08/04/2014 Asia Business Report

Geldof, said his family was beyond pain. `` 25. Now for the latest

business news from Singapore. Australia and Japan agreed to the

major points of a free`trade agreement, dubbed the cars and cows

steel. We find out more about the chicken cup going under the hammer

in Hong Kong. Thank you for watching us. We start

today with the free`trade pact between Australia and Japan which

has been dubbed the cars and cows deal. It has been negotiated forever

seven years but the prime minister of Australia and Japan agreed on the

key points of the arrangement. The Japanese prime ministers said that

the two countries will sign the accord as early as possible. Part of

the deal will see a straight drop its 5% duty on Japanese cars and

Tokyo would reduce in half its steep tariff almost 40% on Australian

beef. Tony Abbott says that the deal marks a historic occasion for both

nations. One of our regular economist commentators from Sydney

spoke to us earlier. The deal is good for Australia and it is hard to

quantify these things but the bottom line is that Australian farmers,

particularly beef producers, can export more products to Japan and

Australian consumers get the advantage of cheaper Japanese cars.

That sounds like a good deal. In terms of the deal, when will

Australians feel the benefits? The car prices should start to come down

pretty immediately, whenever that is introduced. If you're buying a

$30,000 Japanese car that should fall to about $28,500. Australian

consumers get quite a saving. Economic benefit should start to

become apparent fairly soon. I will not resign as `` revise up my

economic growth prospect for Australia but this is promising.

Prime Minister Tony Abbott is heading to South Korea to sign

another deal. Do you think that these free`trade agreements will

help fill the gap left by the mining boom? They will help. Australia got

a huge boost over the last few years as mining investment boomed but that

is now coming down as quickly as it went up and we need other sectors of

the economy to help out. Agriculture is a big part of that and free`trade

deals help there. That combines with the recovery we are seeing in

Australian housing and consumer sectors to fill the gap left as the

mining boom slows down. This trend in economy should come out of this

reasonably well. Hard as this bilateral deal with the Koreans and

the Japanese impact on the transpacific partnership being

sponsored by the US? There are various deals going on. There are

also negotiations with the WTO. These things have an impact on that

and I would expect that it agreements are reached in the TPP,

these deals will get folded into that. The bottomline is that

multilateral agreements are the best ones. Having Australia do this with

several countries in the region, that is a good move. In other

business news, South Korea's electronics giant Samsung has

revised profits down. They're the world 's biggest maker of TV sets

and mobile phones and they expect to make operating profit down 4% from

last year. Microsoft will end support for its Windows XP operating

system later today and that means that there will be no more security

updates or bug fixes. Some governments are negotiated extended

support contracts in a bid to keep users protected but security firms

warn that anybody else using the 13`year`old software will be at an

increased risk of infection and compromise. World finance ministers

are gathering in Washington, DC for the meetings of the IMF and World

Bank. The IMF will be releasing its global economic forecast later

today. What can we expect? Here is the BBC's correspondent. The streets

around the Washington headquarters of the IMF and the World Bank will

be teeming with visitors from government officials to academics.

The IMF is one of the most powerful players in the world economy. It is

expected to urge policymakers to do more to spur growth. The lender of

last resort says that five years after the start of the financial

crisis growth remains too weak and too slow. Some of the obstacles to

growth include super low inflation, especially in Europe. Geopolitical

tensions and communication by central banks are also issues. They

would like to see greater cooperation among countries,

especially when it comes to developing economic policies. The

global economy may no longer be frozen, but economic bugs are slow

to bloom. Anyone can have a good idea but turning it into a viable

business and persuading investors to back you is not always easy. One

start`up called Grabbed Taxi is announcing a new eight figure

investment. But how did it get this far? I spoke earlier to the founder

of the fund to find out where the initial seed money came from. Being

in that place, the continent of Southeast Asia is now half of

China, 600 million population, growing very very fast with mobile

phone penetration. Does it help that you win a Harvard business

competition? What about others? For us it is betting in the right way.

Taking on this mobile phone wave. We are also involved in the daily

fabric of everybody's lives. It is fabric of everybody's lives. It

public transportation, extremely visible. We have 15 times bigger

than the next guy. You have to be unique. Yes. What about the venture,

capital landscaping in Southeast Asia. It is exciting. People are

getting more confidence. Your application is getting more

traction. How does it continue to attract more funding? The key is

making sure that you are a leader, making sure that you innovate. There

will be a lot of noise but invest in your people. Our same group of

people that we started with a silver this and fighting like there is no

tomorrow. Ensuring that you maintain that leadership and grow the gap

from 15 to 20. Chinese art lovers and investors the world over will be

keeping their eyes on one small porcelain cup today. The so`called

chicken cup is going under the hammer in Hong Kong and is expected

to set a record price for Chinese ceramics, between 39 and 40 million

US dollars. Unveiling a masterpiece. This tiny 15th century cup is

expected to unleash a furious bidding war between international

collectors. The winning bid above $32 million would set a new global

record for Chinese porcelain at auction. These cups were produced

with a trademark and soon after that later emperors all collected them.

They had been copied. These are objects based in mythology. This is

why they are so valuable. Their legendary aura goes far beyond their

historical importance. This cup is believed to be one of four in

private hands. At investors are watching the sale for clues to the

once booming Chinese art market. Revenues are estimated to have

peaked in 2011. They then fell sharply in 2012. Part of the problem

is the prevalence of fakes, including these copies. This has

proven to be one of the biggest challenges facing the art investment

market. China's auction industry has pledged to tackle the problem. But

despite worries about counterfeits in the market, appetites are once

again whetted. A record`setting price per the Ming dynasties up a

point to signs of recovery for the Chinese art and porcelain market. A

pricey chicken cup. Let's have a look at the markets. Asian stocks

are under pressure. Thank you so much for investing your

time with us. The main news stories this hour. The

US has voiced great