:00:00. > :00:00.into why letters were sent to republican paramilitary suspects
:00:00. > :00:00.telling them they would not be prosecuted.
:00:00. > :00:16.Now it is time for all the latest business news from Singapore.
:00:17. > :00:19.Ahead of official growth figures, we take a look at how the sharp
:00:20. > :00:26.economic slowdown in India is hitting ordinary people.
:00:27. > :00:35.And we talk to a workers union in Australia about job cuts announced
:00:36. > :00:42.by Qantas this week. Welcome to Asia Business Report. We
:00:43. > :00:46.start with India, which will be releasing its economic growth
:00:47. > :00:53.figures later today. That is for the last three months of 2013. The
:00:54. > :00:57.country has seen a sharp slowdown in stark contrast with the double-digit
:00:58. > :01:12.growth it hoped to get. What has this meant for ordinary people?
:01:13. > :01:20.It is not bright enough to light up this small room. And more darkness
:01:21. > :01:24.may lie ahead for this couple. He recently lost his job in a car
:01:25. > :01:29.factory. His wife is pregnant and due to give birth soon. But she has
:01:30. > :01:38.had to take a job to keep them going for a while. Every morning he makes
:01:39. > :01:46.his way to factories in the area, hoping to find work. TRANSLATION:
:01:47. > :01:52.Whichever company I go to, they say there is less production. They are
:01:53. > :01:59.not hiring. It has been three months I have been looking for a job. I get
:02:00. > :02:03.the same answer everywhere. And he is not alone. Manufacturing is
:02:04. > :02:11.considered the job generator. And that has been slowing. Many are
:02:12. > :02:21.bearing the brunt. More than half of the country's 1.2 million -- billion
:02:22. > :02:27.people are under 25. A cut in job creation is still a big worry. While
:02:28. > :02:34.manufacturing has had a rough ride, it hasn't quite a different story in
:02:35. > :02:40.farms across India. -- has been. The harvest has been good and prevented
:02:41. > :02:46.the economy from a steep slide. This man grows wheat and mustered. He
:02:47. > :02:53.tells me that good rainfall last year has helped farmers like him.
:02:54. > :03:02.The production of wheat in particular increased substantially.
:03:03. > :03:08.TRANSLATION: During the festival season we had good celebrations. We
:03:09. > :03:14.could afford to spend some money. Acer bought a car. But this is all
:03:15. > :03:20.thanks to the weather gods. -- my son. Who knows what it will be like
:03:21. > :03:23.this year? Even though agriculture grew nearly three times over the
:03:24. > :03:28.previous year, the country cannot afford to take comfort from this.
:03:29. > :03:36.Strong reaction from the government making it easier to do business is
:03:37. > :03:39.what industry is calling for. If a stable government comes to power in
:03:40. > :03:50.the elections, growth could turn a corner. But until then things up
:03:51. > :03:54.unlikely to pick up pace. Executives from Qantas has met with
:03:55. > :04:02.union officials this morning to discuss the 5000 jobs it plans to
:04:03. > :04:09.cut. Yesterday the CEO Alan Joyce announced the cuts alongside losses
:04:10. > :04:11.of $211 million. Workers unions say they are suffering from poor
:04:12. > :04:16.management decisions and want answers. I spoke to a member of the
:04:17. > :04:22.transport workers union of Australia. We need to see a
:04:23. > :04:27.turnaround in management strategy for the airline and perhaps he will
:04:28. > :04:30.see improvement in Qantas's fortunes. In times of the
:04:31. > :04:35.government, they seem to be providing conflicting guidance
:04:36. > :04:39.publicly. The Treasurer was giving indications last week that they
:04:40. > :04:45.would be providing a guaranteed, but the Prime Minister seemed to stop
:04:46. > :04:54.that speculation. How bad could it potentially be before the government
:04:55. > :05:00.steps in or looks at seriously changing strategy? If they are not
:05:01. > :05:05.seriously reviewing strategy now, I am not sure this current board is
:05:06. > :05:16.going to review strategy. We are looking at a company with 65% share
:05:17. > :05:22.of the Australian market. They cannot turn a profit. The reason we
:05:23. > :05:30.say that is that they have sunk billions into an Asian expansion
:05:31. > :05:38.that has failed. They seem to be incapable of acknowledging that.
