30/11/2015 World Business Report

greatest rugby players. He died this month at the age of 40 because of

convocations arising from a long-standing kindie -- kidney

condition. As world leaders gather in Paris in

an attempt to seal the deal on climate change, we will be looking

at the potential cost of the ignoring the issue. On track to

outpace China, India releases its latest growth numbers. We are in

Mumbai to find out whether it will further boost the economy. Hello and

welcome. East China's yuan about to make it into the big league? We will

be finding out. Now to the event that we have been telling you all

about, heads of government from across the world, including

President Shi, President Obama and David Cameron meeting. It would be

legally binding. Inactivity could prove expensive, US bank Citigroup

puts the total cost of doing nothing at $44 trillion by 2060. If sea

temperatures rise by five Celsius, it is predicted assets worth $7

trillion could be lost, more than the total market capitalisation of

the London stock exchange. In the US, the White House has said that

inaction will cost its economy 150 billion dollars per year. Our

business is ready to tackle this issue, and which ones are the

winners and losers in the race to reduce its carbon footprint? I am

joined by Paul Simpson from the International environmental

non-profit group, CDP on the Carbon disclosure Project. There has been

an awful lot of momentum in the run-up to this event in Paris, and

for business leaders around the world I imagine they have also been

preparing. That is right, we have seen momentum building, many leading

countries taking action. More than 800 corporations have called for a

strong global deal limiting a temperature rise to 2%. So this will

mean a level playing field for businesses around the world? What

business really wants is policy certainty. They want something solid

from France that will provide a framework, a limit of two degrees

over time. That means businesses complain correct and invest in it

and they can avoid the greatest risk. What is the likely outcome in

terms of policy, change, and what that means for businesses? We have

seen more than have seen business initiatives

taking action and committing to 100 sent emissions reductions using a

carbon price. Businesses and policies moving, Paris needs to

capture that are mentioned -- capture that dimension. Do you think

we will achieve this goal? Six years ago in Copenhagen it seemed a bit

chaotic, a bit of a mess, that is overstating it, but for sure, no

agreement. I think the signs are good this time, that there will be a

good deal in Paris. A lot has changed since Copenhagen, with an

aggressive plan to reduce emissions and bring in a carbon trading

scheme. The US reducing emissions from power plants, and leading

business is already taking these actions. Momentum is with us, we

need to capture that and drive a transition to a sustainable low

carbon economy. Thank you for coming in, and as and when decisions are

made, agreements on policy and etc, we will update you.

more information on our website as well. In the next few hours, India

is due to release the latest report on the help of

expected to have growth by more than 7% in the last three months, despite

weak rain is hurting its agricultural sector. Analysts say

strong growth in the manufacturing sector is behind the gains.

This construction site is buzzing with activity. Due to the economic

slowdown, the last few years have been difficult for the construction

sector. That is changing now, with sales picking up sharply this year

and providing confidence to resume work. Like the construction

industry, other parts of the economy are also showing signs of growth.

Consumer demand for cars, motorbikes, and electronics picked

up and is a big importer of oil, this is also helping the country's

finances. But there are plenty of things that could get in the weight

of more consistent growth. One of them is weak demand in rural areas,

on the back of low rainfall for two consecutive years. There are

concerns that a poor harvest could also put pressure on food prices in

the coming months. On the political front, PM Narendra Modi was defeated

in an important state election recently, which investors worry will

have a key impact on some legislation that is stuck in

Parliament for approval. That his government has announced some

reforms in the past few weeks, saying that to sustain high economic

growth levels more needs to be done. The growth that we are seeing is

lopsided, so won the investment side of the economy we are seeing more

public invest and driven growth rather than private investment. On

the consumption side we are seeing more demand led demand in rural

areas. To balance this across all the sectors is what is going to be

the primary challenge in front of the government. For that to happen,

Narendra Modi is betting on his ambitious initiative trying to

attract international firms to set up manufacturing factories in the

country. Despite some initial success, it is still early days to

judge whether this programme can drive high growth consistently for

Asia's third-largest economy. When we get the numbers for India we

will update you. For China it is decision day as far as the

International Monetary Fund is concerned, because it has been

deliberating on whether it should allow the Chinese currency, to have

status as a reserve currency. Just the US dollar, the euro, the yen and

the pound are part of this elite band. Rico Hizon is in Singapore for

us. If the yuan likely to get the thumbs up from the IMF and what does

it mean? It looks like they will pass the test and be part of this

so-called elite club of currencies, and for Beijing, the inclusion would

represent recognition that the status of the yuan is rising along

with China's place in global finance. Over the years, concerns

about Beijing's keeping the yuan artificially low to help exporters

was one reason why the currency previously failed to meet the

criteria for reserve currencies set out by the IMF. But now we have

Chinese officials making a concerted effort to build support for the

one's inclusion and a recent IMF staff report has indeed endorse such

a move. But, when they get into this group, this is where the hard part

comes. The inclusion puts new pressure on Beijing to change

everything from how it manages the yuan to how it communicates with

investors in the world. China has pledged to loosen its tight grip on

the currency's value and open its financial system, which will come

under new scrutiny. A lot of challenges ahead if indeed they join

this reserve basket of currencies, also known as special Drawing

rights. Iran has overhauled the way it offers contracts to foreign oil

companies in a bid to attract $30 billion of new investment. The terms

of the new contracts will be more favourable to investors, allowing

them a greater stake in long-term profits. Iran is gearing up for the

lifting of sanctions following the nuclear deal with Six Nations in

July. Lufthansa will avoid future strike action by giving a 1-off

payment to ground staff. Europe's biggest airline is yet to reach an

agreement with cabin crew who called a weeklong industrial action in

early November. Looking at markets, a brand-new trading week for Asia,

and of course American markets will open again as normal this week

having had a shorter week last week because of thanksgiving. This is how

things have gone so far in Asia, this is how the oil price is

trading, with OPEC meeting this week which will be key for the oil

industry.