:00:00. > :00:16.they wouldn't be prosecuted. Now on BBC News all the latest
:00:17. > :00:18.business news live from Singapore. Ahead of official growth figures,
:00:19. > :00:25.look at how a sharp economic slowdown in India is using ordinary
:00:26. > :00:27.people. We talk to a workers union in
:00:28. > :00:38.Australia about sweeping job cuts announced by Qantas airlines.
:00:39. > :00:42.Welcome to Asia Business Report. We start with India. Its economic
:00:43. > :00:49.growth figures are due to be released later today. These are for
:00:50. > :00:53.the last three months of 2013. The country has been seeing a sharp
:00:54. > :00:57.slowdown, which is in stark contrast with the growth it looked to rack up
:00:58. > :01:01.a couple of years ago. What has is meant for ordinary people in India?
:01:02. > :01:11.We travelled to a northern state to find out.
:01:12. > :01:19.It isn't bright enough to light up a small room. More darkness may lie
:01:20. > :01:23.ahead for this couple. This man recently lost his job in a car parts
:01:24. > :01:28.factory. His wife is pregnant and due to give birth soon. She has had
:01:29. > :01:37.to take up a job to keep them going, at least for a while. Every
:01:38. > :01:45.morning, he makes his way to factories in the area, hoping to
:01:46. > :01:50.find some work. TRANSLATION: Every company I go to, they say there is a
:01:51. > :01:54.slowdown and less production. They are not hiring any workers right
:01:55. > :01:59.now. I have been looking through a job for two or three months. I get
:02:00. > :02:03.the same answer everywhere. He is not alone. Manufacturing is
:02:04. > :02:12.considered the big job generated here. That has been slowing. More
:02:13. > :02:17.than half of the country's 1.2 billion people are under the age of
:02:18. > :02:23.25. Although they have not yet been large`scale cuts, a drop in
:02:24. > :02:29.employment creation is a big worry. While manufacturing has had a rough
:02:30. > :02:33.ride over the past year, it has been quite a different story in farms
:02:34. > :02:39.across India. The harvest has been good this season. That has prevented
:02:40. > :02:46.the economy from taking a sleep as `` steeper slide. This man grows
:02:47. > :02:52.wheat and mustard in his fields. He tells that good rainfall has helped
:02:53. > :02:56.farmers him. The production of wheat in particular increased
:02:57. > :03:02.substantially. That has put some money in their hands. TRANSLATION:
:03:03. > :03:06.During the festival season last year we had good celebrations. We could
:03:07. > :03:12.afford to spend some money. My son bought a car. This is all thanks to
:03:13. > :03:19.the weather god. Who knows how long it will last and what it will be
:03:20. > :03:22.like this year? Even though agriculture grew nearly three times
:03:23. > :03:26.over the previous year, the country cannot afford to take comfort from
:03:27. > :03:30.this. Strong action from the government making easier to do
:03:31. > :03:36.business is what industry is calling for. Elections are due soon. Many
:03:37. > :03:41.are hoping that if a stable government comes to park, growth
:03:42. > :03:48.could turn a corner. Until then, things in India are unlikely to pick
:03:49. > :03:51.up pace. Executives from a straight's
:03:52. > :03:55.union officials this morning to union officials this morning to
:03:56. > :04:00.discuss the 5000 jobs it plans to cut. Union leaders have told the ABC
:04:01. > :04:07.that the meeting has resulted in more questions and not answers.
:04:08. > :04:09.Yesterday, the company's CEO announced the cuts alongside half
:04:10. > :04:16.yearly pre`tax losses of $211 million. Workers unions in Australia
:04:17. > :04:23.say members are suffering from poor management decisions. They say there
:04:24. > :04:27.is no clear understanding of how the airline came up with the number of
:04:28. > :04:32.job cuts. I spoke with a member of the transport workers union. What we
:04:33. > :04:37.need to see is a turnaround in the strategy for the airline. Perhaps
:04:38. > :04:42.then we will see an improvement in promises fortunes. In terms of the
:04:43. > :04:48.government, they are providing conflicting guidance publicly. Who
:04:49. > :04:52.knows what they have said privately. The treasure was giving indications
:04:53. > :04:58.that they would be providing a debt guarantee. The Prime Minister has
:04:59. > :05:03.hosed down the speculation. How bad could it potentially be before the
:05:04. > :05:10.government staff to step in law Qantas start a look at seriously
:05:11. > :05:13.changing their strategy? If they are not seriously reviewing their
:05:14. > :05:18.strategy now, I am not sure that this current board will. We are
:05:19. > :05:23.looking at an airliner with six to 5% share of the stricken domestic
:05:24. > :05:30.market. There are effectively only two groups. Qantas have 65% share,
:05:31. > :05:34.they do not seem to be able to turn a profit. They have sunk hundreds of
:05:35. > :05:38.millions of dollars into a failed Asian expansion, which may have been
:05:39. > :05:47.a good idea a few years ago, but has failed. They seem to be incapable of
:05:48. > :05:55.acknowledging that it has failed. Staying with the airline industry,
:05:56. > :06:00.Virgin Australia posted a net loss. That compared to a $20 million
:06:01. > :06:05.profit last year. It continues to compete against rivals like Qantas.
