:00:00. > :00:00.Farnham. Now on BBC News all the latest
:00:07. > :00:15.business news live from Singapore. It is Asia Business Report with
:00:16. > :00:22.Ricoh. The giants of the mobile phone world
:00:23. > :00:28.are in Barcelona, we discuss the latest announcements and trends.
:00:29. > :00:32.Find out more about the partnership talks in Singapore where global
:00:33. > :00:43.trade ministers are holding their final round of negotiations. Welcome
:00:44. > :00:47.to Asia Business Report, I am Rico Hizon in Singapore. The movers and
:00:48. > :00:52.shakers of the tech world are in Barcelona for the Mobile world
:00:53. > :00:56.Congress. Several big tech companies are using the gathering to launch
:00:57. > :01:00.new products and announced the new ideas for the future. South Korea's
:01:01. > :01:07.Tech giant, Samsung, is at the meeting and says its next smartphone
:01:08. > :01:12.range will feature biometric security, like Apple's iPhone five,
:01:13. > :01:16.the main button on the front will double as a fingerprint scanner used
:01:17. > :01:23.to unlock it. The phone will be available in April. WhatsApp says it
:01:24. > :01:28.will offer voice calls to its 450 million customers. The news comes
:01:29. > :01:32.days after it was acquired by Facebook for $19 billion. The move
:01:33. > :01:35.is seen as a threat for telecom operators whose revenues have been
:01:36. > :01:42.hit already by the free messaging service. In its first ever
:01:43. > :01:48.appearance, Facebook boss outlined plans to bring internet access to
:01:49. > :01:53.the developing world. He says a set of basic services should be
:01:54. > :01:58.available to everyone. -- his first-ever. Also at the Congress is
:01:59. > :02:08.not Sylla, best known for its Firefox browser. They have brought
:02:09. > :02:14.out its new $25 smartphone. The developing world is getting
:02:15. > :02:19.spoiled here. This is a prototype phone, a reference model actually,
:02:20. > :02:25.so it won't go into production. Inside is a deal struck between
:02:26. > :02:32.mozzarella and trick -- trip makers. It is the $25 phone. There is no
:02:33. > :02:37.release date scheduled for this but clearly with this and Nokia's
:02:38. > :02:42.low-cost and red, we will see a lot of budget phones hitting the market.
:02:43. > :02:46.-- Mozilla. You won't be able to do everything you can on a high and
:02:47. > :02:50.smartphone, but this is the thought of thing that would be fantastic for
:02:51. > :02:56.someone who wants to get online and doesn't have access to the money to
:02:57. > :03:00.do so otherwise. I spoke to Jake Saunders from ABI
:03:01. > :03:06.research to ask what he thought about this $25 smartphone. Very
:03:07. > :03:11.exciting, this will bring on-board the next one -2 billion new
:03:12. > :03:15.subscribers. They are keen. There are two challenges though, the
:03:16. > :03:22.devices were too expensive. And it is all about internet access. They
:03:23. > :03:25.are saying that we want Facebook into the users in Indonesia and
:03:26. > :03:32.India and China and so forth, so they will do that by going to mobile
:03:33. > :03:39.operators and fading, leggy surfers -- make the servers free. But they
:03:40. > :03:47.aren't keen on that. Why not? They are being squeezed in many markets.
:03:48. > :03:51.That means pushing down on the margins, and tariffs have been
:03:52. > :03:56.dropping over the last 2-3 years even with the increase of four G
:03:57. > :04:01.services, many operators have been pricing the 4G services at the same
:04:02. > :04:09.price as their three G services. Vig get more data but that is pressuring
:04:10. > :04:15.operators. -- 3G. But they are offering Wi-Fi, where consumers
:04:16. > :04:22.benefit with WhatsApp they can also operate on cellular services. In
:04:23. > :04:26.places like Japan they do have Wi-Fi hotspots. Are they are keen to make
:04:27. > :04:33.WhatsApp available on the cellular service. In other news, the
:04:34. > :04:35.professional networking service linked in has launched a test
:04:36. > :04:42.version of its Chinese language site. It is aimed at making a
:04:43. > :04:47.localised service to Chinese users and is expected to boost growth on
:04:48. > :04:52.the mainland. Rivals like Facebook and Twitter continue to be blocked
:04:53. > :04:57.in the mainland. Microsoft is to drop the price of its new console,
:04:58. > :05:05.just three months after its release. It is priced in the UK at 715 US
:05:06. > :05:11.dollars with a bundled game. It will drop to $665 on Friday. So far the
:05:12. > :05:14.drop will only apply to the UK market. A big fight between the
:05:15. > :05:19.Indonesian government and the mining industry comes to a head, they are
:05:20. > :05:23.meeting to discuss a new law which means all raw minerals must be
:05:24. > :05:28.processed in Indonesia before they are exported. It was supposed to
:05:29. > :05:34.boost jobs but many companies do not have the facilities required and
:05:35. > :05:39.they say it is bad for business. Our correspondent reports from Jakarta.
