:00:00. > :00:00.They include more power for sovereign parliaments
:00:00. > :00:24.Internet, retail therapy. Competition for customers heats up
:00:25. > :00:32.on China's biggest day for on line spending. -- internet retail
:00:33. > :00:42.therapy. And a woman combining careers to run the family business.
:00:43. > :00:49.Good morning. Thank you for joining us. This is Asia Business Report. I
:00:50. > :00:57.am Rico Hizon in Singapore. Singles' Day. In China, already records are
:00:58. > :01:03.being broken. 5 billion US dollars were snapped up in the first 90
:01:04. > :01:08.minutes of today. We have been speaking to the top retailer and
:01:09. > :01:36.some buyers keen to take advantage of discounts.
:01:37. > :01:46.We had over 14 million orders in place last year on Singles' Day. And
:01:47. > :01:58.this year, so far, many are seeing over 100% over the same period.
:01:59. > :02:06.Single people why things to make themselves happy. That started this
:02:07. > :02:10.tradition. But it became a big event in China. We have been preparing
:02:11. > :02:19.warehouses. Just imagine, when volume picks up, how many employees
:02:20. > :02:23.are in the office going to warehouses to help out. It is a very
:02:24. > :02:32.ridiculous plan for all the details. It needs a lot of work. The
:02:33. > :02:39.government wants GDP growth. We see it has just started. The US has
:02:40. > :02:44.really established off-line commerce industries. It will help in China
:02:45. > :02:54.and many places. That is the only thing you have. We are seeing the
:02:55. > :03:01.middle-class very rapidly growing up and they are demanding quality in
:03:02. > :03:07.life. That requires quality products and services. For more on Singles'
:03:08. > :03:14.Day let's go live to Beijing. We are joined by Celia Hatton. We are not
:03:15. > :03:20.even halfway through the day and record sales are ready on line in
:03:21. > :03:26.the mainland. I know. -- already. More than $1 billion worth of
:03:27. > :03:29.merchandise was sold on line on Alibaba, the world's biggest on line
:03:30. > :03:38.shopping by Tom. More than 1 million in just the first eight minutes. --
:03:39. > :03:42.platform. It is amazing. It is getting bigger and big every year.
:03:43. > :03:47.Interesting figures in the media today. They are talking about how
:03:48. > :03:51.all the merchandise will have to be delivered to homes across China.
:03:52. > :03:55.More than 1.7 billion people will be involved in making those deliveries
:03:56. > :04:01.using 230,000 delivery trucks, they say. That is just the next phase in
:04:02. > :04:06.the on line shopping bonanza we are seeing today. Thank you. Your
:04:07. > :04:14.services are crossed China will also be making money. Consumers buying on
:04:15. > :04:17.line have various experiences. That is right. We are getting many on
:04:18. > :04:24.line comments that are quite interesting. One woman had been
:04:25. > :04:29.looking at two coats she wanted to buy on line, she was ready to buy
:04:30. > :04:33.them, but they sold out in the first three minutes of the on line
:04:34. > :04:38.shopping sale. So she said, OK, that is fine, I will save some money.
:04:39. > :04:43.Another funny comment. One person said, I just need to cut off my
:04:44. > :04:47.hands, she has been typing too much and making too many purchases. She
:04:48. > :04:54.needs to cut off her hands to stop her buying more. A lot of reaction
:04:55. > :04:58.on line. What he shopping experience for many mainland consumers. But
:04:59. > :05:10.despite the slowdown we are seeing tiny as consumers being smarter.
