:00:00. > :00:14.Now on BBC News all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:15. > :00:23.Talking tough on haze but Indonesia's government refuses to
:00:24. > :00:28.name the companies under investigation. And could do better.
:00:29. > :00:37.We look at why British universities are failing to attract students from
:00:38. > :00:46.India. Welcome to Asia Business Report. The Chief of Staff to
:00:47. > :00:49.Indonesia's president has personally apologised for the peatland fires
:00:50. > :00:52.that have caused a health threatening haze across the region.
:00:53. > :00:58.He again refused to name the companies the government is
:00:59. > :01:03.investigating in relation to those fires. Earlier I spoke to a
:01:04. > :01:08.correspondent in Jakarta about what the Chief of Staff actually said. He
:01:09. > :01:12.said the Indonesian government knows they need to do more to tackle the
:01:13. > :01:15.fires. They could have done better this year and he is promising they
:01:16. > :01:21.are serious about tackling the issue, to make sure it doesn't
:01:22. > :01:24.happen again. He is talking about significant legal changes and saying
:01:25. > :01:27.the Indonesian government will repeal the laws that currently allow
:01:28. > :01:33.farmers to slash and burn two hectares of land. He says that
:01:34. > :01:38.companies who are found to have burned land will be punished and he
:01:39. > :01:44.also says the government will not hand out any further concessions to
:01:45. > :01:50.plantation companies on peatland and will be reviewing all existing
:01:51. > :01:53.concessions. And also, they will release a transparent map that has
:01:54. > :01:59.long been asked for by the government so that we have an idea
:02:00. > :02:03.of who owns this land. Obviously, he told you they are taking many
:02:04. > :02:09.precautions, but we know the economic costs have been large. One
:02:10. > :02:17.estimate suggests it is about $14 billion alone this year. Despite all
:02:18. > :02:22.these steps, can it be done so this issue doesn't occur again next
:02:23. > :02:26.year? It will be very challenging for the government to turn this
:02:27. > :02:29.situation around in just one year. The government is admitting these
:02:30. > :02:36.problems have happened because of a buildup of years of mismanagement of
:02:37. > :02:40.this land. A problem of corruption in Indonesia and deregulation where
:02:41. > :02:47.you have governors handing out land on these peatlands, and police not
:02:48. > :02:52.following through with regulations ordered by the central government.
:02:53. > :02:55.Those challenges will be huge. There was also pressure from the industry
:02:56. > :03:00.already, the palm oil Association has told me they will be warning the
:03:01. > :03:05.Indonesian government that if it goes ahead with these moves to
:03:06. > :03:09.restrict the expansion of palm oil concessions in peatland, it is
:03:10. > :03:11.something they will be lobbying against and telling the president
:03:12. > :03:21.that if he does that, there will be a negative economic impact. The
:03:22. > :03:23.company which makes the Black Hawk helicopters was sold last week to
:03:24. > :03:30.the world's largest defence contractor Lockheed Martin. In a
:03:31. > :03:33.shot, there is growing demand for maritime surveillance as well as
:03:34. > :03:37.rising tensions in the South China Sea and that has boosted orders for
:03:38. > :03:41.helicopters which can track and torpedo submarines. Earlier I spoke
:03:42. > :03:47.to a representative from the company about what the deal meant for them.
:03:48. > :03:51.Certainly maritime security is very high on the list of priorities for
:03:52. > :03:57.the region and other regions as well and with that, we see an increased
:03:58. > :04:06.need for maritime helicopters. The Seahawks is the best helicopter on
:04:07. > :04:12.the market operated by the US Navy and also by Singapore, Taiwan and
:04:13. > :04:17.Thailand. China is amongst the highest military spenders in this
:04:18. > :04:20.region but you cannot sell military helicopters to China, how does it
:04:21. > :04:26.affect your business? We clearly follow US policy in all regards with
:04:27. > :04:29.the export of defence articles. That is something that has always been
:04:30. > :04:34.part of our business plan although we do have a vibrant commercial
:04:35. > :04:38.market in China. Nonetheless, this is an opportunity that your company
:04:39. > :04:42.could potentially explore. How much money are you losing as a result of
:04:43. > :04:46.not being in China militarily? I would look at it more as an
:04:47. > :04:52.opportunity in the region. With the tensions increasing, companies are
:04:53. > :04:58.looking for a world-class military helicopter and we provide a
:04:59. > :05:04.significant military determinants. -- deterrent. But it is also capable
:05:05. > :05:11.of humanitarian and search and rescue operations. China's
:05:12. > :05:16.e-commerce giant Alibaba has broken its own record for sales on the
:05:17. > :05:20.country's Singles Day which was yesterday. It is the world's biggest
:05:21. > :05:25.online shopping events and by the close of trade, the site had seen
:05:26. > :05:32.sales worth $14.3 billion which is a 60% increase from last year. In
:05:33. > :05:37.comparison, sales on Cyber Monday which is the biggest online shopping
:05:38. > :05:47.day in the US, only had 1.3 5 billion. Anheuser-Busch has inked a
:05:48. > :05:50.deal to take over its nearest rival with the biggest takeover global
:05:51. > :05:54.corporate history, bringing together the world's two largest beer
:05:55. > :06:05.makers. It will bring together the top beers with all the SAB Miller
:06:06. > :06:10.brands. In Japan's core machinery orders rose in the fourth quarter.
