:00:00. > :00:07.care for vulnerable soldiers. It came after the suicide of Anne-Marie
:00:08. > :00:14.Ellement. Time now for Asia Business Report.
:00:15. > :00:22.Up in the air. Will changes to ownership structure help turn things
:00:23. > :00:30.around for Qantas? And, the world's most expensive city is in Asia, but
:00:31. > :00:44.it is no longer Tokyo. It is much closer to home. Welcome to Asia
:00:45. > :00:49.Business Report. We start with breaking news: the reserve of
:00:50. > :00:56.Australia has decided to keep interest rates unchanged at 2.5%.
:00:57. > :00:58.The Australian government, which has decided to relax foreign ownership
:00:59. > :01:04.restrictions on Qantas Airways, days after the national carrier posted a
:01:05. > :01:06.record half-year loss. Prime Minister Tony Abbott said his
:01:07. > :01:09.cabinet ministers have agreed to repeal legislation that prevents
:01:10. > :01:19.other airlines from owning more than 35% of Qantas. And any single
:01:20. > :01:21.investor from owning more than 25%. The government could struggle to
:01:22. > :01:24.pass the changes through Senate, where opposition parties have raised
:01:25. > :01:27.objections to any reforms that could send Qantas jobs overseas. Earlier,
:01:28. > :01:30.I spoke to our correspondent in Australia. I asked him whether
:01:31. > :01:33.suitors would be lining up for a stake in the airline. The Qantas
:01:34. > :01:39.management says it is being hampered by current restrictions. They do
:01:40. > :01:43.limit the amount of foreign ownership in the airline. They have
:01:44. > :01:45.always said that if the rules were relaxed, foreign investors could
:01:46. > :01:49.come in, and Qantas could be extremely profitable further down
:01:50. > :01:53.the track. If you look at the events of the past week or so, that record
:01:54. > :01:58.half-year loss, about 5000 jobs being lost, it certainly looks
:01:59. > :02:01.pretty grim. The Qantas management team is insisting it can turn things
:02:02. > :02:04.around, but there are many people here in Australia who fear for the
:02:05. > :02:12.future of the iconic national carrier. The airline's request for a
:02:13. > :02:25.guarantee on its debt from the government has also been turned
:02:26. > :02:29.down. Where else and whom else can Qantas turn to? That is why they
:02:30. > :02:34.have been relying on the changing of these laws. Qantas had hoped for a
:02:35. > :02:38.line of credit that would make it easier to get hold of cheaper loans,
:02:39. > :02:44.and that that would help the struggling airline. There has been
:02:45. > :02:49.an enormous debate here in Australia. Many Australians view the
:02:50. > :02:54.Flying Kangaroo with a great deal of fondness and a sense of
:02:55. > :02:56.sentimentality. They believe Australia should have its own
:02:57. > :03:00.airline, but many Australians view it as another business that should
:03:01. > :03:16.just stand or fall on its own merits. A large profit coming in at
:03:17. > :03:21.$62 million last year. Only a 50% jump from 2012. 80 yard said its
:03:22. > :03:30.investment had been key to last year 's growth. -- Etihad. It allows
:03:31. > :03:37.multiple carriers on a single ticket. You'll Gates has returned to
:03:38. > :03:45.the world richest people least as compiled by Forbes magazine. It
:03:46. > :03:52.ousted the Mexican telecommunications mogul. The list
:03:53. > :03:58.also showed that the US has the most billionaires - 492, followed by
:03:59. > :04:08.China and Russia breaks third. -- ranks. Speaking of wealth and cost -
:04:09. > :04:16.Which city is the most expensive and cheapest to live in? Singapore takes
:04:17. > :04:22.on the title of the world 's most expensive city followed by Paris and
:04:23. > :04:38.Oslo. The cheapest city goes to Mumbai, Karachi and Delhi. Singapore
:04:39. > :04:43.has been moving up quite rapidly. It was 15 five years ago. And now it
:04:44. > :04:50.takes the number one spot. The number of factors behind that -
:04:51. > :05:01.structural is, high costs of cars, entitlements, and also energy and
:05:02. > :05:07.water supplies. Utilities? Utilities costs. These structural factors are
:05:08. > :05:15.behind the rise. The currency strength makes the city more
:05:16. > :05:20.expensive, relatively in US terms. The cost of living in places that
:05:21. > :05:30.have great infrastructure - is this a factor must make this isn't one of
:05:31. > :05:35.the points. -- this is one of the points. It is a reflection of
:05:36. > :05:40.success but it does raise the question of livability. Would people
:05:41. > :05:48.reconsider if they can afford to be based in Singapore or Sydney and
:05:49. > :05:57.begin to look at other locations. Those at the bottom of the list -
:05:58. > :05:59.why? This reflect a different stage of economic development in the
:06:00. > :06:01.cities. Lower incomes, lower wage environments. There are more
:06:02. > :06:06.moderate levels of household spending. Levels of demand a much
:06:07. > :06:11.lower than you will see in the Asian cities we have been talking about.
