:00:00. > :00:00.party would consider a Coalition with either party if neither had an
:00:00. > :00:00.outright majority. Now on BBC News all the latest business news live
:00:00. > :00:17.from Singapore. One year on, we look at what has
:00:18. > :00:23.changed from the worst industrial disaster to hit Bangladesh. Global
:00:24. > :00:31.trade ambitions, the US President is in Japan to push for progress.
:00:32. > :00:39.Thanks for watching Asia Business Report. We start off in Bangladesh
:00:40. > :00:45.in the south Asian nation witnessed its worst ever industrial disaster
:00:46. > :00:48.one year ago when a clothing factory collapsed, killing more than 1100
:00:49. > :00:58.people. It severely dented the image of the country 's garment industry.
:00:59. > :01:02.Our correspondent reported on the disaster and now looks at what has
:01:03. > :01:09.changed. This woman was lucky enough to
:01:10. > :01:12.survive the disaster. She was among hundreds of women working inside the
:01:13. > :01:18.complex when it came crashing down last year. Trapped under the rubble,
:01:19. > :01:29.she was rescued two days after the disaster. Her mangled legs had to be
:01:30. > :01:33.amputated. TRANSLATION: I am borrowing money to survive. My
:01:34. > :01:39.husband is taking care of me and he has no time to go to work. Who will
:01:40. > :01:45.look after me and do the housework? One year later, I am still waiting
:01:46. > :01:51.for my full compensation. That is because Western brands and retailers
:01:52. > :01:54.have so far contributed only $15 million to a $40 million fund to
:01:55. > :02:01.compensate victims and their families. Money has only just
:02:02. > :02:06.started trickling down and it is likely to take months to reach the
:02:07. > :02:12.victims. Thousands were saved from the rubble. It was a Bangladesh's
:02:13. > :02:20.worst ever industrial disaster. More than 1100 people were killed. The
:02:21. > :02:24.disaster was a major wake`up call for the clothing sector. A series of
:02:25. > :02:30.measures have been taken in the last year. The minimum monthly wage for
:02:31. > :02:37.workers has been increased from $38 per month to $68. Western retailers
:02:38. > :02:42.have also set up a fund to help improve safety standards in the
:02:43. > :02:46.clothing industry in Bangladesh. Around 200 new safety inspectors
:02:47. > :02:54.will be appointed to try and prevent another major collapse or fire in
:02:55. > :02:58.the factories. For others who escaped, they are back at work in
:02:59. > :03:07.new jobs. See the factories but life has not been easy. TRANSLATION: I do
:03:08. > :03:11.not want to work any more. I get flashbacks about those horrible
:03:12. > :03:15.days. They cannot be public as I have nightmares but I don't have any
:03:16. > :03:19.option as we are poor. My father and brother are no more. We have to work
:03:20. > :03:24.to pay our bills. Learning the lessons from the disaster is crucial
:03:25. > :03:29.to the economy. The clothing sector represent nearly 80% of exports but
:03:30. > :03:35.while Western retailers say they want safety to improve, they have
:03:36. > :03:44.not been shy to warn they will go elsewhere if cost is rise to high.
:03:45. > :03:49.Earlier I spoke to the deputy director`general of the
:03:50. > :03:55.International Labour Organisation. I started by asking him what has
:03:56. > :04:02.changed in a year? The political commitment, when I compare that to
:04:03. > :04:04.one year ago when I was here, the commitment is much more decisive in
:04:05. > :04:12.terms of fixing the problem. Secondly, the whole community,
:04:13. > :04:24.nationally and internationally, the lament has in to make sure we work
:04:25. > :04:32.with authorities. In the past nine months after the adoption of the new
:04:33. > :04:37.Labour laws, now we are working with trade unions so they can exercise
:04:38. > :04:42.freedom of association. 900 factories have been inspected. We
:04:43. > :04:48.still have more than 2000 to go. You can see that a lot of actions
:04:49. > :04:57.initiated, have been implemented to make sure it is reduced the risk of
:04:58. > :05:02.this type of tragedy. This UN supported scheme is only barely a
:05:03. > :05:08.third full. Why the shortfall? Essentially, it is because we can't
:05:09. > :05:16.talk about legal responsibility so we cannot enforce on anybody to put
:05:17. > :05:21.that much. We need to go back. Pressing people as much as we can
:05:22. > :05:27.and secondly, the fact that the international buyers say that those
:05:28. > :05:32.employees are not their employees. They have a contract with a local
:05:33. > :05:38.suppliers. You have this lack of legal framework to make it binding
:05:39. > :05:41.to the different stakeholders. This is really the challenge and one of
:05:42. > :05:49.the lessons we must learn in moving forward. Barack Obama spent his
:05:50. > :05:54.first night in Japan on a tour of Asia. Today he will be having talks
:05:55. > :06:02.with Shinzo Abe and high up on their agenda will be the potential free
:06:03. > :06:06.trade deal. US and Japan hold the key to the success of negotiations
:06:07. > :06:11.but even if a deal is done between the two countries or the 12
:06:12. > :06:19.countries involved, could Obama get the approval from Congress to sign
:06:20. > :06:23.it? This is the UPS sorting facility in Kentucky. Thousands of packages
:06:24. > :06:29.make their way to hear everyday. If the US agrees on a free trade deal
:06:30. > :06:34.with 12 other countries, this place could get a whole lot busier. We
:06:35. > :06:38.would see a tremendous growth from a trade agreement. We have seen that
:06:39. > :06:41.in past trade agreements. Some previous agreement that were
:06:42. > :06:48.negotiated like the US, Singapore agreement and be US, Chile free
:06:49. > :06:54.trade agreement. We saw 20% increase in volume. Past agreements have
:06:55. > :07:00.taken manufacturing jobs from the US. Which is why not all businesses
:07:01. > :07:08.are getting behind the massive trade partnership that would link nearly
:07:09. > :07:15.60% of global GDP. Businesses like Ford, maker of the iconic mustang.
