17/09/2014

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:00:15. > :00:26.China's president heads to India, could his visit change ties between

:00:27. > :00:35.the two Asian giants? And we take a look at the business tycoon behind

:00:36. > :00:40.China's Alibaba. Thank you for joining us for this edition of Asia

:00:41. > :00:45.Business Report on BBC World News. I am Rico Hizon. India is preparing to

:00:46. > :00:49.welcome China's president Xi Jinping today, the symbolic three`day trip

:00:50. > :00:53.is seen as a chance for India to push for improved economic relations

:00:54. > :00:57.with the mainland. 2`way trade between the Asian giant is already

:00:58. > :01:02.worth tens of billions of dollars, but the relationship is compensated

:01:03. > :01:06.by politics and far from equal. Our correspondent has more. When it

:01:07. > :01:09.comes to the economy, India longs to be like China. But it is years

:01:10. > :01:14.behind when it comes to investing in roads, it airports, and railway

:01:15. > :01:18.lines. Now its rival is set to step in and help. During a three`day

:01:19. > :01:20.visit, the Chinese Premier is expected to promise money for

:01:21. > :01:26.specific infrastructure projects like new industrial parks and all

:01:27. > :01:31.trains, and pry Minister Narendra Modi recently returning from Tokyo

:01:32. > :01:34.with pledges of $35 billion of direct investment over the next five

:01:35. > :01:42.years, many expect Beijing to better that figure. China is already one of

:01:43. > :01:47.India's biggest trading partners. 2`way trade stands close to $70

:01:48. > :01:52.billion. But this is not an equal relationship. For every dollar of

:01:53. > :01:56.Indian goods sold to China, India imports more than $3 worth. To start

:01:57. > :02:00.rectifying the imbalance, India needs to make more things that China

:02:01. > :02:06.wants to buy, but there needs to be some willing as well. IT services,

:02:07. > :02:11.an Indian success story, have had a tough time entering the Chinese

:02:12. > :02:14.market. China has also blocked market access for Indian goods like

:02:15. > :02:21.pharmaceuticals and meet. On the flipside, India remains suspicious

:02:22. > :02:26.of Chinese telecom companies. And Delhi has been restrict him access

:02:27. > :02:30.to Chinese Labour especially on big projects like roads and airports.

:02:31. > :02:32.Eliminating some of these obstructions is bound to be a

:02:33. > :02:38.talking point over the next few days, but you can guarantee that any

:02:39. > :02:42.concessions will have to mean both political and economic needs of two

:02:43. > :02:51.of the world's most populous nations. `` have to meet. For more

:02:52. > :03:00.from India and China forging closer relations, I spoke to a professor

:03:01. > :03:06.from Singapore. The Indian government, under Narendra Modi, the

:03:07. > :03:10.new Prime Minister, has not overcome the historical baggage that the

:03:11. > :03:13.previous government had. For instance the Indian government led

:03:14. > :03:19.by Narendra Modi and his party the BJP had nothing to do with India's

:03:20. > :03:23.defeat in the 1962 war with China. To that extent Narendra Modi is in a

:03:24. > :03:27.position to refashion or reconfigure the relations both clinical,

:03:28. > :03:33.strategic, and economic, with China. So how do refashion and reconfigure

:03:34. > :03:40.the relations? Yes, in the services sector certainly. Chinese president

:03:41. > :03:44.Xi Jinping has indicated there will be receptive relations when they met

:03:45. > :03:47.in the summit a few weeks ago. Also from the Chinese side, the Chinese

:03:48. > :03:53.president has also indicated to Narendra Modi in Brazil that China

:03:54. > :03:58.would be willing to invest more in India, in ever so many sectors. So

:03:59. > :04:03.Narendra Modi himself is very keen to have a greater flow of Chinese

:04:04. > :04:07.investment in economic and strategic sectors. And the legislators could

:04:08. > :04:12.match and exceed the $35 billion that Narendra Modi it received from

:04:13. > :04:15.Japan. Well, that is something we will have to wait and see what the

:04:16. > :04:25.two leaders will announce as a possible figure. In other business

:04:26. > :04:29.is making headlines, Chinese footwear makers say their chief

:04:30. > :04:33.executive and chief operating officer have disappeared, along with

:04:34. > :04:40.most of the company's cash. The firm is based in Germany and said that

:04:41. > :04:43.both its bosses were untraceable. At the same time Ultrasonic said its

:04:44. > :04:47.cash reserves in China and Hong Kong had been transferred out of its

:04:48. > :04:53.reach. Shares in the company fell 79% on the news. The Organisation

:04:54. > :04:55.for economic co`operation and development, also known as the OECD,

:04:56. > :04:59.is set to tackle corporate tax avoidance on a global scale. It

:05:00. > :05:02.plans to target multinational dummies that shrink their tax bills

:05:03. > :05:08.by shifting their profits from one country to another. Companies

:05:09. > :05:11.including Starbucks, Amazon, and Google have been accused of pursuing

:05:12. > :05:16.such strategies but they have all said they operate within the law. He

:05:17. > :05:22.is known for making bold claims and dressing like a rock star, he is the

:05:23. > :05:28.charismatic executive chairman of the e`commerce behemoth Alibaba,

:05:29. > :05:34.which is due to sell shares to the public in New York later this week.

