:00:00. > :00:00.report about child abuse in Rotherham. He managed children's
:00:00. > :00:16.services between 2005 and 2010. Time for Asia Business Report. The
:00:17. > :00:20.Philippines economy bounces back, posting better`than`expected
:00:21. > :00:32.growth. Qantas makes its biggest ever loss. The airline's top boss
:00:33. > :00:39.faces pressure to quit. Welcome to the programme. Growth for the
:00:40. > :00:43.Philippines has performed better than expected in the three months
:00:44. > :00:55.till June, expanding by 6.4% from the previous year. Thank you for
:00:56. > :01:06.joining us. Where is the growth coming from? Manufacturing was up
:01:07. > :01:10.and so were exports, in particular. Agriculture also had a rebound from
:01:11. > :01:18.negative growth in the first quarter, as well as construction.
:01:19. > :01:24.Over all, we are very pleased with this growth, although it is a little
:01:25. > :01:31.bit below the tail end of our forecast. Will you be able to meet
:01:32. > :01:36.your target of 7.5% expansion? We believe we are within striking
:01:37. > :01:40.distance but what is important is that we are continuing with
:01:41. > :01:45.structural reforms to increase the growth potential of the economy. For
:01:46. > :01:49.example, we recently approved legislation that will open up the
:01:50. > :01:53.banking sector completely to foreign investment. We have introduced
:01:54. > :01:59.legislation that will also open up legislation that will also open up
:02:00. > :02:04.other sectors, as well as improve the fiscal capacity of the country.
:02:05. > :02:08.I think that is what is important. Ever since this administration took
:02:09. > :02:15.office, we have averaged a 6% growth rate on the back of increasing
:02:16. > :02:17.participation and increasing investment in infrastructure and
:02:18. > :02:28.increasing confidence within the community. We hope to continue like
:02:29. > :02:35.that. The Philippines is still ranked in the bottom half out of 189
:02:36. > :02:39.economies in terms of ease of doing business. It is still one of the
:02:40. > :02:44.hardest places in the world to start a business. We have made
:02:45. > :02:52.improvements. In the World Economic Forum, we are among the top few
:02:53. > :03:00.countries with games across the board. In all of the ratings, the
:03:01. > :03:04.Philippines has improved dramatically. And this is a good
:03:05. > :03:08.thing, especially for businesses. But one main issue right now is as
:03:09. > :03:13.controversial disbursement acceleration programme, which the
:03:14. > :03:18.Supreme Court says is unconstitutional but the president
:03:19. > :03:22.has said has primed the economy. With the Supreme Court taking this
:03:23. > :03:28.away, what will this mean for growth this quarter and going forward? The
:03:29. > :03:36.good thing about our system is that we have an option to go back to
:03:37. > :03:40.provisions `` refine some of these provisions `` refine some of these
:03:41. > :03:45.provisions that were at issue in the Supreme Court. We can do that so
:03:46. > :03:54.that there will be no more doubt. Secondly, we can go back to
:03:55. > :04:02.Congress. In our system, Congress has the power. The have no
:04:03. > :04:10.concerns. Especially since we do have a lot of fiscal space. There is
:04:11. > :04:13.still a lot of concern about the Philippines in terms of graft and
:04:14. > :04:19.corruption and doing business there. What is the government doing,
:04:20. > :04:22.briefly, to improve this? Since the very first day of this
:04:23. > :04:31.administration, we have made that our first goal. There will be no
:04:32. > :04:36.co`option, `` no corruption, no poverty and there will be good
:04:37. > :04:43.economics. That is why we have been pursuing those who have violated
:04:44. > :04:46.those laws all the way up to the highest of officials, including the
:04:47. > :04:54.Chief Justice of the Supreme Court. We have two senators who went to
:04:55. > :04:58.jail for alleged violations of our laws. That is the best evidence that
:04:59. > :05:06.we are working to stop that. Thank you for joining us. Record losses
:05:07. > :05:12.for Australia's iconic brand, Qantas, otherwise known as the
:05:13. > :05:20.Flying Kangaroo. It has reported its worst ever annual results, posting a
:05:21. > :05:23.much worse than did $265 billion in annual losses. The chief executive
:05:24. > :05:29.is under pressure to sell assets to ease the strain on the airline's
:05:30. > :05:34.balance sheet. One of the world's oldest and most
:05:35. > :05:38.recognisable airlines is in trouble. Soaring fuel costs and
:05:39. > :05:43.fierce competition have resulted in mass redundancies and financial
