:00:00. > :00:17.Now on BBC News, all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:18. > :00:23.Hot competition, how home`grown phone makers are putting the
:00:24. > :00:26.pressure on the big brands. And a little`known sport, which is
:00:27. > :00:31.big in India and is looking to raise its profile.
:00:32. > :00:40.Thank you for joining us for this edition of Asia Business Report on
:00:41. > :00:42.BBC World News, I'm Rico Hizon. The rise of the cheap home`grown smart
:00:43. > :00:46.phone manufacturers have seen Samsung knocked off its perch as the
:00:47. > :00:48.number one seller in the world's biggest market, China. That is
:00:49. > :00:55.because Beijing competitor sold more smartphones than anyone else.
:00:56. > :00:59.Samsung has also been given a run for its money in India, where the
:01:00. > :01:05.local phone maker Micro makes is winning customers. `` Micromax.
:01:06. > :01:08.Earlier I spoke to a local seller, and asked what was behind the
:01:09. > :01:10.success of these kind of local phone makers.
:01:11. > :01:16.What is really working for these companies is performance, spec, at a
:01:17. > :01:20.value price. That is where those vendors are playing. They are
:01:21. > :01:30.operating relatively strong`spec devices at a great value price. But
:01:31. > :01:34.they are also able to play in the lower end of the market as well,
:01:35. > :01:37.with some great prices. They are indeed making a big bang in their
:01:38. > :01:40.respective home markets, India and China. But could they be disruptive
:01:41. > :01:45.force outside of their home countries? There is a big potential
:01:46. > :01:51.in that. We are starting to see companies launch in India, which
:01:52. > :01:57.have been sold out. Supply can't meet demand. We are seeing Micromax
:01:58. > :02:00.now move into Russia. So those companies are starting to branch
:02:01. > :02:04.out, broaden their portfolio of companies around the world. But it
:02:05. > :02:07.will be a challenge. Remember we have seen Lenovo acquiring Motorola,
:02:08. > :02:22.so that they can acquire the patents they need to enter markets like the
:02:23. > :02:28.US and Europe. They need those licensing agreements, those patents.
:02:29. > :02:32.So there's headaches, but will this growth be sustainable? I think there
:02:33. > :02:35.is a question over that at the moment. Do they have the right
:02:36. > :02:38.business model? Certainly yesterday, one company had to apologise in
:02:39. > :02:48.India because their supplier isn't meeting demand for their sales. So
:02:49. > :02:52.can they keep up with the demand? And can Micromax build its brand
:02:53. > :02:55.outside of India? Remember that both of these companies have also been
:02:56. > :03:07.boosted by local sentiment, wanting to root for the home brand.
:03:08. > :03:09.In other business news making headlines, Russia's President
:03:10. > :03:11.Vladimir Putin is set to ban or restrict imports of food and
:03:12. > :03:21.agricultural product from the countries that have imposed
:03:22. > :03:24.sanctions on Russia over its actions in the Ukraine. A complete ban on
:03:25. > :03:27.all US produce is expected to be announced. That amounts to about
:03:28. > :03:30.$1.5 billion in imports. A full list of what is being banned will be
:03:31. > :03:32.published later this Thursday. 25,000 people have signed up a
:03:33. > :03:43.class`action lawsuit against Facebook. The man behind the lawsuit
:03:44. > :03:46.is a data privacy campaigner who says the way Facebook monitors its
:03:47. > :03:50.members' activity on and off the site puts the company in breach of
:03:51. > :03:52.European union laws. As part of the claim, it has been alleged that
:03:53. > :03:57.Facebook cooperated with a US surveillance scheme called PRISM.
:03:58. > :03:59.Standard Chartered warns it could face more fines over its
:04:00. > :04:03.money`laundering controls. The news came after a 20% fall in profits.
:04:04. > :04:15.The bank said that regulators in the US have identified you problems. ``
:04:16. > :04:19.new problems with its system. How do you grow a business that has
:04:20. > :04:24.made its mark in a narrow product range and never ventured out of its
:04:25. > :04:27.comfort zone? Well, that is a question facing a Singapore `based
:04:28. > :04:31.company, HTL, which started as a model of the Mac modest cellphone
:04:32. > :04:34.maker in the 1970s. Today it is one of the region's largest producers of
:04:35. > :04:36.leather couches. In the latest instalment in our family business
:04:37. > :04:39.series, our correspondent takes a look at how the next`generation is
:04:40. > :04:42.giving it a new lease of life. In every imaginable colour, size,
:04:43. > :04:45.and shape, HTL makes sofas to meet anyone's needs. Phua Yong Tat
:04:46. > :04:51.started the company, his sofa`making business, in the 1970s with his
:04:52. > :04:56.brothers in a Singapore workshop. Now that small workshop is no
:04:57. > :04:58.longer. Singapore remains the world's headquarters, where
:04:59. > :05:05.decisions on design, manufacture, and marketing make place. But now
:05:06. > :05:12.several plants in China turn out thousands of surfers a year. ``
:05:13. > :05:15.sofas. So how do you improve on something you already do well? It is
:05:16. > :05:21.a question that the next generation of Phuas are grappling with. Enter
:05:22. > :05:25.his daughter, Phua Mei Ming. She is one of many in her family, including
:05:26. > :05:29.her brother, cousins, and even her husband, who work with the company.
