:00:00. > :00:00.campaigning against independence. Now on BBC News, all the latest
:00:00. > :00:21.business news live from Singapore. Apple launches its first new product
:00:22. > :00:26.line since the iPad, and the death of its co`founder Steve Jobs. But is
:00:27. > :00:32.it innovative enough? And we take you to the Chinese city where
:00:33. > :00:39.business leaders are gathering for the start of this year's World
:00:40. > :00:43.Economic Forum. Thank you for joining us for this edition of Asia
:00:44. > :00:49.Business Report on BBC World News. I am Rico Hizon. There is certainly a
:00:50. > :00:53.bit of a buzz around Apple this morning, after it unveiled its first
:00:54. > :01:00.new product lines and the death of its co`founder Steve Jobs. There was
:01:01. > :01:04.the Histon area during the launch of the much anticipated smartwatch,
:01:05. > :01:12.which runs apps and acts as a health and fitness tracker, as well as the
:01:13. > :01:16.iPhone to six. Despite this, it was a volatile trading day for Apple
:01:17. > :01:21.shares, which closed down 37 cents on Wall Street. Still the launch of
:01:22. > :01:27.the new iPhone is said to be a massive room for the company, and
:01:28. > :01:30.those companies in Asia which manufactured components. Our
:01:31. > :01:40.correspondent looks at one company looking to cash in. This company,
:01:41. > :01:46.TSMC, is among many Taiwanese firms looking to earn billions of dollars
:01:47. > :01:49.from the sales of the iPhone six. This building is one of three
:01:50. > :01:53.centres with the capability of making a microchip processors for
:01:54. > :01:57.the smartphone. TSMC was chosen to make the microprocessors after Apple
:01:58. > :02:02.dropped its former supplier and main rival Samsung over fears that the
:02:03. > :02:05.firm would steal its design. Local analysts say Taiwanese suppliers
:02:06. > :02:12.which also make the casings and camera lens will make $80 to as much
:02:13. > :02:15.as $150 for each iPhone sold. That is the biggest portion of all
:02:16. > :02:22.components makers. Demand for the new iPhone is also expected to boost
:02:23. > :02:26.Taiwan's exports by 2% monthly in coming months, and its GDP growth by
:02:27. > :02:30.nearly half a percentage point. As a result, investment banks and the
:02:31. > :02:35.government recently raised their projections for Taiwan's GDP growth
:02:36. > :02:48.this year. From around 3% to around 3.5%. But the benefits of the new
:02:49. > :02:53.iPhone could be short lived. Some of Apple's Taiwanese suppliers are
:02:54. > :02:57.under scrutiny or their Chinese workers' wages and working
:02:58. > :03:01.conditions, and their concerns that Taiwan's exports could revert to
:03:02. > :03:08.very low growth as the iPhone launches are over by the end of this
:03:09. > :03:11.year. Now the watch and the market is fiercely competitive, with many
:03:12. > :03:16.companies making a head start on Apple. Our technology correspondent
:03:17. > :03:21.was at the launch, and looks at how the Apple `` whether the Apple watch
:03:22. > :03:26.it innovative enough to win over consumers. This was one of the most
:03:27. > :03:32.hyped event of recent years, and lots of products were unveiled. By
:03:33. > :03:35.Apple's Tim Cook, we had to make new iPhones with bigger screens, you
:03:36. > :03:39.will remember years ago it said it wouldn't move to eager screens, but
:03:40. > :03:43.has decided it was a good idea. A new payment system, where you can
:03:44. > :03:50.pay with your mobile phone in a shop or online. But most attention was on
:03:51. > :03:53.category entering the wearable tech category entering the wearable tech
:03:54. > :03:57.knowledge area. And interestingly at this event, it is usually dominated
:03:58. > :04:02.late geeks. But they invited the world of fashion along as well. With
:04:03. > :04:07.me is Cosmopolitan's Rosie. What was your impression. Were you impress? I
:04:08. > :04:12.was actually. I think it is actually a whole new category. It is very
:04:13. > :04:17.exciting because of that. I think the way it actually looks, and the
:04:18. > :04:20.usability, makes it just a very exciting products. They seem to have
:04:21. > :04:25.thought very carefully about how people will use the iWatch, the
:04:26. > :04:29.Apple Watch. I think the way it will be used day`to`day, it will be quite
:04:30. > :04:33.popular. I forget will be something that does take off. There are lots
:04:34. > :04:38.of smart watches out there already. Samsung, Google android watchers
:04:39. > :04:45.generally, have you taken any interest in them before? Is this a
:04:46. > :04:48.whole new thing for you? I think it was in is the Apple events, an Apple
:04:49. > :04:52.product, it does come with that extra bit of hype. It is always good
:04:53. > :04:55.to see what is new. And I think the care they have taken over the design
:04:56. > :04:58.of it does make it different to their competitors. I think it is
:04:59. > :05:01.something that looks very beautiful, and I think it is the first time
:05:02. > :05:04.that we have seen something so appealing to women. Is the fashion
:05:05. > :05:07.world getting closer to the technology world, in a way? I think
:05:08. > :05:12.this could actually mark a step which means that they do become
:05:13. > :05:15.closer. Because I think the product are so appealing to women, you can
:05:16. > :05:19.see from the demonstration they had, the designs, the watch straps
:05:20. > :05:24.that would appeal to men, but they also had the ones that were clearly
