:00:00. > 3:59:593.1%, but campaigners say any rise is still too much after a decade's
:00:00. > :00:17.worth of big fare increases. As much of the world gets back to
:00:18. > :00:23.work we examine the opportunities and challenges facing the region in
:00:24. > :00:27.2014. Malaysia is set to raise to see prices for the first time in two
:00:28. > :00:35.years. The government wishes to reduce its public subsidies. --
:00:36. > :00:41.electricity prices. Welcome to Asia Business Report. For many others,
:00:42. > :00:46.today is the first day back at work after holiday period and the
:00:47. > :00:52.beginning of a new calendar year. With 2013 behind us and a brand-new
:00:53. > :00:54.year ahead, we asked our correspondence from around the
:00:55. > :01:03.region to tell us what to watch out for in 2014. First up, John from
:01:04. > :01:07.Sydney. Australia saw fair amount of change
:01:08. > :01:12.in 2013. Not least, three prime ministers in less than three months.
:01:13. > :01:15.With the economy, the talk was also of transition and how the country
:01:16. > :01:19.should cope with the slowdown in the mining boom, which has fuelled
:01:20. > :01:23.growth here for so long. The economic news was a little bit
:01:24. > :01:29.gloomy. Growth was down as demand from China fell. The budget deficit
:01:30. > :01:37.was expanding. Unemployment was also creeping up. So 2014 could be a
:01:38. > :01:40.challenging economic year. But Australia's economy has proved
:01:41. > :01:46.remarkably resilient over the years. 22 years of consecutive
:01:47. > :01:50.growth. The country is still doing relatively well. But as we enter the
:01:51. > :01:56.new year, there is perhaps a feeling of economic uncertainty.
:01:57. > :02:00.Here in Hong Kong, investors in the city 's financial district are
:02:01. > :02:06.feeling upbeat in the New Year after a lacklustre six months in the first
:02:07. > :02:12.half of 2013. The market for new listings has come roaring back.
:02:13. > :02:15.According to the research firm, Hong Kong was the second-biggest
:02:16. > :02:20.destination in the world after New York. There are hopes that this
:02:21. > :02:25.trend will continue in 2014. One of the biggest questions on their minds
:02:26. > :02:30.is whether a Chinese Internet giant Alibaba will eventually list here.
:02:31. > :02:35.Talks over several months eventually fell apart in September because of
:02:36. > :02:39.disagreements over the company 's proposed shareholding structure. The
:02:40. > :02:45.comments from both sides since then suggest a Hong Kong listing may
:02:46. > :02:48.indeed be a possibility. India's political parties are getting set to
:02:49. > :02:53.battle it out in nationwide polls to be held a few months from now. It's
:02:54. > :02:57.an election that is being watched with much hope. Here in Mumbai, the
:02:58. > :03:01.country 's financial capital, most of the business voice as we have
:03:02. > :03:05.heard recent months believe that if a strong government were to come to
:03:06. > :03:09.power, no matter which party it was headed by, the gloomy sentiment that
:03:10. > :03:13.has been surrounding India for the last few years will change
:03:14. > :03:17.dramatically. There is belief that investments could pick up and
:03:18. > :03:22.growth, which is at its slowest in a decade, may finally turn a corner.
:03:23. > :03:26.The government that has just been voted in may be more confident to
:03:27. > :03:29.take tough economic decisions. But the biggest worry for ordinary
:03:30. > :03:33.citizens here of the past year has been inflation, particularly soaring
:03:34. > :03:36.food prices. That is likely to be on top of people 's minds when they
:03:37. > :03:40.come to polling booths around the country. Every political party will
:03:41. > :03:43.have the tough task of convincing voters that they will be able to
:03:44. > :03:53.bring down the prices of food and keep them stable.
:03:54. > :03:58.Other notable business moments in 2013 included Twitter are going
:03:59. > :04:01.public, Google and found some launching more high-tech gadgets and
:04:02. > :04:15.even the likes of Virgin Atlantic selling commercial spaceflight
:04:16. > :04:18.ticket for the first time. I think what is very interesting is this
:04:19. > :04:25.move of emerging market brands targeting emerging market countries.
