:00:00. > :00:15.Now on BBC News, all the latest business news, live from Singapore.
:00:16. > :00:20.Putting on a show. The biggest aviation event kicks off in
:00:21. > :00:25.Singapore, attracting people from around the world.
:00:26. > :00:26.And doing business in India. The competition is heating up as more
:00:27. > :00:39.foreign companies enter the market. Hello and welcome to Asia Business
:00:40. > :00:47.Report. We begin with Asia's biggest aviation event, which is the
:00:48. > :00:50.Singapore Air Show, which starts on Tuesday. Aviation leaders have
:00:51. > :00:55.already arrived there, hoping to do some major deals. More than 1000
:00:56. > :01:01.companies from over 20 nations will be present. In the previous airshow
:01:02. > :01:06.in 2012, deals worth around $31 billion were announced. The United
:01:07. > :01:13.States will have a strong presence. It is the feature country. Earlier,
:01:14. > :01:18.I spoke to the American ambassador to Singapore to ask him how
:01:19. > :01:24.important it is for US firms. Is crucial. We all know Asia over
:01:25. > :01:26.the next 20 years is going to do more business than the rest of the
:01:27. > :01:32.world combined in the aviation space. We have 163 companies here
:01:33. > :01:37.that represent from the largest of the Boeings two small planes that
:01:38. > :01:42.have been brought over on trade missions. If there is a need in
:01:43. > :01:49.aerospace, we have a company that fits that need. Asia is it right
:01:50. > :01:57.now, everyone wants to invest there. Where I US companies looking at?
:01:58. > :02:00.Which industries? -- where are. The beauty about the aerospace industry,
:02:01. > :02:05.because it is so mobile, you can do a bit here and there. You can do
:02:06. > :02:10.Vietnam and Myanmar at the same time and China in the same fashion. But
:02:11. > :02:16.this airshow allows us to talk to all the same people at the right
:02:17. > :02:20.time from all the different nations. Ideals done on the commercial side
:02:21. > :02:25.and also the military aspect, how does this fit into the Asia-Pacific
:02:26. > :02:34.policy of President Obama? -- deals are done. This is where we get to
:02:35. > :02:40.show the world about how we have... We have over ten for stars or above
:02:41. > :02:47.coming here, admirals and military generals coming, to talk about
:02:48. > :02:55.different products. They are standing alongside CEOs. With the
:02:56. > :03:03.economic potential and funkier markets. There are challenges. For
:03:04. > :03:10.example, Myanmar. New navigation systems. Safety is a big concern for
:03:11. > :03:16.commercial airlines like Boeing? Safety is always the primary concern
:03:17. > :03:19.but the one thing we see in every country in the region is moving to
:03:20. > :03:26.improve. It is better battery we are excited about. -- trajectory. We
:03:27. > :03:30.have the FA administrator here, talking about some of the things
:03:31. > :03:34.going on in civil aviation. We just want to be part of a conversation
:03:35. > :03:40.and companies want to be part of the solution. The US ambassador to
:03:41. > :03:44.Singapore. Indonesian defence officials have pulled out of the
:03:45. > :03:47.Singapore airshow amid a disagreement over an Indonesian
:03:48. > :03:59.warship. The spat between Singapore and Jakarta is over Indonesia's
:04:00. > :04:04.decision to... You can get a whole lot more information and a dates
:04:05. > :04:06.from the airshow on our website. Including in-depth analysis on
:04:07. > :04:15.spending in Asia. Indian companies are facing
:04:16. > :04:21.increasing pressure from international rivals, as the
:04:22. > :04:27.government opens up sectors like retail and aviation to overseas
:04:28. > :04:32.firms. But doing business in India is notoriously difficult.
:04:33. > :04:38.More now on how multinational companies are coping.
:04:39. > :04:45.This is the Indian home to some of the most well-known global giants.
:04:46. > :04:50.There are annually to London 50 multinational companies here and
:04:51. > :04:56.more and more are setting up. India, with a middle-class besides the US
:04:57. > :04:59.population, is not a market that most international companies can
:05:00. > :05:03.ignore. The country was hailed as one of the world's most promising
:05:04. > :05:08.growth markets but unpredictable regulation and bureaucracy are
:05:09. > :05:10.slowing -- and slow economic growth have shaken the confidence of
:05:11. > :05:20.companies from making big investments here. Take Siemens. They
:05:21. > :05:22.make industry software to help companies design and manufacture.