:07:16. > :07:20.It could hurt our business. It could in balance and take jobs away from
:07:21. > :07:24.American workers and use that for countries that are trying to
:07:25. > :07:28.manipulate their currency and always export their unemployment problems
:07:29. > :07:34.to other parts of the world and we do not think that is right. US
:07:35. > :07:39.manufacturers often complain that countries engaging in currency
:07:40. > :07:42.manipulation by keeping it artificially low has had a
:07:43. > :07:48.devastating impact on America's manufacturing sector. In last year
:07:49. > :07:53.'s state of the union address, President Obama made specific
:07:54. > :07:58.mention of the DPP. To boost American exports, support jobs and
:07:59. > :08:03.level the playing field in the growing markets of Asia, we intend
:08:04. > :08:05.to complete negotiations on the transpacific partnership and
:08:06. > :08:09.tonight, I am announcing we will launch talks on a competency of
:08:10. > :08:15.transatlantic trade and investment partnership with the EU. Trade that
:08:16. > :08:18.is fair and free across the Atlantic support millions of good paying
:08:19. > :08:24.American jobs. But this year, there was no reference to the trade deal
:08:25. > :08:28.at all. Getting fast track authority to get past regulars would be
:08:29. > :08:31.crucial in extracting concessions from Japan and other countries.
:08:32. > :08:37.Adding that through this divided Congress is unlikely. A sign that
:08:38. > :08:44.the present's biggest obstacle could be right here at home. ``
:08:45. > :08:49.president's. Two giants of the pharmaceutical company announced a
:08:50. > :08:53.cobbler Cater Deal which will see them create a new consumer
:08:54. > :09:00.healthcare business. GSK will buy the vaccine business of Novartis. It
:09:01. > :09:12.is the latest in a slew of deals pointed to a consolidation for the
:09:13. > :09:19.drugs industry. Our correspondent explain why these deals are taking
:09:20. > :09:25.place. One reason it is scientific. Drug design is causing more fairly
:09:26. > :09:30.than successes and rational drug design is why you have big Pharma
:09:31. > :09:35.companies. Second is government, government is restricting access to
:09:36. > :09:42.doctors. You need much different salesforce models. The third is
:09:43. > :09:47.capital markets. They are punishing companies when they get late stage
:09:48. > :09:53.failures and so they are looking for different ways to spread the risk.
:09:54. > :09:58.Fewer companies with fewer product makes more sense. What does this
:09:59. > :10:02.mean for Asia's pharmaceutical sector? For outbound, Asian
:10:03. > :10:06.companies need to start increasing their global footprint because this
:10:07. > :10:11.is a situation with fewer competitors and more consolidation.
:10:12. > :10:20.Companies, if they do it right, it will increase their global
:10:21. > :10:23.footprint. For inbound, companies could increase their Asia footprint
:10:24. > :10:28.and there is a lot involved in that that they need to deal with.
:10:29. > :10:39.Complexity, regular Tory and quality big three of them. Thank you for
:10:40. > :10:42.investing your time with us. The top stories this hour.
:10:43. > :10:45.Hamas returns to share power with Fatah ` but Israel pulls out of
:10:46. > :10:50.peace talks as a new unity government is formed in Gaza.
:10:51. > :10:52.Talking to the Emperor of Japan ` President Obama reassures Asian
:10:53. > :10:54.leaders that the US will counter China and strengthen trade and
:10:55. > :10:55.security