01/09/2014 Asia Business Report


01/09/2014

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Hospital on Thursday, against the advice of doctors. Now on BBC News,

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all the latest business news live from Singapore.

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Boosting relations. India's Prime Minister is in Japan to improve

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economic and defence ties. Getting hitched in China, couples turning to

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novelty wedding photos have given rise to a new multi` billion`dollar

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industry. Hello, and welcome to Asia Business Report. I am Sharanjit Leyl

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in Singapore. India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi is in Japan on his

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first big bilateral trip since taking office in May. Trade between

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the two countries was $10 billion last year, which pales compared to

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India's trade with China, which came in at $65 billion. On the weekend,

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Narendra Modi and the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited a temple

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in Kyoto ahead of the summit to discuss ways to expand bilateral

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cooperation relating to economic and defence issues. During the five`day

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visit, Shinzo Abe and his Japanese counterparts are expected to sign a

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deal allowing for the joint production of rare earth minerals

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and metals, key element in the defence technology sector. Both

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nations currently import the material from China. Earlier I spoke

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with the cheap economist for Asia Pacific at the consultancy IHS, and

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they asked how significant it was that the Indian Prime Minister is

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seeking to boost ties with Japan. They see Japan is a great

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opportunity to expand the relationship that has been a

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relatively underplayed one. I think particularly because costs of

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manufacturing are rising in China, it is a very good opportunity now to

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attract Japanese investment into the Indian manufacturing sector, and to

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establish co`operation in other areas, particularly in defence and

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energy as well. Whether India is going to Japan, to provide advanced

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technology. Talk about defence and energy, rat earth is on the agenda,

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nuclear energy pact as well expected to be on the agenda at `` red

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Earth. How crucial are these two sectors for India and Japan? For

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India in particular it is looking for energy technology. Nuclear

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technology still on the agenda for India. It will be looking for a

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nuclear technology from Japan, as well as other sorts of conventional

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energy technology as well. In terms of rare earth, Japan is actually

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very dependent on China for rare earth imports. So the opportunity

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has actually come to watch China to supply rare earths for Japan, which

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will be particularly used for the water industry in Japan. You say it

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is all about trying to diversify away from China. How much is this

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meeting and this trip about also deflecting the challenge brought

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about by an increasingly militarised China. I think in the Japanese point

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of view they are trying to build alliances around Asia`Pacific region

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is, of course they are traditional allies with the US. I think from the

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Indian perspective they are going to want to play a very balanced

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relationship between Japan and China. Because China is a very

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important economic relationship or India, and they don't want to get

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into an arms race with China either. The latest gauge of manufacturing

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activity in China, the purchasing manager's index, as slow to 51.1,

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compared to a reading of 51.7 in July. Any reading above 50 indicates

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an expansion. Before this morning's figures, the PMI had risen for seven

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straight months. A Japanese company has increased its spending on plant

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and equipment in the second quarter by 3% compared with the same time

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last year, underlining a moderate recovery in this investment. The

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increase follows a 7.4% increase in the first quarter of the year. The

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Indian economy has chalked up its fastest paced growth in 2.5 years,

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second`quarter GDP expanded by 5.7%. It was helped by strong growth

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in financial services. The expansion follows a fresh policies launched by

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India's new government, designed to encourage business investment. It

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cuts are underweight in an attempt to revive the beleaguered

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flagcarrier Malaysia Airlines. The investment fund which owns 69% of

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the airline has announced a near $2 billion restructure. 6000 jobs, or

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one third of the airline's workforce will go. There will be a new boss

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for the airline, and the aim is to be back to profitability by the end

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of 2017. The airline's financial troubles ballooned after the twin

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disasters of MH370 and MH17. For more, our correspondent covers the

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aviation sector at a consultancy, frost and Sullivan. People are

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reeling over the huge loss in jobs, 6000. Will this restructuring plan

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really be enough to turn Malaysia Airlines' fortunes around? I think

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it is a bold move, I think it is a good move. I think that they had no

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choice in doing so. I think the plan is a very good one. Looking at it

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from a strategic expected it makes tremendous sense, but it will come

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down to the into meditation `` perspective. Can they do it on the

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ground? You say it is good, but implementation, they seem to be

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taking a fairly hard`line already. They have chopped 6000 jobs. So will

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is this perhaps a sign that they are willing to implement? I think for

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sure. I really think that they have absolutely no choice whatsoever to

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do so. They are making the right moves, and very bold moves. So I

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think that they got off to a good starting point. Right. But this huge

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loss in the number of jobs. How will they even keep on running? Weren't

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they need to cut routes? They will need to cut routes, get rid of old

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aircraft, refocus where they fly to, probably more regional flights.

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Yes, there is going to be tremendous reshuffling and reorganisation to be

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done. Now even if the airline were to recover, the aim is by 2017 they

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want to go back into profitability, they still have to content with

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competition market. Everybody is faced with

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exactly the same thing. Thai Airways, a Asia. You have the same

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competition in the market `` Air Asia. You have to be strong, manage

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costs, and be very focused. I think the plan that Malaysia Airlines is

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showing is a far more lean, mean organisation. So I think they have a

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far better chance of survival than they have had in the past. We will

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leave it there. If you are planning on walking down the aisle, of

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course, there are lots of people planning that. How far would you go

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for your wedding photos? Well, in China, couples are no longer just

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after that traditional shot of their kiss at the altar. Their new demands

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have created big opportunities for China's entrepreneurs in today's

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edition of my business Asia, John Sutton worth reports on the booming

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industry in novelty wedding photos. `` John Sudworth. It is a photo

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shoot guaranteed to take the breath away. China's buoyant, booming

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economy has seen a splurge in wedding spending in recent years,

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and with it has come a rapid change in taste and customs. It is

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special, for us, because a lot of couples choose the original styles.

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We want a special style for us, I think underwater is more good for

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the couples, I think. If you can't afford time off work for those

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special images, then why not have taken on job? These photos of a

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paramilitary police officer and his wife recently went viral on the

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Chinese Internet. Unlike in the West, couples have their main set of

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photos taken well in advance of the wedding, and with more than 500,000

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registered wedding photographers countrywide, competition is fierce.

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In Shanghai alone, there are dozens of studios with the special tanks

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needed for the underwater shots. China might not have invented the

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genre, but it has caught on fast as old traditions are swamped by a

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flood of new money. This photo shoot is costing Yy and Lamy dearly, but

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with so many couples tying the knot, that soon adds up. The industry is

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worth an estimated 80 billion US dollars. That is more than the total

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output of some European economies, and includes all wedding spending.

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Ceremonies, receptions, and honeymoons. For photographers who

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want to hang onto their share of it, spotting the next new trend may

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determine if they think or swim. Let's have a quick look at the

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markets. Asian shares are taking their cues from the US, we saw

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positive data there helping extend a rally, with the S 500 closing

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strongly. US stocks are closed for Labour Day, so stocks here reacting

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in a fairly subdued manner. We are seeing shares over in Japan, in a

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fairly range bound trade, but Hong Kong, the Hang Seng has just opened

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and in the last few minutes it has been falling after that index of

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Chinese manufacturing data contracted. That is it for this

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edition of Asia Business Report. Thank you for watching. The top

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stories this hour: Pro`democracy groups in Hong Kong have reacted

:10:43.:10:44.

angrily to

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