:00:00. > :00:00.earlier, the Ukrainian Ambassador `` you , saying that Russia is not
:00:00. > :00:14.behind the troubles that are taking place.
:00:15. > :00:20.Asian markets are falling, after big losses in New York. We look ahead to
:00:21. > :00:25.economic data which could send stocks tumbling again this week. And
:00:26. > :00:32.L'Oreal changes strategy in China. We find out how struggling beauty
:00:33. > :00:38.brands can change their fortunes. Hello and welcome to this Monday
:00:39. > :00:41.edition of Asia Business Report. We start with a look at the markets.
:00:42. > :00:49.Asian shares have started the week lower. They are taking their cues
:00:50. > :00:54.from Wall Street. They saw a sell off in technology shares. We sought
:00:55. > :00:57.them continuing to extend losses from last week. At the moment it is
:00:58. > :01:04.currently just fairly flat. Last week, it saw its biggest weekly fall
:01:05. > :01:13.since the March 2011 tsunami. And nuclear disaster. In the US, the
:01:14. > :01:19.NASDAQ closed lower. That could influence investors. That includes
:01:20. > :01:22.Chinese growth data from the first quarter of the year. That is due out
:01:23. > :01:26.on Wednesday. There is more political concern being brought up
:01:27. > :01:31.over the Ukraine crisis as well. For more, let's ring in our regular
:01:32. > :01:39.market analyst. Peter, what is prompting this sell off. And will it
:01:40. > :01:46.be sustained? The China market will be the key trigger. It is expecting
:01:47. > :01:50.a rate of growth at 7.4%. That is down from 7.7%. It is an important
:01:51. > :01:56.time, because the riskier parts of the US market such as biotechnology,
:01:57. > :02:04.IT, US reporting season is ramping up. Mid week, the market is timid.
:02:05. > :02:08.In Asia, not much is moving. Mid week, we expect volatility to start
:02:09. > :02:14.ramping up. You say they are being timid. To some extent they are, it
:02:15. > :02:18.is certainly being flat, but we are seeing this emergency meeting taking
:02:19. > :02:25.place in the United Nations Security Council. Will political uncertainty
:02:26. > :02:28.play a role? It's a factor. It's not the most important factor. It's
:02:29. > :02:33.probably not the highest in the priority list. But it is also
:02:34. > :02:35.overhanging. And the problem with geopolitical event is that when
:02:36. > :02:41.something does happen, it is usually unexpected. It is counter to
:02:42. > :02:46.consensus. And that is where the market starts to panic. In terms of
:02:47. > :02:50.the Ukraine, we do not think it will be quite significant on markets
:02:51. > :02:57.unless something completely drastic emerges. You also mentioned the
:02:58. > :03:00.Chinese GDP data. We are watching that keenly for the first quarter.
:03:01. > :03:06.It is due out on Wednesday, what do you anticipate, and what impact will
:03:07. > :03:14.it have? Chinese data has been pointing lower, it has been lacking
:03:15. > :03:17.impetus. That is why it could set such a low hurdle relative to where
:03:18. > :03:21.the growth rate has been in the past. We think that the Chinese
:03:22. > :03:23.growth rate could come in at 7.5. That is slightly
:03:24. > :03:29.better`than`expected. It is still below the last quarter. Anything
:03:30. > :03:36.above 7.5 in annualised rate, will be a benefit to markets. Hong Kong
:03:37. > :03:40.has been dragged down recently by Chinese data. 7.5 and up words would
:03:41. > :03:45.be a positive. We will leave it there. China's biggest oil company
:03:46. > :03:48.has been blamed for water contamination affecting 2.4 million
:03:49. > :03:55.people in the capital of the north`western province. The leak has
:03:56. > :03:57.been blamed on a pipeline owned by a subsidiary of China National
:03:58. > :04:03.petroleum Corporation. Authorities have warned that painted tapwater
:04:04. > :04:06.contained up to 200 micrograms per litre of the carcinogenic benzene.
:04:07. > :04:16.That is 20 times the national safety limit. A stake in a copper mine has
:04:17. > :04:21.been sold to a Chinese consortium from Peru. It is one of the biggest
:04:22. > :04:26.acquisitions in years. It is underscoring the mainland's
:04:27. > :04:31.continued demand for Chinese commodities. It is one of the
:04:32. > :04:34.largest mines under construction. It is expected to churn out 450,000
:04:35. > :04:39.tonnes of copper when production begins next year. There will be
:04:40. > :04:45.another public share offering to raise $2 million in capital.
:04:46. > :04:48.Japan's largest display maker aims to launch the sale after a
:04:49. > :04:52.restructure aimed at convincing potential investors. The strategy
:04:53. > :05:01.will focus on cutting reduction cost is, as Sharp expands into the market
:05:02. > :05:07.for lower`priced smartphones. Their shares are the sharply lower today.
