:00:00. > :00:00.occupying hospital beds because their discharge had been delayed.
:00:00. > :00:11.Now on BBC News all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:12. > :00:24.Is as looks set to star in Malaysia. Sluggish spending. And why the
:00:25. > :00:35.booming car industry is attracting little investment in India.
:00:36. > :00:39.Welcome to Asia Business Report. Falling commodity and oil prices,
:00:40. > :00:43.uncertainty about US rates and allegations of corruption at the
:00:44. > :00:49.heart of government. We have been speaking about Malaysia, and all
:00:50. > :00:52.this is likely to be reflected when the country releases its latest
:00:53. > :01:02.figures on economic growth. GDP growth has been slipping and is set
:01:03. > :01:06.to fall even further, to 4.7%. I think that the third-quarter
:01:07. > :01:15.numbers are likely to be quite robust. A figure of 4.7, we are
:01:16. > :01:24.looking at something like 5%. That should bring the close to around 5%.
:01:25. > :01:29.That is what analysts are going for and what the government is
:01:30. > :01:39.expecting. The numbers show a pretty strong manufacturing output. They
:01:40. > :01:48.have all gone up, including production, even in the fuel
:01:49. > :01:55.sector. As you say, they are going to be robust figures. We know that
:01:56. > :01:59.the Malaysian currency has fallen 20% against the US dollar, one of
:02:00. > :02:03.the region's worst performing currencies. Has that helped or
:02:04. > :02:16.hindered Malaysia? That gives a lift exports. It is doing both. For
:02:17. > :02:20.exporters, they are doing very well. The question is whether it is
:02:21. > :02:26.exporters are able to translate the more competitive currency into
:02:27. > :02:35.production. That is used on production worries, labour and so
:02:36. > :02:41.on. We have put that the political uncertainty. All of these
:02:42. > :02:51.allegations surrounding the Prime Minister and concerns about the NDP.
:02:52. > :03:00.Will the impact investor confidence? It is impacting more on consumer
:03:01. > :03:08.confidence. If we look at consumer sentiment, and we have got various
:03:09. > :03:16.calls looking out into 2016, those of the bad. Private investment,
:03:17. > :03:25.understanding that this is from a lube base, is still increasing. --
:03:26. > :03:27.low base. In other business news, the
:03:28. > :03:34.International Monetary Fund has signalled it will soon decide on the
:03:35. > :03:53.Chinese yuan as one of the reserve currencies. China last year asked
:03:54. > :04:05.the IMF for its currency. Brazil says it will find mining
:04:06. > :04:12.giants for the game -- dam burst which killed 18 people. The firms
:04:13. > :04:16.could face even higher fines from environment will regulators for
:04:17. > :04:22.pollution and state prosecutors are considering whether to pursue
:04:23. > :04:24.criminal charges. Currency fluctuations in South East Asia are
:04:25. > :04:29.causing headaches or many businesses. Now the biggest
:04:30. > :04:33.telecommunications operator in the region has reported flat profits,
:04:34. > :04:42.with exchange rates being part of the problem. It makes most of its
:04:43. > :04:47.money elsewhere. Our Asia business correspondence has been speaking to
:04:48. > :04:56.the chief executive. If you look at the quarter's earnings on a currency
:04:57. > :05:08.basis, underlying earnings are up 4% on the reported basis. On the bottom
:05:09. > :05:23.line, it has got a 4% impact. That is mainly from the steep
:05:24. > :05:29.depreciation. Those two are very large reported earnings for us. And
:05:30. > :05:39.what is your projection for this year, given we have a period of
:05:40. > :05:43.slower growth? We have currency exposure. If we have a foreign
:05:44. > :05:51.currency, we will hedge that. In terms of currency translation, there
:05:52. > :05:56.is really not very much that can be done with 70% of our earnings not
:05:57. > :06:02.being denominated in Singapore dollars. The translation impact will
:06:03. > :06:15.always come up. Part of the impact is mitigated. While the rupiah
:06:16. > :06:19.depreciated 6%, we saw the peso depreciating against the Singapore
:06:20. > :06:25.dollar. Part of it is managed through diversification. He received
:06:26. > :06:29.a salary of more than $4 million last year, a jump of 19%. How can
:06:30. > :06:34.you justify that to your shareholders? I am not sure if I am
:06:35. > :06:39.the best person to talk about with my compensation. If we look at how
:06:40. > :06:44.we pay our senior executives, profit is one they mention. The other day
:06:45. > :06:54.mention its overall value created and how we create value in times of
:06:55. > :07:03.returning to shareholders. It is not just a single profit number that we
:07:04. > :07:06.look at. India's Prime Minister, Narendra
:07:07. > :07:11.Modi, is in the UK, and keen to convince the dish firms to do
:07:12. > :07:23.business in his country. From motorbikes to copy, some well-known
:07:24. > :07:27.means operate there. And now the trend to cash in on the growing
:07:28. > :07:33.partnership. If you break down and the UK,
:07:34. > :07:36.chances are you will call the AA. It is the biggest roadside assistance
:07:37. > :07:44.company in the country. It has 14 million customers and came to the
:07:45. > :07:48.aid of 3.5 million last year. It has got its sights on a brand-new
:07:49. > :07:53.market. The roads of India's cities are already pretty congested. Car
:07:54. > :07:59.ownership is on the rise. Every month around 150,000 new cars are
:08:00. > :08:03.sold across India. While those vehicles will have warranties and
:08:04. > :08:09.breakdown cover, it is estimated at more than 20 million cars do not.
:08:10. > :08:17.That gap in the market is white the AA has purchased half the breakdown
:08:18. > :08:22.business. It is a very large marketplace. We think it will be
:08:23. > :08:26.three times the size of the UK market in the next four years. There
:08:27. > :08:34.will not be any of the famous yellow trucks on the road, but you will
:08:35. > :08:38.find its logo on its new partner. We needed a local partner with local
:08:39. > :08:43.contacts and local expertise. We believe that local business will
:08:44. > :08:52.benefit from our experience. We have been going ten years. We have a lot
:08:53. > :08:59.of knowledge and experience. The technology appeals. In the drivers
:09:00. > :09:03.tend to only call the firmware problem occurs. The TV as once
:09:04. > :09:19.customers to pay in advance for breakdown membership. The customer
:09:20. > :09:23.wants service technicians coming. They want to deliver the same
:09:24. > :09:34.promise in India and in emerging markets. That is where they can make
:09:35. > :09:37.a difference. Changing that habit and selling the idea of a recovery
:09:38. > :09:42.service run by two well-known established brands will determine if
:09:43. > :09:50.the ad venture proves more than a quick fix. A quick look at the
:09:51. > :10:06.markets before we go. Most of the ones in Asia are falling down 1%. We
:10:07. > :10:13.are seeing energy stocks, commodities shares being sold off
:10:14. > :10:20.because commodity prices have been falling at a six-year low. Oil
:10:21. > :10:22.prices as well have been plunging. That is it for Asia Business Report.
:10:23. > :10:35.Thank you for watching. Britain and India have announced new
:10:36. > :10:39.business deals worth more than thirteen billion dollars
:10:40. > :10:42.during an official visit by