:00:00. > :00:00.has been arrested. The teacher, Anne Maguire, was 61, and a long serving
:00:00. > :00:14.number of staff. Time for Asia Business Report.
:00:15. > :00:20.President Obama seals a major security deal in Asia, but is it too
:00:21. > :00:26.early to pop open the champagne on trade? And, big business, by
:00:27. > :00:34.Singapore has become a key hub for transactions in China's currency.
:00:35. > :00:43.Looking to Asia Business Report. President Barack Obama is wrapping
:00:44. > :00:45.up his four nation trip to Asia today, after signing a ten year
:00:46. > :00:51.military agreement with the Philippines. Last night, he was
:00:52. > :00:58.feted with a state dinner in Manila. One of his main mission is was to
:00:59. > :01:02.boost economic ties and set what is to be known as one of the biggest
:01:03. > :01:11.trade deals, the TPP. How has he fared? We heard that the deal is a
:01:12. > :01:17.lot closer now because of President Obama's visit. The trip has been a
:01:18. > :01:21.success. It doesn't mean there is a lot of work left to do between now
:01:22. > :01:27.and when the agreement goes into force. What are some of the work
:01:28. > :01:32.that needs doing? The TPP is market access, and there is a lot that goes
:01:33. > :01:39.into making it a 21st`century trade agreement, including environmental
:01:40. > :01:44.rights, IP protection, and border issues. All of that only occurs if
:01:45. > :01:47.there is increased market access. The biggest obstacle to market
:01:48. > :01:52.access for a lot of countries is agriculture in Japan. So what the US
:01:53. > :01:58.and Japan did in this past week, getting a pathway forward on these
:01:59. > :02:01.difficult agriculture issues and water issues, is going to make
:02:02. > :02:06.getting to the next round much better. Is it just about Japan?
:02:07. > :02:12.Whistle medicines in Malaysia being an issue, and the US themselves.
:02:13. > :02:15.President Obama went on this trip, but he failed to get approval from
:02:16. > :02:23.Congress to push the TPP, so what is the likelihood to push it through?
:02:24. > :02:25.One issue is the 12 party organisation, there has to be
:02:26. > :02:31.accessed from all parties, including the US. Once the negotiators reach
:02:32. > :02:36.an agreement, then the lawyers will have to come in from all 12 parties
:02:37. > :02:43.to make sure that all of the highs are dotted and the keys are crossed.
:02:44. > :02:49.Each of the countries has to pass the TPA from the Rome government.
:02:50. > :02:53.That doesn't have to come now, he didn't have to get fast track or TPA
:02:54. > :02:59.prior to the visit, but it will have to come after the general elections.
:03:00. > :03:06.`` their own government. How important is Asia's economy right
:03:07. > :03:09.now for the US? For US businesses, Asia is not an option, it is
:03:10. > :03:15.essential. Trade and business is one of the three key components to the
:03:16. > :03:22.rebalance the US towards Asia. It is political, military and trade. The
:03:23. > :03:27.TPP is the cornerstone to that pivot. The use of China's currency,
:03:28. > :03:31.the yuan, has grown exponentially in recent years. It is now the seventh
:03:32. > :03:36.most used currency for global payments. Processing those payments
:03:37. > :03:40.is big business, and according to new data, Singapore has just
:03:41. > :03:52.overtaken London as the world's second largest clearing centre for
:03:53. > :03:59.the yuan behind Hong Kong. This is really a story about China and South
:04:00. > :04:03.East Asia. China has very extensive relationships in South East Asia,
:04:04. > :04:07.and the role of Singapore as a hub in the region, particularly a
:04:08. > :04:13.trading hub, is really important behind the growth of these numbers
:04:14. > :04:17.as well. Singapore is growing 375% in use of the Chinese currency in
:04:18. > :04:21.the last 12 months. That is a staggering amount, Michael. We know
:04:22. > :04:24.that the UK finance minister, George Osborne, has put in a series of
:04:25. > :04:28.measures to try to enable London to become a trading hub. What does it
:04:29. > :04:33.take to be the top clearing centre? Singapore does it with
:04:34. > :04:41.infrastructure. There is a dedicated clearing bank, which is by CBC in
:04:42. > :04:48.Singapore, so infrastructure matters. Ultimately, you want very
:04:49. > :04:51.convenient and good payment processes between a bank that is
:04:52. > :04:54.making a payment on behalf of the customers to settle a supply
:04:55. > :05:00.arrangement from China. Infrastructure matters. Relationship
:05:01. > :05:07.with China is important as well. Singapore and its social, cultural,
:05:08. > :05:12.and geographic relationship with China, it is on the same time zone,
:05:13. > :05:18.and there are extensive sociocultural ties with China, that
:05:19. > :05:21.is important. The market in Singapore is very organised these
:05:22. > :05:27.days, in terms of its development of the services in its marketplace, the
:05:28. > :05:32.central bank. And the financial community work together to develop a
:05:33. > :05:40.market. How much should countries be competing for this business? What
:05:41. > :05:43.does it take to compete with ease, and how much do you see it growing?
