:00:00. > :00:00.blaze. Those are the headlines. Time to go
:00:00. > :00:17.to Singapore and get all the latest business.
:00:18. > :00:26.John Kerry leads the first delegation to India since the
:00:27. > :00:30.elections in May. Striking a chord in Asia. How the
:00:31. > :00:37.parents of children like this young boy are driving growth for piano
:00:38. > :00:43.makers. Thank you for joining us for this
:00:44. > :00:46.edition of Asia Business Report. The American online retail giant Amazon
:00:47. > :00:59.is boosting its business in with a $2 billion investment. John
:01:00. > :01:07.Kerry let a delegation to India for the first time since Narenda Modi
:01:08. > :01:14.won a landslide victory. Even before he arrived, John Kerry
:01:15. > :01:16.was talking about the relations between the US and India with a
:01:17. > :01:23.promise to increase trade and investment. Now is the time to renew
:01:24. > :01:29.that dialogue with the new government and a new set of
:01:30. > :01:33.opportunities. This is a potentially transformative moment in our
:01:34. > :01:37.partnership. Despite the up its political rhetoric, relationships
:01:38. > :01:46.between the democracies are not at their best. Disputes over trade and
:01:47. > :01:54.international property have dominated ties. `` intellectual.
:01:55. > :02:02.There are plenty of hurdles to clear. India is desperate for more
:02:03. > :02:07.energy. And it has its eye on sheep Shell gas imports from the US. ``
:02:08. > :02:14.cheap. At the moment it only sells gas to countries it has a freak
:02:15. > :02:20.trade agreement with. `` free trade. India wants the US to open up the
:02:21. > :02:30.market. The US, on the other hand, is worried about protection of
:02:31. > :02:33.intellectual property, especially pharmaceuticals. India needs to be
:02:34. > :02:40.reaching out to all partners. We are pleased that the US is India's
:02:41. > :02:44.second largest trading partner. There was an enormous possibility
:02:45. > :02:48.for growth. Trade in goods and services between the US and India
:02:49. > :02:58.totalled almost $100 billion last year. A fivefold increase since
:02:59. > :03:03.2000. Narenda Modi will visit the US later this year to meet President
:03:04. > :03:07.Obama. It could be a significant step to repairing the relationship
:03:08. > :03:10.between the countries. But some unimportant ground work is likely to
:03:11. > :03:17.be done here in the next few days. `` important.
:03:18. > :03:24.The world's biggest economy has indeed bounced back. US holdings
:03:25. > :03:29.expanded by 4%. That traverses a sharp 2.9% annual fall in the start
:03:30. > :03:35.of the year. `` reverses. The Federal reserve said it would ease
:03:36. > :03:39.back on its stimulus efforts. The central bank reaffirmed that it
:03:40. > :04:04.is in no hurry to raise the cost of borrowing. As for Asian stocks, also
:04:05. > :04:10.in positive territory. The US dollar has disappointed investors on its
:04:11. > :04:15.bias on monetary policy. Moving the technology.
:04:16. > :04:21.Samsung's second`quarter profits plunging nearly 20% from a year ago.
:04:22. > :04:24.It is because of a slowdown in its smartphone business. The
:04:25. > :04:32.disappointing numbers are largely in line with the previous. Nintendo
:04:33. > :04:38.shares are tumbling after bigger than expected first`quarter losses.
:04:39. > :04:44.It has a $97 million deficit in the three months to June compared and
:04:45. > :04:52.$84 million profit for the same period a year ago. Sales are down
:04:53. > :04:56.despite the release in May. Microsoft's Xbox one is being
:04:57. > :05:02.launched in China in late September. The first main foreign games console
:05:03. > :05:06.to go on sale there for teen years. It comes in spite of an antimonopoly
:05:07. > :05:12.investigation into the US company by mainland authorities.
:05:13. > :05:16.In Hong Kong, the international conglomerate controlled by Asia's
:05:17. > :05:22.richest family will unveil its half`year results. It is not
:05:23. > :05:34.expected to deliver a much in terms of profit growth.
