:00:00. > :00:00.Millions of low paid families will not now see their benefits cut
:00:00. > :00:13.Now on BBC News all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:14. > :00:24.More big losses for AirAsia's long haul service. Will the profits get
:00:25. > :00:30.off the ground? And fancy a new luxury home away from home? Michael
:00:31. > :00:38.Jackson's Neverland ranch is up for sale, and you do not have to travel
:00:39. > :00:45.there to buy it. Welcome to Asia Business Report. It
:00:46. > :00:51.has been a tough year for AirAsia, the region's biggest budget carrier.
:00:52. > :00:56.A flight crashed last December, killing all 162 people on board. The
:00:57. > :01:02.final report into the crash is due in a few days, but the long haul
:01:03. > :01:07.service has just reported its eighth straight quarter of losses. It is
:01:08. > :01:11.for its regional operations, the main part of its business, are
:01:12. > :01:17.expected later today. I spoke to the deputy Asia editor about the
:01:18. > :01:23.prospects of the flight. The underlying issue is the final
:01:24. > :01:28.business model. This is moving away from the shorthaul model they are
:01:29. > :01:32.using. It is extremely difficult to get right, because it cannot take
:01:33. > :01:39.advantage of the efficiencies of shorter routs. No airline has been
:01:40. > :01:45.able to make it work. How long can they continue with this? That is a
:01:46. > :01:52.good question. They have deep pockets, but they might want to meet
:01:53. > :01:58.a cash call at some point. They have about 80 aircraft. It is a
:01:59. > :02:05.challenging environment they find themselves in. What about the
:02:06. > :02:12.domestic operations with the parent company? Do we have any sense of the
:02:13. > :02:20.impact of last December's crash on the company? The crash last December
:02:21. > :02:25.has hurt operations in Indonesia. It affected sentiment for the group in
:02:26. > :02:32.general. That said, AirAsia continues to be profitable. They
:02:33. > :02:38.probably will make a profit and have been consistently profitable. What
:02:39. > :02:46.do you expect out of the crash investigation? There is a lot of
:02:47. > :02:50.potential, whether it is the pilot or the aircraft. It is impossible to
:02:51. > :02:59.speculate. I hope they find a definite reason for what happened.
:03:00. > :03:04.The need to make sure something like this does not happen again.
:03:05. > :03:12.In other business news, facing a collapse in commodity prices, Rio
:03:13. > :03:18.Tinto is going to approve an expansion of a port side project in
:03:19. > :03:23.Queensland. Environment lists have long opposed the project, which has
:03:24. > :03:29.faced delays regarding government approvals.
:03:30. > :03:32.The publishers of Hong Kong's South China morning Post has confirmed it
:03:33. > :03:41.has received an approach from an unnamed potential buyer for the
:03:42. > :03:47.company's media assets. The group stresses there is no guarantee the
:03:48. > :03:52.approach would result in a deal. India and China have featured
:03:53. > :03:59.prominently in a new report on corporate fraud. Annual study
:04:00. > :04:04.suggests that public fraud is on the rise in Asia. Developing markets are
:04:05. > :04:18.particularly at risk due to the complexity of supply chains. With IP
:04:19. > :04:26.theft being one of the key issues mentioned. It underlines the reason
:04:27. > :04:32.with robust internal controls. If you look at India, India had a high
:04:33. > :04:38.incidence of corruption. If you look at the environment in India, we have
:04:39. > :04:43.had well-publicised events of economic issues, over importing. The
:04:44. > :04:48.mood in India is changing. At a government level we have the
:04:49. > :04:57.enactment of increased corporate governance and on the corporate
:04:58. > :05:02.level, companies are coming to us to improve diligence.
:05:03. > :05:07.It is less than a week until the UN climate summit in Paris opens. With
:05:08. > :05:13.India being the world's third-largest emitter of greenhouse
:05:14. > :05:17.gases in the Delhi has promised to generate 40% of its electricity from
:05:18. > :05:24.renewables within 15 years. Is that a realistic target?
