02/11/2015 Asia Business Report

given automatic powers to look at people's internet browsing history.

She's presenting a new bill to the Commons this week.

The leaders of China, South Korea and Japan have a rare meeting. Where

did everybody go? One of India's most popular destinations tries to

lure tourists back to their shores. Welcome to the programme. The

leaders of Japan, South Korea and China, here they are, they all met

on the weekend in Seoul for the first 3-way talks in three years.

They glossed over some of the contentious issues but have agreed

to restore security and trade ties. And also discussions of a free trade

zone that would account for a fifth of the global economy was also on

the agenda. I talked about whether the talks were a success. It is

still relatively early days. They have been talking on and off for the

last few years. But it is maybe two hours a year. You can imagine there

hasn't been much progress. Were we talk about their trade pact, there

is also the economic partnership. Also, the TPP was the other big

focus. It has been a bone of contention. It is otherwise known in

some circles as the trade pact with just about everyone but China. Tell

us about these pacts. Do they compete? I don't see them as

competing. I see them as compliment tree. They are different animals. --

complementary. TPP is up here and the other down here. But, it makes

sense for the trilateral talks to be Hayat... But it is a little tough,

even without political tensions. -- down here. They have economic

petition between them because they are in similar sectors. The

enthusiasm to open up to each other will be tricky. -- competition. Are

you hopeful for more economic cooperation between them? Will get

potentially alleviate the slowdown we are already seeing brought on by

China? -- it. That is why we see renewed momentum for these talks. In

a world of declining economic growth you need to look for new sources.

For the leaders of these countries, this struck them as a reasonable way

to make forward progress. Speaking of the slowdown in China, indicators

showed an unexpected contraction again in October. The third straight

month their manufacturing and purchasing index remained unchanged

at 49.8, the weakest August 2012. That is denting hopes that the

world's second largest economy could post a turnaround. We are waiting

for a Surfleet you out shortly. The Philippine president is using the

strengthening budget to overhaul salaries of 1.3 million government

workers. -- survey. The proposal would triple a big service was pay

and boost a row. -- triple pay for public services. West Bank has

posted a record annual cash profit of five and a half billion US

dollars. A 3% rise. It was helped by growth in mortgages. They became the

first of Australia's big four banks to push them higher to protect big

profits. They may have kept their name, but what were once government

utilities are moving away and being privatised to take on the big

logistics players. Stocks in Japan will start trading this week. I

spoke to the head of e-commerce to talk about the recent purchase. With

this acquisition we can now help retailers grow their businesses on

line in two thirds of the global e-commerce market. That is North

America and Asia. The combined platform can handle $3 billion in

merchandise volume. This is a good stepping stone for brands to come to

Asia will be for Asian brands to go to the US. You have also set up a

partnership with China's Alibaba, your second biggest shareholder.

Where the you see that partnership taking you? We work very closely

with Alibaba. -- where do you see. We know that they are successful in

serving brands in China. E-commerce accounts for more than a quarter of

your revenue, how do you expect that to change? We are at 28% right now

off the Singapore Post's analysis. If you look in Southeast Asia, the

e-commerce percentage versus overall retail is only about 1%. A tiny

portion. In the US it is about ten and Korea, 15. You can see the

potential we see here in Southeast Asia that it will grow

significantly. In Singapore you have faced a unique and two Asian because

you are in a relatively small market. -- unique situation. You

will be facing well-established players like FedEx in the US, how do

you plan to compete? We provide a very unique offering, that is the

key, it covers everything that is required to sell on line, not just

delivery but also the content, the experience, everything that is

required to sell on line effectively. But it helps to drive

traffic to the e-commerce Internet area. If you want to come to Asia,

it is not that straightforward to set that up so we help them set up

everything to be successful in the Asia-Pacific. The CEO. India is

preparing for a peek tourist season and one popular hotspot for visitors

is none other than Goa, which used to have 200,000 British tourists a

year. But the global downturn and some high-profile clients saw

numbers fall. Voucher is in chiefs are trying to bring them back. --

tourism chiefs. We went to find out more. This beach is buzzing with

Indian tourists. While there are just a few foreign visitors now, and

this beach will be full of them as the arrest season kicks in over the

next few weeks. -- tourist. More than half a million international

travellers visit Goa every year. Most of their visitors come to

shacks like these to eat, drink and hang out. They spend more money than

the Indian counterparts, that is why they are crucial for the survival of

almost all businesses, on the beach and beyond. Until a few years ago,

Goa saw more holiday visitors from Britain than anywhere else, before

Russian tourists outnumbered then. And as well as those taking a break

here, retirees are taking longer trips. -- them. But along with the

global economic slowdown, numbers have fallen sharply. For people like

this man who started this sports bar ten years ago, targeting British

tourists... We started out in 2006 -7, we are 40% overall down on the

tourist market since then. What used to be a six-month season is now

almost a four-month season. It is a a lot of pressure to try and earn

your living in four-month. Last year Russian visitors fell due to the

depreciation of the currency. With Russia's economy still under

pressure the prospect of that changing this year leaked as well.

That is why Goa's tourism department is trying to get more back. --

bleak. They want to make getting a visa easier. It was hard to get. But

that is getting dressed. Also cleanliness. -- addressed. That is

why we launched a cleaning initiative last September. That will

pay rich dividends. Making it more competitive internationally is one

way to fill up places like this with Britons and other tourists. Bringing

more money to one of India's hotspots for tourists. BBC News,

Goa. A look at the market. They are all trading lower, the Nikkei down

over 1%. We are watching Japan's post- trading debut. That is it for

this edition of Asia Business Report. I am Sharanjit Leyl. You are

with BBC News. Russian officials say the plane lost

in the Sinai Desert broke up in mid-air before it crashed.