:00:00. > :00:17.delays for passengers. Now on BBC News all the latest business news
:00:18. > :00:22.live from Singapore. Budget day for India. Will the new
:00:23. > :00:29.government deliver on promises to reform the economy? Both candidates
:00:30. > :00:36.claim victory at Indonesia's presidential election with official
:00:37. > :00:43.results due in two weeks. Welcome to Asia Business Report. India's new
:00:44. > :00:49.government will be in the spotlight later today when it reveals its
:00:50. > :00:51.first budget. With high inflation slowing growth and an implement
:00:52. > :00:59.worries across the country, or will be a lot to look out for. We are
:01:00. > :01:05.joined by a correspondent in Delhi. Some are calling this the budget of
:01:06. > :01:09.hope and others say it is the most crucial since 1991. What are the
:01:10. > :01:18.most salient features of this budget? I am actually standing right
:01:19. > :01:26.in front of the parliament building and that is where Finance Minister
:01:27. > :01:29.`` the Finance Minister will be delivering his budget today. It is
:01:30. > :01:33.the first of the Narendra Modi government and that is why there is
:01:34. > :01:38.a much expectation as the kind of majority they won and the elections
:01:39. > :01:42.indicates the changes. Analysts believe that because of that
:01:43. > :01:46.majority, they have the mandate to make tough decisions to fix the
:01:47. > :01:51.economy because they may not based too much political opposition.
:01:52. > :01:54.They're expecting bad decisions that might be unpopular like reducing
:01:55. > :01:59.fuel subsidies which means making fuel more expensive for the people
:02:00. > :02:03.of India, things like that which are actually needed to fix the economy
:02:04. > :02:08.might be some of the things we hear today. And that could be the bitter
:02:09. > :02:11.medicine. Narendra Modi is talking about but there could also be a
:02:12. > :02:20.focus on manufacturing infrastructure and tax reforms. That
:02:21. > :02:22.is right. We have been talking to a lot of business leaders in the past
:02:23. > :02:28.few weeks and asking what they expect from the budget. What
:02:29. > :02:31.industry is really looking out for is simply ways in which it can be
:02:32. > :02:37.easier to do business here in India. One of the key things that
:02:38. > :02:41.they want clarity on is the goods and services tax which basically
:02:42. > :02:48.means a single common tax across the whole of India... In some places, if
:02:49. > :02:52.you are running a business, you have to pay as many as 34 taxes and that
:02:53. > :02:57.makes running a business very difficult and cumbersome. But they
:02:58. > :03:04.are looking for is a concrete plan on how this single tax might be
:03:05. > :03:07.implement it. It was proposed a few years ago and the previous
:03:08. > :03:10.government said that they were making moves forward on it but there
:03:11. > :03:17.has been no concrete plan so far and that is what industry will be
:03:18. > :03:24.watching for. Thank you. She will be back for the next bulletin in about
:03:25. > :03:26.an hour. Moving to Southeast Asia and Indonesia is in its tightest
:03:27. > :03:37.election battle for the presidency since the end of egalitarian rule.
:03:38. > :03:41.The candidates have each claimed victory and the election's final
:03:42. > :03:49.results are not expected for two weeks but quick counts by posters
:03:50. > :03:56.which are considered reliable given one the advantage over the other.
:03:57. > :04:00.Earlier I spoke with a pollster. Certainty is what foreign investors
:04:01. > :04:06.are looking for. They're looking for a smooth transition from one
:04:07. > :04:10.administration to the next. The previous it ministration was not
:04:11. > :04:19.very kind in terms of its erratic policymaking in its twilight moms.
:04:20. > :04:24.`` months. They want something more pro`business. The concern amongst
:04:25. > :04:28.investors will be this disputed result which could push out a smooth
:04:29. > :04:34.transition and could upset the timetable. Indeed coming it could
:04:35. > :04:38.upset the timetable for economic reforms going forward because if the
:04:39. > :04:42.results are not accepted by either candidate, it could lead to a
:04:43. > :04:47.further cloud of uncertainty on the economy which has been slowing down
:04:48. > :04:53.since last year. Exactly. I think the post watchers at Indonesia were
:04:54. > :04:58.looking forward to analyse thing who is going to populate the economic
:04:59. > :05:03.ministries inside the next government. That trading should be
:05:04. > :05:06.starting now rather than hustling over who should actually be the
:05:07. > :05:10.president because those positions and the individuals and interest
:05:11. > :05:16.groups who surround them are really going to set the chart for the next
:05:17. > :05:22.Indonesian administration in terms of economic reform. Of course, your
:05:23. > :05:27.clients want to find out if this is a time to stay on or to go to the
:05:28. > :05:36.sidelines or move out of the country? There have been a lot of
:05:37. > :05:39.speculation about the position on economic nationalism and a more
:05:40. > :05:44.technocratic approach from the other candidate. I don't think there is
:05:45. > :05:53.not much between them in all honesty. If we do get one
:05:54. > :05:56.president, one has surround themselves with the country's vested
:05:57. > :06:04.interest which will have a drag on reform but with the other, the party
:06:05. > :06:11.is supporting him and they're quite heavily populated with their own key
:06:12. > :06:20.sectors for foreign investors like mining and will resort to extraction
:06:21. > :06:26.`` oil resource extraction, and that will have an impact on investment.
