:00:00. > :00:00.and Africa next month. Travel restrictions will be lifted. And the
:00:00. > :00:00.defection of Conservative MP Douglas Carswell to the UK Independence
:00:00. > :00:07.Party has triggered a by`election in Clacton, which Mr Carswell says he
:00:08. > :00:09.will contest on behalf of his new party.
:00:10. > :00:15.Now on BBC News all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:16. > :00:22.Malaysia Airlines is set to announce a big restructure after posting big
:00:23. > :00:24.losses and warning of more to come. And Japan's economy stalls as the
:00:25. > :00:35.sales tax pain persists. Hello and welcome to Asia Business
:00:36. > :00:46.Report on BBC World News. I am Rico Hizon.
:00:47. > :00:48.Shares of troubled national carrier Malaysia Airlines are suspended
:00:49. > :00:54.today, ahead of an announcement of the details of a major restructuring
:00:55. > :00:56.move. The company revealed a loss of $98 million for the three months
:00:57. > :00:59.until June, after the disappearance of MH370 in March and with the MH17
:01:00. > :01:08.tragedy months later. The airline has warned of weak earnings in the
:01:09. > :01:12.second half after a sharp decline in bookings. Our correspondent has
:01:13. > :01:18.more. Prayers for the victims of
:01:19. > :01:20.extraordinary aviation disasters that happened to one airline. Like
:01:21. > :01:24.his company, Malaysia Airlines Chief Executive Ahmad Jauhari Yahya is
:01:25. > :01:34.under enormous pressure. The losses announced this week underline the
:01:35. > :01:37.challenge the airline must meet. He says after MH370 disappeared, the
:01:38. > :01:40.airline tried to rebuild, but tragically, just as we were
:01:41. > :01:44.beginning to see signs of recovery in all regions, we were dealt a blow
:01:45. > :01:48.with MH17. The full financial impact of the tragedies will be seen in the
:01:49. > :01:52.next set of results. They will need fresh energy to come in and to make
:01:53. > :01:55.some very tough decisions that will probably be unpopular at a political
:01:56. > :02:02.level but they are things they will need to do in order for the airline
:02:03. > :02:06.to survive. That serious work is now the task of the state investment
:02:07. > :02:10.fund, Khazanah, which plans to take ownership of the company and
:02:11. > :02:23.implement a radical restructure. For staff, it is an anxious wait.
:02:24. > :02:27.TRANSLATION: I am very worried about the current situation, but I hope
:02:28. > :02:32.for success. There is no shortage of options for how to turn around the
:02:33. > :02:34.airline. As many as 6000 jobs could go, more than one quarter of its
:02:35. > :02:37.staff. Unprofitable international routes might be cancelled and the
:02:38. > :02:39.chief executive and other senior management replaced. No other
:02:40. > :02:43.carrier has lost two passenger planes in the space of less than six
:02:44. > :02:46.months. For the airline, fixing the finances is just the beginning. The
:02:47. > :02:50.restructure will only go some way towards gaining the confidence of
:02:51. > :02:54.passengers. The queues at this check`in counter aren't exactly
:02:55. > :02:59.long. Some planes are flying with rows of empty seats. Passengers
:03:00. > :03:03.aren't the only ones who are spooked. Nearly 200 cabin crew have
:03:04. > :03:06.resigned in the past six months, much more than normal turnover. The
:03:07. > :03:08.real challenge for Malaysia Airlines and its owners will be to get people
:03:09. > :03:38.flying again. In other news, Virgin Australia's
:03:39. > :03:41.losses have trebled to $330 million. The carrier says its underlying
:03:42. > :03:44.losses were less, at around 200 million, roughly in line with market
:03:45. > :03:46.expectations. It plans to sell a 35% stake in the velocity frequent`flier
:03:47. > :03:51.programme to Affinity Equity partners in a deal valued at about
:03:52. > :03:53.US$900 million. Figures from Japan highlighted
:03:54. > :03:55.challenges of boosting the third largest economy in the world, with
:03:56. > :03:58.industrial production rising less than expected in July while
:03:59. > :04:00.household spending slumped and the inflation rate remains unchanged. A
:04:01. > :04:03.Fujitsu research institute spokesperson tells us how to read
:04:04. > :04:07.the report. Japan has stabilised. We had a shock
:04:08. > :04:09.in April when the sales tax hike was increasing for consumers by 3% with
:04:10. > :04:30.real incomes diving down by 3% on that matter as well. 3.3%. If we
:04:31. > :04:34.strip out the sales tax, we have 1.3% real consumer inflation. This
:04:35. > :04:37.is good, but it does not mean we are on a positive trend. It is bottoming
:04:38. > :04:40.out. 1.3% is way below the 2% inflation target of the Japanese
:04:41. > :04:43.government. Will we see an upward trend going forward? Not for the
:04:44. > :04:50.summer. We very much hope the economy will recover. We hope for
:04:51. > :04:53.third quarter growth of 2.5% and it should increase to the end of the
:04:54. > :04:56.year, but it keeps the government on its toes to come up with more
:04:57. > :05:02.reforms for some reductions in taxes for corporations for example. Some
:05:03. > :05:05.reforms that make people more positive in terms of the overall
:05:06. > :05:19.outlook and that will help create a positive trend. We shouldn't expect
:05:20. > :05:22.too much this summer. Revised numbers from the US reveal
:05:23. > :05:25.the economy grew at a fastest pace than first thought, at 4.2% in the
:05:26. > :05:27.second quarter, up to .2%, reflecting stronger business
:05:28. > :05:30.spending and exports. It was the fastest pace of growth since the
:05:31. > :05:33.first quarter of 2013. `` third quarter. The Indian economy is
:05:34. > :05:46.growing at its slowest pace in three decades. Expectations had been high
:05:47. > :05:50.since Narendra Modi took charge of three months ago. The latest numbers
:05:51. > :05:53.are out today. Are there any signs of a pickup in business confidence?
