:00:00. > :00:14.Now on BBC News all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:15. > :00:23.The giants of the mobile phone world are in Barcelona. We discuss the
:00:24. > :00:27.latest announcement. And find out more about the transpacific
:00:28. > :00:40.partnership talks in Singapore. Welcome to an Asia Business Report,
:00:41. > :00:47.I am Rico Hizon. The movies and shakers of the technology world are
:00:48. > :00:51.in Barcelona. Several big technology companies are using the gathering to
:00:52. > :01:01.launch a new product and announced big ideas. SANZAR is at the big
:01:02. > :01:02.meeting and says its next smartphone range will feature biometric
:01:03. > :01:17.security. The new phone will be available in
:01:18. > :01:22.April. The messaging service says it will offer voice calls to its
:01:23. > :01:27.funding of 50 million customers. The news comes after it was acquired by
:01:28. > :01:34.Facebook for $19 billion. The move is seen as a threat to Telecom
:01:35. > :01:36.operators. In its first ever appearance at the conference, Mark
:01:37. > :02:01.is also in Barcelona is a firm that has
:02:02. > :02:09.unveiled a prototype model for a new smart phone. The developing world is
:02:10. > :02:15.getting quite spoilt at this Congress. This is a prototype phone.
:02:16. > :02:20.It will not into production. Inside this is a deal struck between two
:02:21. > :02:31.firms. It has been trading on Twitter as the $25 phone. It has its
:02:32. > :02:35.own operating system. With this and Nokia's android phone we will see a
:02:36. > :02:39.lot of budget phones hitting the market which is good news for
:02:40. > :02:43.everybody. You will not be able to do everything you can on a high and
:02:44. > :02:49.smart phone but it is fantastic for someone who wants to get online but
:02:50. > :03:02.does not have access to the money. Earlier I spoke to Jake Saunders. It
:03:03. > :03:07.will really help to bring on board billions of new subscribers. There
:03:08. > :03:16.are two challenges, the devices are too expensive and it is all about
:03:17. > :03:20.Internet access. People like Mark Zuckerberg are saying we want to get
:03:21. > :03:28.more users in Indonesia, India and China. They are trying to go to
:03:29. > :03:36.local operators. Not many operators are keen on that at the moment.
:03:37. > :03:42.White? They are under tremendous competition in many markets. That
:03:43. > :03:47.pushing down on the margins, tariffs have been dropping dramatically.
:03:48. > :03:54.Even though the increase of four G services, many of the operators are
:03:55. > :04:00.seeing the same price as their three G services. It is putting a lot of
:04:01. > :04:13.Bashar on the operators. They also offer Wi-Fi and basically be
:04:14. > :04:18.consumers benefit. Many operators do have Wi-Fi hotspots but that will
:04:19. > :04:28.not be everywhere you go. So that is why they are keen to make other apps
:04:29. > :04:33.available. Banking giant HSBC which has a big presence in Asia posted a
:04:34. > :04:37.9% rise in profit for last year. Boosted by cost-cutting as it
:04:38. > :04:41.restructures the business. The result fell short of expectations
:04:42. > :04:46.and the lender warned of choppy times ahead.
:04:47. > :04:54.Microsoft is to drop the price of its new Xbox one console. Just over
:04:55. > :05:01.three months after its release. In the UK it cost about $750 and will
:05:02. > :05:06.drop to $665 on Friday. So far, the drop will only apply to the UK
:05:07. > :05:11.market. A big dispute between the Indonesian government and the mining
:05:12. > :05:17.industry comes to a head today. They are discussing a new law that
:05:18. > :05:21.will mean all raw minerals must be processed in Indonesia before
:05:22. > :05:24.export. It was supposed to boost jobs but many companies do not have
:05:25. > :05:34.the facilities required and say it is bad for business.
