:00:00. > :00:00.dead in Fife will appear in court later today. Time for Asia Business
:00:00. > :00:21.Report. It's official, China's economy is
:00:22. > :00:26.slowing down. We will look at the implications. A bank account for
:00:27. > :00:46.every adult in the country. India's bold ambitions. Welcome to the
:00:47. > :00:53.programme. China's economy expanded by 7.7% in the final three months of
:00:54. > :00:56.last year, the same as in 2012. It exceeds the government's target of
:00:57. > :01:11.7.5% but they are the worst the country has seen in 14 years. Thank
:01:12. > :01:19.you for joining us. Is this good news or bad news? Well, I think this
:01:20. > :01:28.is a positive development that the market should be welcoming. China
:01:29. > :01:32.requires this slowdown. We expected growth to slow in the fourth quarter
:01:33. > :01:36.and we have got that. People need to get used to a new way of thinking
:01:37. > :01:42.about Chinese growth. It is going to be slowing down in the coming
:01:43. > :01:54.years. It won't be a straight line but growers will be slow and not
:01:55. > :02:03.just as a downshift but as a continual deceleration. Are the
:02:04. > :02:07.Chinese party leaders going to be pleased with this? They are trying
:02:08. > :02:12.to tread a difficult line. The leadership believes it needs a
:02:13. > :02:15.certain amount of growth to keep employment up. And growth targets
:02:16. > :02:20.has always been about making sure there is enough growth to keep
:02:21. > :02:25.employment robust but as you change your economic model, as things shift
:02:26. > :02:31.more towards services, you can still have robust employment growth even
:02:32. > :02:36.if GDP slows down. It just means you have a weaker headline great number.
:02:37. > :02:41.They may not be pleased about the number. We may not be pleased about
:02:42. > :02:47.the slowdown but the fact that they are accommodating it is a good
:02:48. > :02:52.thing. One final question. What does this mean for the rest of the world?
:02:53. > :03:06.Lots of foreign investors might be thinking... We deal with companies
:03:07. > :03:13.who have a heavy footprint in China, multinational companies. For those
:03:14. > :03:16.companies, we think this slowdown will help them from various
:03:17. > :03:21.standpoints. The most important one is it will help level the playing
:03:22. > :03:25.field. Right now, large, state-owned Chinese company 's can compete on an
:03:26. > :03:29.uneven playing field because of heavy government support. As the
:03:30. > :03:32.economy slows, we expect some of that support will have to be drawn
:03:33. > :03:36.back because government resources will have to be diverted to other
:03:37. > :03:41.areas. From a foreign investment perspective, we should not be too
:03:42. > :03:45.worried about this. In fact, it's a positive thing in the long-term. The
:03:46. > :03:48.transition for the Chinese economy might be difficult but there is
:03:49. > :03:53.something of a myth that China drives global growth. It does not
:03:54. > :03:57.really drive global demand because other countries are buying from
:03:58. > :04:00.China. China drives a lot of commodity demand but in general, a
:04:01. > :04:05.Chinese slowdown will not affect other markets too heavily, apart
:04:06. > :04:19.from the heavy commodity producers like Brazil and the Middle East.