:05:30. > :05:31.With so many members of the family involved, conflicts are sometimes
:05:32. > :05:40.inevitable. Sometimes we have a different opinion. But I think we
:05:41. > :05:42.always can resolve, and because at the end of the day, we have the same
:05:43. > :05:48.objective ` the business. Conflicts are only one problem family
:05:49. > :05:56.businesses need to overcome. The other is how to continue to grow in
:05:57. > :05:59.a competitive environment. A perennial problem for most family
:06:00. > :06:04.businesses is bringing in the ideas of the new generation, while still
:06:05. > :06:09.leveraging off what they know. In HTL's case, it is a ready supply of
:06:10. > :06:11.leather for their sofas. So why not take on another potentially
:06:12. > :06:17.lucrative market, targeting what most women want. A leather handbag.
:06:18. > :06:24.The handbags were part of a new move to start a new retail arm for the
:06:25. > :06:26.company. It took months to convince the patriarchs that incorporating
:06:27. > :06:34.move the business forward. To be move the business forward. To be
:06:35. > :06:41.honest, they had been used to talking about big business, big
:06:42. > :06:45.orders, and big turnover. I think from where we come in at, we are
:06:46. > :06:53.more about pushing for new, small ideas today, but it ideas tomorrow.
:06:54. > :06:56.HTL may be a family business excelling at leather sofas now, but
:06:57. > :07:07.under the leadership of the next generation,
:07:08. > :07:08.functions. The sport of kabaddi is played
:07:09. > :07:24.millions in India, and is rarely in the news, and even the best players
:07:25. > :07:25.are relatively unknown. So can a new tournament raise its
:07:26. > :07:29.a viable business? Our correspondent reports from Mumbai.
:07:30. > :07:32.Cricket may be India's sporting obsession, but this is the country's
:07:33. > :07:34.traditional home`grown game. Kabaddi has been played here for centuries,
:07:35. > :07:38.especially in rural India. Whether you are playing in school or one of
:07:39. > :07:40.the thousands of kabaddi clubs up and down the country, most of the
:07:41. > :07:46.games take place outside on dirt, dust, grass, or a hard surface like
:07:47. > :07:48.this one. Now though, we have seen the biggest effort yet to bring the
:07:49. > :07:56.sport to a wider audience in India. But in a very different environment.
:07:57. > :08:04.This is kabaddi in its purest form, high`tempo and plenty of colour. A
:08:05. > :08:11.recipe which creators hope will make it more mainstream. It is not just
:08:12. > :08:15.about the games. There is plenty of razzmatazz as well. Not least, the
:08:16. > :08:18.famous faces from Bollywood who are watching matches, owning teams, and
:08:19. > :08:27.quite happy to get involved in the hype. One, two, three. And if the
:08:28. > :08:33.formula of celebrity, showbiz, and sport, sounds familiar, you would be
:08:34. > :08:36.right. This is the latest game here inspired by the way the Indian
:08:37. > :08:42.Premier League or IPL revitalised cricket. And the league's boss
:08:43. > :08:46.doesn't mind admitting it. They did make us realise in our part of the
:08:47. > :08:52.world that new sport works well, but if you can package it better, works
:08:53. > :09:05.better. We are guilty of doing that. Most sports could use a bit of that.
:09:06. > :09:07.This is designed for TV. This channel is one of its main
:09:08. > :09:10.investors. Not just broadcasting pictures, with the long`term aim of
:09:11. > :09:13.making it mainstream. It might be slow going. In this first season,
:09:14. > :09:22.some teams have struggled even to get sponsors. The big winners of the
:09:23. > :09:26.new league seem to be the players. Salaries have lept from around $500
:09:27. > :09:33.a month to more than $5000. But can these recruits really propel the
:09:34. > :09:37.game to a new level. Every time a sport has emerged and become
:09:38. > :09:41.popular, one of the reasons is because there is a road player. This
:09:42. > :09:45.is going to be a big challenge, in India we need icons, and currently
:09:46. > :09:48.kabaddi has no icons. `` pro player. Youngsters like these will keep
:09:49. > :09:50.paying again, as well as cricket of course. But kabaddi's chance of
:09:51. > :09:55.finding mainstream popularity still seems in mainstream popularity still
:09:56. > :10:02.seems in the balance. Before we go, a quick look at the
:10:03. > :10:13.markets. Asian stock prices are in negative territory in in mid`morning
:10:14. > :10:16.Thursday trade. `` yen. Japanese stocks are pulling away from
:10:17. > :10:19.six`week lows, as a Russian troop build`up on the border of Ukraine
:10:20. > :10:22.saps risk appetite. Japan down by 22 points. Hang Seng down by 85, and
:10:23. > :10:30.Australia's benchmark index giving back 14. Those are the Asian
:10:31. > :10:40.markets. Thank you for investing your time with us. Goodbye for now.
:10:41. > :10:51.I am Mike Embley in London with the main news stories have is Allah. ``
:10:52. > :10:54.main news stories this hour. Victims of the Khmer Rouge regime will soon
:10:55. > :10:57.find out the verdicts of the former officials that stand accused of war
:10:58. > :10:58.crimes. President Obama has called for