21/12/2015 Asia Business Report

Now on BBC News all the latest business news live from Singapore

Toshiba is expected to confirm massive job cuts.

And we will look at one of India's most famous year ago gurus, who is

using his fame to sell everything from shampoo to instant noodles.

Hello and welcome to Asia Business Report. Toshiba has been in trouble

for a long time. A massive accounting scandal revealed that for

years the conglomerate had inflated profits to cover up losses. As part

of the scramble to form a new structure, the company will cut 7000

jobs. This Monday is the day many expected official confirmation.

Shares are down as much as 10%. I asked how the firm can reinvent

itself. Toshiba consists of hundreds and

hundreds of businesses, from semiconductors to rice cookers to

white goods to nuclear power stations to smart metres. There are

so many different businesses. Many of them are good businesses on their

own. But overall, there was no growth and no profits for 20 years.

That should have been tackled much earlier. Very briefly, where just a

shiver go from here? How can it mitigates its losses and move

forward? They would be to look at every single business units on their

own. If we look at image sensors, they will be sold to Sony now. PCs,

it is another matter. IBM sold PCs in 2004, 11 years ago, to Lenovo.

The International Monetary Fund has long been criticised for being out

of touch with today's economic realities. Voting rights are heavily

slanted towards Washington and Europe. At the US Senate has finally

adopted long-awaited reforms to give emerging economies a greater say in

how they are managed. European economies will see their voting

rights diminished. I asked why it has taken so long to make the

changes. The reason it took so long is the US has dominated with the

road organisations. It has been difficult for the US to accent the

power they have had. -- accept. That was hard to accept in the US. How

much does it mean? The step itself does not mean that much. But it does

show how the world has changed. Emerging markets are a lot more

important for the world economy than they used to be. More important than

the advanced economies. Europe has diminished voting rights. What will

this mean that with the economic balance globally. We always think as

the IMF as part of a US dominated international economic system. They

do not drive the world economy. They deal with particular aspects.

Helping some countries grow. It is not a fundamental change in the way

the economy works. It is an indication that we will have a

balance of power. The US together with Europe dominated those

decisions. The balance is shifting to Asia and China, which has set up

what is seen as a rival to the IMF and the World Bank. How will

China's more vocal presence affect the fact that you have got this

other organisation? Each of these organisations have their own

objectives. There is a bit of overlap, and competition. It is a

reflection that we have a multi polar world.

In other business news, countries in the World Trade Organisation have

agreed to abolish certain farming subsidies. Star Wars has generated

more than $500 million in its opening weekend.

It also smashed the box office record in the US, topping Jurassic

world. Walt Disney page $4 billion for the rights to the series.

Investors in Asia are seeing a volatile year draw to a close.

Chinese shares went on a rollercoaster ride this summer,

sending shockwaves around the globe. A hike in interest rates has also

set in uncertain track. What is in store for 2016?

We will see the same kind of mixed year as we saw in 2015, especially

from an economic and market perspective. The economic stories we

have is slow and low. Slow with pace of growth and low with level of

inflation. We have the policies in emerging markets which will

counterbalance the effort of what we see. Slow and low, you say, but the

concern in this part of the world and is China's slowing growth. Where

do you see Chinese growth headed? For Chinese growth, it is slowing.

This is not something we will see changing next year. We have a

slightly lower consensus for economic growth next year at 6%. The

lower than this year, of course. We see there is enough room for Chinese

policymakers to avoid the so-called hard landing that investors are

afraid of. She is one of India's most famous

yoga gurus, well-known for a mass exercise sessions. But now he is

using his brains to sell everything from shampoos and serial to skin

creams and instant noodles. They have had sales of more than $300

million in the last year. We went to northern India to find out more.

Exercise mixed with a little bit of entertainment. It is not hard to see

why it he has such mass appeal. But the yoga kuru has now turned his

attention to something far more commercial. A

fastest growing consumer goods companies. TRANSLATION: In this

country, cosmetics, food products and medicines are mostly made and

sold by foreign multinational companies that take India's money.

We want the money to stay in the country. That is why we started

this. She is not a stakeholder in the company and it is run by his

followers. But he is its biggest ambassador. One of the reasons why

these products are selling fast is because they are well below the

competition. The company says it can afford that because it does not need

a big advertising budget. They have millions of ardent followers thanks

to yoga. Many can be convinced to buy this brand. But made from cows

milk is the bestselling product. But you will find a wide range of goods

on display. His latest product, instant noodles, has earned him a

fair bit of criticism, and got him on a tangle with food safety

authorities. The company denies this and says the issue has been sorted.

It is not the only controversy surrounding the firm, which has had

more than 100 cases registered against it. Land grabs and tax

evasion are among the claims. TRANSLATION: Not even one quote has

put in any order against us. Whatever the cases find, we will

answer to government departments. Unfazed by the claims, the plans to

launch a of beauty and baby products soon. Expanding at a breathless

pace. Quite flexible of the exercises he is so well known for.

I am sure the markets need that energy. Today they are all the work,

as you can see. They are taking their cues from Wall Street. It is a

holiday period. That is it for this addition of Asia Business Report.