07/04/2014 Asia Business Report

referendum on the country 's independence. Full of Lodge of it

has become the senior Conservative to call for Maria Miller to step

down. Now time for Asia Business Report.

Elections in India. What economic changes will be installed for the 's

biggest democracy? We look at the best strategies for Chinese

companies looking to grow in Europe. Thank you for watching. It will be a

busy few weeks in India. The first polling centres have just opened and

voters in the world 's biggest democracy will be casting their

ballots. The election will last for five weeks with more than 800

million people having their say. Our team in India took to the streets

and asked several residents about their wish list and the ways they

want the new government to fix the economy. People are suffering a

lot, the economy is shattered. I want economic improvement.

Unemployment. I have been unemployed for a year now and it is very

difficult to get a job. The economy is the biggest issue and the falling

value of the currency. The purchase power is shrinking. Day by day it is

shrinking. For people with limited resources like me, who are retired

and have a fixed income from bank interest, it is very hard to make

ends meet. The rise in prices is affecting everyone. We are not able

to afford things. If the price of diesel rises, everything rises. We

require somebody in power who will see to it that the price comes

down. For more that's crossed to Delhi and our correspondent. This is

a massive political exercise. Absolutely. It is the world 's

biggest democratic exercise and there are 814 million voters. It is

a nine phase ballot which goes on for nearly one month. I spoke to the

election commission who are saying that it is a logistical nightmare.

While they have these high security electronic voting machines with lots

of inbuilt security measures, it is high end stuff, but she carried

across the country they submit camels and elephants because there

is an election commission rule which says that no voter should have to go

more than two kilometres to cast his ballot. They have to get the voting

machines out there across the country to the 930,000 polling

booths. It a massive exercise. Very complex. At that of the agenda for

the political parties is to fix the economy. What are the solution is to

be able to fix high inflation and low growth? The economy is the top

of the agenda for both parties, the BJP and the Congress party. There

are a host of smaller regional parties which will hold the key to

selection. If no single party gets a majority than the smaller parties

will hold the key about what decisions are taken at the centre.

High inflation, slowing growth and interestingly both parties have

diverse views on this. Congress thinks the way to go forward is to

increase social spending. BJP are talking about increasing

manufacturing growth, expanding economic activity, boosting

infrastructure growth because India needs to create millions of jobs

and, while 5% for a growth rate looks good on paper, it is not good

enough India to create the kind of jobs it needs. Thank you so much for

the update. Staying with India, a merger is currently under way in the

pharmaceuticals industry. Sun pharmaceuticals has agreed to buy a

division of Japan's major pharmaceutical company. It is valued

at $4 billion. The merged company will be the largest pharmaceutical

firm in India. A merger valued at $55 billion is under way Europe

between two of the world 's largest cement manufacturers. According to

reports, the boards of both companies met over the weekend and

approve the merger proposal. An official vindication is expected

today which will address possible competition concerns that would

arise from the alliance. US trade Representative, Michael Foreman,

will be in Japan with talks which Washington hopes will break the

summit of market access for US farm groups and automakers. The trade

deal with 12 countries including the US and Japan has been held up since

last year as the US has been trying to persuade Japan to lower its trade

barriers. The talks take place weeks before Barack Obama is due to visit

Japan. University students have been occupying parliament in Taiwan for

over three weeks in protest over a trade agreement with China. The deal

would give companies from the two countries greater access to each

other's services sector. There are many tents outside the Parliament

building behind me and this is the 20th day of the students nearly five

week `` three`week occupation of Parliament. The students are inside

and outside waking up at having breakfast. This issue has deeply

divided Taiwanese society. The latest survey shows that 44% of the

people here believe that the trade agreement would benefit Taiwan's

economy. But an almost equal percentage, 38%, believe it will

not. The government has insisted that the agreement is crucial to

open up markets. Taiwanese banks, travel industry, and e`commerce

companies can be investing more freely in the Chinese services

sector. But the 38% of people who oppose the agreement are represented

here. They say it will only help big businesses and hurt small businesses

and local owners livelihoods. One of the student leaders told me that

even worse they fear the agreement could give China to achieve Luhansk

over Taiwan's economy and society. TRANSLATION: Signing with China

raises worries. It is no longer just an economy and trade agreement. It

has a big political impact. This impact is on many levels. For

example, the opening of advertising and telecoms have a big damage on

national security, freedom of speech, and media freedom. Here's a

question. Do you recognise the following brands? These are all

well`known Chinese companies which are aiming to go global. What they

need to do to expand overseas? Earlier I spoke to the dean of the

China Europe business School and asked him about this. A company

fully integrated in the world economy is important. Others are

meant for products being exported out of China. Why you saying that

Huawei is the only one to have done that? It takes time. Western

companies discovered many years ago that it is not possible over a sharp

period. What about Lenovo? They have acquired many businesses, why have

they not made it yet? The overwhelming percentage of their

personnel are still working in China, not overseas. It is selling

into the world market but it is not integrated into the world market.

What would it take for a Chinese brand beyond the likes of Huawei to

integrate themselves into the international market? To do to

overhaul their business models to succeed in markets? That would be a

good point. You have to spread yourself across borders with your

own people and corporate culture. The Bransdon follows, not the other

way around. Before we go, a quick look at the markets.

Stocks are down across the various markets but solid US jobs data have

kept the losses smaller than they might have been. Steep losses from

technology shares have given the NASDAQ a bad day. Thank you for

investing your time with us. Sport Today is next.