:00:00. > :00:22.Kent. Now on BBC News, all the latest
:00:23. > :00:24.business news live from Singapore. Thailand names and new caretaker
:00:25. > :00:27.Prime Minister. Will it help turn around the country's battered
:00:28. > :00:31.economy? The chiefs from Hong Kong's biggest property developer go
:00:32. > :00:39.on trial. Welcome to Asia Business Report. I'm
:00:40. > :00:47.Rico Hizon. Thailand has a new interim leader. The caretaker Prime
:00:48. > :00:51.Minister. A court has ordered to step down after finding her guilty
:00:52. > :00:57.of abuse of power. This move extends the political crisis, which had led
:00:58. > :01:02.to violent protests and brought the economy to a standstill. Further
:01:03. > :01:05.uncertainty on Thailand's political leadership proposes a threat to
:01:06. > :01:12.future investments. The economy has already seen a slump in tourism and
:01:13. > :01:16.a slowdown in domestic demand. Earlier I asked how the latest
:01:17. > :01:22.developments will be perceived by the international business
:01:23. > :01:27.community. I suspect they will be doing it with a degree of despair.
:01:28. > :01:32.What it means in the immediate term is probably more protests on the
:01:33. > :01:36.streets of Bangkok. It will almost certainly mean for perhaps the next
:01:37. > :01:38.six months a continuation of the government's inability to transact
:01:39. > :01:47.with investors. Everything is on hold. But I suggest they should look
:01:48. > :01:52.deeper, because what happened yesterday was a full`blown judicial
:01:53. > :01:55.coup. That would have been quite catastrophic in terms of the degree
:01:56. > :01:59.of violence and disruption it would have brought to Thailand. You say
:02:00. > :02:04.more protests and instability in the medium term. How should the sisters
:02:05. > :02:09.and investors manage the risks in Thailand? They will have to play a
:02:10. > :02:15.long game. Yesterday we saw the beginning of the end of Thailand's
:02:16. > :02:20.long`running stand`off, the latest round of which began last December.
:02:21. > :02:23.We are seeing signs of a path out of this problem. It might seem negative
:02:24. > :02:31.that Yingluck Shinawatra has been forced out, but what remains is the
:02:32. > :02:34.majority of her Thai government. In the next day or two we will see a
:02:35. > :02:40.decision on whether the July general elections go`ahead. If we see that
:02:41. > :02:47.made, investors should take solace from it. It is a path towards not
:02:48. > :02:51.necessarily a political solution but an accommodation that should see
:02:52. > :03:00.business function much better. In spite of this uncertainty, the
:03:01. > :03:10.political in certainty, has been uncertain. `` uncertainty. It is
:03:11. > :03:15.known for its resilience. This time around, the length of the stand`off
:03:16. > :03:20.has been more damaging to the economy than before. The coup cycles
:03:21. > :03:26.of Thai history have been short and snappy. What we are seeing is
:03:27. > :03:33.effectively the failure of a judicial coup. So, the opposition
:03:34. > :03:39.are going to keep picking away at the saw, which is in their opinion
:03:40. > :03:47.the clan's control of Thai politics. `` the sore. That will niggle at the
:03:48. > :03:50.economy. Hong Kong's biggest ever corruption
:03:51. > :03:57.trial begins today and there are some deep names taking the stand.
:03:58. > :03:59.The city's Brothers, the world's most successful property developers,
:04:00. > :04:04.are being prosecutors, as well as the man who used to be Hong Kong's
:04:05. > :04:09.second most powerful politician, after the Chief Executive. Here are
:04:10. > :04:18.the details. The Kowk Brothers `` Kwok Brothers
:04:19. > :04:21.are the billionaires behind the listed Hong Kong property firm,
:04:22. > :04:30.responsible for some of the largest and most iconic buildings in town,
:04:31. > :04:31.including the IFC. They will face a judge over various charges,
:04:32. > :04:38.including conspiracy to commit misconduct in public office. One of
:04:39. > :04:42.the brothers faces another charge, of supplying false information.
:04:43. > :04:46.Essentially they are accused of bribing the former number two in
:04:47. > :04:52.Hong Kong government over a number of years. He faces eight charges,
:04:53. > :04:58.including misconduct over a 10`year period. The brothers are accused of
:04:59. > :05:06.supplying cash, as well as insecure loans, and providing the use of
:05:07. > :05:14.several flats to Mr Hoy over several years. In `` if convicted, they face
:05:15. > :05:18.several years in prison. They were arrested several years
:05:19. > :05:26.ago. As the case had any info `` had much impact on this is in Hong
:05:27. > :05:31.Kong? They have maintained this has had no bearing on their business.
:05:32. > :05:36.They have brought in a number of outside businesses, including the
:05:37. > :05:38.sons of the two Kwok Brothers. And they have been aggressive in terms
:05:39. > :05:43.of expanding their property business, both in mainland China and
:05:44. > :05:49.also in Hong Kong. But of course we know that their shares fell
:05:50. > :05:55.dramatically just after they were arrested. Two years later, those
:05:56. > :06:02.shares simply haven't recovered. The trial kicks off in about 25
:06:03. > :06:05.minutes, 10am local time. We will spoke to our correspondent again.