:05:39. > :05:45.Staying with the airlines industry in Australia, Virgin Australia has
:05:46. > :05:49.posted a $75 million loss ending in December. That compares to $20
:05:50. > :05:56.million of profit at the same time last year as it continues to try and
:05:57. > :06:02.compete. The airlines are battling it out.
:06:03. > :06:09.A stream of official economic data out of Japan shows consumer prices
:06:10. > :06:17.rising 1.3% in January. Japan has been faced with serious deflation
:06:18. > :06:26.problem is close to two decades. -- problems for. But this is a rose for
:06:27. > :06:33.the eighth month in a row. The world's second largest toymaker
:06:34. > :06:39.saw its profits rise in 2013 by 9% to $1.1 billion. Rising sales were
:06:40. > :06:48.helped by increasing demand from China. Profits from the hugely
:06:49. > :06:52.successful movie were not included. A court in the United States has
:06:53. > :06:57.charged a British man with hacking into the computer system of
:06:58. > :07:01.America's central bank. He faces charges of posting names, phone
:07:02. > :07:07.numbers and addresses of officials to a website he ran. The charges
:07:08. > :07:11.carry a sentence of 12 years in prison.
:07:12. > :07:21.All of that news and analysis from around the region on our website.
:07:22. > :07:25.Malaysian billionaire Vincent Tan became one of the country's richest
:07:26. > :07:31.man after winning the McDonald's franchise in the 1980s. Now he
:07:32. > :07:35.oversees a business empire that includes gambling, business resorts
:07:36. > :07:40.and property. But he has become a name after eyeing Cardiff City and
:07:41. > :07:50.sacking its popular coach. -- buying. We asked if there were plans
:07:51. > :07:54.to publicly listed Cardiff City. We were talking about it, but it is not
:07:55. > :08:00.possible now with the situation. Looking at it most likely we will
:08:01. > :08:06.not be listing it at all. I will keep this as my private investment.
:08:07. > :08:16.That is until I can be sure that the club can be sustainable. That we
:08:17. > :08:22.have a strong squad, good management that can keep us in the Premier
:08:23. > :08:31.league. If that can happen, maybe we can list it. Is your aim profit or
:08:32. > :08:34.to embrace and be part of the club? Is success on the pitch more
:08:35. > :08:44.important or are you in this as some foreign owners are for profit? In
:08:45. > :08:48.any business investment, and I regard this as an investment, a
:08:49. > :08:55.profit is important. But we want to be profitable and do well on the
:08:56. > :09:07.pitch. We are trying to balance, but not go overboard. We are not going
:09:08. > :09:12.to buy something for $40 million. But reasonably you can have good
:09:13. > :09:16.football management. Look at Southampton. They do not spend a lot
:09:17. > :09:21.of money and they do well. This is possible. You signed a pledge
:09:22. > :09:28.meaning that you will donate half of their wealth in your lifetime. I
:09:29. > :09:35.children happy that? I joke about it. But they understand. I explained
:09:36. > :09:41.to them. I was inspired by Bill Gates. You do not give your children
:09:42. > :09:49.too much that they do not need to work. You give a little bit. Then
:09:50. > :09:56.they have to work. You must work. I do not understand people who do not
:09:57. > :10:01.work. I work all my life. I worked 18 hours every day. I do not
:10:02. > :10:04.understand people who do not work. I want my children to make sure that
:10:05. > :10:09.they work. They should not have too much money. If they have too much,
:10:10. > :10:15.they do not need to work. That is Malaysian billionaire
:10:16. > :10:21.Vincent Tan. The markets are flat and higher.
:10:22. > :10:31.Some games for the rest of the markets. -- gains. The chairman of
:10:32. > :10:35.the Federal reserve spoke to the Senate Banking Committee and had
:10:36. > :10:41.broadly positive news about the US economy. That is it for this edition
:10:42. > :10:47.of Asia Business Report. Here are the headlines: There are
:10:48. > :10:51.reports from Ukraine that a group of armed men in military uniforms have
:10:52. > :10:58.seized the airport in the capital of crime you after the parliament
:10:59. > :11:03.buildings occupied. -- Crimea. The World Bank has halted a bank
:11:04. > :11:04.loan after the president signed a bill that toughens the