:00:00. > :00:08.results. Thank you for joining us for this
:00:09. > :00:17.edition of Asia Business Report. I am Rico Hizon.
:00:18. > :00:20.It has been the talk of the Internet across mainland China, how plane was
:00:21. > :00:22.forced to stay in the air, unable to land because two air`traffic
:00:23. > :00:30.controllers had reportedly fallen asleep. The incident happened at
:00:31. > :00:35.Wuhan Airport last month. Details have only just come to light and
:00:36. > :00:40.have led many to question the safety of China's skies. Earlier I spoke to
:00:41. > :00:43.John Sudworth to find out more. It seems extraordinary. This is not
:00:44. > :00:46.just one sleeping air`traffic controller but two, asleep together
:00:47. > :00:51.at the controls in the tower at Wuhan airport. This China Eastern
:00:52. > :00:53.aircraft was said to be already beginning its final descent, when it
:00:54. > :00:56.radioed the tower, received no response, tried to contact them
:00:57. > :01:11.again, twice in English, once in Chinese. But again, no reply was
:01:12. > :01:14.given. The aircraft returned to an altitude of 900 metres, and circled
:01:15. > :01:17.for around 12 minutes or so, before contact was eventually established,
:01:18. > :01:19.and it was able to land. We know what we know about this story
:01:20. > :01:21.because of document circulating online, reportedly from China's
:01:22. > :01:24.civil aviation authorities, confirming that the reason for that
:01:25. > :01:29.loss of contact and that delay was because the air`traffic controllers
:01:30. > :01:32.had fallen asleep. We have been unable to verify the authenticity of
:01:33. > :01:36.that document, but we have had it confirmed from a member of staff at
:01:37. > :01:48.the airport, that the incident did take place. Air traffic is set to
:01:49. > :01:55.become even heavier across China's skies, because the mainland carriers
:01:56. > :01:58.continue to expand their fleets. Is there something that China's
:01:59. > :02:01.aviation group is doing at the moment to prevent this from
:02:02. > :02:09.happening again? This incident was reported to have taken place on July
:02:10. > :02:12.the 8th this year. Why there has been this delay in making the
:02:13. > :02:16.incident public, we don't know. But you have to assume that they will be
:02:17. > :02:28.looking at what went wrong. A huge amount of incredulity and anger
:02:29. > :02:30.about it online. China's air passengers already beleaguered by
:02:31. > :02:33.long delays, for example, large flight cancellations due to military
:02:34. > :02:40.manoeuvres. The only thing is that looking online you can find similar
:02:41. > :02:43.reports. A number in the United States, over the past few years, of
:02:44. > :02:53.air`traffic controllers dozing off in the tower. Never two at the same
:02:54. > :02:57.time, I have to say. That was John Syed Wurf in Shanghai.
:02:58. > :03:07.`` Sudworth. Staying with aviation,
:03:08. > :03:10.Malaysia's Budget carrier Air Asia and announces it is first half
:03:11. > :03:13.profits later today. Last year than at off at was cut by half, and they
:03:14. > :03:17.still face sums if competition. At the same time, Air Asia has been
:03:18. > :03:20.busy denying rumours it plans to buy a stake in a Japanese airline. I
:03:21. > :03:23.asked our correspondent for his predictions. We will see when the
:03:24. > :03:27.figures come out today that the profit will be lower. They have been
:03:28. > :03:30.facing a tough time, with a lot of competition in the south`east Asian
:03:31. > :03:33.region. That will continue for at least the next quarter. They are the
:03:34. > :03:36.leaders in the Asia region, in the budget carrier industry. What have
:03:37. > :03:40.been the issues? The issue has been there has been a lot of expansion
:03:41. > :03:43.which has gone on in the industry. And demand has not kept up. Where it
:03:44. > :03:47.has, airlines have had to cut fares to make ends meet. So their margins
:03:48. > :03:50.will be cut, is what we expect to see, as we have seen in the
:03:51. > :03:53.full`service carriers and budget carriers in the region. They have
:03:54. > :03:55.been cannibalising each other, but over the past years, the budget
:03:56. > :03:58.carriers have been very profitable, eating into the market share of the
:03:59. > :04:02.national carriers. So it is likely to be the trend going forward? Could
:04:03. > :04:04.we see consolidation in the aviation industry? We are starting to see
:04:05. > :04:07.consolidation already. Tiger has cut off some of its subsidiaries. They
:04:08. > :04:11.are focusing on Singapore, cutting planes. We are even seeing Air Asia
:04:12. > :04:18.saying they will sell some aircraft later in the year. I fully expect to
:04:19. > :04:25.see a lot more consolidation in the region. But Air Asia has been
:04:26. > :04:28.partnering in some major markets in the region, India, Thailand, the
:04:29. > :04:33.Philippines, Indonesia, and there are rumours of a potential buyout of
:04:34. > :04:39.Japan's carrier. Do you think this would be a wise move, even though it
:04:40. > :04:43.was denied? I don't think it would be a wise move. It would not fit
:04:44. > :04:46.well with Air Asia's model. They would prefer to build something new
:04:47. > :04:56.that they can control. Buying an existing carrier would be a
:04:57. > :04:58.difficult proposition for them. ?WHITE In other news, China's
:04:59. > :05:01.telecommunications giant ZTE is expected to announce a massive jump
:05:02. > :05:10.in profits. Expectations are for the Hong Kong listed company. Struggling
:05:11. > :05:14.handset maker HTC has modified telephone, and is selling it at at
:05:15. > :05:22.least half the price of the handset running Android. It is financially
:05:23. > :05:28.supported by Microsoft, and part of the company's attempt to gain US
:05:29. > :05:33.market share. Standard Chartered has been fined 300 million dollars by
:05:34. > :05:37.the banking regulator, saying the bank failed to improve money
:05:38. > :05:44.laundering problems highlighted in 2012 when it had to take a
:05:45. > :05:49.multimillion dollar fine. With operations in New York, Standard
:05:50. > :05:52.Chartered forced under the supervision of the Department of
:05:53. > :05:57.financial services. This is the second penalty the bank has paid to
:05:58. > :06:04.the main New York state regulator. Both are related to trade with
:06:05. > :06:08.countries blacklisted either US. The British bank said it was working to
:06:09. > :06:13.fix these problems with the utmost urgency, in addition to improving
:06:14. > :06:21.compliance. As part of a settlement in 2012, a monitor was appointed to
:06:22. > :06:24.watch over its dealings. That surveillance uncovered failings to
:06:25. > :06:28.identify risky transactions that could be part of money`laundering.
