25/01/2016 Asia Business Report


25/01/2016

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Back in black, Japan returns to a trade surplus because of the week

:00:16.:00:23.

currency and low oil prices. And maternity benefits. India

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encouraging more mothers to return to work. Welcome to Asia Business

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Report. I am Sharanjit Leyl. Japan's trade figures are out and it

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looks like the slowdown is taking a toll. Exports fell 8% from a year

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earlier in December. More than forecast. Imports fell by 18%.

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Overall, they have posted a trade surplus of $1.2 billion. What do the

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numbers say? Earlier I posed that question to David. It is good in

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parts and some others are not as good. Look at what has happened in

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Japan. We saw that the exports are down but imports are down even

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more. That means Japan can post a surplus rather than a deficit.

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Before, in the imports, thanks to low commodity prices... Japan has

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not much in the way of resources. It has two in what most of it,

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primarily oil. -- to. That has helped them. We have a Bank of Japan

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meeting at the end of this week. They are watching closely. We saw a

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hints at more stimulus measures. What can the Bank of Japan really

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do? They have really loose policy at the moment. Then you have Abenomics,

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aggressive stimulus measures. What can they do? We need to remember

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they need to embark on recuperation. Look at the reduction of travel.

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Rather than the pace of it. What the Bank of Japan needs to do is look at

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whether or not Japan is on a path to recovery. Today's trade data will

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put a spanner in the works because people will say, it looks like they

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are starting to recover. That will would pressure on the Bank of Japan

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because people will look at the yen now. That will make exports even

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more expensive. It is a difficult act for the Bank of Japan to engage

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in. What will it do? I feel they will embark on more monetary easing.

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They will step up quantitative easing. They may even look at

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interest rates. As you heard, they have benefited from the low oil

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prices imports... It needs it for its energy. It has put pressure on

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Venezuela, for instance, which faces increased risk of debt import. How

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much lower can global oil prices go? We spoke to readers that the

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economic forum in Davos. I can see a price of 30-40 in the middle of the

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year and towards the end of the year, even the 50s. The oil price in

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six months time will be at the level of 35-$40 per barrel. $35. There is

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oversupply, little demand... Of course, we all want to blame China

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for recent troubles, but that isn't the only problem. No one knows

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exactly, but I see $30. $20. The reason? $15 a barrel because of the

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extraordinary light of oil on the planet. -- glut. It may even go to

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$5 per barrel. In six months time... I think it will keep on

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going down and down. A view from business leaders. One of the largest

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hurdles Indonesia's currency faces is its infrastructure. They are

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known for traffic jams. One of the worst in the world. Now, Indonesia

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is time to do something about it with the first high-speed train in

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the country. This is an executive InterCity train which connects the

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capital in Jakarta to others. It is well-known for fashion. Because of

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that, thousands of people go from Jakarta to Bandu and vice-versa for

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a business trip. It will take me three hours to cover 160 comet is.

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But I not sure if it will arrive on time. -- it is often late. --

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kilometres an hour. The new very fast trains are expected to go to

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hunted and 60 kilometres an hour. -- are expected to go to 100. It will

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make the trip much faster and more people will be able to do business

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between the two cities. I hope that tourism will benefit along with

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other creative industries. The new train is not cheap. It will cost

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around 5.5 billion US dollars. 75% of that money is coming from China

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development bank, and the rest from Chinese railway and Indonesian

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businesses. Analysts are questioning whether it is worth it. The research

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is 60,000 passengers per day. That is unproductive. Today, the

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Indonesian government is saying one of the biggest advantages is the

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establishment or development of a new town, in between Jakarta and

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Bandu. I think, looking at the history of the high-speed train in

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China and Japan, it will take around ten years to 15 years. The

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government promises this will be the first of many. But many say they

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should fix the trains they have before spending billions on new

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ones. In a move to help India's new mothers, the government says it

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plans more than of pay to -- pay to maternity leave. We have more from

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Dubai. This is this five-month old's favourite toy. Just the thing

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to keep this woman's baby happy. She is on a maternity break from work.

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After using up 12 weeks' pay, she is taking another few months without a.

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Not all women are allowed the extra time. -- pay. But with expenses for

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babies shooting up, many think more paid leave is needed. We struggle

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with many challenges as a mother. Within three it is time to leave and

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go back to work. I think it is too little. Employers have to give 12

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weeks according to the government. In the UK, women get 39 weeks, the

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first six at 90% of their salary. In China, 14 weeks, earning at least

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the average wage of their employer. In the US, you can take 12 weeks of

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art they are not obliged to receive anything. -- off but. The proportion

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of women in India's workforce is low and some worry that lending to

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increase maternity leave could push it even lower. Official figures

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suggest fewer than 15% of women work. Of those who do have jobs, one

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in four quit after having a baby. Social mind that is and employer

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bias are a problem. -- mindsets. Man taking care of children is not

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really considered. -- Men. Where do you leave your active toddler is

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today the issue most working women face. This is a rare example. And

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on-campus kindergarten run for employees. -- An. The idea that my

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child is just a few floors away from me, I like it. Without it I would

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not have been able to come back to work at all. But for many like this

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baby, this is not available. Is over mother-in-law comes to stay. -- Her.

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For now, they will play it by ear. And a quick look at the markets.

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Some gains with the Asian stocks opening. The Nikkei is slightly flat

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responding to the information we just gave. Stronger oil prices are

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helping the Hang Seng. We saw them rally on Friday. Up about 10%. One

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of their biggest one day gains. In fact, they are

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