:00:00. > :00:15.debate ahead of the historic vote. Now on BBC News, all the latest
:00:16. > :00:19.business news live from Singapore. We find out why Standard Chartered
:00:20. > :00:30.is expected to close its second straight drop in profits today.
:00:31. > :00:36.Making money from property. Capital And's chief executive talks about
:00:37. > :00:43.the trends and the risks. Welcome to Asia Business Report. Standard
:00:44. > :00:48.Chartered is one of the UK's biggest lenders but more than 75% of its
:00:49. > :00:52.earnings actually come from Asia. With its first half results due
:00:53. > :00:58.later today, the bankers want profits may fall by as much as
:00:59. > :01:00.compared to levels one year ago. There has been speculation both the
:01:01. > :01:05.chief executive and chairman are under pressure from some investors
:01:06. > :01:10.to stand down. We take a look at what is behind the bank's change in
:01:11. > :01:15.fortunes, starting in India. Standard Chartered is one of the
:01:16. > :01:20.country's oldest banks, having set up its branch in 1858. Things have
:01:21. > :01:25.come a long way from dealing in rubber, tea and oil. Today, it is
:01:26. > :01:31.the country's largest lender, with its focus on corporate banking and
:01:32. > :01:36.customers in a market that has been a huge source of profits for the
:01:37. > :01:38.bank. But the slump in the Indian currency took its toll along with
:01:39. > :01:43.slowing growth and corporate investment remaining week. India was
:01:44. > :01:47.once Standard Chartered's most profitable market globally but it is
:01:48. > :01:50.no longer so. Only perhaps if the new government can turn positive
:01:51. > :01:55.sentiment into real investments both from India and abroad could things
:01:56. > :02:00.look likely to pick up any time soon.
:02:01. > :02:04.In Hong Kong, the Standard Chartered bank building stands tall in the
:02:05. > :02:09.heart of the main business district. It is a testament to its
:02:10. > :02:14.success in Asia, where it has seen ten straight years of profit growth.
:02:15. > :02:18.But that winning streak came to an end last year because of market
:02:19. > :02:21.volatility. Investors have begun taking their money out of relatively
:02:22. > :02:26.risky emerging markets in Asia and putting it back in developed
:02:27. > :02:31.economies. That has forced Standard Chartered to rethink its strategy.
:02:32. > :02:35.It has had to sell some businesses in key markets such as Hong Kong and
:02:36. > :02:40.South Korea. What is more, analysts say that ace global economy and
:02:41. > :02:45.tighter rules in China could affect its bottom line in the coming
:02:46. > :02:47.months. `` a slower economy. In Singapore, Standard Chartered has
:02:48. > :02:53.already flagged a weaker performance. One of the problems is
:02:54. > :02:58.competition. More than 120 commercial banks operate on this
:02:59. > :03:01.island. There is another reason for Standard Chartered to pay attention
:03:02. > :03:06.to Singapore because it is home to its biggest investor. The nation's
:03:07. > :03:10.sovereign wealth fund has a big stake. At least publicly, is
:03:11. > :03:14.refusing to join the debate about the future of the bank's senior
:03:15. > :03:16.management but it is being vocal about corporate governance and wants
:03:17. > :03:21.to see more independent directors on the board. Periodically, there are
:03:22. > :03:25.rumours that the fund would like to sell its holding, but as many point
:03:26. > :03:33.out, 18% is a lot to swallow and there are no obvious buyers.
:03:34. > :03:39.Earlier, I asked about what investors wanted and Standard
:03:40. > :03:42.Chartered. Investors want to see credible leadership at the top of
:03:43. > :03:50.this organisation, whether that means a change or reinforcement.
:03:51. > :03:56.This is the first job. In your view, should there be a change in
:03:57. > :04:01.leadership? Or should there be a reinforcement? Personally, I think
:04:02. > :04:04.it might be time for a more drastic change, however that is really up to
:04:05. > :04:08.the board and the shareholders. That is only part of the story. The real
:04:09. > :04:12.problem they have is competitiveness. Banking competition
:04:13. > :04:18.in Asia has changed in a way that will never return to how things
:04:19. > :04:20.were. The rise of strong national banks, banks like DVS in
:04:21. > :04:28.particular, which is a great example. They have been taking
:04:29. > :04:36.market share from both HSBC and Standard Chartered. How can they
:04:37. > :04:43.rethink their Asia strategy 175% of their earnings come from region?
:04:44. > :04:47.Yes, it is difficult. `` how can they rethink their Asia strategy
:04:48. > :04:53.when three quarters of their earnings come from the region? Yes,
:04:54. > :04:58.it is tough. The playing field is extremely level. They have the same
:04:59. > :05:04.systems and quality and staff. How can a bank differentiate itself?
:05:05. > :05:13.Perhaps the life cycle for the colonial banks is being. Thank you.
