24/02/2014

Download Subtitles

Transcript

:00:00. > :00:00.the Scottish independence debate. It's only the second time in nearly

:00:00. > :00:00.a century the full UK cabinet has assembled in Scotland.

:00:00. > :00:15.Now on BBC News, all the latest business news live from Singapore.

:00:16. > :00:22.Finance leaders from the 20 biggest economies set a new goal: Generate

:00:23. > :00:28.$2 trillion in additional output over the next five years.

:00:29. > :00:34.Filipinos in Hong Kong are helping boost local business.

:00:35. > :00:45.Welcome. The world 's most powerful finance leaders want to boost global

:00:46. > :00:50.economic growth by more than $2 trillion in five years. The group of

:00:51. > :00:54.the world 's 20 largest economies made the pledge over the weekend at

:00:55. > :00:59.the meeting in Sydney, Australia. A need to generate an average increase

:01:00. > :01:04.of 2% over and above the growth already predicted. The U.S. Treasury

:01:05. > :01:11.Secretary said it was a significant arrangement. As we look across the

:01:12. > :01:16.world, we see a global economic recovery but one in which activity

:01:17. > :01:20.remains weak and global demand is still deficient. That is why the

:01:21. > :01:23.decision in Sydney to focus on growth strategies is so

:01:24. > :01:29.significant. These strategies can help address the near term to

:01:30. > :01:33.troubles of weak domestic demand and high unemployment as well as

:01:34. > :01:37.long-term obstacles that require structural reform. Chinese financial

:01:38. > :01:40.Minister said that the evidence of slow growth in the Chinese economy

:01:41. > :01:45.will continue. He said that if future substantial and is to be

:01:46. > :01:53.sustainable, it needs to be dealt with. -- expansion. We contributed

:01:54. > :01:59.to 50% of the global growth in 2009 and 2010. That is not sustainable.

:02:00. > :02:05.Our contribution needs to be 50%. It may be low in the future. That is

:02:06. > :02:08.possible. We should gradually lower the liquidity and leveraged ratio

:02:09. > :02:11.and make sure that our money is spent on things on which we should

:02:12. > :02:15.spend money. Meanwhile, we should make our financing more disciplined

:02:16. > :02:22.full on one hand, we should they jest bad debts. On the other hand,

:02:23. > :02:28.we should prevent local government from borrowing too much money. I

:02:29. > :02:31.recently spoke to the managing director of the World Bank.

:02:32. > :02:39.I asked him how the G20 group came up with a figure of $2 trillion. The

:02:40. > :02:44.first important element is that growth is the name of the game.

:02:45. > :02:52.International organisations are supporting that objective. The

:02:53. > :02:55.precise figure is based on analysis provided jointly by the World Bank,

:02:56. > :03:00.the OECD and the IMF, which support and provide analysis to that. Those

:03:01. > :03:07.are the most important thing. Growth is the name of the game. Growth

:03:08. > :03:12.should benefit everybody. Growth which brings equality matters. Where

:03:13. > :03:17.will this money be coming from to drive this growth? Many countries

:03:18. > :03:25.around the world have a bulging Budget deficits. It isn't just about

:03:26. > :03:28.the Budget and taxpayers' money. It is about making the economy work

:03:29. > :03:32.better. It is about leveraging private money. It is about

:03:33. > :03:37.structural reform. In certain countries, it could be the labour

:03:38. > :03:42.market or tax reform or the property market, et cetera. It is not so much

:03:43. > :03:55.about money at reforming the economy and reforming it correctly. Is there

:03:56. > :04:00.the political will that to reform? -- there to reform? That has been a

:04:01. > :04:07.problem of a economies over the past decade. It has been a problem for

:04:08. > :04:11.3000 years. The good news is that it is easier when everybody agrees that

:04:12. > :04:15.that structural reform should be carried together. It is not just

:04:16. > :04:18.singling out one country or another. Everybody faces structural

:04:19. > :04:27.reform issues. It doesn't matter your country. Jointly, we can do

:04:28. > :04:31.better. It is a great message. You mentioned Asia. Asia has been the

:04:32. > :04:42.growth centre over the past few decades. How much will Asia, in your

:04:43. > :04:47.view, contribute to this growth? It has been a growth engine for years.

