23/01/2014 Asia Business Report

is the biggest fall since 1997. 30 million people have jobs, and the

number of people out of work stands at 7.1%.

Now it is time for Asia Business Report.

Pro or anti nuclear? Energy policies take centre stage in Tokyo's

governors race. Economic growth and renewable energy, why Southeast Asia

is becoming a destination for green investors.

Welcome to Asia Business Report. We start in Japan, where campaigning is

under way for the new Tokyo Governor. The vote is ingested at

two weeks time. -- the vote is in just over two weeks time. A former

PM has surprised everyone by putting himself in the race. They are

campaigning on an antinuclear platform, , and pitted against the

front runner, who has the backing of the ruling Liberal Democrat party,

and the current PM. So many names and so many prime ministers, but

earlier I spoke with someone from the Wall Street Journal. The

campaign kicks off today, and obviously, it is hoped that the

nuclear issue, which has been around ever since the Fukushima accident,

can really get traction now. The mood of the country is split on the

idea of whether Japan should restart its nuclear power plants, but the

movement hasn't really coalesced. This will be a defining moment to

see if it does. You see the country is split over the nuclear issue, but

what about the sense in Tokyo itself? Obviously, after the

Fukushima crisis it seemed there were many people who were against

the idea of nuclear power there. I think Tokyo is probably the centre

of the antinuclear movement, with something like 60% against

restarting the nuclear plants. There are other people who say that other

issues should be the ones that are discussed in this election, not

nuclear policy. What could these is the be? More down-to-earth issues.

Healthcare, retirement pensions, things like that that affect peoples

lives on a daily basis. And things that are more in the purview of the

Tokyo Governor. There are calls that the candidate won't be good for the

economy. Mary Mac that will depend on how far the antinuclear aspect of

this goes. Japan is importing large amounts of fossil fuel to keep

electricity running, and that has had a big effect on the deficit.

That can harm the economy. The other big issue is that if there are no

nuclear plants, electricity prices for industry are likely to rise, and

that could be a problem for Abenomics. In other news, factory

activity in China slowdown in January, the first contraction in

six months, as new orders declined. That is according to compilations

from HSBC's purchasing managers index. Any reading under 50

indicates a contraction. The flash data shows that a mild slowdown at

the end of last year has continued into the start of the New Year. The

South Korean Central Bank says it recorded its fastest growth in

nearly three years. The economy expanded by 3.9% from the previous

year. That is due to an increase in capital expenditure. For all of last

year, Asia's fourth-largest economy expanded by 2.8%. EBay has said that

losing PayPal would disrupt its business synergies. EBay bought

PayPal in 2000 and 241 $5 billion. The biggest trade union in South

Africa's platinum industry has called a strike over pay. The action

will start today, halting production of the world's three largest

platinum producers. The union says 70,000 members will begin indefinite

action from the start of their morning shift. They want their

current pay rates to be doubled. At this time of the year, the ski

resort of De Boss is inundated -- Davos. There are more than 300

parties to go to. , Thursday evening, this area will be

chock-a-block with people, trying to hand over their coats. This is a

function factory. This hotel is wall-to-wall functions, receptions.

There is another one going on down there, and you can see they are

preparing at the moment. Tonight will be Korean night. Further down

the corridor, you can see the souvenirs that the Koreans will be

handing over. The area manager for the hotel is here. Let's go in as

the preparations are under way for Korean evening. How many functions

like this do you have in five days? Over 350, in five days. There are

about 25 meeting rooms, 44 officers, three large meeting rooms like this.

We have transformed this into different sections. How many events

will you have in here in one-day? The main day is Thursday, and we

will have about six in here. In here? Yes, and each day we had to

rebuild it according to what the client wants. It is a logistical

challenge. What about the normal Hotel services? Not tonight, not

tomorrow night. These offers us. The massage parlour is taken over by a

consultancy firm. Let me take you to this mean pool. Every single square

metre of this hotel is being used up. This is this mean pool, and this

is the Jacuzzi, all covered over. Just as well, it is not the moment

to go diving if you are feeling a little stressed that the World

Economic Forum. There is one message I think everybody needs to take

away. You may be enjoying a drink, but the way of surviving all of this

is to put something to your lips, enjoy it, then move onto the next

party, it is you have to be up for 5am for breakfast the next day.

For all those wheeling and dealing is and the parties, you can look at

our website. What about green energy? With the

rapidly growing and industrialising economies here in Southeast Asia,

some companies are looking to this region to invest in green

alternatives like biomass. I spoke with the chief executive of E

renewable energy company, and asked how this could be an economically

sustainable process. I would say that is the most relevant, the

possibility to aggregate large volumes of biomass, because the

conversion process is an industrial process. They are economies of

scale, and there is a value in having rather large plants. That

means that the biomass available to the plant needs to be available in

large quantities at a reasonably low cost. Biomass is not a real

commodity, it is light, it is not really totally interchangeable, and

therefore it has to be sourced or produced rather locally to the

plant. If you take a look at the controversy surrounding biomass, it

has been stated that it is taking away food from the mouths of people,

because these are corn products, palm oil products, that you can

actually use to feed the world. So how much is it true, and have you

address at? I think without technology, we can address the issue

under three different perspectives. First of all, it can be obtained by

agricultural methods that don't use land at all, because it is by

products. Secondly, the process can use dedicated crops. In several

circumstances, this crop can be grown on what is called marginal

land, which is not really suitable for food production. A quick look at

the markets, because you are seeing most in decline. The Nikkei has gone

a little lower, as a reaction to the manufacturing data that we saw from

HSBC showing a slight contraction in that. A lot of analysts and

investors are worried. Thank you for watching.

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