:06:06. > :06:10.The rivals are battling for market share in the face of rising fuel
:06:11. > :06:16.costs and a strong local currency. A stream of official economic data out
:06:17. > :06:21.of Japan showed consumer prices have risen. Japan has been faced with
:06:22. > :06:26.serious depletion problems for close to 20 years. In a sign that the
:06:27. > :06:31.economy could be turning around, today's data shows a year on year
:06:32. > :06:39.rise for the eight months in a row. It is not include food prices. A
:06:40. > :06:44.court in the US has charged a British man with hacking into the
:06:45. > :06:50.computer system of a central bank. He faces charges of posting names,
:06:51. > :06:56.numbers and contact details of the Federal reserve. For lots more news
:06:57. > :07:04.and analysis from around the region and across the globe, you can head
:07:05. > :07:08.to our website. A Malaysia and billionaire famously became one of
:07:09. > :07:12.the country's richest man after winning the McDonald's franchise in
:07:13. > :07:17.the 1980s. Now he oversees a business empire that includes
:07:18. > :07:24.business, gambling and results and property. He has become a household
:07:25. > :07:32.name after buying a Welsh football club. We spoke exclusively to him
:07:33. > :07:37.and asked that were still plans to publicly list the team. It is
:07:38. > :07:45.obviously not possible with the situation the club is in. Most
:07:46. > :07:51.likely will not be listing at all. I will keep this has made private
:07:52. > :07:56.investment. That is until I can be sure that the club can be in the
:07:57. > :08:03.Premier League on a sustainable basis. We need a strong squad, good
:08:04. > :08:07.management that and keepers in the Premier League, here in and year
:08:08. > :08:16.out. If that can happen, maybe we can listed. Is your aim profit, or
:08:17. > :08:25.to be part of the club? Is success on the pitch more important to you,
:08:26. > :08:29.or are you in this for profit? Is any business investment, I regard
:08:30. > :08:36.this as a business investment, profit is important. But the board
:08:37. > :08:40.to be profitable at the same time as doing well on the page. We have to
:08:41. > :08:46.balance things, are not going overboard. We will not buy players
:08:47. > :08:54.for $40 million. We are not in that league. If you do things reasonably,
:08:55. > :08:59.not overspending, with good football management, look at Southampton.
:09:00. > :09:06.They do not spend a lot of money, but they do well. You have signed
:09:07. > :09:08.the giving pledge, you will give half of your wealth during your
:09:09. > :09:18.lifetime. I your children happy with that? The strike are your children
:09:19. > :09:24.happy? And they understand. I have explained it to them. I was inspired
:09:25. > :09:35.by Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. You want to give you children are
:09:36. > :09:40.the need to work. They must work. I do not understand people who do not
:09:41. > :09:45.work. I have worked all my life. I work 18 hours a day. I do not
:09:46. > :09:49.understand people who do not work. I want when children to make sure that
:09:50. > :09:56.they work. I do not want to give them too much. They should not have
:09:57. > :10:01.too much. That was the Malaysia Berlin are. A quick look at the
:10:02. > :10:05.markets. They have all turned lower. That is in the past hour.
:10:06. > :10:09.markets. They have all turned lower. That is in It is essentially due to
:10:10. > :10:15.concerns about volatility brought on by violence in emerging markets. We
:10:16. > :10:22.have seen the Chinese currency is set for its worst month in 20 years.
:10:23. > :10:28.The Japanese yen has been rising. That is taking a toll on a love of
:10:29. > :10:36.export related stocks. That is it for Asia Business Report. `` a lot
:10:37. > :10:39.of export related stocks. The top stories this hour: There are
:10:40. > :10:43.reports from Ukraine that a group of armed men in military uniforms has
:10:44. > :10:49.seized the airport in the capital of Crimea, hours after the Parliament
:10:50. > :10:53.building was occupied. Latest reports say the airport is
:10:54. > :10:55.operating normally. Armed men can be seen outside the perimeter.
:10:56. > :10:58.The World Bank has postponed a loan to Uganda, just days President
:10:59. > :11:00.Yoweri Museveni, signed a bill that significantly toughens the country's
:11:01. > :11:01.already strict legislation against