23/09/2014 Asia Business Report

with the company's accounts. The retailer overstated its profits and

the share price has plunged. Now on BBC News all the latest business

news live from Singapore. Eyes on China. Fresh manufacturing

data from the Maitland will tell us more about their economy ``

mainland. Fighting greenhouse emissions from around the world. The

UN comes together to battle climate change in New York. Welcome to Asia

Business Report. I Rico Hizon. The economy of China has had a bumpy

ride in recent months and the latest numbers from manufacturing will be

closely watched for signs that there is more pressure on gross. Falling

house prices are already a cause for concern with the property market

accounting for 15% of GDP. How worried should investors be? I

earlier spoke to an investor and asked her if she was concerned. It

is more complicated than picking growth over a reformed agenda. This

was put in place last October. There are pockets that are struggling but

it is important to remember that it is quality of growth that is

important. It is flowing but we are seeing a transition from an

investment led GDP model to one of private consumption of services.

Where do we see the Chinese economy going forward? A bumpy ride in terms

of the economic environment to cause the reforms agenda is very

significant and the various policies that are put into lace. `` place.

And we have already seen the stimulus initiatives that have

boosted the Chinese economy but we have also seen that dip over the

last couple of months. The latest manufacturing data coming out today

come up what are you looking at? Consensus is that it will be just a

low 50. Pockets will be offset by better`than`expected data. The

property market should be monitored. What would you like the

Chinese government to do at this point to smooth the volatility

over? If you look at the growth with low expectations, it is still very

attractive versus where we are in the world as a whole. It goes back

to the reforms agenda which is a stimulus plan, the anticorruption

measures which are related to the austerity measures we have in

place. Where are you telling your investors to put their money? It is

a balance and it is very stock specific. Attractive consumer

related names and old Chinese names which are benefiting from enterprise

reform that we are seeing. It is a stock pickers delight to some

degree. In other news, the supermarket giant Tesco has this

then did some of its top executives after its half`year profit guidance

was overstated by almost a quarter of its expected profits for the

period. Shares in the company fell by more than 11% after the news. The

US Securities and Exchange Commission has awarded a record

pay`out to an anonymous whistleblower who live outside the

US. It is the largest payment ever given to a whistleblower by

regulators. They said the person gave crucial information that helped

the agency under cover a fraud that was difficult to detect. The White

House says it will practice on tax avoidance deals which are known as

inversions. This will impact US companies merging with companies in

a country with a lower tax rate. President Obama says the tax

initiatives will make these deals less attractive. The strength of the

Chinese economy is key to the growth plans of many businesses and hotel

groups are no exception. With growing numbers of Chinese

tourists, this hotel group hopes to double its residents in Asia over

the next few years, opening a new hotel every week. In Tianjin, our

correspondent spoke of growth prospects. As long as the new

government continues growth in the seven and a half percent region,

that is extremely good for travel because when consumers have

disposable income, they travel. How is that travelling Chinese public

changing the game for the entire industry and people like you? They

are definitely changing the game. If I take an example like the

Maldives, China is now third largest geographic source of business ``

their. I think travel is going to be a boom. Our tagline is, the Chinese

are coming. What are the biggest risks to your business model if you

look at property downturns at the moment? Certainly that is a big risk

for the hotel industry because I'm number of hotels are affected. They

also are viewed as infrastructure in China to a certain degree. As far as

some form of softening as you are seeing today in the real estate

market, it is an issue. Do you see that turning into a full`blown

crisis? Not yet stop it is `` not yet. Some governments have

overreached and others have relaxed on this front, that his previous

restrictions on buying a second home in cash. How worried are you? It is

a concern but I think one has to believe that if there is a country

that can manage this, it would be China. They have managed a number of

clearly concerning issues extremely well over time and I have good

confidence that they will manage at this time. Also you have large

growth behind all of this. It solves a lot of problems. Business leaders

and heads of state from around the world are heading to New York for a

United Nations backed lime at Summit which will focus on the world's

biggest greenhouse gas emissions. Some leaders are not attending and

earlier I spoke to an Australian correspondent about whether or not

that was a concern. It depends what the government representatives say.

It is not as if they are not represented. We have leaders from

125 other countries. My country is represented by a senior person as

are the Indian and Chinese governments so what matters most is

what they say. How much consensus is there among the countries

participating that something needs to be done to fight climate change?

I think there is a sense of building momentum as well as growing

anxiety. That is what we are hearing today when we hear from Ban Ki`moon

and other business leaders. The costs are hitting and they are

hitting now. Taking action can lead to opportunity that has benefits,

for example in air pollution and the health benefits that come from

that. There is a different momentum here, a pivot from looking at who

will bear the greatest burden. As you say there is a change of

momentum but what kind of challenges in the region in terms of getting

business on the same page and convincing them that changes need to

be made? A number of things. There is wariness about what is going on

in the west of the world `` rest. But there is an improving dialogue

between the US and China who are building a strategic alliance. I

think we are beginning to see from policymakers in places like China,

Korea and elsewhere, that these policies can be implemented and it

doesn't mean death and destruction to local business and economies.

That is important but we have gotten massive urbanisation happening,

massive investment needed in infrastructure across the region and

it is really important that those are directed well. Before we go,

here is a look at the markets. Asia is currently slipping in midmorning

on Tuesday trade due to growth worries in China and a slide in the

price of oil which has pushed the stock market to its biggest loss in

almost seven weeks. Those are the markets. Thank you for investing

your time with us. I'm Mike Embley. The top stories

this hour. We