14/07/2014 Asia Business Report

year. Now on BBC News, all the latest

business news live from Singapore. Carbon taxe repeal. Will Australia

abolish the tax when the law goes back to Parliament this week? Brazil

is one of the world's must closed economies and exporters are hoping

to move over to China and India. Thank you to joining us. Before we

go to Australia, some news. Rossi tutors in China have filed charges

against British investigator Peter Humphrey and his wife after the

couple were detained for work they did for the reduced drugmaker

GlaxoSmithKline `` prosecutors. The case against the couple suspected of

illegally obtaining private information has been passed on to a

court in Shanghai for trial. Meanwhile, it Carbon taxes repeal.

`` is a big tax that affects the business in Australia, but it is in

a bit of trouble. The controversial tax on carbon

pollution was originally aimed at tackling the effects of carbon

change and was introduced in July 2012. It has forced the carbon

producers to pay to pollute. The PM promised to get rid of the tax and

is doing his best to have it scrapped. The legislation is

expected to pass the upper has next week, but is facing tough opposition

and is going back to Parliament today. Our correspondent explains.

Tony Abbott is on a mission to abolish the carbon tax. He has had

this controversial levy in his sights since it was introduced under

a Labour government two years ago. He says it is the economic hand

brake on economic activity and that it will cost families in terms

higher power bills and will damage confidence in the economy. That is

why he is so keen to repeal the tax. But we have seen that there has been

a bit of a roadblock in terms of opposition in the upper house of

Parliament. Who will be the winners and losers if the legislation and

tax is repealed? You have to remember that the tax was introduced

to put a levy on hundreds of Australia's big polluters who are

now forced to pay for permits for over consumption of greenhouse

gases. Energy bills have gone up in turn. The government insists that

household energy bills will come down. If it goes through and also

that associated costs for business will as well, but detractors of the

government of Tony Abbott say that the carbon tax is essential in terms

of safeguarding the action against climate change in this country. Even

foreign politicians as far away as Britain believe that the government

is being reckless in getting rid of the tax. The government believes

that, after a hitch in Parliament last week, it will be repealed this

week. The fate of the oldest department

store in Australia, David Jones, hangs in the balance as to whether a

takeover by a local grocery store, Woolworths, will go ahead. David

Jones expects support from minority shareholders when they beat today.

The company is yet to hear from prominent Australian businessman

Solomon Lew who owns a 10% stake in the company. Hony Capital is by

eating pizza express. $1.5 billion. Pizza Express has 4.500 businesses

in the UK. It is said to be the biggest deal in the European

restaurant sector over the past five years. Fresh from the World Cup

final, leaders from the grip of emerging economies, known as BRICS,

are meeting in Brazil. The head of Russia, China, India, South Africa

and Brazil will gather in Fortaleza for the sixth BRICS summit. An

announcement is expected at a financial institution aimed at

challenging the likes of the World Bank. Economically, what ties the

countries together? Katie Watson reports. This is just one of the 800

million pairs of shoes Brazil produces each year. As the

third`largest footwear maker in the world, it is potentially lucrative

industry for resilient exports. This company produces 9 million pairs of

shoes each year `` Brazilian. More than 90% of the shoes they make

remain in Brazil or wider South America. It is one of the world's

most closed economies. Exports account for 13% of GDP. BRICS peers

double that in exports. China is Brazil's biggest trading partner. It

is a threat in other industries. When exports is one of the main

competitors with China because no one can produce shoes with the

prices of China. In the same time, it is a big opportunity, considering

the size of the market. We would be crazy to not look at China as a

market for us but the realisation that China has potential has led to

some people calling Brazil protectionist, an accusation that is

believed to be unfair. TRANSLATION: Brazil is going through a stage in

its development where it needs to protect its country because it is

the path to development. The analysis is not constructive. We

don't believe it is true the challenge for Brazil is that it is a

different economy to China and has high labour costs. The differences

can be a good thing. The middle class is growing and demand is high.

You have to find a niche in between low`cost production and high cost

production. In this medium stage, we can be competitive. That is what

this company is doing. At the moment, 2% of its exports go to

Asia. It is trying to focus on China and India also. If it is

successful, it will be a step in the right direction.

New data in Singapore shows the economy contracted during the April`

June period. It is for the first time in 7/4 following a drop in

manufacturing. Singapore's gross domestic product shrank by 0.8%. It

is much weaker than economistss expected. Shinzo Abe has renewed his

promise to create a better working environment for women, saying that

their power is crucial to the success of the economy. This follows

an embarrassing episode last month when a male lawmaker tackled a

female colleague with sexist taunts. Women and foreign workers are key to

the government's long`term growth strategy unveiled last month.

Chinese internet Giant Ali Baba raises its valuation to $130

billion, up from $116 billion in its early submission. The company gave

details about its decision in 2011 to controversially cut off its

payment service. This comes weeks after Ali Baba's anticipated listing

on the New York Stock Exchange. Continuing with the theme of IPOs. A

recent report by Ernst Young shows that globally there has been picked

in activity. In the Asia`Pacific, there were more share sales in the

first half of 2014 than in any other region. Four of the 20 largest

offerings took place on Asian exchanges in Hong Kong and Tokyo. I

spoke with Ernst and Young and asked what had been driving this rise in

public offering especially in Asia. The markets have been good. We have

seen positive upward tone in the market and low volatility.

Unprecedented low volatility since the financial crisis. It has been a

good market place for IPOs. A lot of demand is out there. A lot of

supply. China came back online during the half`year and that

contributed 55 API is in the first half. We will see more in future

that white `` IPOs. If we look at the growth forecast from the World

Bank, the IMF and others, they have been downgrading economic growth and

have been describing key geopolitical issues in the region.

Why has this not deterred companies from going public? Everyone wants to

get ahead of the storm. If the market is looking good long`term but

they look good at the moment, people make hay while there is sunshine. We

have seen that going on. We have seen venture capital exits in the US

and in this region and Australia. We have invented capital exits, where

people recognise the chance to get their money out quite which sectors

have been keen on these stock listings Hasbro Tech, tech and

attack. `` and tech. Financials, more energy, coming from Australia

and elsewhere. And, increasingly, healthcare. It is a new theme. We

saw 75 healthcare IPOs in the US alone. A lot of healthcare activity.

We will see a lot or healthcare coming in Asia in six months. Let's

have a look at the markets. Asian equities are in positive territory

in mid`morning trade as the eurozone banking jitters afraid. It is

replaced by corporate earnings caution and a raft of economic

events including testimony from Janet Yellen. Japan's central bank

meets to discuss monetary policy. Thank you for investing your time

with us. Goodbye for now. I'm Chris Rogers. The top stories

this hour: Germany have beaten Argentina in Rio to claim their

fourth World Cup. Just a single goal in extra time from