 100% in the office so basically every single day they are

proving themselves 200%. TRANSLATION: The biggest problems

are when your child's School drop-off powers and pick up ours

don't fit your work hours. TRANSLATION: Now the world has

changed a lot. Women can help themselves, take care of themselves

and their families. Because we all have equal rights now. Women have

become stronger. They can earn as much as men, or even more than men.

TRANSLATION: Women are at a disadvantage in the workplace. Men

can pursue their career without taking care of others, but I think

women are more stressed than men. TRANSLATION: The biggest challenges

that I don't want to work. I want to stay home looking after my kid, but

I can do nothing about it. I have to go to work. Every week and my it

asked me to accompany him one more day, but I have to say sorry, I had

to work and earn money. It is the most awkward situation. For more on

women's writes, I spoke with the chairman of Shell in Singapore and

asked if there is gender equality in her company. Oil and gas sector,

there is a perception that there is some gender inequality there. But

the oil and gas sector, because it is very conscious about the role of

women in our sectors, there is a lot of effort put in to ensure that

there is gender equality at all levels of the organisation. And

before joining Shell you were at Procter Gamble and IBM, really

large, multinational companies. Have you really seen an improvement in

terms of women's rights and gender equality over the decades? Most

generally, I don't want a repeat how many years I have been in the

workforce but over the decades I have seen improvements. And what has

happened is there is a lot more consciousness in the benefits of

gender equality. You mean consciousness in terms of benefits,

gender equality. Is this only for multinational companies? How would

you compare that to local companies? Well, in terms of local companies

that is an interesting question. I have spoken to entrepreneurs who as

they have kids growing up, they have daughters, and this is when the

consciousness comes in around the need for us to create equal

opportunities, regardless of gender. In fact, regardless of race,

nationality. Being the boss of a big company, if there is an open

position for a job in your company, do you make sure that there is a

woman in the short list? Oh yes, definitely. We have found some

interesting things in that simple things such as the way we describe

jobs has to be gender neutral. That would attract women, and women at

times self select themselves out of jobs because there are descriptions

in their that could be unfriendly for women. Be bold for change is the

theme this year. What do you think other major challengers, briefly? Be

bold for change, I think one thing companies need to do is lots of

discussion about targets, quotas, and do we do it, do we not set the

targets? That is what I would say. Be bold for change, one of them

would be companies set the targets for genders. The chairman of Shell

in Singapore. Moving to other business news making headlines,

Chinese telecommunications giant ZTE will be paying more than 1 billion

US dollars and pleading guilty to criminal charges for violating

sanctions against Iran and North Korea. The company is accused of

buying US components, putting them into ZTE equipment, and then

illegally shipping them to those two countries. Brazil's economy

contracting by 3.6% in 2016. The country has been in recession for

two years, and the economy is now eight cents smaller than it was in

December 20 14. Once one of the fastest-growing emerging economies

in the world, Brazil was hit by a downturn in global commodity

markets, and a political crisis which has undermined investor

confidence. In India's dig cities about 85% of primary school children

and up to 95% of high school kids attend extra classes after school to

help boost their chances of getting into university. But the classes

cost money, and for some households, it is a strain. And stress. As part

of our 'S list of Kids series, we met two families who are doing the

best they can for their children, regardless of the cost -- Business

of Kids. TRANSLATION: If our kids come home

after school, they waste time watching television and they become

lazy. However, if they go for extra lessons, their knowledge increases.

That is why we spend money and send our kids for these classes.

TRANSLATION: It is important to send children for extra lessons, because

in school there are about 30 kids in each class.

When I was in school, in the 1960s and went into college in the 1970s,

if you got a first class, my parents went about the tubing suites.

Because it was a big deal that you got a first class, which meant 60%

and above. Now, if you get 80, the parents behave like there is a

definite family. Hence this absolute need to get your kids extra

coaching, to penetrate that glass ceiling. Hence this frenetic crush

that is there. And hence the boom. Extra tuition can really be

expensive. The cost of renting an office in Hong Kong is apparently

now three times higher than the cost here in Singapore. And the two are

Asia's most competitive cities but when it comes to the property

market, Hong Kong is in another league. So is this bad news for the

city and the businesses headquartered there? I asked

Nicholas Holt, a property expert, why rents are that high when the

economy is slowing. Hong Kong rents continue to defy expectation but I

think we need to define what were talking about here. Because we are

really talking about premium office space just in Central, on Hong Kong

island. If we go outside Central, rents drop significantly. If we go

east to places like Quarry Bay, rents are half or one third of the

price. With Hong Kong almost three times higher than those in

Singapore, is the spread boosting Singapore's appeal as a regional

headquarters, vis-a-vis Hong Kong? Certainly for many corporations

looking for headquarters within the Asia-Pacific region, really you

would be looking at Hong Kong or Singapore. Perhaps Shanghai but more

likely Hong Kong or Singapore. The very attractive rents in Singapore,

the lifestyle, the collectivity, all the things that Singapore offers

provides quite an attractive package. The market has been slow in

Singapore, but we do believe, long-term, a lot of multinationals

will continue to choose Singapore given its geography and its

favourable offers conditions. Asia property expert Nicholas Holt

speaking to us from Beijing. Let's have a quick look at Asian stock

markets. As you can see, all in the red, all slipping into negative

territory after US equities declined overnight. Tokyo opening slightly

lower, with investors cautious ahead of a key US jobs report later this

week and an upward revision in Japanese data failing to spur buying

in the markets. The Hang Seng also in the red, together with the All

Ordinaries index. Thank you for investing your time with us. I am

Rico Hizon. Sport Today is coming up next.