:06:29. > :06:34.On top of that, the lender has been ordered to suspend or excerpts its
:06:35. > :06:37.business with risky client in Hong Kong and it cannot accept new
:06:38. > :06:50.clearing accounts in US dollars without the regulator's approval.
:06:51. > :06:57.The penalty is yet more bad news for chief executive Peter Sandys and for
:06:58. > :07:05.Standard Chartered, which reported a 20% drop in profits.
:07:06. > :07:11.The British bank might be in trouble, but it gets three quarters
:07:12. > :07:14.of earnings in Asia. The ban on these accounts will affect business
:07:15. > :07:22.in Hong Kong, one of its largest market. I asked our correspondent
:07:23. > :07:28.for more. According to the Hong Kong monetary policy, it appears that the
:07:29. > :07:35.suspension is temporary. They said they believed Hong Kong was affected
:07:36. > :07:39.because this is its biggest market and a lot of deals originate from
:07:40. > :07:45.here and are then settled in America, which is why it was
:07:46. > :07:50.affected. The sad fate or watching the bank `` they said they are also.
:07:51. > :07:58.They said some areas can be improved. No phones or punishment at
:07:59. > :08:01.the moment. One of India's richest man is
:08:02. > :08:03.selling off some of his most valuable investments. Nothing
:08:04. > :08:06.unusual about that, except that he needs to raise billions of dollars
:08:07. > :08:07.so he can be released from prison. Our correspondent reports from
:08:08. > :08:11.Mumbai. He is no rockstar, but during good
:08:12. > :08:15.times, Subrata Roy could entertain his employees with performances like
:08:16. > :08:17.this. But for the last five months, this flamboyant Indian billionaire
:08:18. > :08:20.has been held in India's largest prison, jailed after failing to
:08:21. > :08:33.appear at a court hearing into a long`running dispute with India's
:08:34. > :08:36.market regulator. He is the owner of a conglomerate called the Sahara
:08:37. > :08:50.Group. They took millions from investors in return for the legal
:08:51. > :08:52.bonds. `` billions. It says it has repaid most investors, a claim
:08:53. > :08:55.disputed by the regulator and the Supreme Court. Sahara Group has
:08:56. > :08:58.stakes in more than 100 companies, with interests in TV channels, real
:08:59. > :09:01.estate, a controlling stake in a Formula One team, hundreds of retail
:09:02. > :09:04.outlets, and a number of world`famous hotels. The Group is
:09:05. > :09:09.one of dozens of properties owned by Subrata Roy around the world. He has
:09:10. > :09:12.been ordered to pay $1.6 billion bail. But to raise that kind of
:09:13. > :09:24.money, he has to offload some of his most valuable assets. There are
:09:25. > :09:27.reports that the Sultan of Brunei is keen on snapping up a couple of his
:09:28. > :09:40.New York properties, including this, the iconic Plaza Hotel. He has
:09:41. > :09:43.denied it. And he is looking for a buyer for the Grosvenor House Hotel
:09:44. > :09:47.in London's Park Lane. If he manages to do those deals from his prison
:09:48. > :09:49.cell, he will be allowed to go home. But of course, the charges
:09:50. > :09:59.themselves will still be hanging over him.
:10:00. > :10:03.With that, we end this programme. Thank you for investing your time
:10:04. > :10:07.with us on Asia Business Report. Before we go, don't fall get to
:10:08. > :10:15.watch us on Twitter. Thank you some at. Goodbye for now. I am Rico
:10:16. > :10:19.Hizon. I am Mike Embley in London with the
:10:20. > :10:22.top stories this hour: Police in St Louis shoot dead a second young
:10:23. > :10:26.black man, after he came at them with a knife. Other apparently be
:10:27. > :10:36.headed by a jihadist said he gave his life to expose the injustice.
:10:37. > :10:39.Four people have gone on trial, accused of conning a number of women
:10:40. > :10:40.out of tens of thousands of pounds