:00:00. > :00:26.Australia's flag carrier Qantas announces 5000 job cuts and half
:00:27. > :00:32.yearly losses of $2 billion. The BBC is giving an update on the stalled
:00:33. > :00:38.transpacific trade negotiations. `` given.
:00:39. > :00:43.Welcome to Asia Business Report. We start off with Qantas, and it has
:00:44. > :00:47.announced it is laying off 5000 employees as part of cost`cutting
:00:48. > :00:52.measures which could save the company about $1.8 billion. Chief
:00:53. > :00:55.executive Alan Joyce said the carrier is facing some of the
:00:56. > :00:59.toughest conditions it had ever seen, and has been competing with
:01:00. > :01:07.other carriers with one hand tied behind its back. The firm announced
:01:08. > :01:12.a half yearly loss of $200 million before tax, and says it will cut its
:01:13. > :01:21.fleet by more than 50 aircraft. The airline is sliding today, based on
:01:22. > :01:27.these cuts. I asked just how bad things are for the flying kangaroo.
:01:28. > :01:30.Things look pretty bad, but what they have said before will set a
:01:31. > :01:34.platform going forward that should make them more sustainable. 5000 job
:01:35. > :01:38.cuts is a big proportion for them to be cutting, but from here on in it
:01:39. > :01:43.is setting the foundation that they will be able to go forward a leaner
:01:44. > :01:48.and more efficient operation. Do you think the worst is over for Qantas?
:01:49. > :01:52.In terms of market conditions it is tough for a lot of airlines out
:01:53. > :01:56.there. It is very tough for Qantas, they have a lot of competition.
:01:57. > :01:59.There could be further cuts, but they are really cutting it back to
:02:00. > :02:05.the base, and within a couple of years they may begin to go again.
:02:06. > :02:10.Good are also be cuts on the leadership front? Good Alan Joyce be
:02:11. > :02:15.replaced as CEO as a result of these poor results? That might be a
:02:16. > :02:19.possibility, and maybe something longer term. The board has put their
:02:20. > :02:22.confidence in Alan Joyce, and expressed that they think he's the
:02:23. > :02:26.right man to lead them through at this time. If the losses keep on
:02:27. > :02:33.mounting, questions will have to be asked about his. With these losses,
:02:34. > :02:39.will this intensify the issue of increasing foreign ownership of
:02:40. > :02:44.Qantas? Qantas has been asking for some to have its foreign ownership
:02:45. > :02:49.cap lifted, so it can get access to overseas money. They will be hoping
:02:50. > :02:52.and pushing harder and harder. Canberra is open to the idea, but
:02:53. > :02:56.the problem will be getting it through Parliament. With all of
:02:57. > :03:06.these problems, what will this mean for those who fly Qantas, in terms
:03:07. > :03:12.of airfares? They have announced they will cut one route. In terms of
:03:13. > :03:15.airfares, it probably means there won't be very many cheap air fares
:03:16. > :03:17.around on Qantas, because they will have to raise them to start making
:03:18. > :03:30.profits again. The boss of credit Suisse says it
:03:31. > :03:39.deeply regret some of its bankers violated US tax laws. `` tax laws.
:03:40. > :03:43.It has been alleged by the US Senate committee that the bank helped US
:03:44. > :03:49.clients hired the end of dollars from US tax officials. Japanese
:03:50. > :03:53.authorities have launched an investigation into the online
:03:54. > :03:58.exchange that trade bitcoin earlier this week. It went off`line earlier
:03:59. > :04:03.this week, virtually disappearing and sparking concerns that its use
:04:04. > :04:06.is stand to lose their money. A spokesperson said the police and
:04:07. > :04:12.finance ministry and others are gathering information on the case.
:04:13. > :04:17.People are worried that the company has been subpoenaed by US
:04:18. > :04:21.prosecutors. Portugal's government is banking on
:04:22. > :04:25.almost $290 million in investment coming in this year through its gold
:04:26. > :04:30.Visa scheme, the fast tracks residency for wealthy foreigners.
:04:31. > :04:37.The majority of the 542 residence permits issued so far have gone to
:04:38. > :04:39.Chinese citizens. You can keep up`to`date with business news from
:04:40. > :04:45.this region and around the world by logging onto the website.
:04:46. > :04:51.It is not just Qantas that puts Australia in the news recently. The
:04:52. > :04:56.country is one of 12 nations trying to negotiate a transpacific
:04:57. > :04:59.partnership trade deal. The latest round of talks ended in Singapore
:05:00. > :05:04.this week without an agreement, Australia's trade Minister, Andrew
:05:05. > :05:09.Robb, says he is confident there will be a deal by the end of the
:05:10. > :05:15.year. He gave the BBC his take on where negotiations are headed. I
:05:16. > :05:18.feel that we are probably 80% of the way there in terms of the
:05:19. > :05:21.decisions, and a lot of hard decisions have been taken already.
