17/01/2014 Asia Business Report


17/01/2014

Similar Content

Browse content similar to 17/01/2014. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

has gone missing in Edinburgh. Police say there is no evidence to

:00:00.:00:00.

suggest any criminal act. Time for Asia Business Report. Global

:00:00.:00:18.

prospects. What does the year have in store for Asia and other major

:00:19.:00:24.

economies? India looks to tap into Myanmar but will investment

:00:25.:00:30.

opportunities pay off? Welcome to the programme. It's the

:00:31.:00:39.

third week of the new year and both the World Bank and IMF have been

:00:40.:00:42.

optimistic about a pickup in the global economy. The World Bank says

:00:43.:00:47.

it sees higher growth in America, which suggests that the Federal

:00:48.:00:51.

Reserve's aggressive monetary policies have been working. The

:00:52.:00:56.

Federal Reserve plans to scale back on it and committees. In his final

:00:57.:01:04.

public appearance as chairman of the federal, Ben Bernanke said the

:01:05.:01:08.

organisation had enough tools to manage its policy. -- as chairman of

:01:09.:01:19.

the Federal Reserve. To tighten monetary policy and manage interest

:01:20.:01:23.

rates, even if the balance sheet stays where it is. Because we can do

:01:24.:01:29.

that, that means we can run monetary policy the normal way and avoid any

:01:30.:01:36.

risks with inflation or other such problems. Earlier, I spoke with a

:01:37.:01:48.

representative from HSBC. He seems to see an eight US economy. The bad

:01:49.:01:56.

news is behind us. -- he seems to see a US economy that is up heat. He

:01:57.:02:09.

suggests that the large balance sheet that the Federal Reserve has

:02:10.:02:12.

should not be a problem in the years to come. Optimistic but the last two

:02:13.:02:20.

weeks have not been so good. What is your opinion in terms of how things

:02:21.:02:23.

will progress in the coming weeks for the Asian markets? The market

:02:24.:02:30.

often anticipate development. They had a pretty strong performance last

:02:31.:02:34.

year anticipating some of the growth in the economy. There are still some

:02:35.:02:41.

dangers, however. In the US, inflation is at a 50 year low. It's

:02:42.:02:47.

very low in Europe as well. That is not good. Markets over time. What do

:02:48.:02:54.

you expect to see in the GDP figures in Asia? Some deceleration. There

:02:55.:03:02.

are already suggestions that China is slowing down. It's not a collapse

:03:03.:03:08.

but it is a slight slowdown. This year, we might see even weaker

:03:09.:03:11.

growth because the reform process in China is perfect thing economic

:03:12.:03:18.

demand. -- is having an impact on economic demand. What are the things

:03:19.:03:23.

to look out for in the Asian economy? We need reforms urgently.

:03:24.:03:31.

Not just in China but in India, Japan and South East Asia. In

:03:32.:03:41.

Myanmar, during the years of international isolation, the one

:03:42.:03:44.

friend it could rely on both politically and economically was

:03:45.:03:48.

China, which became its biggest trading partner. Now that Myanmar is

:03:49.:03:53.

opening up its economy to other foreign investors, countries like

:03:54.:04:04.

India are sensing an opportunity. There are strong historical ties

:04:05.:04:10.

between India and Myanmar. Many Burmese Indians live in Yangon. And

:04:11.:04:16.

they were once both part of British colonial India. But in terms of

:04:17.:04:23.

trade and investment, India is a long way behind countries like China

:04:24.:04:27.

and Thailand. In the struggle for influence between China and India,

:04:28.:04:32.

the two economic superpowers of the region, it has so far been China on

:04:33.:04:37.

top. With little concern for democracy or human rights, over the

:04:38.:04:42.

last several decades they have invested billions of dollars in an

:04:43.:04:46.

oil and gas pipeline and large-scale infrastructure projects. But with

:04:47.:04:51.

the coming of reform, the relationship between China and

:04:52.:04:55.

