:00:00. > :00:00.responded the UK would be better off inside a reformed EU.
:00:00. > :00:14.Now on BBC News, all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:15. > :00:23.As China's political elite gather in Beijing, what clues might be given
:00:24. > :00:27.about the direction of the economy? And why India's ancient caste system
:00:28. > :00:37.is still a powerful influence when it comes to who gets the job.
:00:38. > :00:46.Welcome to Asia Business Report. Nearly 3000 of China's most senior
:00:47. > :00:52.politicians will kick off the annual national and -- National People's
:00:53. > :00:55.Congress this weekend. Much is secret about this meeting but most
:00:56. > :00:59.of what we expect relates to the economy. There will be a new
:01:00. > :01:05.five-year plan, which includes economic goals, and a new growth
:01:06. > :01:10.target as well. And we will be expecting an indication about what
:01:11. > :01:14.they intend to do with struggling state owned enterprises. Earlier I
:01:15. > :01:18.spoke with our Asia business correspondent about what we could
:01:19. > :01:24.expect. It is the biggest political pantomime for that Chinese Communist
:01:25. > :01:28.Party every year. What is essential and what people outside of China
:01:29. > :01:31.will be looking for is any kind of signal as to what direction the
:01:32. > :01:37.economy will be taking over the next five years. We are all intricately
:01:38. > :01:42.linked to what goes on in the world's second largest economy. All
:01:43. > :01:45.the way from Australia up to the UK. So there will be a great deal of
:01:46. > :01:50.attention paid to comments that come out on Saturday, when we get the
:01:51. > :01:57.state of the nation speech. And also some of the growth targets, as you
:01:58. > :02:01.were mentioning. No surprises. We already know China is slowing down
:02:02. > :02:05.and making the transition from an investment led economy to one based
:02:06. > :02:14.on consumption and services. That is the big question. What's really
:02:15. > :02:21.interesting is it's a rare insight into the thinking, the policy direct
:02:22. > :02:27.is, that these leaders will take. -- policy directions. Already we have
:02:28. > :02:32.some indication. The five-year plan was actually released back in
:02:33. > :02:36.November. There is no big surprise in terms of what the policy
:02:37. > :02:44.direction might be, but one big area of concern highlighted this week by
:02:45. > :02:51.Moody's is state owned enterprises. Because they are basically like 'The
:02:52. > :02:54.Walking Dead', bloated, massive companies, in a great deal of
:02:55. > :02:59.trouble because they have a lot of debt. But they also employ millions
:03:00. > :03:03.across the mainland. How China will find that balance, getting rid of
:03:04. > :03:06.these companies but finding jobs for some of those people who might need
:03:07. > :03:12.to be laid off, that'll be a key concerns. It doesn't help as well,
:03:13. > :03:16.especially when we look back to what happened last summer, that policy
:03:17. > :03:20.seems to be everywhere for the Chinese and a lot of criticism that
:03:21. > :03:24.they don't seem to be getting it right. There's a great deal of
:03:25. > :03:28.concern that they kind of lost control of what they were trying to
:03:29. > :03:31.do. But in the lead up to this particular Congress, we've seen
:03:32. > :03:37.Chinese stock markets valued, they've been going up, and there are
:03:38. > :03:44.hopes of some sort of stimulus. So all eyes on the Congress. All eyes
:03:45. > :03:49.indeed. Shares of the embattled electronics giant Sharp gained 8%
:03:50. > :03:57.this morning, after the Nikkei business daily reported the chairman
:03:58. > :04:00.is injured -- is in Japan, holding talks to buy the embattled
:04:01. > :04:05.electronics giant. Both sides are seeking to conclude by Monday.
:04:06. > :04:17.Ratings agency Moody's has downgraded the rating, citing the
:04:18. > :04:20.deterioration in earnings and cash flow. Falling commodity prices have
:04:21. > :04:30.had a serious impact on the mining giant and it expects low prices. We
:04:31. > :04:34.talk a lot about the value of brands on this programme, but what about
:04:35. > :04:38.sponsorship? How does a company measure the value it gets from the
:04:39. > :04:44.money it pours into putting its name on big events? HSBC is one for doing
:04:45. > :04:46.just that. It will sponsor an international women's golf
:04:47. > :04:52.tournament, under way now in Singapore. HSBC is a global
:04:53. > :04:57.organisation with 47 million customers and it makes a profit
:04:58. > :05:03.looking after their money. So you might ask, what's the connection
:05:04. > :05:08.between a bank and this? Golf. Again some would say is an acquired taste.