:05:11. > :05:16.--. They are going for and deals. -- many Chinese. There is no mistaking
:05:17. > :05:20.the slowdown. New figures out yesterday showed inflation had
:05:21. > :05:26.dropped in China. That gives us a good indication that consumption
:05:27. > :05:29.continues to drop. There is no hiding, even this on line shopping
:05:30. > :05:34.festival, does not hide the fact that people are worried about the
:05:35. > :05:37.economy. People are choosing to spend money on line right now, they
:05:38. > :05:45.are going after the deals, but part of the reason they are is because
:05:46. > :05:47.they are quite worried. Many people have been saving and plotting
:05:48. > :05:51.purchases for today because they wanted to get those deals, simply
:05:52. > :05:56.because people are a little bit worried here. Celia Hatton, joining
:05:57. > :06:04.a slight from our Beijing newsroom. -- joining us live. It is not just
:06:05. > :06:11.China's e-commerce that is booming, their social network has jumped to
:06:12. > :06:17.4.2 billion US dollars in the three months to September. A five-month
:06:18. > :06:26.high for the company thanks to a surge in advertising income. Rising
:06:27. > :06:30.by almost 40% to 650 million. Prosecutors have charged three men
:06:31. > :06:37.in relation to the largest cyber attack on financial come in Company
:06:38. > :06:45.is in US history. -- income companies. Personal information,
:06:46. > :06:48.about 100 million people's was accessed, by cyber thieves over a
:06:49. > :06:55.three-year period from 2000 of. They described it as cybercrime on
:06:56. > :07:05.steroids. -- 2000 of. We have the details. They have accessed, through
:07:06. > :07:13.one of the main's bank account, is customer data. -- men. They didn't
:07:14. > :07:18.steal money from these companies, JP Morgan having the biggest hit in
:07:19. > :07:22.that sense, they just took their personal data and blasted out
:07:23. > :07:27.e-mails and other communications to these customers, encouraging them to
:07:28. > :07:35.buy certain stocks. This was one of the schemes that prosecutors are
:07:36. > :07:39.basically charging them with. A pump and dump scheme to manipulate stock
:07:40. > :07:45.prices. That is what they did. New York. In many companies family
:07:46. > :07:51.businesses are the backbone of the economy. -- country. They are vital
:07:52. > :07:57.for growth. But what happens when they can longer manage day-to-day
:07:58. > :08:02.negotiations. In Taiwan, many companies don't have a succession
:08:03. > :08:10.plan. One woman in Taipei had no choice but to pick up the reins of
:08:11. > :08:16.the family business. Music and Charles Clay. This used to be a she
:08:17. > :08:23.spent most of her time. -- child's play. She ran preschools. -- how she
:08:24. > :08:30.spent. Now she discusses clients, costs and profits. She has taken on
:08:31. > :08:36.her father's sportswear business. Family businesses like this one make
:08:37. > :08:45.up the bulk of Taiwan's economy. Usually started by scratch by
:08:46. > :08:48.families. These days successes are groomed while the founders are still
:08:49. > :08:53.alive. That is not the case for this woman. Six years ago her father
:08:54. > :09:01.suddenly died from cancer. Her mother fell in a. She had never had
:09:02. > :09:06.any interest in running the company. -- fell ill. But she was convinced
:09:07. > :09:12.to take the reins. My mother talked to me in a very soft way and said,
:09:13. > :09:19.you are our only hope. She decided to learn about industries from the
:09:20. > :09:23.senior staff convincing them to look at new ways to run the business.
:09:24. > :09:34.That strategy worked, they have doubled the number of employees,
:09:35. > :09:41.opens new factory. -- opened. I am not just doing it for my family now.
:09:42. > :09:48.I am doing it myself. -- for. In little more than a generation, their
:09:49. > :09:55.preschool children could be the ones taking over the family business. The
:09:56. > :10:01.business inspires her. She has shown it is possible to take over one's
:10:02. > :10:09.family business without giving up one's passion. Before we go, a quick
:10:10. > :10:12.look at the Asia-Pacific markets. They are mixed at the moment.
:10:13. > :10:16.Investors are waiting for more key economic numbers from China. You
:10:17. > :10:21.have uncertainty of a rate hike from the United States and volatility in
:10:22. > :10:30.the equity markets overnight. Moving sideways year. This index also flat.
:10:31. > :10:39.-- here. And gaining a fit of 8% in this hour. Thank you for investing
:10:40. > :10:41.your time in us. -- a fifth of a percent.