01/09/2014 Asia Business Report

Brett and Naghemeh King took him from a Southampton hospital on

Thursday, against the advice of doctors.

Now on BBC News all the latest business news live from Singapore.

Boosting relations, India's prime minister is in Japan to improve

economic and defence ties. And, getting hitched in China. Couples

turning to novelty wedding photos have been roused `` giving rise to a

new multi`million dollar industry. Welcome to Asia Business Report.

India's prime minister is in Japan on his first big bilateral trip,

since taking office in May. Trade between the two countries was $15

billion last year, which pales compares to India's trade with

China, coming in at $65 billion. Over the weekend, the Indian prime

minister and the Japanese Prime Minister visited a temple ahead of a

summit to discuss ways to expand bilateral cooperation

relationships, during the five`day visit, they are expected to sign a

deal allowing for the joint production of rare earth minerals

and metals. And key elements in the defence technology sector. They will

import materials from China. I spoke to the chief economist for

Asia`Pacific. I asked how significant it was that the Indian

Prime Minister was seeking to boost ties with Japan. I see Japan as a

great opportunity to expand the relationship which has been

relatively underplayed, particularly, because costs of our

manufacturing is rising in China. It is a good opportunity now to attract

Japanese investors into the Indian manufacturing sector. And establish

cooperation in other areas, including defence and energy, where

India will look to Japan, in order to provide advanced technology. You

talk about defence and energy, rare earth is on the agenda, nuclear

energy is expected to be on the agenda as well, how crucial are

these agendas for India and Japan? For India, in particular, they are

nuclear energy is on the agenda for nuclear energy is on the agenda for

India. We will be looking for nuclear technology from Japan, as

well as other sorts of conventional energy technology as well. In terms

of rare earths, Japan is very dependent on China for a rare as

import. The opportunity has come for India to supply rare earths to

Japan. That will help to diversify Japanese dependency away from China

`` rare earths. It will be used in the auto industry in Japan. You say

this is about diversifying away from China, how much is this meeting and

trip about deflecting the challenge brought about by an increasingly

militarised China? From the Japanese point of view, they are trying to

build alliances around Asian Pacific regions. Of course, though

traditionally `` traditional allies were the US. From the Indian

perspective, they will want to play a balanced relationship between

Japan and China, because China is a very important economic

relationships India. They do not want to get into an arms race with

China either. In other news comes a later gauge of manufacturing

activity in China, purchasing managers index, has slowed to 51.1

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

indicates expansion. Before this morning 's figures, the PMI had

risen for seven straight months. A Japanese company has increased

spending by 3% compared to the same period last year. That is due to

underlying `` underlying business investment. They were set to

increase in the first quarter of the year. The Indian economy has chalked

up a faster pace of growth in 2.5 years, the second`quarter GDP

expanded by 5.7%. It was helped by strong growth in financial

services. The expansion follows fresh policies launched by India's

new government, designed to encourage business investment. Deep

cuts are under way in an attempt to revive the beleaguered flagcarrier

Malaysia Airlines, the state investor owns 65% of the airline and

has announced a $2.5 billion restructure. 6000 jobs, one third of

the airline 's workforce, will go. There will be a new boss for the

airline. The aim is to be back to profitability by the end of 2017.

The airline 's financial troubles ballooned after the twin disasters

of MH370 and MH17. Earlier, I spoke to our guest, asking for his

reaction to the restructuring plans. It is a bold move, a good move. I

believe they had no choice in doing so. The 12 point plan is a good one.

Looking at it from this perspective, it makes sense. It will

come down to the implementation of that plan. Can they do it on the

ground? Ayew white you say it is good, `` you say it is a good

implementation. They have got rid of 6000 jobs, is it a sign they are

willing to implement? For sure, they have no choice whatsoever to do so.

They are making the right moves, they are very bold. They have got

off to a good starting point. This huge loss in the number of jobs, how

are they going to keep on running? Will they have to cut routes? They

will, they will have to get rid of aircraft, and refocus where they fly

to. They will get more regional flights. This will be a tremendous

reshuffling and reorganisation that will have to be done. If the airline

were to recover, the aim is by 2017, they want to be back in profit. They

have to contend with competition from low`cost carriers, gulf

carriers and long haul routes. How do you envision Malaysia Airlines in

2017? There is a lot of competition in these markets, many other

companies faced by the same thing. You have the same competition in the

markets. `` many other companies are faced with the same thing. You have

to manage costs and be focused. Malaysia Airlines showing a more

lean, more mean organisation, they have a better chance of survival

than they have had in the past I think. Pro`democracy groups took to

the streets in Hong Kong last night after a ruling from Beijing that

effectively gives China control over the choice of candidates in the

territories next leadership election due in 2017. It will be the first

time the Hong Kong chief executive is directly chosen by voters.

China's legislator has ruled that all candidates must be approved by

more than half of a special nominating body. Hong Kong has a

population of 7.2 million people. It was returned to Chinese Communist

rule in 1997 as a special administrative region of China. If

you are planning on walking down the aisle in the near future, how far

would you go for your wedding? `` for your wedding photos? In China,

couples are no longer after that traditional short of their kiss at

the altar, the new demands have created big opportunities for

China's entrepreneurs . It is a photo shoot guaranteed to

take the breath away. China's buoyant and booming economy has seen

a splurge in wedding spending in recent years, and whether it has

come a rapid changing tastes and customs. `` and with it. It is

special for us, a lot of couples choose original styles. We want a

special style farce. `` special style for us. Underwater is special

for us. If you cannot afford time off work for those special images,

why not have them taken on the job? These photos of a paramilitary

police officer and his wife recently went viral on the Chinese Internet.

Unlike in the West, couples have their main set of photos taken in

advance of the wedding. With more than half a million registered

wedding photographers countrywide, competition is fierce. In Shanghai

alone, there are dozens of studios with the special underwater tanks

needed for these shots. China may not have invented the genre is, but

it has caught on fast, as old traditions are swamped by a flood of

new money. This photo shoot is costing this couple a little more

than 300 US dollars. With some 10 million Chinese couples tying the

knot each year, the spending adds up, and industry today is worth an

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

of some European economies, and includes all wedding spending.

Ceremonies, receptions and honeymoons. For photographers

wanting to hang onto their share of it, bolting the next new trend may

determine whether they sink or swim `` sporting.

Let's have a quick look at the markets.

These figures boost estimations. That is it for today's edition of

Asia Business Report. This is BBC News. The top stories

this hour: Pro`democracy groups in Hong Kong have reacted angrily to a

ruling from Beijing that effectively gives China control over the choice

of candidates for the territory's next leadership election.

Russian president