:00:00. > :00:00.be built in an independent Scotland and jobs could be put at risk. The
:00:00. > :00:07.SNP accused him of spreading myths and misinformation. Time for Asia
:00:08. > :00:18.Business Report now. China's growth numbers are out on
:00:19. > :00:22.the government may be putting the brakes on growth as it looks to
:00:23. > :00:29.reform areas of the economy. And thousands of Chinese workers from a
:00:30. > :00:38.major shoe factory have gone on strike for improved social benefits.
:00:39. > :00:44.Thank you for joining us. Broadcasting to viewers around the
:00:45. > :00:47.world. We start off with China, which has just posted its slowest
:00:48. > :00:54.annual growth in more than two decades. Its economy expanded by
:00:55. > :00:59.7.4% in the January to March period, down from 7.7% in the previous
:01:00. > :01:04.quarter. Industrial production and fixed asset investment also showed
:01:05. > :01:08.signs of the slowdown. Let's cross the our correspondent in Beijing.
:01:09. > :01:16.Should we be worried about these figures? What China's premier has
:01:17. > :01:21.been stressing is we should not be fixated on the GDP figures. What
:01:22. > :01:25.he's talking about is not the quantity but the quality of growth.
:01:26. > :01:29.As you touched upon there, China's leaders are saying that the world 's
:01:30. > :01:38.second`largest economy needs major reform. One area is the country 's
:01:39. > :01:43.steel sector. That produces half the world steel. Many of the steel mills
:01:44. > :01:50.are saddled with debt. Is generally seen as an inefficient industry. I
:01:51. > :01:56.visited the country 's steel heartland just to see the scale of
:01:57. > :02:05.the challenge there. It's the industry that fired China's
:02:06. > :02:07.searing growth. Steel is transformed cities and laid the foundation of
:02:08. > :02:16.the second largest economy in the industry is a symbol of China's
:02:17. > :02:20.economic weakness. Nowhere is that clearer than in this province. It
:02:21. > :02:25.produces more steel in a year than the US. But oversupply as well as
:02:26. > :02:29.concerns about pollution mean unprofitable steel mills are being
:02:30. > :02:35.forced to close. We visited one of the dozens of plants that has
:02:36. > :02:41.stopped production. It is incredibly eerie here but when we talk about
:02:42. > :02:44.economic restructuring in China, this is what it looks like. It means
:02:45. > :02:51.that old industries such as steel will be left to rust. Investment
:02:52. > :02:55.goes elsewhere but it is eight painful process. The workers at this
:02:56. > :02:59.plant have already found out that it means tens of thousands of people
:03:00. > :03:05.will lose their jobs. Outside the gates, workers can wait for a whole
:03:06. > :03:09.day and get no work. This man says a couple of years ago, you could make
:03:10. > :03:15.$700 per month. Now, he is lucky if he makes half of that. If the steel
:03:16. > :03:22.meals do not produce, we don't get a job, he says. There are hundreds of
:03:23. > :03:25.people like me. Chinese leaders say major economic reforms are required
:03:26. > :03:29.to create new and better paying jobs. But many in the country's
:03:30. > :03:38.industrial heartlands fear that they will be thrown on the scrapheap. We
:03:39. > :03:44.hear a lot about these economic reforms. Economic costs and we have
:03:45. > :03:50.seen that the date in the slowing growth but it is easy to overlook
:03:51. > :03:53.the human cost as we heard from some steelworkers and the package just
:03:54. > :03:58.then. They are concerned about losing their jobs. There is one
:03:59. > :04:04.thing that the Communist Party prizes more than economic growth and
:04:05. > :04:07.that is social stability. There will be winners and losers in these
:04:08. > :04:12.economic reforms. The ruling party will be concerned about unemployment
:04:13. > :04:16.and the potential that that could trigger social unrest.
