:00:00. > :00:00.her response to an investigation into her expenses claims. He said it
:00:00. > :00:00.was undermining the government's message. Over to the latest business
:00:07. > :00:19.news from Singapore. Elections in India. What economic
:00:20. > :00:24.changes will be in store for the world's biggest economy?
:00:25. > :00:32.A three`week stand`off while graduate in Taiwan protest against a
:00:33. > :00:43.trade deal in China. Thanks for watching. I'm Rico Hizon
:00:44. > :00:47.in Singapore. It will be a busy few weeks in India. Voters in the
:00:48. > :00:51.world's against democracy will be casting their ballots. The Indian
:00:52. > :00:56.election will last for five weeks, with more than 800 million people
:00:57. > :01:01.having their say. Our team took to the street and asked residents about
:01:02. > :01:09.their wish list and ways they want the new government to reach all the
:01:10. > :01:16.economy. `` to re`tool. People are suffering. I want economic
:01:17. > :01:20.improvement. Unemployment. I have been unemployed for one year. It's
:01:21. > :01:25.very difficult to get a job. I will be looking for a party who can
:01:26. > :01:36.promise more employment and jobs. The biggest economic issue for me is
:01:37. > :01:40.the falling value of the rupee. Its purchase power is drinking day by
:01:41. > :01:48.day. For people with limited resources, like me, who are
:01:49. > :01:55.retired, we have a fixed income from say bank interest. It's very hard to
:01:56. > :02:01.make both ends meet. Rising prices are affecting everyone. People in
:02:02. > :02:07.villages, people in towns and they aren't able to afford it. Look at
:02:08. > :02:12.the price of... Wanting writers, everything rises. We need someone in
:02:13. > :02:20.power who will see to it that the price comes down. For more we can
:02:21. > :02:24.cross over to Delhi. We just heard from the people of India, what they
:02:25. > :02:32.want. Stronger purchasing power, new investments, jobs. That employment.
:02:33. > :02:42.Tell us, what are the two political parties putting on the table to fix
:02:43. > :02:45.and re`tool the economy? This is on the top of the mind of political
:02:46. > :02:48.parties as well. They have more or less agreed on economic issues in
:02:49. > :02:53.the past but this time there is a sharp divide. There are two main
:02:54. > :02:57.parties. The opposition party and the ruling Congress party. Then a
:02:58. > :03:03.host of other regional parties, which probably will hold the key on
:03:04. > :03:07.where they stand on economic issues and could have a lot of power over
:03:08. > :03:11.the ruling government. But in terms of Congress and the opposition,
:03:12. > :03:16.there is a sharp divide on many things. The Congress party is in
:03:17. > :03:20.favour of more social spending. This has led to a higher fiscal deficit
:03:21. > :03:24.in the past but they think this is the way to bring about it ``
:03:25. > :03:27.inclusive growth, take out more people from poverty levels and bring
:03:28. > :03:33.them up with say the middle class. At the opposition thinks you have to
:03:34. > :03:37.improve economic activity, boost manufacturing and invest more in
:03:38. > :03:40.infrastructure. India needs about $1 trillion worth of infrastructure
:03:41. > :03:44.investment and at least half of that has to come from private investment.
:03:45. > :03:48.So, we want to boost the country's image amongst foreign investors.
:03:49. > :03:53.This is a sharp divide. The biggest opposition comes in the retail
:03:54. > :04:01.sector, for example. You mentioned the retail sector, a hot issue at
:04:02. > :04:08.the moment. How do you think the parties will deal with this? As you
:04:09. > :04:14.know, currently foreign retail is allowed... Foreign investment is
:04:15. > :04:18.allowed. The likes of Walmart and Tesco can invest up to 51% in the
:04:19. > :04:24.country but none of them have opened shop yet because of the confusion in
:04:25. > :04:27.the country amid the policy, because there has been a huge opposition by
:04:28. > :04:31.small traders across the country. Other political parties and even
:04:32. > :04:36.politicians within the ruling party have opposed the policy itself. So,
:04:37. > :04:40.the opposition BJP has said it will scrap the policy if it comes into
:04:41. > :04:46.power. This is very worrying for foreign investors, who think the
:04:47. > :04:50.company is `` who thought the country was opening up and now maybe
:04:51. > :04:53.not so. They have to wait until the end of elections to find out who
:04:54. > :04:54.will be in power and what happens to huge flagship policies like this.
