19/05/2014 Asia Business Report


19/05/2014

Similar Content

Browse content similar to 19/05/2014. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!

Transcript


LineFromTo

have now called off a rescue operation. Now on BBC News all the

:00:00.:00:00.

latest business news live from Singapore. China evacuate thousands

:00:00.:00:17.

of its citizens from Vietnam as rising territorial tensions sparked

:00:18.:00:23.

protest. Talks are set to continue in Singapore on the ambitious

:00:24.:00:26.

transpacific partnership trade deal. Hello and welcome to Asia

:00:27.:00:41.

Business Report. We start with Vietnam this morning where a wave of

:00:42.:00:48.

anti` Chinese protests are straining ties. Rising tensions after China

:00:49.:00:55.

moved to drill in the South China seas in contested areas. Vietnamese

:00:56.:01:06.

mobs looted and torched parts. We have been speaking to our

:01:07.:01:13.

correspondent. Tensions have calmed down. It is a precautionary measure

:01:14.:01:18.

now. I have talked to many in the city and generally, people are going

:01:19.:01:25.

about their business as usual. There are sporadic cases where there is

:01:26.:01:34.

possible discrimination. We know that the government of Vietnam has

:01:35.:01:38.

been urging protesters to calm down but what are they doing in terms of

:01:39.:01:43.

reaching out and talking to their Chinese counterparts and how much

:01:44.:01:46.

could something like this impact business relations in the

:01:47.:01:52.

long`term? Vietnam has to maintain a careful balance. It is certainly

:01:53.:01:57.

reaching out to China and reassuring them that they are keeping things

:01:58.:02:00.

under control here but at the same time on the day are also demanding

:02:01.:02:07.

that China removes its oil rig from the South China Sea and in terms of

:02:08.:02:14.

business omni` it is important for Vietnam to reassure China that it is

:02:15.:02:20.

OK to reinvest here and they are considering tax`free loans for the

:02:21.:02:24.

businesses that have been damaged. They are trading partners in the

:02:25.:02:33.

multibillion dollar range. Thank you. Acute political unrest in

:02:34.:02:41.

Thailand has seen its economy shrank for the first time in a year. Its

:02:42.:02:46.

growth numbers are set to show how big of an impact the ongoing crisis

:02:47.:02:49.

is having on business and investment. Were casters expect the

:02:50.:03:02.

GDP to shrink by 1.6% `` forecasters. On an annual basis this

:03:03.:03:06.

could be the weakest growth since the devastating floods of 2011. I

:03:07.:03:16.

was speaking to an expert about this, asking whether investors

:03:17.:03:23.

should worry about Thailand's history of unrest. We have had 11

:03:24.:03:33.

military coups in the last few years with the last one being in 2006. We

:03:34.:03:38.

are long overdue for one now and that is one way of looking at it. If

:03:39.:03:44.

there is no stability in the country, the military will step in

:03:45.:03:51.

and take over. In order for a country to function properly, you

:03:52.:03:55.

must have stability and that has not been provided by the government.

:03:56.:03:59.

Having a caretaker government is not going to get it done. What they need

:04:00.:04:07.

to do is put the army into place to provide political stability if it

:04:08.:04:12.

does not come from within and then people will be able to spend money,

:04:13.:04:16.

companies will be able to invest and they will start getting the country

:04:17.:04:21.

going again. So you are saying that a military coup could help the

:04:22.:04:26.

country get going again? It has to. If people cannot go to work because

:04:27.:04:31.

they are too worried about what is happening in the streets, then

:04:32.:04:35.

companies won't invest and political stability will not be provided. In

:04:36.:04:41.

most developing economies that stability is provided by the people

:04:42.:04:45.

themselves but with this the conflict going on between the two

:04:46.:04:50.

sides, it is insurmountable and so the Army make have to come in and

:04:51.:04:57.

rewrite the rules and put in an interim government and have

:04:58.:05:00.

elections again. Then Thailand will be able to grow for the next few

:05:01.:05:08.

years. In other news, a key indicator of business spending in

:05:09.:05:13.