:06:06. > :06:11.Also for the latest update on the court proceedings, you can follow us
:06:12. > :06:14.on Twitter. Elsewhere, the Court of Appeal in
:06:15. > :06:20.Vietnam has decided to uphold the death sentences given to immoral to
:06:21. > :06:22.former executives of a state shipping company. They were found
:06:23. > :06:28.guilty of embezzling over $1 million.
:06:29. > :06:32.Japan's Nintendo has booked a four`year loss of $230 million,
:06:33. > :06:47.reversing a profit from the previous year. Famous for its video game
:06:48. > :06:58.consoles, reduced sales in their Wii products were to blame.
:06:59. > :07:04.UK mobile carrier Vodafone has had a tax dispute totalling more than $2
:07:05. > :07:11.billion. Both sides failed to find a solution through negotiations. The
:07:12. > :07:15.dispute `` comes from Vodafone's acquisition of Indian mobile assets
:07:16. > :07:19.into a dozen seven. The Supreme Court of India ruled in 2012 that
:07:20. > :07:21.Vodafone did not have to pay any tax on the deal. But, later that same
:07:22. > :07:24.year, the government changed regulations, allowing it to impose
:07:25. > :07:31.taxation on deals that have already been concluded.
:07:32. > :07:35.Air Asia says its joint venture in India has allowed an operating
:07:36. > :07:38.permit that will allow the airline to launch its services in a highly
:07:39. > :07:45.competitive market where most carriers are losing money. India
:07:46. > :07:50.currently has five national airlines and one regional carrier. Kingfisher
:07:51. > :07:55.Airlines, rounded in 2012, was due to mounting debts. `` grounded. For
:07:56. > :08:02.more on that story and others, please visit our website.
:08:03. > :08:05.Japan and the US have made good progress on trade talks, known as
:08:06. > :08:12.the transpacific partnership. That's according to the Japanese economic
:08:13. > :08:16.policy minister. The man credited with turning around the Japanese
:08:17. > :08:20.economy says he is confident that a deal could be reached soon. The two
:08:21. > :08:24.nations are the biggest economies out of 12 trying to negotiate this
:08:25. > :08:31.trading agreement. On a visit to the UK, he spoke to Alp business
:08:32. > :08:37.correspondent and asked him about the importance of this trade
:08:38. > :08:42.negotiations. `` our. TRANSLATION: For Japan, it is agricultural
:08:43. > :08:47.products. For the US it is automobiles. These are considered to
:08:48. > :08:53.be sensitive items. It doesn't mean it has already concluded. We agreed
:08:54. > :08:58.on an equation, a framework, to reach that conclusion. In a way it
:08:59. > :09:00.could be said as a type of breakthrough. Because if Japan and
:09:01. > :09:04.the US can come to an agreement, the negotiations with other countries
:09:05. > :09:10.will progress significantly. Japan has a mind`boggling amount of debt.
:09:11. > :09:16.The debt... Japan owes more than 2.5 times the amount it creates every
:09:17. > :09:21.year. That is higher than Greece or much higher than other countries. If
:09:22. > :09:24.interest rates around the world start to rise, which many people
:09:25. > :09:27.think they will and in fact in some countries they have already started
:09:28. > :09:31.to do so, is that not a nightmare for Japan? Because of the sheer
:09:32. > :09:35.amount of debt we would have to service? That would eat up all of
:09:36. > :09:39.the government revenue? TRANSLATION: And's long`term debt level, the
:09:40. > :09:46.government debt level, is close to two times GDP. So, if there is an
:09:47. > :09:52.increase in interest rates, this is going to be and in `` a very serious
:09:53. > :09:57.situation for Japan. We need to boost the credibility of the central
:09:58. > :10:00.bank. And we need to present the government's Strong will for fiscal
:10:01. > :10:05.consolidation. We need to create a plan for fiscal consolidation. The
:10:06. > :10:10.government has a strong will for fiscal consolidation and it has also
:10:11. > :10:14.presented its plan. In Europe, a certain country is focused on
:10:15. > :10:17.austerity towards fiscal consolidation and it has failed.
:10:18. > :10:22.Because what you need to do is cut the waste in your fiscal policy and
:10:23. > :10:26.make it efficient. But at the same time you do need a growth strategy
:10:27. > :10:34.to increase revenue. You need a combination. That's what Japan is
:10:35. > :10:37.doing. We now enter this edition of Asia Business Report. Thanks for
:10:38. > :10:43.investing your time with us. `` end this edition.
:10:44. > :10:52.The top stories this hour. As Nigerian police offer a reward for
:10:53. > :10:56.schoolgirls kidnapped by Boko Haram, it has emerged hundreds more
:10:57. > :10:57.have died in another attack by the Islamist militants.
:10:58. > :10:58.Russia says