:04:17. > :04:24.Thank you very much for the update. China's first quarter GDP slowing to
:04:25. > :04:28.its... Slowest annual growth in more than two decades at 7.4%. Staying
:04:29. > :04:38.with China, thousands of workers have gone on strike in a factory
:04:39. > :04:41.which makes footwear for brands like Alibaba and Nike. These pictures
:04:42. > :04:47.show the striking workers clashing with police as they reach the
:04:48. > :04:50.blockade. The factory is owned by a footwear giant, which is not
:04:51. > :04:52.commented on the claims or the strike. Earlier, I spoke with a
:04:53. > :05:01.representative from a group which promotes workers rights on the
:05:02. > :05:06.mainland. He told me concerns about rights to social insurance have been
:05:07. > :05:10.growing. Workers over the past few years have started to realise that
:05:11. > :05:13.social insurance can benefit them. A few years ago, because of policy
:05:14. > :05:16.issues, social insurance that was provided to workers could not be
:05:17. > :05:21.transferred to another city or back home if the workers left their
:05:22. > :05:24.current employment. But policy changes have made that possible, for
:05:25. > :05:27.workers to take their benefits with them, and as workers have realised
:05:28. > :05:34.this, they have learned that they have not been paid these benefits
:05:35. > :05:40.for years. In this case, the workers are demanding this backpay for the
:05:41. > :05:44.past few years. That is why we have seen an increase in labour activism
:05:45. > :05:48.in the mainland. How will this be resolved between employers and
:05:49. > :05:52.employees? In this particular case, nothing has really happened in terms
:05:53. > :05:55.of negotiations as far as we know. The workers say they received a
:05:56. > :05:56.letter that just washes over the position and does not really talk
:05:57. > :06:12.about their demands. We are hoping the management will
:06:13. > :06:17.step out of their offices and talk to the workers. Hopefully the
:06:18. > :06:19.companies will also get involved and come to a resolution that is losing
:06:20. > :06:29.four everyone. The US has warned China that it is
:06:30. > :06:35.concerned about the recent drop in its currency. The US says the
:06:36. > :06:39.Chinese yuan is still significantly undervalued and that it is watching
:06:40. > :06:41.its movements closely. Many American lawmakers and politicians say that
:06:42. > :06:43.China deliberately keeps its currency weak in order to gain a
:06:44. > :06:57.trading advantage. Shares of Yahoo! Jumped by 8% in US
:06:58. > :07:03.trading. After it posted stronger than expected earnings. The company
:07:04. > :07:06.managed to increase revenue in the first quarter following a long
:07:07. > :07:14.period of decline. The stock also got the boost to to its stake in Ali
:07:15. > :07:19.Baba which posted a 66% hike in sales and is expected to hold one of
:07:20. > :07:27.the world 's largest initial public offerings later this year. Intel saw
:07:28. > :07:28.it profits drop as demand for personal computers that Mac
:07:29. > :07:39.computers shrinks. Revenues grew by 1% to $12.8 billion
:07:40. > :07:42.due to its tablet and data processing business.
:07:43. > :07:44.After decades of indecision, the Australian government yesterday gave
:07:45. > :07:49.the green light for a second airport in Sydney. The Prime Minister said
:07:50. > :07:53.the project will cost $2.5 billion and work will not begin for over a
:07:54. > :07:59.decade, but he said that it could potentially add $20 billion to the
:08:00. > :08:07.Australian economy by 2060. He said it could potentially add more than
:08:08. > :08:13.20 billion to this trillion economy. I asked whether a second airport was
:08:14. > :08:16.really necessary. It is long overdue. The Prime Minister himself
:08:17. > :08:20.said that we had been talking about this for 40 years and it is good
:08:21. > :08:25.that action comes. It indicates the political nature of these
:08:26. > :08:28.infrastructure planning decisions. It is a lesson for others in the
:08:29. > :08:33.region of the need to ensure that infrastructure keeps up with the
:08:34. > :08:35.expected growth and travel demand. South`east Asia's biggest carrier,
:08:36. > :08:40.Singapore Airlines, has announced plans to sponsor the first leg of
:08:41. > :08:44.the Singapore Grand Prix. Is going the same route as it rival, Emirates
:08:45. > :08:47.signed a sponsorship deal with the race last year. To stay profitable,
:08:48. > :08:55.Singapore Airlines is also investing in low`cost carriers and expanding
:08:56. > :08:59.into regional routes. We spoke to the chief executive and asked him
:09:00. > :09:06.about the carriers strategy for adapting in a competitive market. In
:09:07. > :09:15.some cases, we still want to extend our reach to smaller destinations.
:09:16. > :09:18.It makes sense for us to do so on our own. And when not, we will use
:09:19. > :09:20.partnership to achieve these proposals, such as our partnership
:09:21. > :09:29.with Virgin Australia and the partnership we have recently
:09:30. > :09:33.announced with Air New Zealand. You are announcing all these
:09:34. > :09:35.partnerships but in the past, Singapore has always been fairly
:09:36. > :09:40.independent. Are you acknowledging you need partnerships to grow? We
:09:41. > :09:43.are a commercial organisation and we cannot just be based on one
:09:44. > :09:46.particular model and stick to it forever. The environment is changing
:09:47. > :09:50.rapidly and we have to see how that environment has changed and what we
:09:51. > :09:55.have to do in order to make sure that we do well in that environment.
:09:56. > :09:58.Low`cost carrier traffic now accounts for some 30% of flights
:09:59. > :10:03.going in and out of Singapore and 50% of flights going in and out of
:10:04. > :10:09.south east Asia. Do you see your traditional long haul model dying?
:10:10. > :10:13.Long haul flights will continue to do well. Different markets obviously
:10:14. > :10:24.will have different growth on different levels of the market. In
:10:25. > :10:28.the case of long haul, when the economy begins to be more robust you
:10:29. > :10:36.will find those demand will pick up. We have invested in the low`cost
:10:37. > :10:39.sectors. The absolute signs of the airline, you still see the legacy
:10:40. > :10:43.airlines, a full`service carriers, are still forming a huge part of the
:10:44. > :10:47.capacity. Singapore Airlines will continue to grow and will continue
:10:48. > :10:51.to grow in places where it makes sense for us to operate.