:05:35. > :05:41.The 2000 mining boom have also been appointed as a prime example of an
:05:42. > :05:49.uncertain legal framework. It contains a bat on raw mineral
:05:50. > :05:53.exports. The government asserted that miners were given five years to
:05:54. > :06:00.build smelters in Indonesia but many companies say the timeframe was not
:06:01. > :06:06.realistic. The law was only clarified by implementing
:06:07. > :06:12.regulations of 2012. By the time those regulations came out but with
:06:13. > :06:21.the deadline of 2014 still in place, it only gave 20 months. That was not
:06:22. > :06:24.enough to even get approvals. Now companies that are not yet able to
:06:25. > :06:32.process minerals domestically, they are allowed to export after paying a
:06:33. > :06:40.hefty tax. They have to pay 25% this year and that will be increased to
:06:41. > :06:51.60% in 2016. According to companies, 60% is practically a ban.
:06:52. > :06:55.They will build smelters very soon. The biggest issue at the moment is
:06:56. > :06:59.uncertainty. If the government could put some certainty into this whole
:07:00. > :07:07.regulation, if it could be realistic in its timeframes it may find a
:07:08. > :07:10.better attitude. So it is not so much the government 's attention
:07:11. > :07:15.that businesses have a problem with. It is the way the regulations are
:07:16. > :07:20.carried out. How Indonesia manages this is good as that term in its
:07:21. > :07:24.future growth. Trade ministers are holding their
:07:25. > :07:29.final rate of negotiations today for an ambitious new free trade zone
:07:30. > :07:40.called the transpacific partnership. The deal links 12 countries and is a
:07:41. > :07:45.key part of America's pivot to Asia. It is a key part of Obama 's
:07:46. > :07:50.strategic shift to Asia. They would meet a deadline of December at best
:07:51. > :07:54.bat and so now the hope is that they can come to a agreement by April
:07:55. > :08:00.which is when the US President is scheduled to visit. It has faced
:08:01. > :08:05.resistance especially with the Japanese. This is over sensitive
:08:06. > :08:09.topics such as agricultural taxes. The Japanese and US trade
:08:10. > :08:15.representatives met for the second round of talks. Both sides came away
:08:16. > :08:19.from the talks with the agreement with the Japanese saying that big
:08:20. > :08:25.gaps still remained between the two sides. For more what is happening
:08:26. > :08:33.here, I am joined by a trade expert. Thank you for joining us.
:08:34. > :08:39.What is your view on the meetings? Will we see a deal come out on the
:08:40. > :08:44.final day of talks? I don't think so. I think they will get close. By
:08:45. > :08:54.the end of the year, yes. This is the largest trade agreement outside
:08:55. > :08:58.of the EU -- EU. This is a very big deal as it stands. It has the
:08:59. > :09:03.potential to get much bigger. There are eight countries that are likely
:09:04. > :09:12.to join in the next group of countries. Including China, Hong
:09:13. > :09:17.Kong, South Korea. This could get even bigger with 20 countries in it.
:09:18. > :09:20.I think that makes it a very significant agreement that needs to
:09:21. > :09:26.conclude as quickly as possible. The Japanese Prime Minister has faced
:09:27. > :09:31.opposition at home. Most notably from farmers and agricultural lobby
:09:32. > :09:35.groups. What is the likelihood of their making concessions? Is a
:09:36. > :09:41.matter of political will. It is a matter of both sides being willing
:09:42. > :09:46.and able to say in the interests of this larger agreement, we are
:09:47. > :09:48.willing to take on some very challenging domestic political
:09:49. > :09:53.lobbies and say to them, you have to give a little in order to get this
:09:54. > :09:59.much larger promise for the society as a whole. Thank you. As you can
:10:00. > :10:05.see, there is still a number of challenges for the countries
:10:06. > :10:12.involved. As to whether they can come to an agreement this year
:10:13. > :10:18.remains to be seen. Before we go, here is a quick look
:10:19. > :10:28.at the market. Asia stocks are in positive territory. Games have been
:10:29. > :10:29.made by the resources sector. Japan and Australia are in positive
:10:30. > :10:44.territory. The UN has delivered humanitarian
:10:45. > :10:51.aid to a handful of refugees living in the ruins of the Syrian capital,
:10:52. > :10:54.Damascus. Tens of thousands more remain in desperate need.
:10:55. > :10:59.EU officials are in Ukraine - to discuss lending financial and
:11:00. > :11:02.political support. Russia's Prime Minister has accused the country's
:11:03. > :11:03.new leaders of an "armed mutiny" Labour's deputy leader Harriet
:11:04. > :11:04.Harman has denied