19/01/2016 Asia Business Report

China's latest economic growth figures are out in half-an-hour. We

will see the impact of the economy and the steel industry. And vertigo

left of. Helicopters are talking about their expanding base in Asia.

-- lift off. Good morning, Asia, hello, world. Glad you could join

us. I am Rico Hizon in Singapore. Investors will be watching very

carefully this morning as the world's second largest economy

releases it economic growth figures. Many are speculating they will be

the slowest in years. They have been hit by shrinking foreign and

domestic demand in China. They also have an oversupply in the property

sector. The central bank has cut interest rates already six times

since November of 2014 and the currency, the Yuan, has depreciated

as well. We has a report on how these low-down is affecting the

steel sector. -- have. -- the slowdown.

This is the glut that's swamping the world.

China's produced so much steel, it leaves it rusting,

And closes steelworks, bricking them up.

This steelworks couldn't compete as steel prices crashed from ?600 a ton

New figures tomorrow are expected to show China's slowest growth

China's moving from an economy which has grown phenomenally for 25 years.

Now it's the fearfulness of redundancy.

They all now compete with each other for work

He says, "The shutdown has greatly affected each and every one of us."

We've got old parents and young children we have to provide for.

China's over-produced steel, and it's now paying the price

in a global market where they compete against Port Talbot.

Stephen Evans, BBC News, eastern China.

Earlier I spoke with Catherine in Hong Kong. I asked her whether we

whole year we aren't expecting fireworks in China,

meltdowns. In regards to today's figures, it is likely to come up

the case. What further work needs to be done with the Chinese economy? We

have seen many interest rates over the past year and economic stimulus

and other policies have already been implemented. I think it is

unrealistic for investors to keep on expecting uninterrupted stellar

growth coming out of China. Known for some time it has slowing of the

one of the reasons is the focus of the health of consumer. -- We have

known. It is important to look at the help of the consumer but

destocking is needed because the curse for China over the years has

been producing too much. We needs to rectify this problem. We have seen

coming in that report of Steve Evans in the steel industry. -- seen that.

But there are points to look at, especially in the December figures,

exports are 2.3%, and yesterday, property prices were up for a third

straight month. That is right. When we look at the market it is a

stockpicker's delight. You can look at strong balance sheet companies

who might be in a sector that is unloved with good earnings and

growth potential. What is important, companies adjusting for this

period, for sum it will be a prolonged and somewhat painful

period, but if you have adjusted for it it will show a plus. -- some.

Another sign of the pressures, Tata Steel is cutting another 1050 jobs

in the UK. Most of them will go from Port Talbot in Wales. The industry

across Europe has fallen by 20% since the global financial turmoil

in 2008. Rio Tinto reporting an 11% rise in animal and I in all

shipments. -- iron ore. They are expected to boost production soon.

The company is benefiting from strong output, low cost, and

spending. Results from a two-week ban on cars in India's capital,

Delhi, showed that air pollution levels remain unhealthy despite

restrictions on odd and even plates. But the trial did result in a drop

of more than 50% in pollution cost, especially by traffic. One of the

fastest ways to get from A to B is through a helicopter. Their use is

growing rapidly in this region for transport and emergency response. I

asked a company about their customers. There are different

customers. Police, for instance, in China, there are coast guards and

their agencies in Japan, there is the navy of Korea, the media of the

Philippines, Vietnamese operators of oil and gas. What are the challenges

of this market? Instead of some big customers you have lots of small

ones, as you said, coming from different countries with different

needs. What is challenging is you need to understand what they want,

their requirements, proposed a solution using the helicopter and

after it has been delivered. That is expensive, isn't it? You know, the

purchase price is like a 100, the after sales service might be 200. It

is an expensive product, but, you can get a lot out of it. A

helicopter obviously has it's limitations as well as advantages.

-- its. Speed is one, you have been working on it, to find one that

flies more like a plane, you call it a tilt rotor, but recently a

prototype crashed and killed two pilots. How much has that put back

your development? Let me say that the company and everybody within it

felt the drama with that accident. The loss of two lives and the sorrow

that comes with that for the families is something that has

affected the company and everybody. But we can see the future of the

helicopter industry. We are the only one in the commercial application

with a pressure rice tilt rotor in development. -- Russia right. It

takes off and lands like a plane. It is faster and can go further. --

pressurised. It is also already being used by the American

military. Have you got any orders? We have, but not final orders, still

we have development fees. But around 70 different customers wants to be

the pioneers of this kind of commercial application. The hugely

popular messaging service, WhatsApp, is looking for new ways for

businesses to add producers to make up for any revenue shortfall. The

co-founder says it is not practical to charge the 99 cents fees as many

used as do not have credit. It is a shift from Facebook which brought

them $20 million in 2014. WhatsApp has close to 20 million users.

Before we go, a quick look at the market as you can see right now on

the board. Stocks are rising marginally. Opening losses as

investors await China's economic growth data amid worries of a slow

in the case. Thank you for investing your time in us. I am Rico Hizon.

See you in the next hour. British members of Parliament have

held a three-hour debate on whether the US Republican presidential

hopeful, Donald Trump should be