14/03/2016 Asia Business Report


14/03/2016

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Forest fires alight once again in Indonesia and warnings they could

:00:15.:00:23.

cost the economy billions. Deadly struggle to keep cars off the road

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as it tries to fix catastrophic air-pollution.

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Glad you could join me for this Monday edition of Asia Business

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We start with Indonesia and the forest fires that have caused have

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across large parts of Southeast Asia last year which are indeed back. One

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province has declared a state of emergency and authorities are

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increasing efforts to fight the fires. The World Bank estimates the

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fires cost Indonesia a staggering 16 billion US dollars last year. What

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is in store for this year? I spoke with a director-general from the

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centre for international forestry research in Jakarta and ask whether

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lessons have been learned from 2015. First of all we are talking about

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agricultural fires that are coming back every year. The smoke and haze

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last year was about dry weather conditions caused by El Nino, which

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caused unusually high and a smoke. These lessons are being learnt and

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there are actions being taken to try to prevent it in future. At the same

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time it's coming back every year since several decades. Is the

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political will that to learn from these lessons and implement these

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policies? -- there. There are has been lost political action and

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arrangements to deal with the fires the conversion of land. We see new

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peatland agency setting up and dealing with the restoration of

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peatland. We have seen early action from the governor close to

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Singapore. What about the corporations that are also involved

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in these forest fires? Are very -- are they being held accountable? We

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will see. There is more of this holding individuals to account and

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we will see more action in this space, I firmly believe. I also

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think it is in the interest of most actors on the ground to follow the

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law and have less fires going. You mentioned about the actors. You have

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the Singaporeans, you have the Malaysians, you have the Indonesians

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- are they working as one cohesive unit to be able to resolve these

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issues, not only in the near term, but also in the long-term? That's

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been the discussion, to work across the borders on these issues for

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years. There is a great deal of interest to continue to do that, and

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as you said, this is not just a national issue. It is something that

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both concerns and involves several countries. In other news making

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headlines - the IMF has backed decisions by Japan and Europe to

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introduce negative interest rates to spur economic growth. The head of

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the IMF, Christine Lagarde, said unconventional monetary policies

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should continue if they are accompanied by structural reforms

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and low inflation. Her comments come ahead of the Bank of Japan's two-day

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meeting which starts today. And as central bankers meet, they have good

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news afresh in this morning. The machinery orders for the month

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rising by 15% a head of a 3% forecast. It is an indicator of

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rising business investment and hopes are that it could be a sign of

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economic growth to come. Less grounds for optimism in China. The

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country's economic slowdown is fuelling concerns over the global

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economic recovery with the latest data from Beijing revealing

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industrial output has slowed to its weakest since the financial turmoil

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in 2008. The UK Chancellor George Osborne said the slowdown in the

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mainland was one of a dangerous cocktail of risks. It is hampering

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recovery. Lingerie shopping in India has always been shrouded in secrecy

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with brands rarely advertising openly and a limited range. As

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Indian women become financially independent, that is slowly

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changing. One of the biggest names in this $3 billion market is an

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e-commerce site that says it sells two bras every minute and we ask why

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she chose to sell this lingerie. I had choices when it came to power

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when it came to outer wear but I did not care about lingerie and that set

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me thinking about what is happening in our country. Why is the

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experience so repressed? Women don't really go out to stores and by

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lingerie. How challenging is it to sell this to women? The television

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campaign had women of all size and shapes saying the word bra on

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national television. Right? We didn't show anyone in a bra, but it

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was a very refreshing change in the way it was approaching the category.

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Second thing, we believe it is, you know... People don't want others to

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see what they have bought. We ensure when the packet comes to you it is

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discreetly packaged. People will not know that it comes from Zivame at

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all. But of all what we have seen, being in the mainstream, being

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unapologetic about what we sell, we've seen people coming on social

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media, which is a big change for Indian consumers. As they start at

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you raised about $45 million so far. What have you spend this money on?

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We have spent it on creating an awareness, building the team,

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getting the right merchandise. Close to 65% of sales comes from politics

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we design and manufacture, we take complete control of the quality and

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fit. So, merchandise and product development is where we are also

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investing money. We manufacture products across the globe. Sri

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Lanka, China, Bangladesh, Latin America and parts of India, cotton

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from India. It is a global supply chain we are running. You have

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started opening stores like this one, where you can try out the

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lingerie, but you can't really buy any. Why is that? You can buy it. We

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have it delivered to you. You don't have to carry it to you. We have it

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delivered to you in 34 hours. The recently opened to fit store was we

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believe the category needed more resistance, more human assistance.

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-- assistance. We are offering sizes unavailable in the market. Only 5%

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of revenue comes from products for sizes which don't exist in the

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market. That was the founder of the e-commerce website Zivame speaking

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with the BBC. In India, Delhi is the most polluted city on the planet

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according to the World Health Organisation. Studies have shown car

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commissions are a major cause of the problem. The government is now

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trying to restrict the use of cars to bring the levels of pollution

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down, but is this enough? Our correspondent reports from Delhi.

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Just one among millions. It is morning rush hour in Delhi. Cars

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slowly inching. A city that is slowly choking. Diarra is five years

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old. She develops a serious cough every three months -- Diarra. Twice

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a day she has to have a masked releasing medicine directly into her

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lungs. To have a problem you cannot tackle is disturbing because I can't

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do much to control it and the pollution level seems to be rising.

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Delhi's air is the worst in the world. Its 25 times more toxic than

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the safe levels set by the World Health Organization. And cars are

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responsible for nearly half of the most dangerous pollutants -- it is

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25. Every week more than 3000 new cars are added to the roads of the

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city. The government has been trying to restrict their use and has banned

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cars that are more than 15 years old. Studies are available too deep

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to say that the maximal effect of air pollution is up to 500 metres

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from the roadside. When they apply that criteria to Delhi, they found

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that more than about 60% of Delhi's 17 million people actually live

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within that zone. 17 million people that need to get around. This is one

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of the city's main tube stations. You've literally got to battle

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through crowds to get onto a Delhi Metro train at rush hour, and this

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is when there are not any restrictions on car use in the city,

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so while the pollution problem might need urgent and perhaps dramatic

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measures to be taken, it could take years for there to be more public

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transport infrastructure for people to travel between their homes and

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workplaces. And before we go, here is a quick look at the markets, and

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so far so good. A positive day for the regional stock markets. The

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Nikkei 2%, 321 points, this is due to be better than expected

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manufacturing report and the IMF approving the move by the Bank of

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Japan of their negative interest-rate policy. The all

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ordinaries index is gaining three quarters of a percent because of a

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rising oil prices. The Hong Kong Hang Seng index is up about 1%,

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that's 172 points. Overall, it is a good day for the regional stocks.

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Thank you so much for investing your time with us. IM Rico Hizon. Sport

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Today is

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