:00:00. > :00:00.speeches have made the show last longer than four hours. We can now
:00:07. > :00:13.go to Singapore. The slide in the Chinese currency
:00:14. > :00:16.comes in a time of investor concern. The reform plan should become
:00:17. > :00:20.clearer later this week when the Parliament, the National People's
:00:21. > :00:30.Congress, starts its annual meeting. Earlier I spoke with an analyst from
:00:31. > :00:33.HSBC. There are speculations that in the next few months we could see a
:00:34. > :00:39.further loosening of the grip that the Chinese central bank has over
:00:40. > :00:44.the exchange rate. It will widen the band so we see more fluctuations.
:00:45. > :00:49.Officials are trying to send a signal to the people who are
:00:50. > :00:54.bringing in money into the country. They are saying, enough is enough.
:00:55. > :01:01.We have too much liquidity. Do not bring in a more cash. We are looking
:01:02. > :01:06.to the MPC that starts this week. The big meeting. What are some of
:01:07. > :01:12.the announcements you are expecting from this? We already had a big list
:01:13. > :01:18.in November. Now we need to see some of the details spelt out. Some of
:01:19. > :01:21.the areas of reform continued to be financial liberalisation, for
:01:22. > :01:31.example, liberalising deposit interest rates. Also, fiscal policy
:01:32. > :01:34.that is offering alternative funding avenues. Currently, local
:01:35. > :01:41.governments are issuing debt. The idea is to give them more additional
:01:42. > :01:44.revenues they don't have to rely on debt to fund their ongoing
:01:45. > :01:51.operations. Those would be two key areas. Thank you. For more on the
:01:52. > :01:58.currency's movements and headlines from around the world, thick and had
:01:59. > :02:02.to our website. Staying with China, official data showed a slowdown in
:02:03. > :02:09.factory activity. The country's purchasing managers index edged
:02:10. > :02:14.down. Any reading above 50 indicates expansion. The official data is in
:02:15. > :02:21.contrast with the calculations, it had just been released. The final
:02:22. > :02:28.reading for February was at 48.5, signalling a contraction in factory
:02:29. > :02:33.activity. A Chinese carmaker has acquired enrolled automotive, a
:02:34. > :02:38.British`based start`up specialising in electric vehicles. Ministries in
:02:39. > :02:44.China are under pressure to reduce our pollution and ease traffic
:02:45. > :02:51.congestion. The government wants 500,000 hybrid and electric vehicles
:02:52. > :02:54.on the road by next year. Shares are trading higher in Japan. The broader
:02:55. > :03:01.stock market is in negative territory. Shares are up on reports
:03:02. > :03:11.that the owner of Hunico is interested in a US firm.
:03:12. > :03:15.When you think of glitz and glamour, Hollywood comes to mind.
:03:16. > :03:21.Especially today, when the Oscars are underweight. Increasingly, movie
:03:22. > :03:28.money is moving towards Asia. Singapore is investing heavily in
:03:29. > :03:33.not be Oscar`nominated movies, but not be Oscar`nominated movies, but
:03:34. > :03:42.the money behind Asian film is growing. Box office receipts have
:03:43. > :03:46.been rising. We have an increase in locally produced films. One of the
:03:47. > :03:51.firms behind these films is infinite studios. They have just opened up
:03:52. > :03:56.two sound stages, costing nearly $50 million. Its founder says the
:03:57. > :04:02.investment should pay off, thanks to the fact that Singapore encourages
:04:03. > :04:06.movie firms to set up. There is an incentive programme in Singapore
:04:07. > :04:11.which is very attractive. It allows producers to take advantage of
:04:12. > :04:14.government offsets that enable the government to look at the growth of
:04:15. > :04:19.local industry. It is very important. The government subsidises
:04:20. > :04:24.that. There is a rising amount of talent flowing through Singapore
:04:25. > :04:31.from all parts of Asia. They are not the only ones. Lucasfilm, formed by
:04:32. > :04:36.George Lucas, set up its industrial light and Magic division in
:04:37. > :04:40.Singapore nearly a decade ago. The Singapore arm is behind movies like
:04:41. > :04:47.Pacific rim. It has just opened a new facility in the city and plans
:04:48. > :04:51.to hire more people. It is something Singapore's economic development
:04:52. > :04:55.board is focused on. That job is to attract more investment to Singapore
:04:56. > :04:58.and create jobs for locals. That Sherman says they saw another shared
:04:59. > :05:03.the two leveraged off the growth of the entertainment industry. The
:05:04. > :05:12.media and digital entertainment industry is exciting in terms of
:05:13. > :05:16.growth. Countries like China, India, they are the fastest growing
:05:17. > :05:22.markets for digital media and content, including movies. The
:05:23. > :05:31.creative industry appeals to younger Singapore residents. They will find
:05:32. > :05:34.these careers and jobs exciting. The Asia`Pacific led box office growth
:05:35. > :05:38.for all films released in 2012. China led the list. Japan, South
:05:39. > :05:43.Korea and others followed close behind. These companies are trying
:05:44. > :05:50.to cater to a growth market. Last year, Asia accounted for over 40% of
:05:51. > :05:55.the international box office. Singapore is it the many countries
:05:56. > :05:59.trying to tap into that moviemaking magic.
