20/05/2014 Asia Business Report

off on Sunday. Now on BBC News all the latest business news live from

Singapore. Five Chinese military officials are

charged with stealing US trade secrets through cyber`espionage.

Swiss banking giant Credit Suisse pleads guilty to charges of aiding

American tax invaders. Welcome to Asia Business Report. We start with

the United States which has charged five Chinese officials with

cyber`espionage after they hacked into American systems. The Chinese

state that they are based on fabricated facts. The world of

corporate espionage can seem quite abstract but American authorities

say it has a real impact on the lives of ordinary Americans. I am

joined by an expert, the US attorney for the history of Pennsylvania.

What impact does it have on the lives of ordinary people? It has a

real and painful impact on other people. I come from Pittsburgh which

is a steel town and the cradle of American industry. It should be

obvious when steel companies invest huge amounts of money into research

and development in an increasingly competitive global economy and to

them through cyber`espionage, there them through cyber`espionage, there

are real consequences. Plants close, people get laid off and lose their

homes. What proof do you have? We have employed the American criminal

justice system. It is one tool in the war to protect our citizens from

cyber`espionage. These individuals who are affiliated with the military

in China, were using spearfishing to intrude on the victims who were

named in the indictment, letting bugs there and creating backdoors to

begin to other compromised computers to X filtrate compromised data. But

governments around the world have not made the same distinction it

American law a criminal indictment based on evidence that was put

before us. There you have it. Talking about the commercial damage

and the human cost that results from that. The action taken today will

add further strained to the relationship between the United

States and China. Credit Suisse has become the first bank in more than a

decade to admit to crime in the US. It's pleaded guilty to criminal

charges of helping American clients evade taxes and were ordered to pay

a fine of $2.6 billion in American federal court. We spoke to an expert

to get her views on the case. There may be a chilling effect. Between a

bank that has no criminal conviction and one that does, you will go with

one that has the better track record. Stakeholders will decide

that they want to do business a lot following months of an distressed

that it was not. It is possible that the country could fall into a

recession due to the crisis. This region to come through this period.

What our low level grows best in her has come down. We will have made

oath has come out a little bit stronger biggest trading partner now

and rising consumption and investment within the region... The

economy a thing of known as... Once all the eye could see on this island

was green hills and water. Life had hardly changed for generations.

Until this Chinese company arrived. They have been granted a license to

explore half of the island for an iron ore mine. The local villagers

are outraged. They tried to stop the trucks from being unloaded. . This

road is being built by the Mining Company and will go up to where the

mind will be. The villagers say they have no idea where the mine will be

and that it will destroy their island. This woman has lived here

all her life. She does not have much but she knows that she does not want

the mining company here. It will kill the fish. How are we going to

eat? The villagers have filed a lawsuit against the company and they

won but that law has expired and the company has now secured a new

permit. TRANSLATION: Of course the mining operation will destroy the

land. We will make it better. We know how to do it. Despite concerns,

the local ministry defended the government's decision. What we're

trying to do is determine which activity can generate the maximum

benefit for local people first. I believe that mining activities will

give them a good choice to enhance the quality of life. Does sound like

empty promises for these villagers. They feel powerless in the face of

development. They are worried about their way of life vanishing. And

that After months of political unrest of the Thailand army declares

military