:05:25. > :05:29.specifically meant for women, gold, pink straps, things like that. I
:05:30. > :05:32.think when you start making technology wearable, it starts to
:05:33. > :05:35.cross over into fashion, and it becomes a widespread thing if it
:05:36. > :05:40.really catches on. We could see things like this in the future from
:05:41. > :05:44.other companies. There is a lot of competition out there. There are
:05:45. > :05:47.various other watchers. Apple is betting that it can make a
:05:48. > :05:51.difference as it did with phones as well, but it is going to be an
:05:52. > :05:56.expensive product, we will have to wait until next year to see whether
:05:57. > :06:00.it will take off. It is not just consumers, but cheaper rivals that
:06:01. > :06:04.they have to content with. I asked our correspondent how the tech giant
:06:05. > :06:08.will compete. The world is changing very rapidly, so far Apple and
:06:09. > :06:12.Samsung have managed to stay afloat, they are about the only tee
:06:13. > :06:16.companies in the fast changing mobile world which will continue to
:06:17. > :06:20.prosper, but they are both coming under pressure, from as you say,
:06:21. > :06:25.lots of rising Chinese companies. What Apple still has, however, is
:06:26. > :06:30.extraordinary margins, adaptability so far to protect its brand, to have
:06:31. > :06:34.a brand that people are willing to pay extraordinary prices for
:06:35. > :06:38.products that, you know, to some people's eyes, are much the same as
:06:39. > :06:41.those much cheaper products which come from other companies. Will it
:06:42. > :06:45.be able to continue to do that? Well, you should not forget that we
:06:46. > :06:53.have not only seen a watch unveiled today, you have seen two new
:06:54. > :06:56.versions of the iPhone, bigger iPhones. And that is really the
:06:57. > :07:00.court to the business. If they managed to keep their margins up on
:07:01. > :07:04.that iPhone, that iPhone has been the real driver of Robert growth for
:07:05. > :07:07.Apple. And for more on Apple's latest product launch, and analysis
:07:08. > :07:16.on what this will mean for the company and the technology sector,
:07:17. > :07:21.log onto BBC website. In other business is making headlines, Taiwan
:07:22. > :07:26.and China are scheduled to restart talks today on a free`trade good
:07:27. > :07:30.agreement, negotiations were delayed due to opposition by concerns in
:07:31. > :07:33.Taiwan about closer ties with Beijing. The topics include easier
:07:34. > :07:37.access to the Chinese market would Taiwanese manufacturers of panels,
:07:38. > :07:47.petrochemicals, machine tools, and automobiles. Japanese eat, as
:07:48. > :07:54.retailer Rakuten is buying up rival for billions of dollars. It is the
:07:55. > :08:03.latest of a series of acquisitions including Viber,
:08:04. > :08:05.business leaders are currently gathering in the Chinese city of
:08:06. > :08:15.Tianjin for the annual World Economic Forum meeting, known . It
:08:16. > :08:19.is one of the world's fastest growing. Our correspondent looks at
:08:20. > :08:25.the challenges the host city is facing. I am in downtown Tianjin, a
:08:26. > :08:29.thriving, heaving metropolis which is rapidly spreading into the
:08:30. > :08:33.surrounding landscape. This city has had double`digit growth since 2004,
:08:34. > :08:39.and all around me there is no shortage of office towers and retail
:08:40. > :08:42.developments, freeways, and conference centres. But Tianjin is
:08:43. > :08:46.also a microcosm of all the challenges that face China today.
:08:47. > :08:50.And it starts right here, in the heart of the city. You've got old
:08:51. > :08:55.historical buildings from the city's colonial past, hard up
:08:56. > :09:01.against modern new shopping centres. It is higgledy`piggledy, and
:09:02. > :09:10.indicative of how the development has been at redneck speed, but not
:09:11. > :09:14.always at `` breakneck speed. You can almost take the pulse of the
:09:15. > :09:18.country's economy by what goes on at this port. That is because a lot of
:09:19. > :09:24.the iron or that shy and brings in its unloaded at this port. The iron
:09:25. > :09:26.ore goes into steel, to make a lot of things, including apartment
:09:27. > :09:32.blocks. And right now, the benchmark spot price for Tianjin iron ore is
:09:33. > :09:38.down to five`year lows, with increasing concerns about the health
:09:39. > :09:41.of China's poverty. Rows of yet to be finished apartment blocks,
:09:42. > :09:48.testament to a once confident real estate sector in China. Prices for
:09:49. > :09:51.new homes are falling across the country. And economists are worried
:09:52. > :09:56.about the impact of a property downturn on the broader economy. No
:09:57. > :10:00.one underestimates the challenges facing China, as it tries to turn
:10:01. > :10:03.its economy away from one fuelled a investment in projects like this
:10:04. > :10:09.one, to one fuelled by domestic consumption. As the World Economic
:10:10. > :10:15.Forum gather speakers to Tianjin, the difficulties facing China are
:10:16. > :10:21.clear for all to see. In the markets, Asia is slipping in
:10:22. > :10:23.mid`morning Wednesday trade at a US equities fell overnight over
:10:24. > :10:27.concerns the US central bank could raise interest rates sooner rather
:10:28. > :10:31.than later. Japan, Hong Kong, and Sydney, all in negative territory.
:10:32. > :10:40.They give for investing your time with us. Goodbye for now. `` thank
:10:41. > :10:42.you for investing your time with us. I'm Mike Embley. The top stories
:10:43. > :10:43.this hour: President