:06:27. > :06:30.China will be offering fresh clues on how the country is faring
:06:31. > :06:34.economically. Experts are hoping for improvement in imports and exports
:06:35. > :06:40.with a vast amount of foreign trade conducted in US dollars there
:06:41. > :06:46.although next year, it is estimated that 30% of its trade will be
:06:47. > :06:49.carried out in its own currency. Earlier I spoke with a banker from
:06:50. > :06:54.HSBC and asked him what this means for convertibility of currency in
:06:55. > :06:59.terms of the ease with which a country's currency can be converted
:07:00. > :07:08.into another. Our prediction is that it will be fully convertible in
:07:09. > :07:12.roughly 2017. The nature of it becoming convertible is one of the
:07:13. > :07:17.factors that is driving an increase in trade settlement. What difference
:07:18. > :07:23.will that mean for China's trade figures? The issue for suppliers and
:07:24. > :07:27.buyers that trade with China is a that, by adopting their currency, it
:07:28. > :07:31.makes it easier for suppliers or buyers to build a long`term
:07:32. > :07:36.sustainable relationships with their counterparts and what our survey has
:07:37. > :07:39.said is that of companies surveyed, 47% believe there is a financial
:07:40. > :07:47.benefit in trading with that currency. Such as price discounts
:07:48. > :07:51.and availability. 49% also believe there is a relationship benefit in
:07:52. > :07:57.using it as the trade currency as opposed to an alternative currency.
:07:58. > :08:03.What do they mean by that? Making it easier for them to win business in
:08:04. > :08:06.China and seeing themselves as being differentiated from other buyers or
:08:07. > :08:10.suppliers in their industry who are trying to trade with China and maybe
:08:11. > :08:17.only trade in the euro or the US dollar. Cities across Asia are
:08:18. > :08:21.facing the largest sustained population migration in human
:08:22. > :08:24.history. City leaders are using technology to tackle challenges like
:08:25. > :08:36.budget cuts, limited natural resources, and infrastructure that
:08:37. > :08:39.is outdated. We spoke to someone about using Microsoft technology to
:08:40. > :08:46.provide safer cities. As we look at cloud coming mobile, and things like
:08:47. > :08:50.that, their new things that cities can do for infrastructure for the
:08:51. > :08:54.future and it is about putting people first and providing solutions
:08:55. > :08:57.that create jobs and more sustainable cities. You have some
:08:58. > :09:04.examples about applying technology to real`life situations? We have
:09:05. > :09:09.many. One of them comes around public safety. We have a fantastic
:09:10. > :09:14.partner called Signal that is based in New Zealand and it is looking at
:09:15. > :09:17.social media feeds in terms of events that are happening and having
:09:18. > :09:23.a constant pulse on what is happening in the city vote for
:09:24. > :09:28.emergency responders and also for determining how happy the city is in
:09:29. > :09:31.any given day. It can be used in public safety and other applications
:09:32. > :09:35.because social media is having a dramatic impact on how governments
:09:36. > :09:39.create a sustainable and exciting city. It is not just public safety
:09:40. > :09:45.that transport is also an issue. What is really exciting in this era
:09:46. > :09:57.of big data, we are providing opportunities to unleash data in new
:09:58. > :10:05.ways and in Kathmandu, we held an creating contest, and through this
:10:06. > :10:11.technology, you can see within on your mobile device, where the
:10:12. > :10:17.transportation stops or if a bust line is delayed. It is important to
:10:18. > :10:29.know if your timelines will be Matt, if you are a parent meeting your
:10:30. > :10:33.child on the bus stop `` delayed. It will create new opportunities for
:10:34. > :10:42.cities and opportunities for jobs. Thank you so much for investing your
:10:43. > :10:52.time with us. `` app`creating contest. 'm Mike Embley. The top
:10:53. > :10:54.stories this hour. Gaza's deadly conflict continues to escalate, a
:10:55. > :10:55.second day of