24/03/2014 Asia Business Report

in Hackney. Shereka Marsh was killed with a single gunshot wound to the

back. Now we have all the latest in business.

Pivotal tour. China's President leads a business delegation to

Europe as manufacturer data also an eight`month low.

And why authorities in India want to tackle the problem ahead of national

elections. Welcome to this edition of Asia

Business Report. Before we look at President Xi Jinping's visit to

Europe, news in the last hour. Key Chinese manufacturing data shows a

four to eight month lows. China's economy is headed to a slowdown.

Asian stocks which had been rising following the data offer an early

indicator of where china's economy is headed. An eight`month low, is

this something to worry about all is this a signal that china's economy

is on the trajectory the government is hoping for? I can assure

investors will not be pleased with the news. Higher numbers are always

more welcome. But the Chinese Premier did warn that expectations

were being adjusted this year. Targets had been set much lower than

the Golden figure. It is the figure that the government would need to

reach to hit domestic stability. The Premier has already said that the

government will tolerate a slower pace of growth. That is what this is

indicated. You see that they will tolerate that. The leadership at the

National People's Congress said they were keen to clamp down on

pollution. How might this impact the manufacturing industry? It will

absolutely impact, particularly in the north`east, a traditional

manufacturing belt. Many factories that produce things like steel have

already been told that they need to clean up their act. Many of the

factories have been told they need to simply shut down and move inland

waterway from Beijing. A lot of effort has focused on cleaning up

the air. That will have an impact on the dirty industries.

China's Xi Jinping is making his first visit to Europe as president.

He will be meeting with President Obama. Comes after years of trade

tensions. Still big deals in the offering.

The Chinese leader on a landmark offer to deals in which it would

feature prominently. The Netherlands is offering a sumptuous welcome.

They will then visit Paris. Nothing is confirmed, but it is hoped that

Airbus may get a major deal to sell 150 passenger jets to China. A deal

linked to the opening of the new Airbus. Several sectors are being

eyed by Paris. A carmaker will sign a long`awaited deal, opening up the

capital to the Chinese. He will then had to Brussels for the first ever

visit. Trade deals have improved since the resolution of an

anti`dumping row of Chinese solar panels. The visit comes at a crucial

time in international affairs. The EU is downgrading ties with Russia

because of its actions in Crimea. For China that can only be an

opportunity. A favoured reception leading to better trading terms and

perhaps to that particular prize in Beijing, more transfers of Western

technology. India has seen a growing phenomenon

called page news, where money changes hands in return for

sympathetic media coverage. There have been hundreds of cases

involving politicians, celebrities and businessmen paying for reports

dressed up as news. They are trained to tackle the problem.

It is early in the morning and thousands of newspapers arrive in

this deli ready for delivery. Like me, most of India's 800 million

voters would depend on newspapers voters would depend on newspapers

for a source of news. What is printed really matters. Especially

in an election year. But now some people are concerned what is printed

is not always the truth. And they point to a phenomenon known in the

country as paid news. It started almost ten years ago. These presses

belong to one of India's guest media houses. And to keep them busy, the

company had an idea. It began charging celebrities and businessmen

to cover show business and products in special supplements. It was

unique because it offered advertisers something, more

visibility. They wanted a comfortable, believable advertorial

environment. We provided that. Increasingly politicians have paid

to appear in print. Papers do not always like that. There is no law

against it. `` do not always advertise that. The electoral

commission has monitored this. But that is for exceeding election

expenses, not misleading voters. This man stood in the assembly

election last December. He was fined for paying for beneficial coverage.

He wants to fight the seat again and is angry at what he insists was a

false indictment. TRANSLATION: The commission is absolutely wrong. They

helped me guilty. This is not my fault. I am famous. If I visit, some

local newspapers want to cover that. I have not paid a single penny.

Whether you think page news is acceptable or not, the reality is

that many these newspapers you will find examples of stories that have

been paid for. You would not know about it. That is why it has become

one of the big topics. The world 's retail Congress kicks

off today in Singapore Asia's growing e`commerce sector will be

high on the agenda. It has outpaced any other, but it also poses

challenges of the wall's largest retailer. `` for the world's. . In

the US and Europe, they are 10% of total sales. In Asia, it is three

`4%. But we think it will rise to something like 10%. Many of the

trends that the US and Europe are being felt. What kinds of issues?

For most retailers it is, how do the stores, how those coexist with smart

phone and Internet. Thinking up strategies to make sure that

customers do not just online. They have strategies in terms of customer

experience and marketing to make them come in. As you said, there are

so many different variants and ways people can pay. What will be the

true mode? There will not be one mode. The challenge for retailers is

to create multiple modes. Some people will want to continue to shop

in store. Retailers have systems that a future proof and allow them

to integrate. And not just manage a transaction in store.

A quick look at the markets. We are still seeing some healthy gains

across the board in Asia. That is essentially due to that weaker

number that we saw from China. A little bit of caution. That is it

for this addition of Asia Business Report.

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