:06:12. > :06:20.There is not the spending, and pressure on prices. As you may have
:06:21. > :06:23.heard from a previous bulletins, Russia has tightened its military
:06:24. > :06:30.control of Ukraine's Crimea region, with thousands of troops. The US has
:06:31. > :06:38.put trade agreements on hold as a rebuke. Stock markets plunged, here
:06:39. > :06:52.is the reaction in the They are fairly mixed, after the losses that
:06:53. > :07:01.we saw on Monday. Investors considering global recovery against
:07:02. > :07:06.that. Why are investors nervous about what is happening in the
:07:07. > :07:12.Ukraine? There is more stress in emerging markets. Especially in
:07:13. > :07:17.deficit countries about whether the recent disruption to capital flow.
:07:18. > :07:25.If you look across the region, there may be countries stressed. There is
:07:26. > :07:31.the issue of energy supply and costs will stop that would effect any
:07:32. > :07:39.country. Looking at the energy supplies, Russia is the largest
:07:40. > :07:49.producer and top exporter of national gas in 2012. Do we expect
:07:50. > :07:58.this to rise? The concern for Asia is that if we have a repeat of 2007
:07:59. > :08:04.2008, it puts our lot of stress. It stresses that the government budget
:08:05. > :08:17.and it may spiral with wages going up. The reason a lot of risk for the
:08:18. > :08:22.region. In Sri Lanka a severe drought is affecting the country 's
:08:23. > :08:32.main rice harvest and it could also affect it quality. This irrigation
:08:33. > :08:36.channels have been dry for weeks. Paddy fields have been left fallow.
:08:37. > :08:43.The crops depend on one short monsoon, and it just didn't happen.
:08:44. > :08:49.This should be a reservoir, three metres deep and capable of
:08:50. > :08:53.irrigating for 40 farmers. Now look at it pitiful state. The failure of
:08:54. > :08:56.the range from October to December mean that only seven of the 40
:08:57. > :09:00.farmers felt able to plant anything, and only two of them are likely to
:09:01. > :09:03.get any paddy at all. Farmers have tried to channel the scarce water
:09:04. > :09:08.into pools, but it has been almost useless. This man planted four
:09:09. > :09:13.acres, and all was lost. These may look green, but there is no grain,
:09:14. > :09:23.just husks. TRANSLATION: We have borrowed from banks. We are at track
:09:24. > :09:26.rent and are heavily in debt. We have lost our livelihoods. Because
:09:27. > :09:30.of the drought, we can't find labouring work. This man is tending
:09:31. > :09:34.his seedlings. These are watermelons. He gives them a little
:09:35. > :09:37.water from a makeshift dam, but this is an emergency crop. He has fallen
:09:38. > :09:45.back on it, because thanks to the drought he can no longer grow rice.
:09:46. > :09:49.Three quarters of the seedlings have died as well. TRANSLATION: We just
:09:50. > :09:54.can't plan for the future because rain is so unpredictable. It is the
:09:55. > :09:59.same story in the upland key country. This tea is dead. Workers
:10:00. > :10:08.have become water is, a highly unusual move. -- waterers. The owner
:10:09. > :10:13.says it is the worst drought since 1993. Two thirds of our crop has
:10:14. > :10:20.come down very badly, and we used to bring 35 or 40 kilos per day, it has
:10:21. > :10:32.come down to 12 or 13 kilos. The plants are wilting. Sri Lanka is the
:10:33. > :10:35.fourth largest producer of tea. People are praying for rain in the
:10:36. > :10:39.few weeks time. While in the drylands, even the wildlife is
:10:40. > :10:43.nothing to it. That brings us to an end to this
:10:44. > :11:00.edition of Asia Business Report. Thank you for watching. Headlines:
:11:01. > :11:03.Russia is denying claims its troops are preparing a full-scale assault
:11:04. > :11:06.on Premier but says its forces will remain in Ukraine so now. After
:11:07. > :11:07.top-level