:05:54. > :05:58.In Mumbai, our correspondent follows a local product on its journey from
:05:59. > :06:01.factory floor to shop window. It is a busy day in this shoe
:06:02. > :06:05.factory. In the last few months, this has been a common sight with
:06:06. > :06:08.new orders coming in fast. It wasn't always like this. The Indian economy
:06:09. > :06:18.slowed down considerably over the last two years, affecting businesses
:06:19. > :06:21.across the board. But this firm, providing shoes to stores across the
:06:22. > :06:23.country, feels that business sentiment has started improving ever
:06:24. > :06:33.since the new government took charge.
:06:34. > :06:37.The initial sentiment shows everything went correct, everything
:06:38. > :06:41.in the right direction. We actually got to see the result. Everyone's
:06:42. > :06:45.gone through a lean period, right? So everyone sees an opportunity to
:06:46. > :06:48.grow big. They need to make up for lost time, make up for lost
:06:49. > :06:54.business. This seems to be that make up time taking place.
:06:55. > :07:02.Anil has come to the store to buy some new shoes for work. He worked
:07:03. > :07:05.in the information and technology sector and lost his work earlier
:07:06. > :07:10.this year due to the economic slowdown, as jobs in IT dried up.
:07:11. > :07:20.After numerous interviews, he finally got the job earlier this
:07:21. > :07:23.month. TRANSLATION: I went for many
:07:24. > :07:26.interviews, but there were very few jobs in the market. One or two
:07:27. > :07:31.companies were ready to hire me weren't offering a good salary.
:07:32. > :07:33.Since taking up this new job, three or four companies have shown
:07:34. > :07:37.interest in hiring me. Suddenly, there are so many jobs in the
:07:38. > :07:40.market, which wasn't the case when I was on the lookout.
:07:41. > :07:43.Most people and investors seem more positive about the economy than they
:07:44. > :07:49.were six months back. There is also a sense that this optimism may last
:07:50. > :07:52.only for a while. In the long`term, a lot will depend on how quickly the
:07:53. > :07:55.new government can introduce reforms bold enough to put Asia's
:07:56. > :08:07.third`largest economy on the fast track to grow.
:08:08. > :08:12.Fuel prices in Indonesia are some of the lowest in the world because the
:08:13. > :08:15.government spends $25 billion each year on subsidies, but there is a
:08:16. > :08:21.limit on how much cheap fuel the government provides. The state`owned
:08:22. > :08:25.oil giant imposed restrictions on subsidised fuel, but not now. Our
:08:26. > :08:33.correspondent looks at the impact on people travelling on one of the
:08:34. > :08:36.country's busiest highways. This is the north coast highway, a
:08:37. > :08:38.1300km road that links the cities in Java, Indonesia's most populated
:08:39. > :08:43.island. On average, 30,000 motor vehicles use this road every day.
:08:44. > :08:52.Trucks carry factory goods and residents of the towns go about
:08:53. > :08:56.their daily lives. Fuel is a crucial commodity here. In the past few
:08:57. > :09:01.days, subsidised fuel has been in high demand. We have travelled about
:09:02. > :09:05.200 kilometres and all along the road, we can see gas stations that
:09:06. > :09:08.didn't have the cheap fuel and those who did were limiting the amount
:09:09. > :09:11.that people can buy for each vehicle. At this petrol station, I
:09:12. > :09:14.have been told it has been out of a cheap fuel since yesterday and
:09:15. > :09:18.today's supply won't get here for another couple of hours. This man is
:09:19. > :09:25.on a long journey transporting goods for a company that operates mobile
:09:26. > :09:32.phone towers. Because of the limited supply, he has had to buy
:09:33. > :09:35.nonsubsidised fuel. TRANSLATION: I can go bankrupt. What
:09:36. > :09:40.the company pays is only enough for subsidised fuel. I lose money this
:09:41. > :09:44.way. Some are taking advantage of the restrictions on fuel.
:09:45. > :09:47.Nearby residents here are lining up to buy and resell it in remote
:09:48. > :09:53.villages. This woman has been waiting for six hours.
:09:54. > :09:56.TRANSLATION: I am trying to buy their fuel to make money but I have
:09:57. > :10:00.been waiting too long and there is no guarantee I will even get the
:10:01. > :10:10.fuel. Scenes like this aren't good for public morale. So the government
:10:11. > :10:22.stepped in. A spokesman from the state`owned oil firm told the BBC...
:10:23. > :10:25.How the government solves this issue at the pumps will affect Indonesia's
:10:26. > :10:28.growth. A new administration will take office in less than two months
:10:29. > :10:38.and already it is facing a critical challenge.
:10:39. > :10:47.A quick look at the markets in Asia. It is lacklustre in mid`morning
:10:48. > :10:50.Friday trade after US equities slept overnight after the latest tension
:10:51. > :10:52.between Ukraine and Russia. Japan is done by 86 points due to
:10:53. > :10:56.disappointing economic data, while Hong Kong at a straight into higher
:10:57. > :10:58.on selective buying. Thank you for investing your time with us. I am
:10:59. > :10:59.Rico Hizon. Goodbye for