:05:23. > :05:28.They have been here for decades but the company says, in India, you have
:05:29. > :05:34.got to be prepared for the unexpected. The basic surprise in
:05:35. > :05:39.the market is the applicability. Unpredictable at you with customers
:05:40. > :05:50.and business and the operating environment. With a compensated
:05:51. > :05:55.market, global business is coming to India often turn to people like
:05:56. > :05:59.these -- local businesses. They guide companies through the process.
:06:00. > :06:06.They say their business has grown over 70% in the past year. What is
:06:07. > :06:08.the advice they give clients? Planning for the longer term is
:06:09. > :06:13.key. Having the expectation that it will take time to succeed and not
:06:14. > :06:18.expect results in the early stages. India remains a promising but
:06:19. > :06:24.challenging market that many are trying to crack. But while most
:06:25. > :06:30.people feel there is money to be made in India, there are plenty of
:06:31. > :06:32.question marks. The upcoming general elections brings another element of
:06:33. > :06:39.uncertainty. That's not conducive to investment.
:06:40. > :06:43.In other news, investigations have been launched after a newspaper
:06:44. > :06:48.reported thousands of confidential files related to Barclays Bank
:06:49. > :06:53.customers were stolen and sold to brokers. The Mail newspaper on
:06:54. > :06:59.Sunday said an anonymous whistleblower handed it a memory
:07:00. > :07:02.stick with a personal data of 2000 customers. The bank said it was
:07:03. > :07:08.investigating the matter. To owners of a Bangladesh Garment factory
:07:09. > :07:12.where over 100 people died in a fire two years ago have turned themselves
:07:13. > :07:16.into authorities. West warrants were in December. The case marks the
:07:17. > :07:21.first time the country has sought to prosecute factory owners in the
:07:22. > :07:33.influential Garment industry. -- arrest warrants. Japan has posted a
:07:34. > :07:35.current account deficit of over $6 billion, slightly lower than
:07:36. > :07:41.forecast. Asia's second largest economy is dealing with a weaker
:07:42. > :07:48.yen. In recent years, Japan has needed to buy a fossil fuels to make
:07:49. > :07:53.up for energy loss due to the shut down nuclear power facilities.
:07:54. > :07:56.Moving to Indonesia. The dispute between the government and mining
:07:57. > :08:00.industry continues. In the latest move, the government is planning to
:08:01. > :08:05.force mining companies to make downpayments towards the cost of
:08:06. > :08:11.building new smelters. This row started in 2009 when a law was
:08:12. > :08:16.passed, requiring mining companies to process mineral ores inside
:08:17. > :08:19.Indonesia and allowing only exports of processed minerals. The law was
:08:20. > :08:27.relaxed to a degree but finally incremented last month. Earlier, I
:08:28. > :08:30.spoke to someone from IHS. I asked for more detail about the law and
:08:31. > :08:39.its impact on the sector. The law has been on the cards since 2009.
:08:40. > :08:43.Its implementation raises questions because it seems very confused and
:08:44. > :08:50.uncoordinated. The lead up to the implementation of this requirement,
:08:51. > :08:56.that the process onshore... The minister was trying to quieten it
:08:57. > :08:59.down a bit. Job losses have been there because of the commodity
:09:00. > :09:07.prices. Are we likely to see more of this job reduction as a result of
:09:08. > :09:13.this? It depends now on how we move forward. The miners are trying to
:09:14. > :09:17.negotiate with the government to try to ratchet down the exports, for
:09:18. > :09:21.example. If they can bring it down, I suspect they will carry on with
:09:22. > :09:31.exports. At the moment, exports have stalled. If that happens, jobs are
:09:32. > :09:37.preserved. But if exports stall, we expect job losses will persist. It
:09:38. > :09:42.is election year. We will indeed see a new president coming to power.
:09:43. > :09:47.Could he overturned this law, to basically a piece the mining
:09:48. > :09:51.industry? Not overturn the law. Leading up to elections, there's no
:09:52. > :09:59.way it will do that. After the elections also, the new president
:10:00. > :10:06.will be voted based on what he or she can do. They can try to tweak
:10:07. > :10:15.it. But the overall plan, processed onshore, that is now part of it.
:10:16. > :10:20.A quick look at the Asian stock markets. Most of them are in
:10:21. > :10:26.positive territory. US stocks rose on Friday. The market was dulled by
:10:27. > :10:31.harsh weather conditions and expectations of further economic
:10:32. > :10:40.strength. Thank you for investing your time with us.
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