23/06/2014

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:00:00. > :00:00.nearby. She was stabbed 16 times as she walked along a footpath in

:00:00. > :00:00.Colchester last Tuesday. Now it is time for all the latest business

:00:00. > :00:19.news. The race to be Indonesia's

:00:20. > :00:24.ex`president heats up. Will the stronger economic candidate win the

:00:25. > :00:28.vote? India facing severe power shortages, blackouts in packed in

:00:29. > :00:39.many of its factories. `` impacting many. Welcome to Asia Business

:00:40. > :00:45.Report. Election day in Indonesia is storing close`up, and polls suggest

:00:46. > :00:48.that a largely one`sided race has turned into genuine competition.

:00:49. > :00:57.Indonesians had another opportunity to see the two main presidential

:00:58. > :01:04.candidates in action last night. The two men debated the major issues

:01:05. > :01:09.facing the country. What would each candidate to four Indonesia's

:01:10. > :01:15.economy? Their policies are quite similar if you look at their

:01:16. > :01:20.agendas. One is a bit ahead because he has proved his governance record

:01:21. > :01:27.before in Jakarta. The only major sort of difference, when it comes to

:01:28. > :01:36.subsidy reform. One will do it, one will cut subsidies. But either

:01:37. > :01:41.government, when they come to power, they will have to do some level of

:01:42. > :01:48.subsidies. We know that Indonesia's economy drew `` grew at its was

:01:49. > :01:54.paced since 2009. Both will be under pressure to perform. What can they

:01:55. > :01:59.do? When you come to power, the monetary tightening will have to

:02:00. > :02:08.continue. They need to rebalance the economy towards a bit less domestic

:02:09. > :02:13.manned and infrastructure. Wendy's two candidates come to power, the

:02:14. > :02:16.best thing they can do is to fast track some of the infrastructure

:02:17. > :02:22.projects that are stuck. Manufacturing growth has been

:02:23. > :02:27.lacking. India is facing severe power

:02:28. > :02:31.shortages which becomes acute because of increased demand during

:02:32. > :02:35.the summer months. Ready businesses in the capital have an asked to make

:02:36. > :02:39.do without power for a few hours a day. Factories and many other parts

:02:40. > :02:48.of India have to tackle electricity cuts.

:02:49. > :02:55.Bright lights and air`conditioned comfort does not come cheap. At this

:02:56. > :02:58.upscale shopping more, like all the others in Delhi, it has no

:02:59. > :03:04.electricity supply after ten o'clock at night. The regular power outage

:03:05. > :03:12.is a planned move by the government to reduce the pressure on the

:03:13. > :03:17.creaking power grids. So this is what they rely on, a network of

:03:18. > :03:20.diesel powered generators that keep them running. The head of the

:03:21. > :03:27.operations as they have to store over 60,000 litres of diesel to fuel

:03:28. > :03:34.just the backups. This is the economy at work, 24/7. We cannot

:03:35. > :03:38.afford to have a power cut. Power is the fundamental for any economic

:03:39. > :03:43.element. India has frequent power cuts because demand often outstrips

:03:44. > :03:48.supply, causing grids such as this one to fail. But the bigger problem

:03:49. > :03:51.is that more than 300 million people across the country lacked access to

:03:52. > :03:56.electricity. They are not even connect to grids of any kind. It

:03:57. > :04:03.makes consumption of electricity among the lowest in the world. In

:04:04. > :04:09.spite of the low consumption, India is still unable to power its

:04:10. > :04:14.industry. Factory owners say that it hurts their global competitiveness.

:04:15. > :04:20.If you look at countries such as China and others, we are competing

:04:21. > :04:27.with them. Their electricity is 24/7. If you look at us, we have to

:04:28. > :04:33.rely on... It does impact their lot on our costings. Our buyers do not

:04:34. > :04:36.understand that. Coal `based power plants generate 70% of India's

:04:37. > :04:44.electricity. There is sufficient domestic coal, the country's real

:04:45. > :04:48.system cannot support it from the far`flung mines are fast enough,

:04:49. > :04:52.leaving power producers with a shortage. As India's economy

:04:53. > :05:01.expands, the shortfall will only increase. The last few years, there

:05:02. > :05:08.has been a slump. The demand has been moderated. As soon as it picks

:05:09. > :05:11.up, you will see shortages again. Unless urgent `` urgent action is

:05:12. > :05:18.taken, it could stifle India's growth and business.

