:00:00. > :00:15.Now on BBC News all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:16. > :00:22.Doing business with China, we will look at Germany's treatise with that
:00:23. > :00:26.world is second largest economy. And the special report on what India's
:00:27. > :00:33.auto industry wants to see from the government's next budget.
:00:34. > :00:42.Welcome to Asia business News. China is Asia's largest economy and
:00:43. > :00:47.Germany is it your's though, perhaps, it is no surprise that
:00:48. > :00:51.business is at the top of the agenda for Angela Merkel's visit to China
:00:52. > :00:55.this week. The delegation includes representatives from some of
:00:56. > :01:01.Germany's leading companies, all looking to secure their fortunes.
:01:02. > :01:07.Our reporter has more. Angela Merkel arrived for her second
:01:08. > :01:10.visit to China, a measure of the week she puts on the relationship.
:01:11. > :01:17.In the south`western city of Chengdu, she toured the Volkswagen
:01:18. > :01:23.factory. 3`D tour is all about trade. China and Germany are the
:01:24. > :01:30.world's champion exporters. China buys machinery and its rising middle
:01:31. > :01:33.class buys German cars. Germany's economy has been kept ticking over
:01:34. > :01:41.by a Chinese orders. Trade is pretty balanced.
:01:42. > :01:50.In the past, Angela Merkel struck a balance between condemning human
:01:51. > :01:54.rights abuses in China but not wanting to earlier nectar leadership
:01:55. > :02:05.too much. It is not clear how strongly she will speak out too much
:02:06. > :02:09.`` alienate the leadership. It is just one province, but with the same
:02:10. > :02:15.population of Germany. That is how important the Chinese market is.
:02:16. > :02:20.German companies tread carefully. They have complained that Chinese
:02:21. > :02:25.companies just copy their ideas. China once glossy, Western consumer
:02:26. > :02:38.goods and the Chinese market is too big for the West to ignore. It is a
:02:39. > :02:44.profitable relationship for both. Angela Merkel began her visit to
:02:45. > :02:50.China, not in Beijing or even Shanghai, not even close. She
:02:51. > :02:55.actually kicked off a trip about 1000 kilometres from either city in
:02:56. > :03:09.Chengdu. Earlier, I spoke to someone from the German chamber of
:03:10. > :03:15.commerce. We have been going on with the go West policy for about one
:03:16. > :03:18.decade and during that time, several new German companies moved into this
:03:19. > :03:26.region. Some were here before but they had quite different time to get
:03:27. > :03:33.into this market in the 1990s. These companies, who are based here now, I
:03:34. > :03:42.getting into a market that is I fire market saturated `` by far. This has
:03:43. > :03:50.become more and more visible to the German side. We, with the Germans
:03:51. > :03:55.Consulates, have provided information over the years we have
:03:56. > :04:01.been here now. It is close to five years. This city is getting more and
:04:02. > :04:07.more into the focus of being a new hub. In spite of the promises that
:04:08. > :04:13.China holds, you heard in the report, concerns about copies and
:04:14. > :04:19.intellectual property with the German intelligence chief warning
:04:20. > :04:25.that more than medium`sized firms were at risk of industrial
:04:26. > :04:30.espionage. How concerned should German companies be by that,
:04:31. > :04:36.particularly in Chengdu? This is not a new concern and the Chinese
:04:37. > :04:40.culture and habit of doing business over the last 30 or 40 years, there
:04:41. > :04:48.is no way to calm down these worries. Of course, from the other
:04:49. > :04:53.point of view, it always depends how and which structure you put up the
:04:54. > :04:57.firm in China. This is why lots of companies still do not move into
:04:58. > :05:05.this region, neither into the western region or others, or they go
:05:06. > :05:11.here with products and not taking out or putting out their key
:05:12. > :05:19.competencies so that they could be copied.
:05:20. > :05:26.Matter is recalling more than 42,000 cars produced in China due to issues
:05:27. > :05:36.over airbags `` Mazda. That company is at the heart of massive recalls.
:05:37. > :05:46.Mazda said the faulty airbag in the front passenger seat may fail to
:05:47. > :05:49.work and even lead to fire. High`level British ministers argue
:05:50. > :05:53.in India this week to meet the country's new Prime Minister.
