:00:00. > :00:00.The teacher was named as Anne Maguire, who was 61 and a
:00:00. > :00:15.long`serving member of staff. Now on BBC News all the latest business
:00:16. > :00:20.news live from Singapore. President Obama seals a major
:00:21. > :00:25.security deal in Asia, but is it too early to pop open the champagne on
:00:26. > :00:27.trade? A big business, we look at why Singapore has become a key hub
:00:28. > :00:39.for transactions in China's currency. Hello, and welcome to Asia
:00:40. > :00:43.Business Report. We start with the US president, he is wrapping up his
:00:44. > :00:47.four nation trip to Asia today, after signing a ten year military
:00:48. > :00:55.agreement with the Philippines. Last night, he was feted with a state
:00:56. > :01:04.dinner in Miller in Manila. He end to boost economic ties and start
:01:05. > :01:11.what is set to be starting the TPP, or Trans`Pacific Partnership. How
:01:12. > :01:18.has he fed? I was told that the deal is a lot closer now because of his
:01:19. > :01:22.visit. The trip has been a success. There is a lot of work left to do
:01:23. > :01:28.between now and when the agreement goes into force. What is that work?
:01:29. > :01:34.What underpins the TPP is market access. There is a lot that goes
:01:35. > :01:40.into making it a 21st`century trade agreement. Including environmental
:01:41. > :01:43.rights, IP protection, behind the border issues like Customs
:01:44. > :01:48.facilitation, but that only occurs if there is increased market access.
:01:49. > :01:53.The biggest obstacle to that for a lot of countries is agriculture in
:01:54. > :01:57.Japan. What America and Japan did this past week was get a pathway
:01:58. > :02:02.forward on these difficult agricultural issues, which will make
:02:03. > :02:07.getting to the next round much better. It is not only about Japan,
:02:08. > :02:11.we saw medicines in Malaysia being an issue. And the US themselves. He
:02:12. > :02:15.went on this trip, the president, but failed to get a fast track
:02:16. > :02:19.approval from Congress to push the TPP, what is the likelihood of it
:02:20. > :02:23.passing? There are two things to keep in mind, one of these is that
:02:24. > :02:28.it is 12 party negotiations, there has to be concessions from everyone,
:02:29. > :02:33.certainly from America as well. And second, once the negotiation reaches
:02:34. > :02:38.an agreement, then lawyers will have to come in from all 12 parties to
:02:39. > :02:47.make sure that all details are fitted out. Each of the 12 countries
:02:48. > :02:50.will have to pass the TPA from their own government. That does not have
:02:51. > :02:55.to come now, the president did not have to get fast track all TPA prior
:02:56. > :02:59.to the visit. It will have to come after the elections in America. How
:03:00. > :03:06.much of this has to do with the Asian pivot? How important is Asia's
:03:07. > :03:11.economy now for the US elections? For US businesses, Asia is not an
:03:12. > :03:16.option, it's essential. Trade and business is one of the three key
:03:17. > :03:24.components to the rebalance of the US towards Asia. Political, US, and
:03:25. > :03:32.trade and economic. The TPP is a cornerstone of that `` political and
:03:33. > :03:36.military. The currency of the UN has grown ex` potentially in the past
:03:37. > :03:41.few years. Processing payments is very big business. According to new
:03:42. > :03:50.data, Singapore has overtaken London as the second largest clearing
:03:51. > :03:56.centre behind Hong Kong or yuan. We can speak to a spokesman for the
:03:57. > :04:01.company who handles those payments. It is a story about China and
:04:02. > :04:06.Southeast Asia, China has extensive relationships in Southeast Asia, and
:04:07. > :04:15.the role of Singapore as a harp in the region, particularly a training
:04:16. > :04:19.hub, is very important ``hub. Singapore has grown 374% in the use
:04:20. > :04:23.of the Chinese currency in the past few months. That is staggering. We
:04:24. > :04:29.know that the UK Finance Minister has pitted a whole series of
:04:30. > :04:36.measures to enable London to a trading hub, what does it take to be
:04:37. > :04:39.in the top clearance? Singapore does it with infrastructures, so there is
:04:40. > :04:49.a dedicated clearing bank, that is icy BC, and in the game of payments,
:04:50. > :04:53.you want convenient and trouble`free payment processors `` ICBC. They
:04:54. > :04:57.would be between a bank making a payment on behalf of customers to
:04:58. > :05:01.settle a supply arrangement from China. Infrastructure matters. The
:05:02. > :05:14.relationship with China as important as well. Singapore and its socio`
:05:15. > :05:17.and cultural and geographic relationships are buried important
:05:18. > :05:23.with China. All of these things come together. The market in Singapore is
:05:24. > :05:28.very organised these days as well, in terms of development of these
:05:29. > :05:33.services. With the central bank, the monetary authority of Singapore, and
:05:34. > :05:37.the community work together to develop that market `` the financial
:05:38. > :05:46.market. How should these countries be competing for this business? How
:05:47. > :05:51.can you see it growing? It is grown from a small base, the US dollar,
:05:52. > :05:54.the euro, the British pound, they are big currencies and used widely
:05:55. > :05:59.around the world. It is growing very fast. It is not only Singapore, but
:06:00. > :06:03.London is growing at over 200%, and places like Australia and Taiwan are
:06:04. > :06:09.growing at the same rate. That was Michael Moon. The world 's biggest
:06:10. > :06:14.maker of smart phones, Samsung Electronics, have reported a 4%
:06:15. > :06:17.decline in sales at its mobile phone division in the first quarter.