:05:14. > :05:17.Rupert Murdoch's 21st`century fox has withdrawn its bid to purchase US
:05:18. > :05:22.entertainment giant Time Warner. The offer had been for an estimated $80
:05:23. > :05:27.billion. Time Warner rejected the initial offer in July. A merger
:05:28. > :05:31.between the two companies would have significantly altered the US media
:05:32. > :05:35.and film industry and created one of the world's largest entertainment
:05:36. > :05:39.conglomerates. A US security company says a Russian group has hacked 1.2
:05:40. > :05:45.billion usernames and passwords from more than 500 million e`mail
:05:46. > :05:49.addresses. They security company says it is the largest data breach
:05:50. > :05:52.known to date and that the information came from more than
:05:53. > :06:02.420,000 websites, including virtually all industries across the
:06:03. > :06:06.world. Shares in Toyota are trading slightly lower in Tokyo trade,
:06:07. > :06:10.despite better`than`expected earnings reported on Tuesday. The
:06:11. > :06:13.manufacturer saw profits rise by nearly 5% in the three months to
:06:14. > :06:22.June because of higher sales in North America and Europe. Toyota has
:06:23. > :06:26.been aggressively advertising new models such as the Siena minivan.
:06:27. > :06:30.That is because despite relatively high gas prices, it seems Americans
:06:31. > :06:37.still love their large cars. US sales of FUD is `` SUV 's have been
:06:38. > :06:42.rising in recent months and that has helped profits at the Japanese car
:06:43. > :06:45.giant. The world's largest carmaker made nearly $6 billion in the April
:06:46. > :06:49.to June period, surprising analysts, who had forecast a lower
:06:50. > :06:54.profit. The reason for the higher sales was Japan's currency, which
:06:55. > :06:59.has helped make its vehicles cheaper to overseas buyers. North America
:07:00. > :07:03.saw sales rise by more than 7%, while in Europe, they increased by
:07:04. > :07:09.more than 9%. However, it had the opposite effect in Asia. Sales
:07:10. > :07:14.slumped in Japan after a higher sales tax came into effect in
:07:15. > :07:17.April. The company has also warned that conditions in Thailand, India,
:07:18. > :07:24.Brazil and other emerging markets remain weak. Overall, Japanese
:07:25. > :07:28.carmakers like Toyota are expected to benefit as long as the US, its
:07:29. > :07:32.biggest market, continues to do well. It also depends on the
:07:33. > :07:35.Japanese government maintaining its stimulus aimed at keeping the
:07:36. > :07:39.currency low. But competition is getting tougher, not least from
:07:40. > :07:48.rivals like Volkswagen and General Motors, who are hot on Toyota's
:07:49. > :07:54.heels. South East Asia's just property
:07:55. > :08:05.developer says that profits are up 14%. CapitaLand's chief executive
:08:06. > :08:09.told us how he's trying to deal with the risk in those markets. If you
:08:10. > :08:13.look at both Singapore and China, in Singapore, we remain very confident
:08:14. > :08:20.in the medium to long`term that it will remain a hub in this part of
:08:21. > :08:24.the world. In the short`term, some of the restrictions and measures
:08:25. > :08:28.will have an impact on residential property prices as well as
:08:29. > :08:36.residential sales volume. Similarly, in China, there is still this
:08:37. > :08:39.underlying trend. We are talking about significant numbers of people
:08:40. > :08:44.moving from the countryside into the cities. That will generate a strong
:08:45. > :08:48.demand for housing. Chinese residential sales have fallen over
:08:49. > :08:52.40% in the first six months of this year. How are you trying to deal
:08:53. > :08:57.with these increased challenges for your business? There has been a lot
:08:58. > :09:03.of talk about China potentially slowing down from 7.5% growth to
:09:04. > :09:10.about 7% or possibly even 6.5%. But if you look at it, at 7% or 6.5%,
:09:11. > :09:14.China is still the engine of growth in this part of the world. If you
:09:15. > :09:19.put the two trends together, migration and high growth in China,
:09:20. > :09:25.I foresee this to be a very strong market for the next few years and
:09:26. > :09:30.CapitaLand is well positioned. We have been doing well in China for
:09:31. > :09:33.the last few years and we have a team of people on the ground who
:09:34. > :09:38.understand the local market. We know the large`scale picture may
:09:39. > :09:43.sometimes not be as rosy but within that market, because the market is
:09:44. > :09:46.large, there will be specific pockets of opportunities that
:09:47. > :09:50.because we are in the market we will be able to take advantage of. That
:09:51. > :09:56.was the chief executive of Singapore's CapitaLand stop before
:09:57. > :09:58.we go, here is a quick look at the markets. Asian stocks are mostly in
:09:59. > :10:16.negative territory. The Nikkei is giving back 110
:10:17. > :10:25.points. The Hang Seng index is lower by 90 points. The Australian stock
:10:26. > :10:29.market lost about eight points. Data out of China also suggests a
:10:30. > :10:44.recovering economy may need further government support. Thank you for
:10:45. > :10:49.joining us. Goodbye now. This is BBC News. The headlines: The
:10:50. > :10:52.US Secretary of State John Kerry has urged Israel and the Palestinians to
:10:53. > :10:57.take advantage of the continuing truce in Gaza to move towards wider
:10:58. > :10:58.negotiations. An American army major`general