:05:35. > :05:37.He is a household name in China, but barely known outside. Our

:05:38. > :05:41.correspondent takes a closer look at the man behind what is expected to

:05:42. > :05:49.be the world's biggest ever stock market listing. This is the Hong

:05:50. > :05:53.Kong neighbourhood of an area famous for high`end shopping. In the

:05:54. > :05:58.building behind me stands one of the main offices of Internet giant

:05:59. > :06:03.Alibaba. A company that in just 15 years has grown from a barebones

:06:04. > :06:10.start up to a name synonymous with Internet retail in China. It was

:06:11. > :06:17.founded by English teacher Jack Martin, on the left, who picked up

:06:18. > :06:20.the language as a teenager on the banks of the Westlake in eastern

:06:21. > :06:25.China, by giving free tours to visitors. After university, he

:06:26. > :06:30.taught. All the while dreaming of his own business. Following several.

:06:31. > :06:32., he gathered about a dozen friends in 1999, in his flat, to found

:06:33. > :06:46.Alibaba. `` Jack Ma. Alibaba focused on connecting

:06:47. > :06:51.factory owners in China with wholesale buyers abroad. One of the

:06:52. > :06:56.early Hires was a young American who first met Jack Ma at a sales event.

:06:57. > :07:00.He was a little bit distracted because the lights were in his eyes,

:07:01. > :07:04.and it was a little bit of an unpolished performance, but for me

:07:05. > :07:09.it was like seeing sort of a rock star in the early days, in the first

:07:10. > :07:16.bid, that was trying to build a revolution. `` first gig. The

:07:17. > :07:20.Revolution came in 2003. Sensing competition from eBay, WACA three

:07:21. > :07:25.decided to enter the world of online retail shopping. The company did so

:07:26. > :07:30.well that three years later eBay decided to close its China business.

:07:31. > :07:35.Now the confident technology tycoon, every inch, he heads a

:07:36. > :07:40.company that sells more merchandise than eBay and Amazon combined. He

:07:41. > :07:44.may have trained as an English teacher but he could run a

:07:45. > :07:49.masterclass in online shopping. And according to its latest numbers,

:07:50. > :07:55.Alibaba has 279 million users, 50% more than a giddy earlier. But the

:07:56. > :07:59.so`called e`commerce lifestyle in China is very different. I spoke

:08:00. > :08:03.earlier to a consultant to find out why. `` 50% more than at year

:08:04. > :08:07.earlier. It is different in many respects. Firstly it is a

:08:08. > :08:12.significant part of everyone's lights. One can control the lives

:08:13. > :08:16.Alibaba control every side of things. They control capturing the

:08:17. > :08:19.entrepreneurial spirit of the Chinese, where they like to sell

:08:20. > :08:24.from their own companies and sell their own products. From that point

:08:25. > :08:28.of view it is very different. One company controls a large part of the

:08:29. > :08:33.market, and is very different because it is an integral part of

:08:34. > :08:37.1's life. And Alibaba is an integral part of everyone's lifestyle. If you

:08:38. > :08:40.take a look at the West, online consumers adapting to new

:08:41. > :08:45.technologies, is at the same with Chinese consumers? Actually, I would

:08:46. > :08:48.argue that consumers to adopt technology faster. What you see is

:08:49. > :08:52.the actual movement of things in China, much much faster than

:08:53. > :08:56.anything else in the world. For example, if you look at instant

:08:57. > :09:00.messaging, not one of the strength of Alibaba, that instant messaging

:09:01. > :09:08.programme has launched itself very quickly. That thing has exploded

:09:09. > :09:11.over China, and not only is it simple instant messaging, but it has

:09:12. > :09:14.moved into commerce. From that point of view it is innovating, doing

:09:15. > :09:17.things you don't see anywhere else in the world. I would argue that

:09:18. > :09:21.China is properly ahead of many other markets. With this attitude of

:09:22. > :09:28.adapting to new technologies quickly, this has basically helped

:09:29. > :09:33.Alibaba's rapid growth. Alibaba has grown significantly over the last

:09:34. > :09:36.few years. The e`commerce market in China is 280 billion US dollars,

:09:37. > :09:41.which is an enormous number. They control the vast majority, 80%, of

:09:42. > :09:45.that particular market. They build a brand very early and are clearly

:09:46. > :09:48.somebody who is trusted. It is that they get so many people visiting

:09:49. > :09:51.their site. Because so many visit the site, it is very difficult for

:09:52. > :09:55.other competitors to action and move into that particular realm. So

:09:56. > :09:59.therefore they essentially have created a very, very strong rand

:10:00. > :10:07.that people can capture. What is the downside to Alibaba's bit business

:10:08. > :10:11.model? The downside as they are so big question is how easy it is for

:10:12. > :10:16.someone to manage a company with such an enormous proportion, I think

:10:17. > :10:18.that is one of the challenges going forward. The challenge is the

:10:19. > :10:21.regular tree environment. The regular treat environment in China

:10:22. > :10:25.changes every now and then. Question is whether they can remain within

:10:26. > :10:32.the right regular treat framework for them `` regular Tory framework.

:10:33. > :10:42.Thank you for investing your time with us. `` regulatory. The top

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:10:46. > :10:47.Africa is spiralling out of control, and poses a global threat, with

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