:00:00. > :00:00.the Prime Minister of India meets Fortune 500 executives in the US, we
:00:00. > :00:16.look at success of his US trip so far. Welcome to Asia Business Report
:00:17. > :00:21.on BBC World News. I'm Rico Hizon. Hong Kong's stock market remained
:00:22. > :00:24.weak as pro`democracy demonstrators continue to cap out in the central
:00:25. > :00:29.business district. While the number of protesters have dropped for now
:00:30. > :00:32.another surge expected on Wednesday. Hang Seng index has fallen for a
:00:33. > :00:40.second straight day. It is now 300 points, 22,929. In the Hong Kong
:00:41. > :00:47.dollar remained at six`month lows against the US dollar. Earlier I
:00:48. > :00:50.spoke with the editorial director of Haymarket financial media about the
:00:51. > :00:56.long`term impacts of these protest on Hong Kong's economy and its
:00:57. > :00:59.reputation as a key Asian financial hub. If the protest lasts throughout
:01:00. > :01:04.this week, then there is a resolution, it will be temporary.
:01:05. > :01:11.Financial markets are functioning normally. People are working, some
:01:12. > :01:16.retail shops are suffering. And some bank branches have to be closed. But
:01:17. > :01:22.I think if this lasts for a week or ten days, the damage will be
:01:23. > :01:26.compounded. `` contained. Remember a lot of this is happening over a lot
:01:27. > :01:28.of public holidays. This is all about sustainability and the growing
:01:29. > :01:34.crowds in the central business district. And like Thailand,
:01:35. > :01:40.protests like this have had a major impact on the tourism, such as in
:01:41. > :01:46.Bangkok. Were impact on tourism? A lot of the tourists in Hong Kong are
:01:47. > :01:52.from mainland China. This week was a big, the Golden week holiday, that
:01:53. > :01:57.has obviously been disrupted. There are some operators that will not be
:01:58. > :02:01.too happy right now. But I think the broader test is, will middle`class
:02:02. > :02:04.people who have come out in force ` will they come out tomorrow on the
:02:05. > :02:06.public holiday? Will they support the students and the activists, or
:02:07. > :02:17.will it remain a one`dimensional show of force? All right. Apart from
:02:18. > :02:24.the issue of democracy, there is a lot of unhappiness in Hong Kong over
:02:25. > :02:30.high housing prices. You also have a growing income gap, and an influx of
:02:31. > :02:33.mainland visitors. Yes, and these are both seen as different aspects
:02:34. > :02:39.of one country, two systems, not working out for a lot of people of
:02:40. > :02:42.Hong Kong. And that is fuelling a lot of the unrest. The issue of
:02:43. > :02:49.mainland visitors, people feel they are being democratically
:02:50. > :02:54.overwhelmed. `` demographically overwhelmed. It is not just the
:02:55. > :02:59.visitors but a lot of money goes into the flats here, driving up the
:03:00. > :03:02.prices. There is investment nudges from the mainland, but all over the
:03:03. > :03:15.place, it is squeezing out the middle class. We're now seeing a lot
:03:16. > :03:22.of volatility the Hong Kong is `` Hong Kong stock market. Down 3% in
:03:23. > :03:27.two trading days. Moving out other business News making headlines,
:03:28. > :03:30.India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi has met President Barack Obama for
:03:31. > :03:35.the first time on US soil. The leaders of the world two largest
:03:36. > :03:40.democracies started with a private dinner before a formal meeting at
:03:41. > :03:44.the Oval Office. Ahead of the talks, Narendra Modi spoke at America's
:03:45. > :03:51.Council of foreign relations giving this commitment on negotiations for
:03:52. > :03:54.a WTO trade agreement. TRANSLATION: We also recognise that we have to
:03:55. > :03:58.work with the international community and the rest of the world
:03:59. > :04:03.on the WTO agreement. I am personally against populist policies
:04:04. > :04:08.or even economic approaches, at one must recognise that India has a very
:04:09. > :04:11.large population of poor people whose requirements of food security
:04:12. > :04:16.and availability cannot be ignored. As a result I have always agreed
:04:17. > :04:23.that the agreement on food security and trade facilitation has to go
:04:24. > :04:28.hand in hand together. Earlier I spoke with a representative from the
:04:29. > :04:32.Singapore Indian chamber of commerce who says the trip has been a success
:04:33. > :04:35.so far. The response has been more than excellent, and I think there
:04:36. > :04:47.will be a lot of results coming from investment into India. And Narendra
:04:48. > :04:54.Modi, before he left, has already announced made in India, to create
:04:55. > :04:57.more jobs in his country. He has won the support of some US businessmen,
:04:58. > :05:00.but others are questioning Mr Modi's reformist credentials, particularly
:05:01. > :05:08.on the issue of global trade. They are saying India is playing
:05:09. > :05:17.hardball, that is one aspect of it. True. But that is just one aspect of
:05:18. > :05:23.it. But in his country he is making a lot of changes. The speed of
:05:24. > :05:28.action is greater than before. From 27 processors, he has brought it
:05:29. > :05:31.down to four or five. On the bigger projects he has taken personal
:05:32. > :05:39.control and brought in the right people to push his agenda through,
:05:40. > :05:42.where investment is concerned. Because a lot of US businesses are
:05:43. > :05:44.complaining about India's unfair trade access, particularly raising
:05:45. > :05:54.tariffs and imposing new testing requirements on medication products.