:06:00. > :06:02.Globalisation has meant a big increase in the number of people
:06:03. > :06:08.leaving their home countries to live and work abroad. One of the factors
:06:09. > :06:15.in choosing a new location is the availability of schools offering a
:06:16. > :06:19.widely recognised curriculum. With a white expatriates community,
:06:20. > :06:26.Singapore has seen a surge in demand for their schools. We took a look at
:06:27. > :06:32.this. Getting ready to lead the foundations of his future, like most
:06:33. > :06:37.kids of his age, this boy's life is tolerated by his education. In his
:06:38. > :06:45.case, his parents, originally from India, opted for an international
:06:46. > :06:51.school rather than a local one. When we moved to Singapore, we chose an
:06:52. > :06:54.international school. We did not know how the years we would be in
:06:55. > :06:58.the country. Even if we move to another country, we know that we can
:06:59. > :07:04.stick onto an international school with this curriculum anywhere in the
:07:05. > :07:08.world. His parents not the only ones that priority. It has created a huge
:07:09. > :07:15.demand for international schools. The school that he visits has more
:07:16. > :07:21.than 1000 students. This is one of the three campuses that the school
:07:22. > :07:24.has in the State. Singapore has grown to become a key financial
:07:25. > :07:29.centre and a regional hub for many global firms. That has seen a large
:07:30. > :07:33.number of expatriates come here to work and live here. Many of them
:07:34. > :07:41.have children, driving up the demand for international schools. There are
:07:42. > :07:47.31 international schools here with more than 45,000 students enrolled.
:07:48. > :07:51.The sector also has an impact on the economy, with hundreds of millions
:07:52. > :07:56.of dollars of investment needed to set up such schools. Many more may
:07:57. > :08:02.still need to be built to cater to the growing demand. All the
:08:03. > :08:07.international schools of the moment are full. There is an equal all
:08:08. > :08:12.larger number of expatriates returning. Despite measures to cool
:08:13. > :08:17.down immigration, we are likely to see 9% growth in the expatriates,
:08:18. > :08:25.Atlas resulting in education spaces for children. `` as well as
:08:26. > :08:31.resulting. There are unlike his be any empty seats in the schools. As
:08:32. > :08:36.parents go all`out to ensure that a future for kids, they are also
:08:37. > :08:41.helping secure a good future for the schools their children are studying
:08:42. > :08:46.at. A quick look at the markets. As we
:08:47. > :08:53.said earlier, they are all slumping. Partly due to this flight to save
:08:54. > :08:59.havens. We are seeing the Japanese Yen gaining. That takes a big toll
:09:00. > :09:06.on the export related stocks. That is why the decay is down. ``
:09:07. > :09:18.Headlines: Russian troops have seized control of Crimea. There are
:09:19. > :09:24.growing fears that could be deployed across eastern Ukraine.
:09:25. > :09:26.Ukraine's prime minister has accused Russia of declaring war and warned
:09:27. > :09:27.that his country is