:04:55. > :05:06.Thank you so much. Staying with India, the merger is
:05:07. > :05:21.under way in the pharmaceuticals industry. The takeover will be done
:05:22. > :05:26.via a share swap deal. It is valued at $4 billion. Once this agreement
:05:27. > :05:29.is complete, the merged company will create the largest pharmaceutical
:05:30. > :05:33.company in India. University students have been
:05:34. > :05:37.occupying Taiwan's Parliament building for nearly three weeks,
:05:38. > :05:42.protesting against trade agreements signed with China last year. The
:05:43. > :05:46.deal would give both sides greater access to each other's services
:05:47. > :05:52.sector. Earlier we caught up with our correspondent in Taiwan. It is
:05:53. > :05:58.still tense outside the parliament building behind me. This is the 20th
:05:59. > :06:03.day of the students' nearly three`week occupation. It is around
:06:04. > :06:07.8:30am at the moment. Students are just waking up and having breakfast.
:06:08. > :06:13.The issue has deeply divided Taiwanese society. The latest survey
:06:14. > :06:18.shows that 44% of the people here believe the trade agreement would
:06:19. > :06:22.benefit Taiwan's economy but an almost equal percentage, 38%,
:06:23. > :06:27.believe it would not. The Government House insisted this agreement is
:06:28. > :06:31.crucial for the economy. `` the government has insisted. They
:06:32. > :06:35.believe they can tap the great Chinese market next door. But
:06:36. > :06:38.Chinese banks, travel industries and also e`commerce companies can move
:06:39. > :06:46.more freely and invest in the Chinese sector, services sector. But
:06:47. > :06:47.38% of the people who oppose the agreement, represented by these
:06:48. > :06:52.students, believe the agreement would only help big businesses. It
:06:53. > :06:56.could actually hurt the small business owners and local workers'
:06:57. > :07:02.livelihoods. One of the student leaders I spoke to told me that even
:07:03. > :07:07.worse they fear the agreement could give China too much influence over
:07:08. > :07:13.Taiwan's economy and society. TRANSLATION: It raises a lot of
:07:14. > :07:17.political worries. It's no longer just an economy and trade agreement,
:07:18. > :07:22.it has a big political impact. This impacts us on many levels. The
:07:23. > :07:27.opening of advertising and telecoms industries, for example, will have a
:07:28. > :07:36.big damage on Taiwan's national security, freedom of expression and
:07:37. > :07:37.the media's freedom. Those were Taiwanese student demonstrators. He
:07:38. > :07:47.recognised these brands? These are all big Chinese companies
:07:48. > :07:51.well known on the mainland and are now aiming to go global. What the
:07:52. > :07:57.Chinese firms need to do to expand in the market that is different from
:07:58. > :08:00.the one at home. Earlier I spoke to the dean of a business school and
:08:01. > :08:07.asked which of these brands has the most potential to be a global
:08:08. > :08:11.player. A company which is now fully integrated in the world economy.
:08:12. > :08:19.Others are known as products which have been exported out of China. Why
:08:20. > :08:23.do you say that Huawei is the only one that has really made
:08:24. > :08:28.internationally? It requires a lot of time to become a truly
:08:29. > :08:32.international company. That is what our companies discovered many years
:08:33. > :08:45.ago. It is not possible in a short period. What about Innovo? They are
:08:46. > :08:49.quiet PC business is, why have they not made it yet? The overwhelming
:08:50. > :08:57.percentage of personnel is still working in China. It's basically
:08:58. > :09:01.selling into the world market, it is not integrated in it. That would
:09:02. > :09:06.make a difference between Innovo and Huawei. What would it take for a
:09:07. > :09:11.Chinese brand beyond the likes of Huawei to integrate themselves into
:09:12. > :09:15.the international market? Do they have to overhaul their business
:09:16. > :09:25.models? That would be a good point, yes. You have to spread yourself
:09:26. > :09:32.across and then the brand follows, not the other way around.
:09:33. > :09:37.In other business news making headlines, a major merger valued at
:09:38. > :09:42.$55 billion is under way in Europe to end world's two largest cement
:09:43. > :09:47.manufacturers. One from France and a Swiss company. According to reports,
:09:48. > :09:55.both companies made over the weekend and approved the merger initiative.
:09:56. > :10:03.Officials will announce today, which could cause further condition in the
:10:04. > :10:06.market. There will be trade talks over market access for American
:10:07. > :10:12.foreign groups and workers with Russia. It will be a deal with 12
:10:13. > :10:16.countries, including Japan. An agreement has been held up since
:10:17. > :10:23.last year as Japan appears reluctant to lower its trade barriers for some
:10:24. > :10:36.of its industries. With that, we end this edition of
:10:37. > :10:40.Asia Business Report. Thank you for investing your time with us.
:10:41. > :10:41.The top