:05:44. > :05:49.losses. Despite its decline, Qantas remains a popular institution at
:05:50. > :05:54.home. Australians want Qantas to survive but they are not afraid to
:05:55. > :06:00.fly with someone else. It is great that we have had an Australian
:06:01. > :06:04.airline for so long. Qantas has an alliance with Emirates and wants the
:06:05. > :06:08.Government to relax regulations that limit foreign ownership of the
:06:09. > :06:15.airline to 49%. As customers continue to this `` desert. If you
:06:16. > :06:20.look at the passenger airline miles, they are diminishing and diminishing
:06:21. > :06:28.and diminishing. We does this shrinking stop? It will stop with
:06:29. > :06:32.Qantas being taken over. The aviation market in Australia has
:06:33. > :06:36.become saturated. Qantas faces relentless competition on both its
:06:37. > :06:40.Many passengers feel that an Many passengers feel that an
:06:41. > :06:45.overseas takeover is inevitable. Foreign ownership. The mining is
:06:46. > :06:53.owned by the Chinese. Everything else is owned overseas. If it keeps
:06:54. > :06:58.most of the jobs in Australia, it makes no difference. Qantas's plans
:06:59. > :07:02.for a profitable future will come under greater scrutiny. There are
:07:03. > :07:07.those who believe that for the flying kangaroo, this could be a
:07:08. > :07:13.life or death struggle. At stake are not only thousands of jobs but
:07:14. > :07:17.Australia's reputation. Trade unions have threatened strike action over
:07:18. > :07:23.job cuts, including in maintenance. Pilots say that decisive action is
:07:24. > :07:27.needed to build a stronger airline. It needs to go through a bit of pain
:07:28. > :07:32.initially, like what we are doing now, with redundancies and losses.
:07:33. > :07:36.It has to be able to justify to the banks and the shareholders these
:07:37. > :07:40.injections of capital so it can re`equip the fleet. It needs to be
:07:41. > :07:44.able to buy more modern and fuel`efficient aircraft. Qantas has
:07:45. > :07:49.been flying for the best part of a century but is facing unprecedented
:07:50. > :07:55.challenges. For the famous Flying Kangaroo, the months ahead promise
:07:56. > :07:59.to be turbulence. Qantas is not the only regional carrier in tough
:08:00. > :08:04.times. Malaysia Airlines is undergoing a major restructure. Its
:08:05. > :08:09.majority owner, a state investment fund, is taking the country ``
:08:10. > :08:13.company over and is planning significant reforms including job
:08:14. > :08:22.before the tragedies of flights MH17 before the tragedies of flights MH17
:08:23. > :08:29.and flight MH370. The company's results are very bad. Possibly the
:08:30. > :08:36.worst it has faced in its entire history. The second quarter is not
:08:37. > :08:43.normally strong and this is exacerbated by the fact that we had
:08:44. > :08:50.MH370 and the entire Asia Pacific aviation industry is reeling. It is
:08:51. > :09:02.going to be really, really bad. How bad will the numbers be? Our
:09:03. > :09:10.expectation is $600 million loss. It is a tough call. Yes and a lot of
:09:11. > :09:14.money to lose. Right now, what is being reported in the media is that
:09:15. > :09:22.there will be cuts of about 6000 jobs. How painful will be by
:09:23. > :09:26.structuring the in the months ahead? It will be very painful, the deepest
:09:27. > :09:32.restructure that has ever been attempted at Malaysia Airlines. But
:09:33. > :09:37.let us be clear. The objective is to save the airline. At least we will
:09:38. > :09:40.have a national carrier because God forbid, if nothing is done, Malaysia
:09:41. > :09:46.Airlines will just earn its place in Airlines will just earn its place in
:09:47. > :09:51.the history books. It is really bad. To lose 5000 employees or 6000, as
:09:52. > :09:58.you mentioned, it is a necessary step. A necessary step but what will
:09:59. > :10:07.it look like after restructuring? Will be carrier have a new name? I
:10:08. > :10:10.suggested they be very consistent, which is for Malaysia Airlines just
:10:11. > :10:18.to be a domestic airline. And we could have some regional routes.
:10:19. > :10:28.International flights to not have a business case to survive. Malaysia
:10:29. > :10:34.and Australia have signed a memorandum of understanding. They
:10:35. > :10:41.have announced that they will jointly fund the search for
:10:42. > :11:01.Malaysia's flight MH370. Now, a look at the market. Thank you for joining
:11:02. > :11:03.us. Goodbye for now. This is BBC News. The headlines: The United
:11:04. > :11:06.Nations has accused government forces and Islamic State fighters of
:11:07. > :11:12.conducting massacres and causing immeasurable suffering to civilians
:11:13. > :11:13.in Syria. The