:05:25. > :05:30.It is exam season for the students at this modern college. Although
:05:31. > :05:35.writing papers can be stressful, students are thankful for one thing.
:05:36. > :05:39.An uninterrupted supply of electricity keeping them cool and
:05:40. > :05:49.giving them plenty of light. This college used to face regular power
:05:50. > :05:52.cuts. Some of our projects we have to use an incubator, but when it
:05:53. > :05:59.dies we have to start all over again. We do not have power cuts and
:06:00. > :06:03.we do not face this problem. India produces three times more power from
:06:04. > :06:08.wind and other so-called renewables like solar and Hydro. Windfarms like
:06:09. > :06:14.this one eye popping up all over the country. The industry has some
:06:15. > :06:18.specific problems in India. They include getting access to land
:06:19. > :06:26.needed for when projects. And then there is crime, with the gangs
:06:27. > :06:29.stealing copper cables. And even if the physical infrastructure is in
:06:30. > :06:39.place, not everyone is convinced it will be enough. These projects
:06:40. > :06:43.making sufficient returns it is bankable and appealing to invest?
:06:44. > :06:49.The Indian government has made switching over to wind power more
:06:50. > :06:52.attractive offering incentives. But some experts say that while wind
:06:53. > :06:59.power is undoubtedly progress, expanding output needs a rethink.
:07:00. > :07:05.The best windfarm sites in India have been taken. New windmills will
:07:06. > :07:11.operate at lower efficiencies. We will need more investment for the
:07:12. > :07:16.same output. For now, windfarms provide 8% of India's electricity
:07:17. > :07:21.demands. The plan is to double that. But India still has to build a
:07:22. > :07:24.stable power network that can provide continuous electricity. And
:07:25. > :07:31.without that, the role of wind energy across India will be limited.
:07:32. > :07:37.If you are in the market for a luxury property, what about this
:07:38. > :07:42.one? The rather expensive former home of Michael Jackson, it has been
:07:43. > :07:49.on the market for six months with no takers. There are high hopes of
:07:50. > :07:59.finding a buyer in Asia. Equal pricetag of $100 million. We spoke
:08:00. > :08:05.to the online entrepreneur tossed with selling Neverland.
:08:06. > :08:13.As Mac tasks. It is an amazing property based in
:08:14. > :08:22.California. It has tremendous appeal for people in Asia. Michael Jackson
:08:23. > :08:28.is an iconic artist. He has a massive aura these days with people
:08:29. > :08:35.in Asia. But this property has been on the market in -- since May. It
:08:36. > :08:42.did not generate much interest among bidders on minor in China. --
:08:43. > :08:46.online. How confident are you that an Asian investor will buy this
:08:47. > :08:56.property? We are doing a lot of work online. We are also very active
:08:57. > :09:03.off-line with private bankers. That can enable us to tap into the right
:09:04. > :09:07.people. Chinese people are the biggest foreign investors in the US
:09:08. > :09:19.property market. They invested in $20 billion last year. They will
:09:20. > :09:23.definitely have some interest. Do you think it is a trend offering
:09:24. > :09:30.western celebrity homes to Chinese buyers? We are about to feature one
:09:31. > :09:37.of the properties of the famous basketball player. It is as popular
:09:38. > :09:44.as Michael Jackson in China and Asia. There is an interest in this
:09:45. > :09:46.part of the world. So you do not sell just property, you sell luxury
:09:47. > :09:57.car is as well as jewellery and handbags to your customers. Many of
:09:58. > :10:01.your products are second-hand. What is the appeal? Asian buyers are
:10:02. > :10:08.looking for access to value and hard to find works. If you look at the
:10:09. > :10:13.cars, for example, if you go to the dealer it will take a couple of
:10:14. > :10:20.years to access. As a website we bring them immediately.
:10:21. > :10:28.A quick check on the markets now. Japan is up 0.5%. That is it for
:10:29. > :10:32.this condition of Asia Business Report. -- edition. Thank you for
:10:33. > :10:36.watching. Russia and Turkey have released new
:10:37. > :10:41.information supporting