:00:00. > :00:14.Now on BBC News all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:15. > :00:24.Laying the tracks. India and Japan are to sign a landmark deal on a
:00:25. > :00:30.high speed railways for the subcontinent. And online giant
:00:31. > :00:40.Alibaba looks set to purchase Hong Kong's biggest English-language
:00:41. > :00:46.newspaper. Good morning. Glad you could join us for this Friday
:00:47. > :00:49.edition of Asia Business Report. Japan's Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe,
:00:50. > :00:54.is kicking off his visit to India later today where he will meet with
:00:55. > :00:59.his counterpart, Narendra Modi. Both sides are expected to sign a nearly
:01:00. > :01:02.$15 billion deal that will see Japan built India's first high-speed train
:01:03. > :01:10.system. Now we go to our correspondent. Everyday 23 million
:01:11. > :01:14.people use India's rail network, many of those travelling long
:01:15. > :01:17.distance. Tickets often need bookings months in advance for the
:01:18. > :01:23.privilege of travelling in these carriages which are usually old and
:01:24. > :01:30.fairly rickety. The Narendra Modi government has said that by 2020, it
:01:31. > :01:35.will invest $137 billion in the nation's vast but antiquated railway
:01:36. > :01:38.system. Japan is expected to lend India more than half the cost of the
:01:39. > :01:43.project, about $8 billion at very low interest rates and it is
:01:44. > :01:47.Japanese technology. Expect Japanese firms to win the tenders to build
:01:48. > :01:51.the trains and a big track although they will be under pressure to
:01:52. > :02:01.create jobs here as well. But in just seven years, a service could be
:02:02. > :02:04.running a 500 kilometre journey which could be undertaken in just
:02:05. > :02:11.two Mac. So why this route and not Mumbai to Delhi? It is true that
:02:12. > :02:16.this is the capital of the state that Narendra Modi was in charge of
:02:17. > :02:20.but it is also one of the seven high-speed rail corridors which
:02:21. > :02:25.India hopes to use to build its economy with new cities and
:02:26. > :02:28.industrial zones along the way, that is Ahmadabad. Japanese companies are
:02:29. > :02:34.not the only ones that are going to benefit from these promises. Last
:02:35. > :02:38.month, General Electric and a French company won lucrative million-dollar
:02:39. > :02:45.contracts to supply new locomotives to India's Railways. All these
:02:46. > :02:48.improvements are still a little way off but with these kind of
:02:49. > :02:54.infrastructure investments, they are what Narendra Modi needs to keep
:02:55. > :02:57.India's economic growth on track. Chinese Internet giant Alibaba is
:02:58. > :03:00.expected to announce its purchase of a controlling stake in Hong Kong's
:03:01. > :03:06.South China morning Post later today. The deal has been rumoured
:03:07. > :03:09.for weeks and this will mark yet another media acquisition for the
:03:10. > :03:12.e-commerce company but this transaction is likely to be one of
:03:13. > :03:22.its most controversial. Now we go to our correspondent. The South China
:03:23. > :03:27.Morning Post has been around for more than 100 years and once upon a
:03:28. > :03:34.time, it was known for its stellar coverage of China. Now those glory
:03:35. > :03:37.days have dimmed a lot but despite that, particularly for English
:03:38. > :03:43.speakers in Hong Kong, it is still considered to be required morning
:03:44. > :03:48.reading. The paper has a rather modest readership of 350,000
:03:49. > :03:53.people. Its influence is greater than that figure suggests. Every
:03:54. > :03:59.month is website attracts 4 million unique visitors, two thirds of them
:04:00. > :04:03.come from outside Hong Kong and China. They are mainly non- Chinese
:04:04. > :04:09.speakers who are looking for insight into the China story. Employees say
:04:10. > :04:12.the paper has become much less hard-hitting after being bought by
:04:13. > :04:18.Malaysian-Chinese billionaire Robert Kwok in 1993. This former editor
:04:19. > :04:24.says he is even more concerned now that there is a new owner. So what
:04:25. > :04:28.exactly is the worry? Surely Alibaba would like to achieve success in the
:04:29. > :04:33.media business by making sure that it's newspaper is still credible?