Myanmar has become cooler and countries like India have sensed the

:04:56.:05:02.

opportunity. At the moment, India imports more from Myanmar than it

:05:03.:05:08.

exports here. In a bid to change that and get in on what could be a

:05:09.:05:12.

Burmese boom, it's holding this there in Yangon. We think that we

:05:13.:05:20.

have lots of opportunities in this market. We are a bit late but not

:05:21.:05:27.

too late. How easy is it to do business in Myanmar? Does that put

:05:28.:05:35.

off Indian companies? Indian companies are still not certain

:05:36.:05:39.

about the political situation in this country. They are waiting to

:05:40.:05:44.

see what happens after the election in 2015. There are lots of practical

:05:45.:05:50.

devices being sold at this trade fair. Solar panels and irrigation

:05:51.:05:56.

systems. But this is by far the most popular. Just look at this! Of

:05:57.:06:05.

course the Indians are not the only ones sensing opportunity here. Many

:06:06.:06:12.

western companies have also established a presence in Myanmar.

:06:13.:06:17.

What the Burmese are hoping for is that companies don't just come here

:06:18.:06:21.

to sell their products, but they invest large amounts of money as

:06:22.:06:26.

well. One week into the US burning season

:06:27.:06:32.

and many are looking at indications of corporate America investing again

:06:33.:06:42.

-- the US earning season. Some companies have taken a fresh look at

:06:43.:06:48.

investing in their businesses. Ones Heil at a time, these workers are

:06:49.:06:54.

transforming this warehouse into a new project. -- one tile at a time.

:06:55.:07:06.

This is our first venture into brick and mortar. Normally we have... It

:07:07.:07:19.

was time to put down some roots and get a seven days per week business.

:07:20.:07:25.

This is a small example of what many people hope will become a trend in

:07:26.:07:29.

corporate America, spending money on investing in their business. Now

:07:30.:07:35.

that GDP looks to be the most stable and consistent asset in the world,

:07:36.:07:41.

executives feel more confident that they can loosen the cough is a bit.

:07:42.:07:50.

-- loosen the purse strings a bit. It's not just GDP looking good.

:07:51.:07:56.

Government shutdowns are in the past. Indications are pointing to a

:07:57.:08:04.

bullish market. Capital spending goes hand-in-hand with a better

:08:05.:08:08.

economy and more hiring. Companies that spend a lot on new equipment

:08:09.:08:13.

tend to hire more. If the economy is producing more goods, it will be a

:08:14.:08:26.

healthy and strong economy. Beer and food, the winning combination that

:08:27.:08:32.

made this company invest. Now, it's a matter of other businesses doing

:08:33.:08:39.

the same. This week, we have been looking at the property sectors of

:08:40.:08:43.

Hong Kong and London, trying to determine what makes a location a

:08:44.:08:48.

global property hotspots. We caught up with the founder of a Singapore

:08:49.:08:59.

based property businessman. What qualifies as a hot property market?

:09:00.:09:09.

My definition of a hotspot is what I see as high return for a high risk

:09:10.:09:14.

investment. You mentioned money going in and seeking high returns.

:09:15.:09:19.

Is there a danger that some of these cities could be experiencing hot

:09:20.:09:23.

money inflows, and therefore a bubble? In the first place in the

:09:24.:09:32.

city, I hate to say it that it's not like in America. You do have some

:09:33.:09:45.

control. But the H cannot be 100%. Right now, in Singapore, you can

:09:46.:09:58.

only invest 60%. When you have 40% inside your investment, the bubble

:09:59.:10:07.

will not arise. For more on the global property industry, tune in

:10:08.:10:15.

this weekend on BBC World News. The stock markets got off to a

:10:16.:10:25.

lacklustre start this morning. Not so bad at the moment. The Nikkei has

:10:26.:10:28.

just turned up almost one point. This is BBC News. Headlines: The

:10:29.:10:47.

Afghan Taliban has told the BBC they believe are

:10:48.:10:48.

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS