:00:00. > :00:14.Now on BBC News, all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:15. > :00:22.The US hosts a meeting of ten south-east Asian leaders. We see
:00:23. > :00:26.what is on the agenda. And taking to the skies. We find out what is on
:00:27. > :00:27.offer at the Singapore airshow, where industry and major players
:00:28. > :00:40.meet. Good morning. Welcome to Asia
:00:41. > :00:46.Business Report. South-east Asian leaders are gathering in California
:00:47. > :00:52.for the first ever ASEAN meeting on US soil, and trade is high on the
:00:53. > :00:56.agenda with the US sharpening its focus on Asia. 2-way trade between
:00:57. > :01:00.America and this region was worth more than a quarter of a Chilean
:01:01. > :01:05.dollars last year, so how significant is this ASEAN gathering?
:01:06. > :01:10.Earlier, I spoke to the executive director of the Asian trade centre
:01:11. > :01:19.and asked her whether the US would push more ASEAN countries to join
:01:20. > :01:23.the TPP. There is the grip of four countries currently members of the
:01:24. > :01:28.TPP, and another smaller group of ASEAN countries that are likely to
:01:29. > :01:33.join the TPP, and the US is working with them to try to get them ready
:01:34. > :01:37.to join in the next three -5 years, and then there is a group of ASEAN
:01:38. > :01:41.countries, especially the less developed countries like Cambodia,
:01:42. > :01:45.that are not likely to join any time soon. But nonetheless they need
:01:46. > :01:50.continuing capacity building and assistance. The goal is to keep them
:01:51. > :01:56.moving in the general direction, without the intention of having them
:01:57. > :02:04.drawing any reasonable timeframe. China is not part of the TPP or
:02:05. > :02:07.ASEAN. How important is Southeast Asia to the US, especially when
:02:08. > :02:13.China is trying to have more power on the world stage? I think ASEAN is
:02:14. > :02:19.very important to the United States, especially to show USP of it to Asia
:02:20. > :02:24.is more than just the TPP and more than just a few troops stationed in
:02:25. > :02:29.Darwin. It shows the United States remains engaged in Asia, and the
:02:30. > :02:34.more they can show that engagement is economic, political, security,
:02:35. > :02:39.with lots of countries, the more helpful it is the US to show real
:02:40. > :02:44.commitment to Asia, and ASEAN has been in the past and can use to be a
:02:45. > :02:50.friendly place for the United States to make that commitment. In the
:02:51. > :02:55.past, ASEAN has been accused of having all of these meetings are not
:02:56. > :03:01.really achieving a lot. Can we expect some kind of achievement from
:03:02. > :03:04.this summit? I think in this particular instance, the achievement
:03:05. > :03:08.is to have helped the summit at all, and I think that is the achievement.
:03:09. > :03:11.There will not be a lot of concrete outcomes. People will point to
:03:12. > :03:16.programmes, but the real achievement is the fact it was held outside of
:03:17. > :03:20.ASEAN, and that is really be achievement everyone is looking for.
:03:21. > :03:24.Anything after that is just an additional fantastic deliverable on
:03:25. > :03:31.top of the amazing meeting they are likely to have in Sunnylands. All
:03:32. > :03:34.eyes are also on currencies and markets this morning after China's
:03:35. > :03:41.Yuan hit its highest point since the beginning of the year with its
:03:42. > :03:45.biggest one-day move since 2005. It followed the country's said about
:03:46. > :03:49.fixing the one at a much stronger rate against US dollar, using
:03:50. > :03:54.worries about devaluation. The markets are just opening and we will
:03:55. > :03:58.update you surely. Earlier, I asked a strategist what is behind the
:03:59. > :04:04.latest currency and market moves. We were expecting there would be an
:04:05. > :04:08.appreciation in the UN after the week-long closure for the Lunar New
:04:09. > :04:13.Year. We had seen the US dollar 's fall sharply against the yen. Over
:04:14. > :04:19.that time, the Chinese currency was always likely to rise against the US
:04:20. > :04:22.dollar because the authorities were trying to stabilise it. With very
:04:23. > :04:28.weak trade numbers for January, export under pressure, there is not
:04:29. > :04:34.a very good macro economic policy case for further ongoing gains in
:04:35. > :04:37.the Yuan. They don't need it in terms of exports, and they don't
:04:38. > :04:43.need a stronger currency in terms of the inflation outlook, so we do have
:04:44. > :04:48.doubts it will be sustained. What is your view on the Japanese yen and
:04:49. > :04:52.the Nikkei, both of which saw a rollercoaster ride last week. Will
:04:53. > :04:59.this volatility continued in your view? Yes, quite possibly. It really
:05:00. > :05:08.has been a lot of stress on the yen lately. The big bet in markets over
:05:09. > :05:13.recent years under Abenomics has been something that means interest
:05:14. > :05:18.rates may not be increased any time soon. A lot of money taken off the
:05:19. > :05:22.table there. Volatility is likely, but as the year progresses, we think
:05:23. > :05:28.the US economy is strong enough to warrant high interest rates, and the
:05:29. > :05:34.yen is likely to head back to 125 later this year. In other business
:05:35. > :05:38.news, a Japanese telecoms giant has announced its biggest ever share
:05:39. > :05:42.buyback. It is aimed at boosting investor confidence after its stock
:05:43. > :05:48.price fell only 30% since the beginning of this year. It will buy
:05:49. > :05:51.up to 500 billion yen, or over 4 billion US dollars of its own
:05:52. > :05:55.shares. And thousands of steelworkers from 15 countries have
:05:56. > :05:59.marched in Brussels demanding more action from the European Commission
:06:00. > :06:05.to tackle what they say is unfair competition from China. They accused
:06:06. > :06:08.Beijing of dumping vast amounts of steel on the global market at below
:06:09. > :06:13.the cost price. The protesters are worried that a possible change of
:06:14. > :06:20.Beijing staters at the World Trade Organisation could tie your's ends.