:04:48. > :04:54.It will contribute to the great engine ahead. 40% of global growth

:04:55. > :04:57.originated in Asia. Hotels usually look to upgrade their

:04:58. > :05:03.facilities to attract the top dollar but in China, some hotels are

:05:04. > :05:07.looking to downgrade themselves. This is because Chinese government

:05:08. > :05:14.officials are now banned from using luxury hotels as part of new curbs

:05:15. > :05:20.on spending. I spoke with one expert from a hotel group and asked him

:05:21. > :05:25.what this austerity drive means. All that has happened here is that since

:05:26. > :05:29.November 2012, there has been a pulling back of government employees

:05:30. > :05:33.spending money in international 5-star hotels or in 5-star hotels in

:05:34. > :05:38.general in China. That has meant that international operators have

:05:39. > :05:43.taken a short-term reduction in their day-to-day business in bars

:05:44. > :05:47.and restaurants in the hotels. As international hotel operators, what

:05:48. > :05:51.we all do is look for other segment of business to replace about

:05:52. > :05:57.business. There are many other types of segments of business in the hotel

:05:58. > :06:02.industry that user hotels who are not government officials. As

:06:03. > :06:06.international operators, we bring a lot of people into China, tourist

:06:07. > :06:09.and business travellers and those are the people who tend to stay in

:06:10. > :06:18.internationally branded hotels. Is your strategy now to attract more

:06:19. > :06:21.mainland and foreign tourists rather than government business? It is

:06:22. > :06:26.government, business travellers, and one of the things which is happening

:06:27. > :06:33.all across Asia and China leads the way he is the emergence of domestic

:06:34. > :06:38.travel. The statistics are compelling. Since the mid- 70s, as a

:06:39. > :06:43.percentage of GDP, China was spending 28% of the GDP on building

:06:44. > :06:49.infrastructure. Since 2009, it is spending 45% of the GDP on building

:06:50. > :06:54.infrastructure. When you build roads of and ports and airports and

:06:55. > :07:00.high-speed rail, people can travel. When people can travel, they use

:07:01. > :07:04.hotels. That 435,000 additional people coming into China is all on

:07:05. > :07:06.the back of this massive infrastructure spending happening in

:07:07. > :07:10.China. That has been happening in the last 20 years or so. It causes

:07:11. > :07:16.people to be able to travel where they were not able to travel before.

:07:17. > :07:19.When they travel, they need hotels. ROM and international operator's

:07:20. > :07:25.point of view, we bring in tourists and business travellers from outside

:07:26. > :07:30.China. We are now cater to the Chinese travellers that travelling

:07:31. > :07:32.within the country. -- from the international operator's point of

:07:33. > :07:37.view. When people leave home to go

:07:38. > :07:42.overseas for work, it is a financial decision. They are not the only ones

:07:43. > :07:47.to benefit. Entire industries are emerging to service foreign workers.

:07:48. > :07:51.In Hong Kong, thousands of Filipinos are employed as domestic workers.

:07:52. > :07:53.Their income has spurred demand for companies to help them send the

:07:54. > :08:04.earnings home. Relaxing and catching up with

:08:05. > :08:09.friends on the weekend. Filipinos, hundreds of miles from home, have

:08:10. > :08:12.come to Hong Kong to work. You may be forgiven for thinking that we are

:08:13. > :08:16.no longer even in China. You won't hear much Cantonese or Mantineans

:08:17. > :08:24.being spoken in this part of town. -- or Mandarin. Filipinos are here

:08:25. > :08:31.in during the day. To cater to their needs, dozens of businesses have

:08:32. > :08:38.appeared in a shopping centre. This domestic helper has worked in Hong

:08:39. > :08:49.Kong for almost 20 years. I worked here for my family. This is for my

:08:50. > :08:56.kids' education. This is so that they have a good life. Because we

:08:57. > :09:03.are very poor in the Philippines. She sends home about $400, half the

:09:04. > :09:06.salary, every month. Cash remittances are vitally important

:09:07. > :09:11.financial lifeline for people all over Asia. Globally, India is the

:09:12. > :09:20.largest recipient. That is followed by China. The Philippines has about

:09:21. > :09:25.$26 billion. This man worked for one of the many companies which offer

:09:26. > :09:29.remittance services. His is part of a bank and charges $2 50 per

:09:30. > :09:35.transaction. He says that competition is getting fierce. Year

:09:36. > :09:40.after year, banks keep coming in. Now you can see all over, in this

:09:41. > :09:46.building alone, there are about 30 or 40 tellers fighting for this

:09:47. > :09:52.remittance. To stay ahead, they offer discounts in an effort to

:09:53. > :09:56.attract customers. Other companies are going further, even organising

:09:57. > :10:02.singing competitions to sell their brand. These women came to Hong Kong

:10:03. > :10:04.to support their families. Their presence is generating a whole

:10:05. > :10:15.industry in the host city. Before we go, a quick look at the

:10:16. > :10:18.Asian markets. Share prices are starting to show a mixed as

:10:19. > :10:23.investors give a lukewarm reaction to the Group of 20's latest

:10:24. > :10:28.commitment to spur faster global economic growth. That's it for this

:10:29. > :10:40.edition. Don't forget to follow us on Twitter. Sport Today is up next.

:10:41. > :10:44.The top stories this hour: The UN has delivered a damning report,

:10:45. > :10:48.highlighting months of mass killings and rape in South Sudan.

:10:49. > :10:51.Thousands of Ukrainians remain on the streets of the capital Kiev -

:10:52. > :10:53.the country's new interim president said he'll open talks with the EU

:10:54. > :10:57.about closer links.