:06:11. > :06:15.They are leading indicator of business confidence. Orders rose
:06:16. > :06:20.seven and a half % over recent months and is more than double what
:06:21. > :06:22.had been estimated. Orders are still down compared to last quarter
:06:23. > :06:27.meaning that the government still faces an uphill stock all in
:06:28. > :06:30.convincing companies to invest. The latest implement figures from
:06:31. > :06:34.Australia were out this morning and beat all expectations. In October
:06:35. > :06:38.the jobless rate fell sharply to a five-month low. Unemployment fell to
:06:39. > :06:42.5.9% from six point to a month earlier. Analysts do caution that
:06:43. > :06:48.the figures are volatile but they do expect it to boost investor
:06:49. > :06:52.sentiment. The Australian dollar gained 1% on that news. India's
:06:53. > :06:58.Prime Minister Narendra Modi begins his visit to the UK today. Education
:06:59. > :07:01.is one of the areas where the two countries will be hoping to increase
:07:02. > :07:05.cooperation. The number of Indian students studying in Britain have
:07:06. > :07:11.actually fallen by 50% in the past four years. Now we go to our
:07:12. > :07:15.correspondent who takes a look at why Indian students are turning
:07:16. > :07:19.their backs on British universities. Teaching his moves at
:07:20. > :07:26.the University of Edinburgh. This Indian superstar was awarded an
:07:27. > :07:31.honourary doctorate next month, drawing attention to British
:07:32. > :07:34.University which really needs Indian attention. The number of Indian
:07:35. > :07:39.students going to the UK for hire education has been cut in half over
:07:40. > :07:46.four years. And even many of those who did study there are not happy.
:07:47. > :07:49.This woman is the physiotherapist who specializes in breathing
:07:50. > :07:56.disorders and she bore at nearly $18,000 to study in the UK but
:07:57. > :07:59.because of Britain's visa policies, she had to return to India soon
:08:00. > :08:06.after her course was finished -- borrowed. Because of my visa, I
:08:07. > :08:11.didn't get work experience so I had come back year. After I came here, I
:08:12. > :08:16.applied for jobs in most of the in Mumbai, but when they called me for
:08:17. > :08:21.interviews come at the only question was how much experience I had in
:08:22. > :08:23.this field. While the UK only allows students to stay for four months
:08:24. > :08:29.after they finish their course to look for a job, other countries are
:08:30. > :08:34.more generous. In the US, poststudy work visas can be for a period of 1-
:08:35. > :08:36.two years depending on the course. Australia allows two years while in
:08:37. > :08:42.Canada, students can stay for up to three years once they finish their
:08:43. > :08:46.degree. For students here in India, the UK has been the most popular
:08:47. > :08:49.destination for international studies after America because of the
:08:50. > :08:54.quality of education and also the chance to study in English, a
:08:55. > :08:56.language most Indian students are comfortable speaking. Because of the
:08:57. > :09:03.changes in visa policies, many now think that a British degree is not
:09:04. > :09:08.worth the investment. When David Cameron visited India two years ago,
:09:09. > :09:13.he tried to woo Indian students back but it doesn't seem to have worked.
:09:14. > :09:17.I'm not really sure we understand why numbers have fallen. There have
:09:18. > :09:21.been some misperceptions about our offer and whether we are really
:09:22. > :09:24.open. That is why I want to say today, that there is no limit on the
:09:25. > :09:28.number of Indian students who can come to study in the UK at our great
:09:29. > :09:32.universities and there is no limit on the number of Indian students who
:09:33. > :09:39.can stay on and work in the UK, provided they get a graduate-level
:09:40. > :09:42.job. That is a message the British government wants to reach youngsters
:09:43. > :09:47.like these who are still contemplating studying in the UK.
:09:48. > :09:49.But it might not be enough to convince them and that is a lesson
:09:50. > :09:55.in Britain seems to be learning the hard way.
:09:56. > :10:04.Let's take a look at the markets. They are still trading fairly flat.
:10:05. > :10:10.The Nikkei is flat at the moment as is the Australian market. The Hang
:10:11. > :10:15.Seng had opened slightly higher. This is in spite of the machinery
:10:16. > :10:21.orders I told you about earlier that were positive in Japan as well as
:10:22. > :10:24.the positive jobless numbers in Australia. Markets are fairly
:10:25. > :10:27.tentative. Commodities are being sold off a great deal from a
:10:28. > :10:33.particularly in Australia because energy prices have fallen. That is
:10:34. > :10:43.it for this edition of Asia Business Report. Thank you for watching.
:10:44. > :10:48.Aung San Suu Kyi is on the brink of taking power in Myanmar,