:00:00. > :00:00.it's raised nearly ?24 billion in additional tax for the year to the
:00:00. > :00:00.end of March as a result of a crackdown on tax avoidance. It is
:00:00. > :00:07.the highest amount since records began.
:00:08. > :00:15.Now on BBC News all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:16. > :00:23.Canon Thailand's military leaders help put to write the nation 's
:00:24. > :00:33.economic mistakes? And, well selling game consoles turn Sony 's fortunes
:00:34. > :00:37.around? Thank you for watching Asia Business Report on BBC World News.
:00:38. > :00:42.Thailand's leaders have been quick to say they will focus on fixing the
:00:43. > :00:45.country 's economic problems. They have promised to find ways to boost
:00:46. > :00:49.growth and are committed to paying farmers owed money under the
:00:50. > :00:56.previous government's failed rice subsidy scheme. Our correspondent
:00:57. > :01:01.has more. This is a measure that could buy Thailand's new military
:01:02. > :01:04.leader 's popularity. The ousted government's inability to pay out
:01:05. > :01:11.farmers who had pledged their crops was causing hardship. There were
:01:12. > :01:14.many reasons for the failure, the government blamed disruption by
:01:15. > :01:18.anti`government street protestss which occupied several ministries.
:01:19. > :01:24.Its limited mandate once Parliament was dissolved last December.
:01:25. > :01:30.Protesters argue the scheme was corrupt and too generous to be
:01:31. > :01:34.affordable. The general is using the sweeping powers he has to borrow
:01:35. > :01:38.around $1.5 billion from the banks to pay out standing debts to
:01:39. > :01:45.farmers. That will provide some immediate relief. With the system of
:01:46. > :01:52.supporting rice prices, now abandoned, many of Thailand's
:01:53. > :01:58.farmers will face tough times soon. Perhaps the military will revive it,
:01:59. > :02:00.in which case they will have to design improvement to the old scheme
:02:01. > :02:08.at a time when they will confront many other complex economic
:02:09. > :02:09.challenges. With the ongoing political
:02:10. > :02:13.uncertainty in Thailand it would seem an unusual time for businesses
:02:14. > :02:19.to expand into the country. That is exactly what one of Australia's top
:02:20. > :02:22.four banks is doing, ANZ has been granted the right to set up an
:02:23. > :02:27.affiliate in Thailand, meaning it can open up to 20 branches and it is
:02:28. > :02:32.a step closer to getting a full banking licence. Despite the
:02:33. > :02:35.turmoil, ANZ points to the size of the economy and its role as a
:02:36. > :02:40.regional manufacturing centre as reasons for wanting to operate.
:02:41. > :02:46.Earlier, I asked an economist if the move might be bad timing. It seems
:02:47. > :02:50.unusual but what ANZ has been doing for the past decade is expanding
:02:51. > :02:58.across Asia. This is a well thought out strategy. ANZ isn't targeting
:02:59. > :03:04.retail market but it is creating a web of financial services that
:03:05. > :03:10.generate the income from an increase in transactions are out Asia.
:03:11. > :03:18.Thailand is a major manufacturing hub. It is important to the strategy
:03:19. > :03:22.and it is looking to the long`term. Elections in Europe have resulted in
:03:23. > :03:25.games for anti` EU and anti` established political parties.
:03:26. > :03:30.Groups supporting the EU retain the majority of seats. Our correspondent
:03:31. > :03:35.looks at some of the implications of the vote.
:03:36. > :03:41.At a national level, there were striking results. In France, it was
:03:42. > :03:45.the right they claim victory with the anti` EU, anti`immigration
:03:46. > :03:49.national front led by Marine Le Pen taking most of the votes. In Greece,
:03:50. > :04:00.it was Syriza on the left, making strong gains. His party isn't anti`
:04:01. > :04:03.EU but anti` austerity. The economic background was Europe's financial
:04:04. > :04:08.crisis and the recession it caused. For the eurozone as a whole, the
:04:09. > :04:13.downturn is over. There has been a year`long recovery. It hasn't been
:04:14. > :04:16.convincing. Some economies haven't shown sustained growth with Italy in
:04:17. > :04:23.particular contracting once again according to recent data. Many have
:04:24. > :04:27.been angered by the EU's response to the crisis. Across Europe,
:04:28. > :04:29.governments have sought to reverse the rise in their borrowing needs by
:04:30. > :04:35.cutting spending and increasing taxes. There were protests on the
:04:36. > :04:41.street and come election time in the polling booths also. Will this
:04:42. > :04:46.setback for the EU's political mainstream make a difference to
:04:47. > :04:51.economic policy? It is true that these anti` euro and anti` European
:04:52. > :04:57.union parties have a higher share in the upcoming European Parliament but
:04:58. > :05:00.they will still be a minority. I don't think they can influence in a
:05:01. > :05:07.decisive way policy`making in the European Parliament. For many other
:05:08. > :05:12.parties that made gains, immigration is a big issue. But also they may
:05:13. > :05:19.struggle to make any impact on the EU's policy for movement Europe.
:05:20. > :05:24.Looking ahead, government finances and perhaps also public attitudes to
:05:25. > :05:28.migration will depend to a extent of the eurozone's economic recovery.