:06:21. > :06:23.Now Asia's weakest commercial aerospace and defence airshow opens
:06:24. > :06:27.in Singapore this morning. It is a chance for the industry's major
:06:28. > :06:35.players together in one of the word's fastest-growing regions, and
:06:36. > :06:41.Boeing expected to sell almost 4000 planes over the next 20 years in
:06:42. > :06:45.Southeast Asia alone. What is on offer at this year? Let's hear from
:06:46. > :06:53.our Asia business correspondence, who is at the airshow. I am right in
:06:54. > :06:57.the thick of it. You can probably hear the engines revving behind me.
:06:58. > :07:01.The mood at the airshow really is one of mixed outlook. A bit of
:07:02. > :07:07.uncertainty about what will be happening in the future over the
:07:08. > :07:11.next 12-18 months. As we know, the global economic uncertainty is
:07:12. > :07:16.playing into a lot of those fears. At the same time, we have also heard
:07:17. > :07:21.passenger numbers in Southeast Asia are doing pretty well, and we are
:07:22. > :07:28.expecting some announcements from airlines here looking to snap up the
:07:29. > :07:33.aircraft is on offer. In 2014, is airshow saw deals with some $32
:07:34. > :07:38.billion, any expectation and hope certainly is they can match that
:07:39. > :07:44.amount if not exceeded. Along with aircraft makers, there are the
:07:45. > :07:49.supporting industries around today's playmakers, and the companies that
:07:50. > :07:53.supply parts to aircraft. Joining me to discuss the outlook for that
:07:54. > :08:01.particular sector is the president of the aerospace aviation industry
:08:02. > :08:06.in the Philippines. In 2015 unknown, you are on track, the Philippines
:08:07. > :08:09.was on track, to see some $1 billion worth of exports in this particular
:08:10. > :08:18.sector. Tell me how those figures are faring in what are your
:08:19. > :08:21.expectations this year. While the release of most financials is able,
:08:22. > :08:30.we do believe $1 billion has been obtained. We are looking at a goal
:08:31. > :08:35.of about $2.5 billion, so we have created a roadmap and are trying to
:08:36. > :08:37.address this and make sure we are on target to reach that goal. It is
:08:38. > :08:41.pretty allowed out here. A reflection of the fact there is so
:08:42. > :08:47.much aircraft on display. They are trying to sell and get picked up by
:08:48. > :08:51.airlines in the region. It is a pretty competitive industry in
:08:52. > :08:57.Southeast Asia. It is hard for an airline to make money here. Right
:08:58. > :09:02.now, most airlines, profit wise, even our own carriers are enjoying
:09:03. > :09:11.profits, because the increase in passenger numbers has encouraged
:09:12. > :09:15.growth even with the Philippines. Nowadays people take airlines
:09:16. > :09:21.instead of boats, and the cost is not that far from taking a ship.
:09:22. > :09:28.Within that region also, the removal of the requirements for visas have
:09:29. > :09:33.seen tremendous both and an influx from other neighbouring countries.
:09:34. > :09:35.That is despite the global economic uncertainty this year, even though
:09:36. > :09:41.there are concerns about what will happen in the next 12 -18 months.
:09:42. > :09:45.Yes, even now more than ever, people are seeing lower costs in fuel
:09:46. > :09:52.prices meaning lower costs in airfares. So people are taking
:09:53. > :09:59.advantage, and recently, we have had a lot of days of vacation and a few
:10:00. > :10:08.long weekends, so people are taking advantage of those. Excellent. Thank
:10:09. > :10:09.you so much. We will have more from the Singapore airshow throughout the
:10:10. > :10:17.day on BBC World Let's take a look at the markets.
:10:18. > :10:22.There are reminded that Wall Street was closed, but Asian shares and now
:10:23. > :10:27.opens. The Nikkei down slightly and the Yuan has been said slightly
:10:28. > :10:30.weaker than yesterday. That is it for this edition of Asia Business
:10:31. > :10:38.Report. Thank you for watching. Syria's president, Bashar Al-Assad,
:10:39. > :10:41.has cast doubt on whether a ceasefire proposed for
:10:42. > :10:45.later this week can be implemented. It comes as dozens of people die
:10:46. > :10:48.in airstrikes on hospitals