:00:00. > :00:15.Now on BBC News: All the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:16. > :00:23.Myanmar head to the polls in a historic election. What will it mean
:00:24. > :00:29.for invests this and the economy? Sniffing out new opportunities. --
:00:30. > :00:38.investors. We look at a Singapore perfumes business. Good morning.
:00:39. > :00:44.Welcome to Asia Business Report. The countdown is on. Myanmar head to the
:00:45. > :00:49.polls this Sunday in a historic election. After almost half a
:00:50. > :00:53.century of isolation in their economy is slowly opening up.
:00:54. > :01:00.Banking is one sector benefiting. Foreign banks deal complained they
:01:01. > :01:06.are not getting enough access. -- are still complaining. We talked to
:01:07. > :01:12.one of the biggest domestic banks. In terms of what many foreign
:01:13. > :01:18.investors think about most is oil and gas and raw materials. What you
:01:19. > :01:22.are seeing here is the development of a consumer economy. Real estate
:01:23. > :01:27.is growing quickly. It is a reflection of the wealth in Myanmar.
:01:28. > :01:33.People are prepared to pay for apartments at a healthy price. In
:01:34. > :01:38.that regard, the economy is healthy. There has been a lot of criticism
:01:39. > :01:42.from foreign investors who say that this country is far too protected
:01:43. > :01:47.and it is very difficult, especially with banking, for foreign banks to
:01:48. > :01:52.come. Grumbling of foreign investors is a global phenomenon. I would
:01:53. > :01:58.argue you see that in China and other emerging market. Myanmar is no
:01:59. > :02:02.different. The government has been quite liberal in many respects given
:02:03. > :02:07.the timeframes we are talking about. As far as the banking sector
:02:08. > :02:14.goes, it is safe to say that the issuing of nine foreign banking
:02:15. > :02:18.licences is sufficient. 52 million in the population, nine foreign
:02:19. > :02:23.banks with 29 local banks, it is more than sufficient. I think there
:02:24. > :02:29.is no shortage of foreign banks or local banks in that regard. What
:02:30. > :02:38.about political uncertainty? How does a bank like yours mitigate
:02:39. > :02:43.risks? As a bloke will balance sheet dealing with local currency we
:02:44. > :02:48.understand the reality on the ground. -- local. We listen to staff
:02:49. > :02:54.and managers who have deemed through, to be quite frank with you,
:02:55. > :02:59.worse times. -- have been through. If we look at the history of Myanmar
:03:00. > :03:05.this coming election is really a wonderful opportunity. In the great
:03:06. > :03:11.scheme of volatility in Myanmar this is a blip. Barack Obama has formally
:03:12. > :03:14.notified Congress of its intent to sign the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
:03:15. > :03:20.It is one of the world's most extensive trade agreements
:03:21. > :03:24.accounting for about 40% of the global economy and the text has
:03:25. > :03:27.finally been released. But there is uncertainty about what it might mean
:03:28. > :03:33.for labour laws and intellectual Robert Key. -- property. Lawyers and
:03:34. > :03:37.investors are looking over the details but opposition remains
:03:38. > :03:45.strong in some quarters, including from Hillary Clinton, the
:03:46. > :03:49.presidential hopeful. Some people question, what rights does Barack
:03:50. > :03:54.Obama have to sign a deal that he will not actually be implementing
:03:55. > :03:59.when he steps down from the presidency. The next president will
:04:00. > :04:01.have to carry the can for this particular deal. If Hillary Clinton
:04:02. > :04:08.says she is not that interested in this TB partnership then what is
:04:09. > :04:13.going to happen? -- TPP. Will they signed the deal and at some later
:04:14. > :04:21.stage say, we will not implement it ? They cannot do that. An agreement
:04:22. > :04:27.is an agreement. Singapore airlines is making eight takeover offer for
:04:28. > :04:39.Tiger Airways in an effort to delist the company. It owns more than half
:04:40. > :04:50.of its stake in Tiger. -- a takeover. Shares opened lower for
:04:51. > :04:54.Toyota. Sales have been declining everywhere but North America. The
:04:55. > :04:59.world's top-selling carmaker has been ramping up productivity and
:05:00. > :05:03.cutting costs. It has been helped by a sharp fall in the Japanese yen
:05:04. > :05:12.which made them more competitive abroad. India's Tata Steel has shown
:05:13. > :05:17.a surprise jump of more than 20% to over $230 million. It is thanks to
:05:18. > :05:25.the sale of some investments, including part of its stake in Tata
:05:26. > :05:32.Motors. But it is cutting more cost. A cut more than a thousand
:05:33. > :05:38.jobs last month. -- costs. In India foreign supermarkets are banned from
:05:39. > :05:44.they are part of a joint-venture. Businesses that only sell their own
:05:45. > :05:47.brand of products can apply to own 100% of their Indian operations.