:05:35. > :05:39.The telecoms conglomerate has had a busy year so far. In much the
:05:40. > :05:43.billionaire behind the group sold the bulk of his stake in a container
:05:44. > :05:50.terminal. The deal raised questions about his continuing commitment to
:05:51. > :05:55.Hong Kong, a business focused city. Later in the same month, Hutchinson
:05:56. > :06:02.announced it would sell a quarter of its stake in the health and beauty
:06:03. > :06:07.chain Watsons. For nearly $6 billion. He also decided to list his
:06:08. > :06:13.power assets on the Hong Kong stock exchange. It was not as successful
:06:14. > :06:24.as expected. Some investors said they were due to reap. `` jittery.
:06:25. > :06:31.He did it in a three`month period by selling three major assets of his
:06:32. > :06:38.companies. That makes people think it might not be a very good value.
:06:39. > :06:41.With so many high profile divestments this year, savvy
:06:42. > :06:48.investors are wondering if Hong Kong is no longer a great place to put
:06:49. > :06:54.one's money. TRANSLATION: That is why he decided to sell off the
:06:55. > :07:01.assets. He makes the product from Hong Kong. I think he will still
:07:02. > :07:04.stay in Hong Kong. He said he is not abandoning Hong Kong for greener
:07:05. > :07:12.pastures, saying the asset sales are a normal part of the business cycle.
:07:13. > :07:20.But he has admitted to losing sleep over the city's future. One major
:07:21. > :07:23.worry is a planned civil disobedience movement organised by
:07:24. > :07:28.pro`democracy activists who want genuine democratic reforms. He
:07:29. > :07:35.believes the sit in will hurt Hong Kong. So far, stock`market investors
:07:36. > :07:39.have shown little concern over occupy a central. But they will be
:07:40. > :07:44.closely watching the results briefing for any clues into how the
:07:45. > :07:52.company plans to spend the money raised from the asset sales.
:07:53. > :07:57.One of the world's best`known carmakers has made huge inroads into
:07:58. > :08:15.China over the past decade. `` piano makers.
:08:16. > :08:19.Like many parents in Asia, mind pushed me to play the piano. But
:08:20. > :08:27.unlike many parents now, mind could not afford to get me one of these.
:08:28. > :08:32.One of these can set you back about $250,000. Asia makes up nearly half
:08:33. > :08:38.the global sales, and growth is expected at 20% this year alone.
:08:39. > :08:46.With me now is the president of Steinway Asia`Pacific. What is
:08:47. > :08:53.behind this growth? Is it down the pushy parents? I would not say pushy
:08:54. > :09:00.parents, but parents who take care of the education of their children.
:09:01. > :09:05.When it comes to piano playing. It is that approach to learning that
:09:06. > :09:11.saw this young man's parents get him a Steinway earlier this year. He is
:09:12. > :09:18.just 11 years old. In each and unique to this region, nearly half
:09:19. > :09:22.of the sales in many Asian countries are down to parents buying them for
:09:23. > :09:28.their young children. Ten years ago, Steinway hardly sold any pianos
:09:29. > :09:34.in China. Now it has become popular to play piano. You have been
:09:35. > :09:39.credited with turning around the fortunes of Steinway. How did you
:09:40. > :09:44.manage to do that? When I came to China, it did not look so inviting
:09:45. > :09:52.for a product like ours. Within the past ten years, we have built our
:09:53. > :09:59.base in Shanghai. We also develop the market by talking very closely
:10:00. > :10:03.to the education people, the institutions. The conservator is.
:10:04. > :10:09.How do you build a business model around a product that does not need
:10:10. > :10:15.replacing? We mostly have one time buyers. You cannot keep telling them
:10:16. > :10:25.that you need a new one. It is just developing. It is growing with the
:10:26. > :10:30.player. People talk about it. They are telling their friends. This is
:10:31. > :10:34.one part of the success. The second part is we are a global company.
:10:35. > :10:41.There are always markets we can develop.
:10:42. > :10:48.Great talent. A star in the making. Thank you for investing your time
:10:49. > :10:53.with us. Goodbye for now. You are watching BBC News. Here are
:10:54. > :10:57.the headlines: The United States and the United Nations have condemned an
:10:58. > :10:58.attack on a US school in Gaza that was sheltering