:05:40. > :05:48.The new mining will has been pointed out as agent example of an uncertain
:05:49. > :05:51.legal framework. -- an example. It contained a ban on raw mineral
:05:52. > :05:57.exports which went into effect this year. The Government asserted miners
:05:58. > :06:03.were given five years to build smelters in Indonesia, but many say
:06:04. > :06:10.the timeframe was not realistic. The law was only clarified by the
:06:11. > :06:15.implementing regulations of 2012, June 2012. So, by the time the
:06:16. > :06:24.regulations came out, but with the deadline of January 2014 in place,
:06:25. > :06:28.that only gave what? Eight 20 month time period. That's not enough to
:06:29. > :06:33.get approval for a smelter. -- a 20 month. They are allowed to export
:06:34. > :06:46.concentrating the let studious after paying a tax. -- hefty. That will be
:06:47. > :06:54.increased to 60% in 2016. 60% is practically a ban. Then please build
:06:55. > :07:00.the smelters soon. But our analyst sees the problem being that:
:07:01. > :07:06.Uncertainty. If the Government could put some certainty into this whole
:07:07. > :07:12.regulation, and if it could be realistic in its timeframes, we
:07:13. > :07:15.might find a better attitude among the foreign miners. It is not so
:07:16. > :07:19.much the government's intention that businesses have a problem with but
:07:20. > :07:26.the way the regulations are carried out, and how Indonesia manages this
:07:27. > :07:30.could determine its future growth. Global trade ministers are holding
:07:31. > :07:35.their final round of talks today for an ambitious new free trade zone
:07:36. > :07:40.called the transpacific partnership. The TPP links 12 countries and is a
:07:41. > :07:44.key part of America's pivot to Asia but does not include China. Our
:07:45. > :07:46.reporter is at the meeting in Singapore with more on those
:07:47. > :07:53.negotiations. It is a key part of President Omar
:07:54. > :07:57.Mah's shift to Asia. The white house hoped it would meet the deadline of
:07:58. > :08:01.December but Mr VAT and the hope is that it could come too late
:08:02. > :08:05.agreement by April. -- an agreement. That is when he is scheduled to
:08:06. > :08:19.visit the region. -- President Obama. -- Mr Obama. The uncertainty
:08:20. > :08:24.between the Japanese and US resulted in talks late on Monday but both
:08:25. > :08:27.sides came away with out any agreement, with the Japanese saying
:08:28. > :08:38.big gap remained between the two sides. For more, I am joined by a
:08:39. > :08:42.trade expert. Thank you for joining us, what is your view on the meeting
:08:43. > :08:47.is taking place smack will we see a deal come out on the final day? I
:08:48. > :08:53.don't think so. I think it will get close. I the end of the year, yes.
:08:54. > :08:57.But this is the largest trade agreement outside the EU, bringing
:08:58. > :09:02.together 12 economies. Together they are a 40% of the world was in a
:09:03. > :09:07.global GDP. So this is a very big deal as it stands. It has the
:09:08. > :09:10.potential to get much bigger. There are eight countries that are likely
:09:11. > :09:15.to join in the next group of countries, including, I think,
:09:16. > :09:20.China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, South Korea and some other ASEAN
:09:21. > :09:24.countries. This could get even bigger with 20 countries in it. That
:09:25. > :09:29.makes it a very significant agreement that needs to conclude as
:09:30. > :09:33.quickly as possible. Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has faced
:09:34. > :09:38.opposition to joining the TPP. Mostly from rice farmers and lobby
:09:39. > :09:42.groups, that is. What is the likelihood of them making
:09:43. > :09:47.concessions? It is a matter of political will. A matter of both
:09:48. > :09:51.sides being willing and able to say, in the interests of this larger
:09:52. > :09:55.agreement, we are willing to take on some very challenging domestic
:09:56. > :10:00.political lobbies and say to them, you have to give a little in order
:10:01. > :10:05.to get this much larger promise for the society as a whole. Thank you
:10:06. > :10:09.for all your insight. As you can see, there is still a number of
:10:10. > :10:13.challenges for the countries involved in the TPP negotiations to
:10:14. > :10:19.cross. But, as to whether they can agree this year, that remains to be
:10:20. > :10:22.seen. Our correspondent Abbey ongoing
:10:23. > :10:27.negotiations. Before we go, a look at the stock market. Most are in
:10:28. > :10:33.positive territory following a rally on Wall Street overnight. Japan,
:10:34. > :10:44.Hong Kong and Australia, or rather, South Korea in positive territory. I
:10:45. > :10:52.am Rico Hizon, sport today is next. -- Sport Today. Mike Embley with the
:10:53. > :10:56.main stories. The UN has delivered a two a handful of refugees living in
:10:57. > :11:02.the ruins of the Syrian of Damascus. Tens of thousands are still in
:11:03. > :11:03.desperate need. EU officials are in Ukraine