16/05/2014 Asia Business Report

bid to host a pre`election debate, for the upcoming general election

next year. Now, it is time for Asia Business

Report, hosted by a woman. Countdown in India, with hours to go

up until the election results are out, we go live to more by and hear

from one family about their hopes for a new government `` Mumbai. And,

the search for flight 370 still continues.

Welcome to this Friday edition. After months of expectations and six

weeks of voting, the day has arrived. We will find out the

results of India's election, the biggest honour, with more than

people voting. Our reporter is in central Mumbai, where many people

have woken up to this interesting day. It will be very politically

significant, isn't it? It is. Just down the road from where Ray, ``

where I am, is the stock market. Starting on Friday, the markets have

been soaring in anticipation of the results. I have some of the

financial newspapers today, and that is what they are reflecting. Markets

on edge on the eve of election results. Another one is asking

whether it will be high noon for Narendra Modi, the man who is

expected to be the next PM. His party, the BJP, is expected to win

the highest number of seats. Counting would have just about

started now, it is 8am local time. We have been travelling across the

country during this election, and asking lots of people what has been

a big factor on their mind. They have gone out to cast their votes.

There have been economic issues at the heart of the election, in fact,

I visited a family in Mumbai to ask them what exactly it is they want

from the new government. This family are middle`class family

in Mumbai, and they have all been actively following the election.

Politics has been a topic passionately discussed and hotly

debated in this household. I'm sure you have seen many elections. Have

they all had this level of anticipation among ordinary

citizens? Not at all. I have never seen this kind of enthusiasm any

time before. He runs a small factory on the outskirts of the city.

India's economic slowdown has hit him hard, but he expect the next

government to make it easier. I think things will turn around in

this financial year, with new government policies. That is the

enthusiasm, the expectation that we have. His wife has faced different

struggles. You are the person who runs this house, who buys the food

that is required to feed your family. Have you seen your budget

change over the last year? It has in `` courageously increased. Threefold

or fourfold. It has touched 63 rupees per litre, milk. We have been

miserly in spending. What she wants a government that can at least

stabilise food prices, if not bring them down altogether. But this

election, a lot depends on how youngsters vote. Their son and his

fiancee are both under the age of 25. They are both first`time voters.

I should feel proud when I say that I am from India. Any kind of

business, any kind of company, if it is India based it should not be

looked down upon. Quality should be sure. That depends on an overall

vision of the country. These are very high expectations, so the new

government will be watched closely by families like this, to see if

they can fulfil the promises they made to India's people during their

election campaign. As we saw in that report, you have

been talking to families about what they expect. What about businesses?

What had they been telling you? Polling day is usually a holiday in

India, but counting day isn't, so people will be making their way to

officers, workplaces, to factories. They will have one eye on what the

results are like. There is great anticipation about the BJP, and if

Narendra Modi comes to power. Their main campaign pitch has been that

they are the people who are going to trigger an economic turnaround, and

they will pick up the rate of growth. His economic track record in

the state of Gujarat has been a selling point all through the

speeches he has been making, and many businessmen are buying into it,

and they do think that if he comes to power with a clear majority, with

a clear mandate, so they don't necessarily have to depend on

smaller parties, then perhaps they might be able to do it. That is why

there is great enthusiasm within the business community. Best of luck for

you and your team. It will undoubtedly be a very busy day for

you and a very significant day as well.

To Malaysia now, and its beleaguered airline, which saw its loss widened

by 59% in the first quarter. The numbers come amid falling sales from

China after the still unexplained loss of flight MH370. As the fifth

quarterly net loss, the airline has been struggling with operational

costs and fuel costs. Flight MH370, which went missing with 278 people

on board, is still being searched for over the Indian Ocean. We find

out more about the airline and why it is bracing itself for another

troubling you. Because of competition in the region, and

higher fuel is, and a weekend currency. They also reported a

weakened business in their cargo division. You have to remember that

two thirds of the passengers on board the missing aircraft were

Chinese, and they have been extremely critical, their families

have been extremely critical of how the Malaysian government has been

handling this case. That is as well as Malaysia Airlines, in terms of

how they have been giving out information on the search itself, on

why the plane itself went so missing four hours before they even

initiated the search `` for several hours.

Trade ministers from the Asia`Pacific economic cooperation,

or peck, are gathered in a Chinese coastal city. On the agenda is how

to form closer bonds and trade partnerships in the region. Also,

how to widen the then Bishop of the Trans`Pacific Partnership. Can

progress be made given growing tensions in the region? Earlier, I

spoke with Alan Bollard, the APEC executive director. I spoke to him

about the task that lies ahead. It is hard, but it also put on pressure

to make it work, because trade ministers, when they come here, will

want to talk about economic ties. The strength of a peck is that it is

not really a political negotiation between companies, but a voluntary

relationship between companies `` APEC. We want to ensure that we can

push ahead, guaranteeing growth. That has been done by the

interconnection of economies, not by keeping them apart. Keeping them

altogether, global value chain, that is what we will talk about. Talks

are due to start today, how challenging will it be to make all

of this work was yellow these are complex areas, at what APEC does is

some big things, and a whole lot of quite practical, on the ground

issues. When you are talking about how to make global value chains work

better, they used to be bound together by state trading

organisations. Now, that is different, there is intricate global

value chains that involve thousands and thousands of small to medium

enterprises. There are tensions between different economies, and

that still needs to go ahead. Trade ministers know that they wanted to

continue so they will be focused on that. That is the executive director

of the APEC Secretariat. Fast food workers in the US have joined

counterparts in countries including Indonesia, Japan and Brazil to stage

a global walkout over wages and working conditions. They have

planned protests in 33 countries. General Motors have announced the

recall of 230 million vehicles. The carmaking giant said the recall

would effect the number of different models and would cost about $200

million. We are seeing a lower close that we

saw on Wall Street on Thursday filtering into Asian markets. At the

moment they are all lower, with the Nikkei down considerably, over 240

points. That is mainly due to the strength of the yen. That is

negative for exporters, and they are being sold off at the moment. Thank

you for watching. Our top stories: After five weeks of

voting in India's marathon elections, counting is due to begin

shortly. Families in the Turkish town of Soma had been burying their

dead from the country's worst ever mining accident.