:05:29. > :05:30.The better it performs, the left leaders will feel the need for
:05:31. > :05:36.further austerity to reduce government borrowing. So far,
:05:37. > :05:40.however, the recovery has been weak and erratic and that has contributed
:05:41. > :05:45.to the political events of the EU must now deal with.
:05:46. > :05:51.In other news making headlines: China plans to make more than 6
:05:52. > :05:55.million vehicles off the roads to improve air quality. It emerges as a
:05:56. > :05:58.priority for the mainland 's leaders. It is part of the goal to
:05:59. > :06:03.cut emissions over the next two years. The number of vehicles off
:06:04. > :06:11.the roads will be reduced to 5 million x 2015. The right wing
:06:12. > :06:16.leader, Narendra Modi, lifted Indian shares as the psychologically
:06:17. > :06:20.important 25,000 mark. Investors that he will be able to unleash
:06:21. > :06:25.economic reforms. Analysts said the rise in the Bombay index shows that
:06:26. > :06:32.record gains made on election day won't bubble. Apple requests a
:06:33. > :06:37.retrial after a Californian jury ordered Samsung Electronics to pay
:06:38. > :06:42.the company $119 million in damages for infringing two of its patents.
:06:43. > :06:46.Apple sought damages of over $2 billion after accusing Samsung of
:06:47. > :06:52.copying five patents including the slide to unlock function. They also
:06:53. > :06:58.filed an injunction to prevent Samsun using the patents it was
:06:59. > :07:01.found to have been infringed. Japan Sony has got ambitions for boosting
:07:02. > :07:05.profit in the latest news from China could be a clue to how they will get
:07:06. > :07:10.there. They have signed a partnership to set up a PlayStation
:07:11. > :07:16.facility in China. The deal gives Sony access to 500 million gamers.
:07:17. > :07:24.As Beijing lifts the ban on gaming consoles, how will the manufacturers
:07:25. > :07:29.respond? Our correspondent has more. The big announcement is that Sony 's
:07:30. > :07:32.PlayStation will be made available in China although if you come to
:07:33. > :07:38.this electronic store here in the capital of Beijing you can already
:07:39. > :07:41.get your hands on one of them. 14 years, astonishingly, games consoles
:07:42. > :07:47.were banned here. Authorities were worried that they would corrupt the
:07:48. > :07:52.minds of the nation youth. The irony was that consoles are actually made
:07:53. > :07:56.here in China and shipped to the rest of the world. That changed
:07:57. > :08:00.earlier when authorities announced they would be lifting the ban. Sony
:08:01. > :08:05.is moving in. We have heard Microsoft is also moving in and that
:08:06. > :08:12.the Xbox will also be available. There is one catch, the devices will
:08:13. > :08:17.have to be made in the Shanghai free`trade zone and also the
:08:18. > :08:22.companies think is worth it. The gaming industry has increased by 40%
:08:23. > :08:30.and is worth more than $10 billion. That gives you some idea of why the
:08:31. > :08:36.companies want a slice. Sony is apparently counting on its gaming
:08:37. > :08:40.councils for growth. `` consoles. The TV business, the mobile
:08:41. > :08:48.business, the laptop business, they aren't doing well for Sony so they
:08:49. > :08:54.as per the CEO's moves, they are looking at the gaming image. It is
:08:55. > :08:58.doing well for Sony. The market is dominated by PCs, mobiles and online
:08:59. > :09:02.games and most of these are free and much cheaper than buying a Sony game
:09:03. > :09:12.console. If you look at the game console industry, they are more
:09:13. > :09:15.addictive, so once they get into it, the average spending per game is
:09:16. > :09:19.higher than mobile users. If you look at the profile needs of
:09:20. > :09:26.China's gaming industry, 60% are at online gamers. That is what Sony
:09:27. > :09:34.will target. The bolt will move to consoles. Beijing has lifted a ban
:09:35. > :09:37.on gaming consoles. `` of the bulk. They will be able to distribute and
:09:38. > :09:41.sell, which they haven't been able to do in the past. There will be
:09:42. > :09:46.pricing competition here. Microsoft has announced they have the best TV
:09:47. > :09:52.collaboration and they will start releasing them in September. Sony
:09:53. > :09:55.and Microsoft have a window but I am sure Chinese players will get into
:09:56. > :10:00.the market and manufacturing as well. There will be huge pressure.
:10:01. > :10:08.Sony and Microsoft will have to be cognisant of the fact that they
:10:09. > :10:16.can't look to the pricing market in China the same as they do elsewhere.
:10:17. > :10:21.Lower in early Tuesday trade after US and British markets closed for
:10:22. > :10:27.the holidays. Japan in positive territory. Hong Kong, South Korea
:10:28. > :10:31.and Australia are slightly lower. Thank you for investing your time
:10:32. > :10:39.with us. I am Rico Hizon. Sport Today is up next. I am Mike Embley
:10:40. > :10:44.in London with the main news stories. Ukrainian troops have
:10:45. > :10:46.launched an assault on an airport seized by pro`Russian fighters, as
:10:47. > :10:49.the country's new president offers to negotiate with Moscow to end the
:10:50. > :10:50.crisis. The Nigerian military claims