:05:55. > :06:02.`` trade practices. He is tackling big problem, he is new in the
:06:03. > :06:09.office. And I think he is first visiting the two big countries,
:06:10. > :06:18.Japan and China. This has had a significant impact on the US. There
:06:19. > :06:22.is a good strategic direction that the visit America. And it is the
:06:23. > :06:26.first time an Indian leader has had overwhelming support, and President
:06:27. > :06:33.Obama cannot ignore this. And one other issue that the leaders will
:06:34. > :06:36.have to tackle is the ease of travel between the two countries? Yes, he
:06:37. > :06:48.has said he will try and make it easier. Meanwhile China's bank
:06:49. > :06:51.regulator has reportedly approved the launch of two privately owned
:06:52. > :06:58.commercial banks, in an attempt to increase competition in the
:06:59. > :07:01.state`dominated banking industry. One of those to benefit is an
:07:02. > :07:13.affiliate of Alibaba, which has a licence to open a bank in the east.
:07:14. > :07:17.Where its headquarters are based. New data out from Japan reveals
:07:18. > :07:22.household spending will invite 4.7% in August compared to one year ago
:07:23. > :07:28.levels. That represents a drop for a fifth straight month of sales tax
:07:29. > :07:33.rise in April. Factory output also fell in August, down 1.5% compared
:07:34. > :07:39.with a much earlier `` month earlier after edging up in July. There was
:07:40. > :07:44.the worst monthly fall in South Korea since the 2008 global
:07:45. > :07:49.financial crisis. But there was a pickup in the services sector with
:07:50. > :07:53.the output index growing in August after a revised drop in July.
:07:54. > :07:55.Thailand is due to reveal key economic data that will probably
:07:56. > :08:03.confirm that industrial performers has fallen for the 17th month in a
:08:04. > :08:08.row. That is in line with weaker than predicted exports and further
:08:09. > :08:15.proof that the military agenda of Thailand faces an uphill battle. Our
:08:16. > :08:18.correspondent reports. Thailand's military seized power in May saying
:08:19. > :08:23.it would restore order after months of anti`government protests. But the
:08:24. > :08:29.economy has continued to struggle since the Thai military took over in
:08:30. > :08:32.May. A further fall is predicted. Trouble in the car`making industry
:08:33. > :08:35.is helping to drive the decline, it has been selling since last year
:08:36. > :08:41.following the scrapping of a state subsidy for people buying new cars.
:08:42. > :08:43.`` it has been slowing. Some economists had forecast that the
:08:44. > :08:50.economy may improve under the military. But so far recovery is
:08:51. > :08:53.slower than expected. Tourism accounts for around 10% of the Thai
:08:54. > :09:03.economy, and it has taken a big hit after many months of political
:09:04. > :09:06.unrest. If I look across the world markets and throughout the world,
:09:07. > :09:11.there is only one country that has not grown year on year. And that is
:09:12. > :09:18.Thailand. Notwithstanding what I've just said, by Christmas Thailand
:09:19. > :09:24.will be back where it was before. But not everyone is optimistic.
:09:25. > :09:27.Exports account for more than 60% of the GDP of Thailand, but they fell
:09:28. > :09:35.7.4% in August, the biggest percentage drop since the floods of
:09:36. > :09:38.2011. Last week the central bank abandoned the forecast of 3% export
:09:39. > :09:50.growth for this year, saying that it now expects no increase. High`end
:09:51. > :09:57.watch company TAG Heuer has lowered its profit outlook. That is after a
:09:58. > :10:01.slowing of demand for its luxury timepieces. Hong Kong represents
:10:02. > :10:08.about 2% of the luxury watch sales for the company. `` 20%. Thank you
:10:09. > :10:15.for investing your time with us. Goodbye for now. The top stories
:10:16. > :10:18.this hour: Thousands of pro`democracy protestors in Hong
:10:19. > :10:22.Kong continue their standoff with police in the heart of the financial
:10:23. > :10:24.district. The Iraqi army, supported by air strikes, halts the advance of
:10:25. > :10:33.Islamic State militants, just kilometres from the capital of
:10:34. > :10:35.Baghdad. Now, parody of films, books and TV programmes has a long history
:10:36. > :10:36.in