Japan surged to its highest numbers in a number of years. It is

:05:14.:05:19.

significantly higher than it was forecasted to be. This is reportedly

:05:20.:05:32.

due to increased spending in Japan. Pfizer has engaged in its final

:05:33.:05:37.

attempt at talks to merge with AstraZeneca and are prepared to

:05:38.:05:42.

offer several billion dollars after their initial bid was rejected as

:05:43.:05:53.

not high enough. AT is spending a lot of money to increase its

:05:54.:06:01.

presence in the global television market. However, some analysts warn

:06:02.:06:08.

that they may face resistance from investors. Switzerland has

:06:09.:06:16.

established its plan for its highest minimum wage. A pole saw nearly 80%

:06:17.:06:26.

of voters turned the idea down as many small businesses had said that

:06:27.:06:35.

they could not afford it. Ministers for the transpacific partnership our

:06:36.:06:39.

meeting here in Singapore after 20 rounds of talks so far. If passed,

:06:40.:06:50.

it will cover 40% of world trade. While progress is being made on the

:06:51.:06:59.

a final agreement is a way off. What will it take for this trade deal to

:07:00.:07:08.

be completed? We will speak to our correspondent. What will it take for

:07:09.:07:20.

deals to be completed this time? In just under one hour's time, the

:07:21.:07:28.

trade ministers will be meeting for the first ministerial talks since

:07:29.:07:34.

President Obama met the Japanese Prime Minister in April. Marathon

:07:35.:07:37.

discussions were then held on the key sticking points, cars and

:07:38.:07:41.

agriculture. Some say it is not just economic concerns about political

:07:42.:07:45.

issues that are holding up the deal. It is my point of view that

:07:46.:07:51.

all it takes are complicating good progress. It has not been given the

:07:52.:07:56.

fast authority in the United States and the vulnerability of the

:07:57.:08:02.

engagement is significant. The politics in America are approaching

:08:03.:08:06.

midterm elections in November, which means that the president is going to

:08:07.:08:12.

be very sensitive to what it might mean to the voting public. By the

:08:13.:08:18.

same token, the Japanese Prime Minister needs significant political

:08:19.:08:22.

support to press forward with his programme and to try to support that

:08:23.:08:26.

programme, he may not want to take on the constituencies in agriculture

:08:27.:08:35.

and manufacturing. It is not just the United States and Japan that

:08:36.:08:41.

have outstanding issues. Malaysia is worried about the impact on

:08:42.:08:44.

pharmaceutical drugs. Vietnam is worried about its textile

:08:45.:08:49.

producers. New Zealand is worried about its dairy industry. It is hard

:08:50.:08:54.

enough negotiating a deal with one party but with 12, concessions have

:08:55.:09:00.

to be made if the deal is to be finalized by the end of the year. As

:09:01.:09:06.

you say, there are 12 in this pack but China and South Korea are

:09:07.:09:12.

excluded. They want to join. Tell us about that. That is right. South

:09:13.:09:17.

Korea is watching what is happening but they are not part of the talks.

:09:18.:09:21.

The have their own bilateral free trade agreement with the United

:09:22.:09:27.

States. China has been complaining since 2008 that it has been excluded

:09:28.:09:33.

from negotiations. The United States has recently signaled that the door

:09:34.:09:36.

may one day open to China if it is able to meet the high standards that

:09:37.:09:43.

have been set in the agreement. To give you a clue about how important

:09:44.:09:47.

this could be for both sides, an Institute in Washington has said

:09:48.:09:52.

that American exports could increase by 13% if there is some economic

:09:53.:09:59.

cooperation between them and China and that could add an extra $80

:10:00.:10:03.

billion to the American economy each year. Thank you very much. A quick

:10:04.:10:13.

look at the markets now. We are seeing Asian markets with little

:10:14.:10:26.

change at the moment. The markets are treading water as people are

:10:27.:10:35.

waiting for news this week. It is all for this edition. Full.

:10:36.:10:41.

Download Subtitles

SRT

ASS