10/09/2014 Asia Business Report

minister 's questions in the Commons. They will be visiting

Scotland to campaign against independence.

Time for the latest business news from Singapore.

Apple launches its first new product lines since the iPad and the death

of Steve jobs. But is it innovative enough?

And we take you to a Chinese city where business leaders are gathering

for the start of this year's World Economic Forum.

Thank you for joining us for this addition of Asia Business Report.

There is certainly a bit of a buzz around Apple this morning as it

unveiled its first new product lines since the death of its co`founder

Steven jobs. There was near his stereo during the launch of its much

anticipated smart watch. They also unveiled the iPhone sex and the ``

iPhone sex and the Apple Pay system. It is expected to be a massive boom

for the company. We look at one company hoping to

cash in. This company is among many Taiwanese firms expected to make

billions of dollars from the sales of the iPhone.

This building is one of three with the capability of making microchip

processors for the smartphones. This was after Apple dropped its former

supplier after fears that Samsung would steal designs. Taiwanese

suppliers will make $80 to as much as $150 for each iPhone sold. That

is the biggest portion of all components. Demand for the new

iPhone is also expected to boost Taiwan's exports by 2% in the coming

months. And its GDP by nearly 0.5%. Investment banks and the government

raised projections for Taiwan's GDP growth. But the benefits of the new

iPhone could be short lived. Some of Apple's suppliers are under scrutiny

due to wages and working conditions. And there are concerns that exports

could revert to go growth after the launch is over.

The watch and wearables market is fiercely competitive. Many companies

are making a head start on Apple. We look at whether the watch is likely

to win over consumers. This is one of the most anticipated

and hyped Apple events of recent years. There were a lot of products

on bail. `` products unveiled. We had two new iPhones with bigger

screens. It unveiled a new payment system where you can pay with your

mobile phone in a shop or online. Most of the attention was on the new

Apple watch. A whole new category, wearable technology. Normally it is

dominated by geeks. But they invited the world of fashion along. With me

is someone from cosmopolitan. What did you think? Were you impressed? I

was. It is a whole new category. It is exciting. The way it looks and

the usability makes it very exciting. They seem to have thought

carefully about how people will use the watch. The way it will be used

they `` day to day, it will take off. There are already smart

watches. Have you taken any interest in them before? I think because it

is the Apple event, it is an Apple product, it comes with that extra

bit of hype. It is good to see what is new. The care they have taken

over the design does make it different to competitors. Is the

fashion world getting closer to the technology world? I think this could

mark a step which means they become closer. The products are so

appealing to women. You can see from the demonstration, they had to be

designs, the watch straps that appeal to men and others

specifically meant for women. When you start making technology

wearable, that is when it crosses over into fashion. If it becomes a

widespread then, we could see more product.

There is a lot of competition out there. There are other watchers.

Apple is betting it can make a difference as it did with phones. We

will have to see if it takes off. It is not just consumers, but rivals

as well that Apple has to content with. I asked how the technology

giant will compete. So far, Apple and Samsung have managed to stay

afloat. They are the only two companies in this fast changing

mobile world that have continued to prosper. They are both coming under

pressure from a lot of fast rising Chinese companies. Apple has still

got extraordinary margins. That has protected its brand. People are

willing to pay extraordinary prices for that to some are much the same

as those much cheaper product. Will it continue to do that? Not only

have we seen a watch unveiled, we have seen two versions of the

iPhone. It has managed to keep this company's margins up. That iPhone

has been the real driver of profit growth for Apple. For more on

Apple's launch and analysis of what it will mean or the company and

technology sector, log onto BBC website.

Taiwan has fined a leading supplier of cooking oil more than $1.6

million for sparking a food scare. Investigators found that some of its

produce had been collected from cookers, Friars and grease traps and

an extended with large boil for sale to its customers across Taiwan.

A Japanese e`commerce retailer is buying eBay for $1 billion. `` and

American retailer. It will be the third strike by

pilots from the German carrier in two weeks. They are trying to raise

pressure over negotiations for an early retirement scheme.

Hundreds of business leaders are gathering in China for the annual

World Economic Forum, also known as the summer Davos. It is one of the

world's fastest growing cities. I am in a thriving, heaving

metropolis that is rapidly spreading into the surrounding landscape. This

city has had double`digit growth since 2004. All around me there is

no shortage of office towers and retail development. But it is also a

microcosm of all the challenges that face China today. It starts right

here in the heart of the city. We have got old, historical buildings

from the city's colonial past. It is higgledy`piggledy and indicative of

how the country's development has been going at breakneck speed are

not always with the central planning that China is so well known for.

About an hour's dry from the city centre, you have got the port. You

can almost take the pulse of the country's economy by watching what

goes on here. A lot of the iron ore that China brings in his unloaded at

this port stock it goes into steel to make a lot of things, including

apartment blocks. Right now the benchmark price is down to five year

lows. There are increasing concerns about the health of China's property

sector. Rows of yet to be finished apartment blocks testamentary once

confident real estate sector in China. Economists are worried about

the impact of the property downturn on the broader economy. Nobody

underestimates the challenges facing China as it tries to turn its

economy away from one fuelled by investment products at this one to

one fuelled by domestic consumption. But as the economic Forum gathers

speakers, the difficulties facing China are clear for all to see.

In the markets, losses for Asian stocks mid`morning trade after

concerns that the Federal reserve could raise interest rates sooner

rather than later. Apple shares also declined as investors were left

unimpressed by the latest batch of product announcements.

Thank you for investing your time with us. Goodbye for now.

Here are the headlines: President Obama has made it clear to US

congressional leaders he has the authority already to carry out a

broader military campaign against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

India and Pakistan are struggling to