:04:20. > :04:26.Chinese GDP in the last quarter has increased 7.7%. Nintendo shares have
:04:27. > :04:36.fallen by more than 18% of -- after the company said it would be posting
:04:37. > :04:41.another loss. The game maker has cut down its sales forecast for the
:04:42. > :04:46.latest Wii by 17% and as a result, it expects to post an operating loss
:04:47. > :04:52.of more than $300 million. That's compared to an initial forecast of
:04:53. > :04:59.profit. Taiwanese manufacturers are also struggling with profit. One
:05:00. > :05:04.company has posted a net loss of millions of dollars. It also said
:05:05. > :05:15.its senior executives will take a 30% pay cut. India's banking sector
:05:16. > :05:20.is one of the government's priorities for 2014. It has already
:05:21. > :05:24.got plans to give out more banking licences and improve finances in
:05:25. > :05:28.rural areas. A new plan has been put forward to give every adult Indian a
:05:29. > :05:38.bank account by 2016. Is that feasible? This man is 60 years old
:05:39. > :05:41.and he has never had a bank account. He sells vegetables to make his
:05:42. > :05:47.living from this shop just outside of his home. It's hard for him to
:05:48. > :05:55.save very much but whatever he does is kept in his home. TRANSLATION:
:05:56. > :05:59.The nearest bank is about one hour 's walk away. There are some private
:06:00. > :06:03.lenders slightly closer but I cannot trust them with my money. If there
:06:04. > :06:06.was a government bank closer to home, I would deposit my savings
:06:07. > :06:13.there but right now, it's not worth my time. This is a suburb of Mumbai
:06:14. > :06:17.and yet many people do not have bank accounts simply because there is not
:06:18. > :06:21.a bank branch that is close enough. In fact, around one third of the
:06:22. > :06:26.Indian population has no access to bank accounts. Now, there is a
:06:27. > :06:29.proposal to change that and bring more people from low-income houses
:06:30. > :06:35.like these into the formal financial system. An expert panel set up by
:06:36. > :06:39.the Reserve Bank of India has recommended that special banks
:06:40. > :06:44.should be opened, focusing on those making smaller amounts of money. Why
:06:45. > :06:51.2016, every adult Indian should have a bank account. -- by 2016. That is
:06:52. > :06:56.a big target. The country is home to more than 1.2 billion people. In
:06:57. > :07:02.2010, India launched a massive scheme to give every person a unique
:07:03. > :07:06.identification number, a process that is still under way and likely
:07:07. > :07:10.to be completed next year. The central bank's panel believes that
:07:11. > :07:18.if bank accounts are links to this unique ID number, 2016 may be an
:07:19. > :07:20.achievable goal. But to really get people to use these accounts,
:07:21. > :07:24.thousands of new bank branches would also need to be opened and its
:07:25. > :07:28.customers are only depositing very small amounts, there are questions
:07:29. > :07:34.about whether these branches would be financially viable. They are
:07:35. > :07:40.ambitious goals but achieving them, many believe, is key for equitable
:07:41. > :07:46.growth in the country. The slowdown in China has prompted investors to
:07:47. > :07:49.look to other parts of Asia. South East Asia's largest art show took
:07:50. > :07:59.place in Singapore, highlighting a growing interest in artist. I am at
:08:00. > :08:04.South East Asia's largest art show, with over 150 galleries from around
:08:05. > :08:07.the world showcasing art as diverse as installations to traditional
:08:08. > :08:12.forms like painting and sculpture. But the question for a would-be art
:08:13. > :08:17.collector or investor is, with such a bewildering array of choice, where
:08:18. > :08:22.do you start with art? It's a question I put to and avid
:08:23. > :08:36.Singaporean collector of south-east Asian art. I have been collecting
:08:37. > :08:40.for many years and somehow, I stay with south-east ASEAN to simply
:08:41. > :08:47.because it's familiar territory. -- south-east Asian art simply because
:08:48. > :08:54.it is familiar territory. South East Asia as a country is still quite...
:08:55. > :09:00.-- as a region is still quite in its infancy in terms of the value of
:09:01. > :09:09.art. In this region of growth, as we become wealthier, art will surely
:09:10. > :09:16.appreciate in South Asia. He will be pleased with what is on offer. Art
:09:17. > :09:21.from South East Asia dominates this year's fare, with Indonesian pieces
:09:22. > :09:24.like this one taking centre stage. Record-breaking prices for Chinese
:09:25. > :09:30.art in previous years has overshadowed offerings from
:09:31. > :09:34.elsewhere in Asia. But a suspected slowdown and a clampdown on luxury
:09:35. > :09:44.spending their mailing to a shift in interest. -- may lead to a shift in
:09:45. > :09:49.interest. We achieved growth of over 30% and one of the success stories
:09:50. > :09:53.was south-east Asian art, which has seen a lot of new interest,
:09:54. > :09:58.regionally and internationally. And that is a result not only of the
:09:59. > :10:05.growth of the economies in Asia but also, as those economies grow and
:10:06. > :10:07.Asia becomes very much part of everybody's mindset, there is more
:10:08. > :10:14.international interest in what happens here. Investors are taking a
:10:15. > :10:18.serious look at art from this part of the world, and interest that was
:10:19. > :10:38.reflected at the show where many local artists sold out on the first
:10:39. > :10:43.night. Thank you for joining us. This is BBC News. The headlines:
:10:44. > :10:46.Both the US and Syria's main opposition group have voiced their
:10:47. > :10:50.disapproval of Iran's invitation to peace talks, which begin in
:10:51. > :10:55.Switzerland this week. The Ukrainian president will convene a special
:10:56. > :10:56.cross-party commission to try to resolve weeks of political