:05:08. > :05:17.There is an overhaul of L'Oreal. They pulled their gunny eight level
:05:18. > :05:22.off the shelves `` Garnier label off the shelves. I asked our
:05:23. > :05:29.correspondent why they seem to be struggling. Chinese women are trying
:05:30. > :05:33.to express more creativity and individualism. They do not want to
:05:34. > :05:36.buy the same brands as everyone else. You are starting to see the
:05:37. > :05:42.big luxury houses, cosmetic companies, they have two offer many
:05:43. > :05:44.different sub brands. You are no longer going to see everybody
:05:45. > :05:50.wanting to buy L'Oreal. So the smarter brands will have to do
:05:51. > :05:55.something like what Louis Vuitton are doing, where they have ten
:05:56. > :06:01.different brands to offer consumers. Politically, Sri Lanka is under fire
:06:02. > :06:09.from the international community over its human rights record. One of
:06:10. > :06:13.the government's responses is it is fostering economic development in
:06:14. > :06:16.the north, formerly a war zone. Our correspondent is looking at how a
:06:17. > :06:22.shopping centre is transforming the city. Much of the city remains in
:06:23. > :06:25.ruins. It is the result of years of neglect and dilapidation as well as
:06:26. > :06:28.bombardments when the city was fought over by the government and
:06:29. > :06:34.Tamil Tigers. Until recently, people would say that visiting this place
:06:35. > :06:38.was like stepping back in time. But parts of the city are now changing.
:06:39. > :06:51.Irrevocably. Here in the town centre, its first ever traffic light
:06:52. > :06:57.has been brought into operation. Cargills a popular chain has
:06:58. > :07:05.arrived. Once you have stocked up on food, pop on Sri Lanka's only
:07:06. > :07:10.escalator. The shopping mall is still small, but set to expand.
:07:11. > :07:16.There is also a food court. Cargill And the triple screen cinema. Say
:07:17. > :07:28.they have created three jobs. Benefits Street beyond the town's
:07:29. > :07:33.boundaries. We are procuring approximately `` producing
:07:34. > :07:39.approximately eight or ten tons per day. Beyond retail, the town has a
:07:40. > :07:45.building boom. This is one of many new flats. Residents have flocked to
:07:46. > :07:47.buy them. Much of northern Sri Lanka is still suffering from the
:07:48. > :07:53.devastating consequences of civil war. But amid the greenery, economic
:07:54. > :07:59.change is afoot. Many see that is offering the seeds of hope for the
:08:00. > :08:03.wider region. Where are the best cities in the world to live and
:08:04. > :08:09.work? Five of the top ten emerging cities with the greatest potential
:08:10. > :08:17.now sit in South East Asia. In the next two decades, could places like
:08:18. > :08:22.Jakarta and Manila be competing with New York and Paris? Our
:08:23. > :08:25.correspondent explains for us the highlights of the company's
:08:26. > :08:31.research. For Asia at the interesting thing is you have four
:08:32. > :08:35.cities in the top ten. Tokyo, Hong Kong, which have always been there,
:08:36. > :08:41.and then Beijing breaking into the top ten, for the first time ever,
:08:42. > :08:45.and Singapore returning to the top ten after a two year absence. In
:08:46. > :08:51.addition, of the top ten cities and emerging cities, there are five from
:08:52. > :09:01.Asia. So Jakarta is at the top of the list of the countries, of the
:09:02. > :09:07.city is likely to establish `` city is likely to challenge the
:09:08. > :09:14.established leaders. How does all this differ from the others out
:09:15. > :09:19.there? We had the world's costliest city, Singapore, that caused
:09:20. > :09:24.consternation here. So what is the purpose of a list like this? We
:09:25. > :09:28.don't look at single factors such as cost or single metric such as
:09:29. > :09:33.economics or business activities. We believe the list we have is
:09:34. > :09:39.well`balanced. We look at business activities, human capital,
:09:40. > :09:44.political, information exchange, as well as cultural experience. These
:09:45. > :09:50.are the things which make the city attractive for businesses and
:09:51. > :09:55.talent. This is how cities will compete with each other. How
:09:56. > :10:00.attractive we are for businesses to come to. In a way you are saying a
:10:01. > :10:04.lot of lists like this, by your organisation and others, they help
:10:05. > :10:10.drive how governments will see their growth. That's right. The list helps
:10:11. > :10:17.them to think about what other factors that are important to make
:10:18. > :10:22.their cities attractive. It helps to drive policy decisions going
:10:23. > :10:27.forward. Our thesis is that going forward, is Mrs and talents will
:10:28. > :10:34.migrate to cities, not necessarily to countries as a whole. So we are
:10:35. > :10:38.looking at liveable cities. A quick look at the markets. We will take a
:10:39. > :10:41.look at them again. The Nikkei is slightly higher after opening in
:10:42. > :10:46.negative territory. Across the board, with the flat markets in
:10:47. > :10:50.Korea and Australia. Political uncertainty with that emergency
:10:51. > :10:55.meeting taking place in the UN Security Council. We also watch for
:10:56. > :11:09.some major GDP data later this week. They give for watching as a business
:11:10. > :11:16.report. You're watching BBC News. I'm Adnan Nawaz. Our top stories
:11:17. > :11:24.this hour. The UN Security Council is discussing the crisis in Ukraine.
:11:25. > :11:25.The ambassador says Ukraine must stop waging war on its own