:06:18. > :06:20.Revenues of the division fell to 32 billion in January to March, from
:06:21. > :06:25.the previous quarter, the South Korean firm has been hit by slowing
:06:26. > :06:29.growth in smart phone sales in lucrative markets such as the United
:06:30. > :06:35.States and Europe. Continuing with Samsung, and its high`stakes court
:06:36. > :06:42.battle with Apple is to close this week, the worlds biggest smartphone
:06:43. > :06:46.makers are accusing one another of ripping off designs and features.
:06:47. > :06:55.The case could cost the South Korean technology firm $2 billion. Whereas
:06:56. > :06:59.it would only cost Apple 200 million. Panasonic has been
:07:00. > :07:05.struggling amid intense completion from Apple and Samsung, as well as
:07:06. > :07:09.falling demand for their gadgets. But, the company has paved the way
:07:10. > :07:16.for its gradual recovery, and the firm is forecasting further rises.
:07:17. > :07:20.Shares in the American drug company Pfizer jumped on Wall Street
:07:21. > :07:24.following an offer to buy the British firm Astrazeneca for close
:07:25. > :07:30.to $100 billion. The rise made it the biggest gain, Pfizer are working
:07:31. > :07:35.on their next move, as Astrazeneca rejected their second merger it
:07:36. > :07:40.which saw their share prices jumped by 12%. Talks are set to continue
:07:41. > :07:44.with Australian food manufacturer Goodman Fielder, after it rejected a
:07:45. > :07:51.joint takeover bid for close to $1.2 billion. It was targeted by a
:07:52. > :07:58.Singapore firm, and a Hong Kong investment business. They said the
:07:59. > :08:02.company was undervalued, the company make some of Australia's most
:08:03. > :08:05.recognised food products. Designers and manufacturers are doing some
:08:06. > :08:10.amazingly creative things with 3`D printing, making jewellery,
:08:11. > :08:15.furniture, and even industrial components. But one company in China
:08:16. > :08:22.is taking that technology is a step further by using recycled materials
:08:23. > :08:25.and they have made ten houses with a 3`D printer and happening to use in
:08:26. > :08:29.eastern China. Sara Thompson has more.
:08:30. > :08:35.At first glance, these houses looked like many others in Shanghai. Ten of
:08:36. > :08:38.them have been put up in a day, without a single brick, tile, and
:08:39. > :08:44.even a building involved in the construction. `` or even. They are
:08:45. > :08:49.the first buildings to be made in China with 3`D printing technology.
:08:50. > :08:53.Giant printers spray a mixture of cement, sand, and other construction
:08:54. > :09:01.materials to build the walls, one layer at a time. It is like icing a
:09:02. > :09:06.cake. In a rapidly developing countries with an enormous
:09:07. > :09:11.population, these houses offer a quick, easy, and relatively cheap
:09:12. > :09:14.solution. TRANSLATION: We can print the walls in the factory and then
:09:15. > :09:19.deliver them to the construction site. I will to pile them up with
:09:20. > :09:23.cranes, like building blocks. They are hollow inside, with columns
:09:24. > :09:31.printed with Bath steel. `` bar steel. It is very simple to do. The
:09:32. > :09:35.company says that these buildings are environmentally friendly. They
:09:36. > :09:40.can be printed to any digital design. The cheap materials and the
:09:41. > :09:45.lack of manual labour means that each one could be printed for less
:09:46. > :09:50.than $5,000. The groundbreaking technology still has a long way to
:09:51. > :09:56.go before mass production. Perhaps, with such a small pricetag, we could
:09:57. > :10:02.see more of these 3`D buildings, even skyscrapers, in Shanghai,
:10:03. > :10:08.before very long. A quick look at the markets now, it
:10:09. > :10:13.is pretty mixed here in Asia. Japan is shut for a public holiday. You
:10:14. > :10:19.can see a mixed outlook here. The markets appear fairly flat. There
:10:20. > :10:24.have been some games. Essentially taking their cues from the USA, we
:10:25. > :10:28.saw most markets higher. Technology stocks were being sold off. That is
:10:29. > :10:29.it for this edition of the Asia Business Report. Thank you for
:10:30. > :10:43.watching. In London with the main headlines
:10:44. > :10:46.this our: ``hour: A BBC team has gained rare access to Syria's
:10:47. > :10:48.biggest city, Aleppo, where civilians remain under constant and
:10:49. > :10:50.indiscriminate attack. Amid escalating violence in eastern
:10:51. > :10:52.Ukraine, the US has blamed Moscow for destabilising the region,
:10:53. > :10:53.announcing a new round of