:05:19. > :05:22.In other business news, China's manufacturing activity picked up

:05:23. > :05:31.pace in June, according to a preliminary survey. The purchasing

:05:32. > :05:38.index rose to 50.8, from 49.4. The first time since December that the

:05:39. > :05:43.Reading has been above 50. The indicator is a key part of the

:05:44. > :05:48.sector's health, a reading above 50 means expansion. A Chinese company

:05:49. > :05:54.has pulled out of paramount's upcoming Transformers movie. It was

:05:55. > :05:58.ending its sponsorship and has demanded that its locals and

:05:59. > :06:03.properties be edited out of the film. The firm has also asked China

:06:04. > :06:07.to suspend screenings of the blockbuster. The movie is scheduled

:06:08. > :06:11.for worldwide release this Friday. In a country famous for its love of

:06:12. > :06:19.football, a combination of match watching and work does not really

:06:20. > :06:23.go. Retailers and businesses are closing early to watch the games.

:06:24. > :06:27.Cities are coming to a standstill. What effect does it have on an

:06:28. > :06:33.economy that is already slowing down?

:06:34. > :06:37.When the Brazilian team is playing, traffic ahead of the game is not

:06:38. > :06:43.pretty. Everyone wants to get home to watch the match. For those who

:06:44. > :06:47.cannot make it, businesses are still making time for football. This past

:06:48. > :06:52.a shop closes for each game. Employees get to watch the match

:06:53. > :06:57.inside. It is a month that has its challenges. TRANSLATION: With banks

:06:58. > :07:02.and other businesses, it is just like a public holiday. They close

:07:03. > :07:07.and do not reopen after the match. If you leave it too late to pay a

:07:08. > :07:14.bill, you will struggle. It as the game kicks off, Brazilians clearly

:07:15. > :07:17.have their priorities. Sao Paulo is Brazil's financial capital and its

:07:18. > :07:21.biggest city. I am on a commercial Street that is normally packed and

:07:22. > :07:29.it is rush`hour. But all the shops are shut. Business is taking a back

:07:30. > :07:33.seat to football. While Brazilians are taking the opportunity to enjoy

:07:34. > :07:38.the tournament, what effect does it have on the economy that grew at a

:07:39. > :07:42.0.2% in the first three months of this year? People have been very

:07:43. > :07:48.negative about Brazil's economic prospects in the run`up to the World

:07:49. > :07:51.Cup. People are excited about the country again. The confidence is

:07:52. > :08:00.gradually improving, as the tournament is evolving and

:08:01. > :08:05.everything is right. So it will help a little bit. For Bruno and his

:08:06. > :08:09.pastor company, at least demand for takeaway is holding up. That keeps

:08:10. > :08:16.him and his workers happy, even if their team does not always score

:08:17. > :08:19.winning goal. There is very little doubt about the

:08:20. > :08:25.economic impact of major sporting events. Payments firm Visa says that

:08:26. > :08:28.international travellers put $27 million on their credit cards in

:08:29. > :08:37.just the first weekend of the World Cup. Earlier I spoke to the vice

:08:38. > :08:41.president of Visa. There are ten countries that make up most of it.

:08:42. > :08:47.It is the countries that you would expect, the US, UK, France, Mexico.

:08:48. > :08:52.That is where they are coming from. If you look at the Asia`Pacific

:08:53. > :08:58.numbers, what is interesting, the Australian number, jumping a

:08:59. > :09:02.whopping 600%. We know the Australians have a team in the World

:09:03. > :09:10.Cup. You think that it comes down to the increase from countries who have

:09:11. > :09:15.a team represented? Number one, soccer is a world sport. People

:09:16. > :09:20.everywhere are excited about it. Everyone is into it. In Asia,

:09:21. > :09:25.Australia is seeing a big jump. We are also seeing it from places like

:09:26. > :09:32.New Zealand, a 90% jump from New Zealand. 70% from Singapore. I think

:09:33. > :09:38.it is a universal thing. Asians have caught the fever. If you take a look

:09:39. > :09:43.at the spending, it is a big boost to Brazil's economy. People spending

:09:44. > :09:48.more. All of it eventually is pretty much offset by the cost of hosting

:09:49. > :09:53.the event. What is the determining factor in a country hosting an event

:09:54. > :09:57.like this? How much do they gain out of it? There are many different

:09:58. > :10:02.reasons why a country may choose to host a sporting event, such as the

:10:03. > :10:07.World Cup or the Olympics. They do tend to be expensive. But at least

:10:08. > :10:14.as it relates to the benefits of tourists coming in, 600,000 expected

:10:15. > :10:21.to come into Brazil. Over four days, $27 million. Does help the

:10:22. > :10:25.local economy. Where we are seeing the spending, hotels, of course,

:10:26. > :10:31.restaurants and other merchants. It does help the local economy. That is

:10:32. > :10:44.it for this edition of Asia Business Report.

:10:45. > :10:51.This is BBC News. The headlines: ISIS fighters had taken full control

:10:52. > :10:52.of Iraq's borders with Syria and Jordan. They have also seized