:05:09. > :05:15.Well, the head of sponsorship for HSBC globally is Giles Morgan and he
:05:16. > :05:19.joins me now. Why golf? It isn't a game young people are flocking to
:05:20. > :05:23.and some people see it as elitist and for the wealthy. There are
:05:24. > :05:29.people who say that. We believe the opposite. It is one of the most ex-
:05:30. > :05:33.-- inclusive games in the world, in terms of all ages and both men and
:05:34. > :05:38.women, and it is also international. It is coming to the Olympic Games
:05:39. > :05:45.and it has a new showcase. You focus very much on sport, rugby, tennis
:05:46. > :05:49.and golf, and a limited audience. Do you do cultural events? How
:05:50. > :05:56.important is it to spread that goal? It's a targeted audience. The Rugby
:05:57. > :06:00.Sevens audience and golf provide us with a certain type of customers. We
:06:01. > :06:06.are also looking to broaden audiences in certain markets, more
:06:07. > :06:09.community-based associations. It really depends on the market what is
:06:10. > :06:16.available and what we are focusing on, which is wide we do sponsorship.
:06:17. > :06:21.HSBC is undergoing a massive cost reduction programme. You've got job
:06:22. > :06:26.cuts, a freeze on hiring, share prices down. Why spend millions on
:06:27. > :06:31.sponsorship? We believe that when we look to increase our profitability
:06:32. > :06:34.we have to keep marketing our brand, we have to keep engaging customers
:06:35. > :06:38.and we have to keep flying our flag about the open for business around
:06:39. > :06:43.the world where we do business. But the budget has been cut? Mary Mac
:06:44. > :06:46.every thing has been produced, we are doing fewer things better,
:06:47. > :06:51.creating better value for shareholders and the business.
:06:52. > :06:55.Thanks for your time. The link may not seem immediately obvious between
:06:56. > :06:58.a bank and golf, not for HSBC apparently putting money into sports
:06:59. > :07:04.like this is the profit equivalent of a hole in one.
:07:05. > :07:10.India may have the fastest growing economy in the world, but the
:07:11. > :07:16.country's ancient caste system still dictates social structure. There are
:07:17. > :07:20.quotas of government jobs set aside to give people in lower castes
:07:21. > :07:24.opportunities. Recently there were violent protests by an upper caste
:07:25. > :07:32.community, demanding their own job quotas. We report on why the caste
:07:33. > :07:38.system remains a powerful influence. For several days protesters from
:07:39. > :07:42.this community vented their few we. -- of their anger. Violence which
:07:43. > :07:49.caught the authorities by surprise and led to many deaths and
:07:50. > :07:51.large-scale destruction. Several towns in the state and highways
:07:52. > :07:57.leading to the capital were affected.
:07:58. > :08:04.At the heart of the protest is the changing face of the local economy.
:08:05. > :08:10.Traditionally, much of the land here has been used for farming. They are
:08:11. > :08:13.growing wheat in these fields. But increasingly agriculture is giving
:08:14. > :08:20.way to industry. Farmland is being acquired to make factories such as
:08:21. > :08:27.the one here. All part of the move to transform India's economy. But
:08:28. > :08:30.while the landscape is changing, the transition to a new economy has been
:08:31. > :08:36.difficult for those who live off the land. This is a relatively affluent
:08:37. > :08:43.farming community but there's not enough land left the farm on.
:08:44. > :08:49.TRANSLATION: The government is busy acquiring our land, building groats
:08:50. > :08:56.or a Railtrack elsewhere. We barely get enough compensation. -- will
:08:57. > :08:59.bring roads. We are falling in debt. The area has colleges and education
:09:00. > :09:05.institutes, as young people try to acquire new skills. But degrees are
:09:06. > :09:08.readily available and jobs are not. I meet a group of college students
:09:09. > :09:17.who tell me unemployment is really high. TRANSLATION: My friend got 430
:09:18. > :09:22.marks in his examination. He didn't even get called for an interview.
:09:23. > :09:29.But someone from the lower caste scored 405 and landed himself a
:09:30. > :09:33.government job. It is depressing. The private sector only employs
:09:34. > :09:38.about 12% of the workforce, which is why government jobs are so heavily
:09:39. > :09:43.sought-after. But 50% of those jobs are set aside for lower castes, to
:09:44. > :09:48.overcome centuries of discrimination and social disadvantages. That's
:09:49. > :09:51.leading to growing resentment among other communities who feel left out
:09:52. > :09:59.and are increasingly willing to hit back.
:10:00. > :10:02.Let's take a look at the markets before we go. Asian shares are
:10:03. > :10:09.fairly muted this Friday morning. The Nikkei has opened lower,
:10:10. > :10:14.continues lower, mainly due to the strong yen that eating into
:10:15. > :10:20.exporters. Australia is gaining and that's due to commodity prices,
:10:21. > :10:25.leading to again. BHP Billiton got that downgrade earlier. But the
:10:26. > :10:29.shares continue to rise in Australia and the Hang Seng has also opened
:10:30. > :10:30.higher. That's it for this edition of Asia Business Report. Thanks for
:10:31. > :10:33.watching.