:04:34. > :04:37.The chairman of Alibaba is very close to the party leadership and
:04:38. > :04:40.moreover, he is a beneficiary of the tiny system so he won't want his
:04:41. > :04:45.paper to criticize the Chinese political system. There is a
:04:46. > :04:48.national policy to enhance control over Hong Kong by boosting mainland
:04:49. > :04:53.Chinese ownership of Hong Kong media and this could have a bad impact on
:04:54. > :05:00.freedom of expression, including integrity and the Chinese morning
:05:01. > :05:04.Post -- South China morning Post. This has produced a new generation
:05:05. > :05:08.of online news sites including the Hong Kong Free Press whose founder
:05:09. > :05:14.expects to benefit from the deal. What is the impact on independent
:05:15. > :05:18.media? Whenever we have questions about credibility in Hong Kong
:05:19. > :05:24.press, we have seen a surge in support and traffic and donations at
:05:25. > :05:29.Hong Kong Free Press. It may be bad for Hong Kong, but we benefit in the
:05:30. > :05:33.long run. Over the past year, Alibaba has purchased many media
:05:34. > :05:40.companies but this one is the most controversial and the details most
:05:41. > :05:45.carefully scrutinized. Car sales are revving up in China. The latest
:05:46. > :05:47.figures show new tax breaks may have pulled the industry back from the
:05:48. > :05:53.brink of the terrible year. Now we go to our correspondent. Just hours
:05:54. > :06:01.after Chinese authorities lifted the red alert came confirmation that the
:06:02. > :06:07.number of vehicles on the road is only increasing. New figures from
:06:08. > :06:09.the organisation representing Chinese car manufacturers showed two
:06:10. > :06:16.and a half million vehicles were sold in November, a jump of 20% from
:06:17. > :06:23.a year ago. That is because in China's car market, the only breaks
:06:24. > :06:26.that really matter are tax breaks. Sales started accelerating two
:06:27. > :06:30.months ago when the government brought in measures to boost its
:06:31. > :06:36.weak auto market. Authorities cut taxes on new small cars in half
:06:37. > :06:40.following concerned growth in vehicle sales had been slowing for
:06:41. > :06:44.five years. That is a great concern because as the industry has planned
:06:45. > :06:51.for sales higher than the current rate of market demand, their
:06:52. > :06:54.inventory problems have arisen. In order to get the inventory out of
:06:55. > :06:58.the channel and into the hands of the customers, you need a
:06:59. > :07:03.consumption tax which will give people the benefit of a lower
:07:04. > :07:08.purchase price and that has actually helped sales. Yet cars are part of
:07:09. > :07:11.the reason that China is choking on pollution. During the capital's
:07:12. > :07:15.recent three-day red alert for small group, the government ordered cars
:07:16. > :07:22.off the road according to odd and even number plates. But there are
:07:23. > :07:25.exception to the rule. Electric cars are exempt from any restrictions and
:07:26. > :07:30.it seems that is why many people are looking to purchase them.
:07:31. > :07:33.TRANSLATION: I'm considering purchasing one because Beijing is
:07:34. > :07:40.introducing new policies to limit cars on smoggy days but there are no
:07:41. > :07:44.limitations on electric cars. Some dealers say inquiries have risen 10%
:07:45. > :07:51.in the last few days, which could prove to be a big plus for them and
:07:52. > :07:58.the environment as well. There are millions of devout Muslim Hindus
:07:59. > :08:02.across India but with life becoming hectic, it is not always possible
:08:03. > :08:05.for them to get to the temple to perform their rituals, so what do
:08:06. > :08:28.they do? One Indian company thinks it has the answer.
:08:29. > :08:42.We started the service to facilitate the performance of rituals in Hindu
:08:43. > :08:48.temples all over India. We got this idea because the people who didn't
:08:49. > :08:51.have access to be especially for nonresident Indians, students, and
:08:52. > :08:58.Louise, those from India who have travelled abroad -- employees. We
:08:59. > :09:04.have a website, you select a temple where you want to go and choose the
:09:05. > :09:22.date you would like. Then you pay and it gets done.
:09:23. > :09:33.Many of these temples will do streaming video so you can see the
:09:34. > :09:37.service online. You are quite connected to what is happening in
:09:38. > :09:43.the temple, so it feels like you are virtually there and participating in
:09:44. > :09:50.a way and the gap it's kind of filled in is being able to offer a
:09:51. > :09:56.prayer on a particular day, a special day either in terms of
:09:57. > :10:02.family or in terms of a festival and that is actually quite
:10:03. > :10:09.heartwarming. And for more on this story, watch this programme over the
:10:10. > :10:14.weekend at BBC World News. Here's a quick look at the markets. Currently
:10:15. > :10:17.we are seeing a relief rally across the board this Friday after US
:10:18. > :10:24.stocks snapped a 3-game losing streak despite another slide in oil
:10:25. > :10:27.prices. -- read a. Hong Kong, Japan and Australia are all in positive
:10:28. > :10:41.territory. 4,000 migrants are arriving
:10:42. > :10:46.in Greece every day