:05:22. > :05:28.Nothing was really done on market access, until much of the rest of it
:05:29. > :05:37.was agreed to. Of course, there are some significant issues, but a lot
:05:38. > :05:43.of the companies are dealt with, I feel there is a willingness to go a
:05:44. > :05:47.long way `` countries. With all the willingness in the world, how close
:05:48. > :05:52.are Japan and the US to any compromise on market access? I don't
:05:53. > :05:58.know. I have a sense of it. The thing is, you put the 12 countries
:05:59. > :06:08.together, they are 40% of the world's GDP. At 70% of that 40% is
:06:09. > :06:14.made up of the US and Japan. So they are fundamental to how much space is
:06:15. > :06:18.created for everyone to do some serious liberalising. Is your sense
:06:19. > :06:22.that they have made any progress? Yes, I think they have had some
:06:23. > :06:28.difficult moments but I think they are making progress. Negotiations I
:06:29. > :06:31.think always tend to end up like this, where you get to be very hard
:06:32. > :06:39.yards, the last few yards, and everybody has to take a big deep
:06:40. > :06:44.breath, at some stage, and we are heading towards that. UAR trade
:06:45. > :06:50.Minister, not Foreign Minister, and you know better than most that what
:06:51. > :06:52.happens in one area of government relations will affect other
:06:53. > :06:56.relations. How effective is the policy of turning back the asylum
:06:57. > :07:02.seeker boats to Indonesia and the issues on Manus Island? How much
:07:03. > :07:06.damage are they doing to Austrade's reputation in this region? I am
:07:07. > :07:10.travelling the region, talking to business people and government
:07:11. > :07:16.ministers, and no one is raising that issue with me. Even in
:07:17. > :07:22.Indonesia, my counterpart, I would have met with him, the trade
:07:23. > :07:26.Minister, he just resigned to run for presidency, and I would have met
:07:27. > :07:32.with him five times since the first met in Jakarta. We had the live
:07:33. > :07:39.cattle trade re`established then. In the interim, it has gone back to its
:07:40. > :07:47.highest level ever. Now, that is where a lot of these comments are
:07:48. > :07:51.being made publicly, so in a trade sense, no impact, in fact an
:07:52. > :07:58.improvement. Not a problem with relationships, not a problem. That
:07:59. > :08:02.was Andrew Robb speaking to the BBC. Visitors in Thailand have for
:08:03. > :08:05.sometime expressed concern that prices there will have an impact on
:08:06. > :08:10.the bottom line. It appears there is now solid evidence of the Malaysian
:08:11. > :08:18.bank has scrapped plans to list on the Thai stock exchange. Great Wall
:08:19. > :08:26.is pausing plans to build a facility there.
:08:27. > :08:29.I would expect so, given there is no sign of an end to the political
:08:30. > :08:37.deadlock. The immediate impact of what has been going on has been felt
:08:38. > :08:44.by hotels and retail businesses. Also by the depression of domestic
:08:45. > :08:50.demand. There has been a scaling down of projections of GDP. The
:08:51. > :08:53.economy has depended heavily on success of foreign investment, and
:08:54. > :09:04.people have been watching carefully for signs of nerves by the
:09:05. > :09:09.investors. Both of these pieces of news should be worrying, and the
:09:10. > :09:14.bank is ambitious, ambitious to be one of the biggest in the region,
:09:15. > :09:20.and it has looked at Thailand for some years now. The fact that they
:09:21. > :09:23.have postponed suggests they are very nervous about market
:09:24. > :09:29.conditions, describing them as not right. Perhaps the most effective of
:09:30. > :09:34.China's car manufacturers, which is desperately looking for markets
:09:35. > :09:38.outside China Southeast Asia, has big potential for them. Thailand is
:09:39. > :09:46.the natural base for this to be based. They have postponed a
:09:47. > :09:51.multibillion dollar investment in a car factory that would have produced
:09:52. > :09:55.thousands of cars every year. There have always been warnings from
:09:56. > :09:58.Toyota, one of the biggest car investors in the area, that they
:09:59. > :10:04.were considering looking at alternatives for future investment
:10:05. > :10:10.given the political uncertainty. Asian stock markets this power are
:10:11. > :10:14.volatile. US equities ended nearly flat overnight, with investors
:10:15. > :10:21.hesitant to make a big move. Comments from the Fed reserve chief,
:10:22. > :10:23.Janet Yellen, also affected this. Australia is in the loss column by
:10:24. > :10:31.27 points. Thank you for investing your time
:10:32. > :10:35.with us. I'm Rico Hizon, don't forget to follow us on Twitter.
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