:05:44. > :05:48.You should remember it is growing from a small base. There are still
:05:49. > :05:54.other very big currencies that are used widely around the world, but
:05:55. > :05:57.the Chinese one is growing very quickly. London is growing at over
:05:58. > :06:04.200%, places like Taiwan, Australia, they are growing at over 200% as
:06:05. > :06:09.well. The world's biggest make of
:06:10. > :06:13.smartphones, Samsung electronics, have reported a 4% decline in sales
:06:14. > :06:16.at its mobile phone division in the first quarter. Revenues at the
:06:17. > :06:24.division fell to $32 billion in January, from the previous quarter.
:06:25. > :06:28.It has been hit by slowing growth in smartphone sales in lucrative
:06:29. > :06:32.markets like the US and Europe. Continuing with Samsung, the
:06:33. > :06:37.high`stakes court battle that has with Apple, is expected to wrap up
:06:38. > :06:41.this week in the US. Closing arguments will begin later today.
:06:42. > :06:47.They are accusing each other once again of ripping off designs and
:06:48. > :06:54.features, and the case could cost Samsung $2 billion if it loses. A
:06:55. > :07:00.Japanese economic giant, Panasonic, has returned to profit. It has been
:07:01. > :07:04.struggling with intense competition from Apple and Samsung, as well as
:07:05. > :07:07.falling prices for gadgets. A weak yen, and efforts to restructure the
:07:08. > :07:15.company, have paved the way for its gradual recovery. It is forecasting
:07:16. > :07:21.further rises this year. Shares in Pfizer jumped $1 29, or 4%, on Wall
:07:22. > :07:29.Street, following its offer to buy AstraZeneca for $100 billion. Pfizer
:07:30. > :07:33.is now working on its next move, after AstraZeneca rejected its
:07:34. > :07:40.second merger bid, which saw its shares jumped 12%. Talks are set to
:07:41. > :07:44.continue with Australian food manufacturer, Goodman Fielder. It
:07:45. > :07:57.rejected a bid of close to one point $2 billion. `` one $.2 billion. ``
:07:58. > :07:59.1.2 billion. It makes some of straight's most recognisable food
:08:00. > :08:03.products, but its financial performance has been weaker than
:08:04. > :08:05.expected. Designers and manufacturers are doing some
:08:06. > :08:09.amazingly creative things with 3`D printing. They make jewellery,
:08:10. > :08:15.furniture and even industrial components. One company in China is
:08:16. > :08:20.taking it a step further. They are using recycled materials, and they
:08:21. > :08:27.have made ten houses with a 3`D printer, and has put them to use in
:08:28. > :08:32.eastern China. At first glance, these houses look
:08:33. > :08:37.like many others in Shanghai, but ten of them have been put up in a
:08:38. > :08:40.day, without a single brick, tile, or even a builder involved in the
:08:41. > :08:48.construction. They are China's first buildings to be made with 3`D
:08:49. > :08:51.printing technology. Giant printers spread mixture of cement, sand and
:08:52. > :09:04.other construction materials to build the walls, one layer at a
:09:05. > :09:09.time. Like icing cake. `` like icing a cake. These houses are equipped,
:09:10. > :09:14.easy and relatively cheap solution. TRANSLATION: You can construct the
:09:15. > :09:18.whole walls in the factory and deliver them. Their work just needs
:09:19. > :09:30.to pile them up with cranes. They are hollow inside, with columns. It
:09:31. > :09:32.is very simple to do. The company says these buildings are
:09:33. > :09:38.environmentally friendly, and can be printed to any digital design. The
:09:39. > :09:45.cheap materials and the lack of manual labour mean that each one can
:09:46. > :09:47.be printed for less than $5,000. The groundbreaking technology still has
:09:48. > :09:53.a long way to go before mass production. Perhaps, with such a
:09:54. > :09:57.small pricetag, we may see more of these 3`D buildings, even
:09:58. > :10:05.skyscrapers, in Shanghai before very long.
:10:06. > :10:07.A quick look at the markets, because most Asian stocks are currently a
:10:08. > :10:20.tad lower. most Asian stocks are currently a
:10:21. > :10:23.Essentially, markets are lower, a bit of caution sitting in because
:10:24. > :10:25.the Federal Reserve in the US will be starting their two`day meeting on
:10:26. > :10:44.interest rates a little later today. Our top stories: A BBC team has
:10:45. > :10:48.gained rare access to Syria's biggest city, Aleppo, where
:10:49. > :10:53.civilians remain under constant and indiscriminate attack. Rescuers are
:10:54. > :10:55.digging through rubble for survivors of powerful tornadoes that have
:10:56. > :10:56.ripped through central and southern