:05:48. > :05:54.Among the first to win that approval was Swedish furniture giant Ikea.
:05:55. > :05:58.Its first store opens next year but it has been making products in India
:05:59. > :06:01.for decades. We spoke to the Chief Executive of the company. This is
:06:02. > :06:07.very much a long-term investment that we are doing. Buying the land,
:06:08. > :06:16.owning the buildings, investing in that, and, it is several 100 million
:06:17. > :06:21.euros that we are putting in here in a short period of time. It will take
:06:22. > :06:32.many, many years before we will have a payback on that. What has China
:06:33. > :06:36.had an impact on it? Not much. -- what impact has China had? We are
:06:37. > :06:40.continuing to invest in China and have built about three stores to
:06:41. > :06:45.year. That is the way we will continue to expand. We will see
:06:46. > :06:50.solid growth in existing stores. What are Ikea's future plans and how
:06:51. > :06:58.important is expansion into new markets? They are import and. --
:06:59. > :07:07.important. We opened up career and Croatia last year. -- Korea. One of
:07:08. > :07:10.the most exciting in the coming period will be India. Of course it
:07:11. > :07:15.is important. It creates more opportunities on the supply chain. I
:07:16. > :07:21.am sure the products and the sourcing drive we are doing in India
:07:22. > :07:29.will support our Indian retailing operation but it will also set ought
:07:30. > :07:33.Ikea globally. -- support. Many of the suppliers grow with Ikea, of
:07:34. > :07:43.course. So, expansion is important. It is one important cornerstone in
:07:44. > :07:47.the way that we grow Ikea. Ikea's CEO. Singapore has long been
:07:48. > :07:52.regarded as the best place in the well-to-do business but it can also
:07:53. > :07:58.present its own challenges, especially for key players. -- in
:07:59. > :08:02.the world to do business. This man grew up in a family business but
:08:03. > :08:07.soon set up in competition to his father. The business has been
:08:08. > :08:15.growing but it is a tough road. I had seen 20% year-on-year growth
:08:16. > :08:21.since I set up seven years ago. But that is still not where I would like
:08:22. > :08:26.it to be because the cost associated just being in Singapore and this
:08:27. > :08:31.area have risen dramatically. I think my father's business is
:08:32. > :08:34.definitely doing better. In his time, Singapore actually had rent
:08:35. > :08:39.control. These houses, the rent by choice from year to year. He could
:08:40. > :08:46.have slow growth. He has definitely built up his reserve, his clientele,
:08:47. > :08:50.his pool of labour. I guess one of the challenges of actually being in
:08:51. > :08:54.the business over here is... The value of the property far
:08:55. > :09:01.outstrips, you know, what a small business can generate unless you are
:09:02. > :09:05.an instant hit. Another challenge is craft people. People who don't mind
:09:06. > :09:13.getting their hands dirty. That doesn't exist any more. While it
:09:14. > :09:18.seems very romantic and sentimental to be doing things that we are rich
:09:19. > :09:32.in a league did, but at the end of it, what I do end up producing is is
:09:33. > :09:36.better goods. -- originally did. But I know that it is inefficient in a
:09:37. > :09:44.modern world. Tradition, culture, heritage, they all have costs add
:09:45. > :09:49.that to it. So the only way I have been able to continue doing what I
:09:50. > :09:54.am doing is to play up the luxury aspect of it. -- attached to it. I
:09:55. > :09:58.have had enquiries from people who want to set up their business in the
:09:59. > :10:05.city and it has been as varied as, and you should come to Shanghai,
:10:06. > :10:09.they appreciate luxury, or, you should come to New York. -- you
:10:10. > :10:15.should. I guess that is part of the journey. I will consider it. A look
:10:16. > :10:18.at the markets before we go. Markets in Japan, Australia and South Korea
:10:19. > :10:22.opened half-an-hour ago. Hong Kong started trading. A mixed picture.
:10:23. > :10:26.You have been watching Asia Business Report. Sport Today is coming up
:10:27. > :10:30.next.