:05:54. > :05:58.Foreign Secretary William Hague and Mr George Osborne will travel to
:05:59. > :06:04.Mumbai later today for talks with their Indian. The focus will be on
:06:05. > :06:10.strengthening economic ties to link trade between the UK and India. The
:06:11. > :06:14.new Indian government is due to have a busy week because on Thursday it
:06:15. > :06:21.will unveil its first budget after coming to power. Venue finance
:06:22. > :06:28.minister `` the new is expected to announce tax breaks as an incentive
:06:29. > :06:36.for individuals to save more. Our reporter has more.
:06:37. > :06:38.Four hours outside of Mumbai, this is a factory of one of India's
:06:39. > :06:56.Westcarr makers. `` best car makers. However, it is
:06:57. > :07:03.looking to the government. To top its wish list is a simplification of
:07:04. > :07:07.the tax rules. The current taxes we have does not allow us to optimise
:07:08. > :07:13.our other costs and therefore, the current tax system does not allow us
:07:14. > :07:16.to make the right business decision. Once the cars roll off the factory
:07:17. > :07:24.line, independent dealers have to sell them. But, for the last three
:07:25. > :07:30.years, they have been suffering. In the early days, they were as
:07:31. > :07:34.affordable as the two 70 cents a litre. Now it has gone up to over
:07:35. > :07:44.$1. That is the most important factor that affects our business.
:07:45. > :07:47.This man is someone who is a potential customer. Over the last
:07:48. > :07:52.few months, he has been checking out quite a few cars but with banks
:07:53. > :08:01.charging over 10% to borrow money, he hasn't bought one yet. The
:08:02. > :08:05.government was voted to power with a huge mandate and the promise of
:08:06. > :08:08.improving the economy so it is no surprise that expectations are
:08:09. > :08:13.running high as the government prepares to announce its next
:08:14. > :08:21.budget. It aims to please everyone from this business to the man on the
:08:22. > :08:27.street. South East Asia's largest bank hopes
:08:28. > :08:29.to expand, even though its chief executive says uncertainty in the
:08:30. > :08:36.global economy could mean a lower growth or many countries in Asia.
:08:37. > :08:41.Earlier I was told that despite China's slowdown, there are sectors
:08:42. > :08:48.that are seeing headwinds. The property and construction centre is
:08:49. > :08:55.definitely one. Steel, cement, and so on. If you look at the export
:08:56. > :09:02.sector in south China, it is clearly benefiting from Europe's
:09:03. > :09:14.turnaround, so that is doing OK. Some portions of manufacturing are
:09:15. > :09:21.doing OK. So, I do see it. DDS is planning an expansion, to places
:09:22. > :09:26.like Indonesia. What you anticipate from that market? Indonesia has the
:09:27. > :09:33.same advantages that China and India do. A large, young population, and a
:09:34. > :09:37.growing middle class. Indonesia's challenge in the short term is
:09:38. > :09:45.making sure that they can attract enough investment. Savings and
:09:46. > :09:50.investment are critical to Indonesia's economy. In that regard,
:09:51. > :09:56.making sure that the economy is as open and open to business
:09:57. > :10:01.investment. Which of the candidates to you think will be better for your
:10:02. > :10:08.business? I think the markets, as a general theme, would look for
:10:09. > :10:12.somebody who is likely to be less nationalistic and more open. From a
:10:13. > :10:19.market", there is an expectation that the government might be more
:10:20. > :10:30.open to investment ideas. The truth is, the rhetoric in the last month
:10:31. > :10:39.has made it difficult to say. Thank you for watching.
:10:40. > :10:45.You are watching BBC News. The top stories this hour: The Palestinian
:10:46. > :10:48.militant group Hamas says at least six of its fighters have been killed
:10:49. > :10:51.in Israeli air strikes on the Gaza Strip. It follows days of rocket
:10:52. > :10:54.attacks against Israel. US officials have given details of
:10:55. > :10:56.the new security measures they want implemented at some foreign airports
:10:57. > :10:58.which have direct flights to the United