:04:26. > :04:32.Tata, who famously did very badly recently... With Nano, they have not
:04:33. > :04:35.succeeded in pushing that. But they have been very smart and looking at
:04:36. > :04:41.other emerging markets. They are looking at launching in other
:04:42. > :04:48.south-east Asian emerging countries. They are applying their
:04:49. > :04:54.understanding of that market across. All the attention and spend in the
:04:55. > :04:58.developing world. Blackberry is looking at where there are real
:04:59. > :05:01.heartland is. Their second-biggest market in the world as Indonesia and
:05:02. > :05:05.they are taking the money they would be taking fighting Samsung and Apple
:05:06. > :05:08.in developed markets to focus more on those big emerging markets where
:05:09. > :05:12.there is huge potential for them still. And of course, next year,
:05:13. > :05:23.what with the one child policy relaxing in China, that's obviously
:05:24. > :05:27.a huge boom to baby brands, infant brands. But is that a move of China
:05:28. > :05:31.from being a production to a consumption economy? Is it saying to
:05:32. > :05:40.the Chinese population, you have done your work, time to reap the
:05:41. > :05:43.reward? In Malaysia, not such a great start to 2014. Alex is the
:05:44. > :05:48.prices are set to go up for the first time in two years. --
:05:49. > :06:02.electricity prices. The move comes just two months after other bills
:06:03. > :06:08.have increased. In downtown Kuala Lumpur, within two
:06:09. > :06:14.blocks, you can find five shopping centres. This activity, this way of
:06:15. > :06:19.attracting consumers, is becoming more expensive. Starting this
:06:20. > :06:23.month, electricity prices will go up by as much as 15%. No doubt the cost
:06:24. > :06:30.will trickle down to Malaysian consumers. Some say this is too
:06:31. > :06:37.much, too soon. It will probably be a bit of a burden as a family. We
:06:38. > :06:42.have quite a lot of electrical items in the house. Washing machine and
:06:43. > :06:52.everything. The cost of living, everything is up, you see the petrol
:06:53. > :06:57.money, the necessary living things. In less than 18 months, Malaysians
:06:58. > :07:00.will have to pay broad-based consumption tax is. The Malaysian
:07:01. > :07:04.government has been spending an average of $4000 per family a year
:07:05. > :07:09.just to keep the cost of essential living low. But it pushes up
:07:10. > :07:13.national debt and makes it difficult for the government to invest in
:07:14. > :07:18.high-paying jobs. Malaysian leaders see it is absolutely necessary to
:07:19. > :07:22.cut back on subsidies. Most Malaysians here agree. But there is
:07:23. > :07:29.resistance. In recent months, the auditor general has found a
:07:30. > :07:33.government departments spending 30 times more for clocks than
:07:34. > :07:37.originally budgeted. Another spent seven times more for scanners. These
:07:38. > :07:40.stories of government spending in west make Malaysia is sceptical.
:07:41. > :07:43.People here are willing to make a sacrifice, but if they do, not all
:07:44. > :07:53.Malaysians are convinced they will benefit in the long run.
:07:54. > :07:56.China has reportedly lifted its year-long freeze on public offerings
:07:57. > :08:05.on the mainland. Regulators have given their approval for six
:08:06. > :08:08.companies to list. China's manufacturing growth slowed in
:08:09. > :08:23.December, adding to view is the world 's second biggest economy lost
:08:24. > :08:27.some steam lately. Any reading above 50 signals expansion while that
:08:28. > :08:32.below signals contraction. The city of Shanghai it claims to set a new
:08:33. > :08:39.construction milestone. The first subway system with a total length of
:08:40. > :08:44.500 kilometres. Shanghai has been laying new track faster than
:08:45. > :08:51.anywhere else in history. It is already on course to overtake London
:08:52. > :08:56.and New York. It's hard to believe with 7 million
:08:57. > :09:03.passengers a day that the Shanghai Metro system is barely 20 years old.
:09:04. > :09:09.The pace of expansion has been breathtaking. It is now the world 's
:09:10. > :09:16.longest subway network. And with the opening of lines 12 and 16 this
:09:17. > :09:22.week, the first to stretch over 500 kilometres. TRANSLATION: I used to
:09:23. > :09:29.take the bus. That took ages. This is great. This new line saves me
:09:30. > :09:39.half an hour on my normal journey. I'm really happy. As of this week,
:09:40. > :09:43.Shanghai now has 567 kilometres of operational track, leaving London
:09:44. > :09:56.languishing with a mere 400 and New York even further behind with just
:09:57. > :09:58.330 kilometres or so. In the game of my metro is bigger than yours, China
:09:59. > :10:00.looks likely to remain the undisputed champion. The Beijing
:10:01. > :10:05.Metro is now the world 's second largest. 16 Chinese cities already
:10:06. > :10:09.have subway systems and at least 18 more have begun construction. If
:10:10. > :10:13.nothing else, it is a sign that there is little letup in big
:10:14. > :10:18.government spending despite all the talk of the need to rebalance this
:10:19. > :10:23.economy. This week, Shanghai also announced a ban on passengers eating
:10:24. > :10:27.on-board. But the appetite for growth is undiminished. In the next
:10:28. > :10:36.few years, yet another 230 kilometres will added. More than the
:10:37. > :10:39.total length of the Paris metro. And that's the end of Asia Business
:10:40. > :10:44.Report. Time now for all the sports news in Sport Today.