:00:00. > :00:13.Now on BBC News, all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:14. > :00:21.We look at the impact of China's new normal on workers as government and
:00:22. > :00:24.business leaders meet at the forum. And how young people are finding new
:00:25. > :00:31.ways to move up the corporate ladder in Japan.
:00:32. > :00:37.Welcome to this Wednesday edition of Asia Business Report.
:00:38. > :00:44.A forum, loosely referred to as the Chinese Davos, kicks off this week
:00:45. > :00:48.and this year government and business leaders meet against a
:00:49. > :00:57.backdrop of slow growth and fewer jobs. For more we can go live to our
:00:58. > :01:02.correspondent at the forum in China's Hainan province. Tell us
:01:03. > :01:06.what you have heard and seen. This is very much an annual gathering of
:01:07. > :01:11.the political and business leaders in China and also from around the
:01:12. > :01:16.region. It is an impressive list over the next couple of days. We
:01:17. > :01:20.expect the Chinese Premier to make a speech here. We are not expecting
:01:21. > :01:23.anything ghastly different from the comments he made at the National
:01:24. > :01:29.People's Congress two weeks ago. The focus of this forum at the top of
:01:30. > :01:34.the minds of many is how China is going to manage this transition.
:01:35. > :01:37.That is from an economy dominated by manufacturing and investment into
:01:38. > :01:42.one that is more focused on services and innovation. I travelled to
:01:43. > :01:48.southern China to find out how one company is making this transition.
:01:49. > :01:55.China's army of workers, the winning formula behind its success... So
:01:56. > :02:00.far. This country got rich being the factory of the world but that is now
:02:01. > :02:05.changing. Chances are some of the products you have in your house had
:02:06. > :02:09.been made here. It produces half of the world's goods but now this
:02:10. > :02:12.country needs to make a transition beyond the factory floor. The
:02:13. > :02:15.government says it is already doing this but what it is not saving is
:02:16. > :02:22.the price it has to pay for this transition. Millions of workers
:02:23. > :02:26.could be left out -- saying. A Entertainment is new China's poster
:02:27. > :02:33.child, manufacturing toys was once how it made its money, but its
:02:34. > :02:38.future lies in this. Alpha wants to be Asia's Disney, creating cartoon
:02:39. > :02:46.characters that have become household names. It is now China's
:02:47. > :02:51.biggest household entertainment. Alpha's boss is catering to China's
:02:52. > :02:56.middle classes, selling them everything from cartoons to cafes,
:02:57. > :02:59.but there is a sacrifice. TRANSLATION: Today in China we are
:03:00. > :03:04.seeing structural reform in business. Those will see opportunity
:03:05. > :03:08.to develop. For those who can't adapt, they will have to shut down.
:03:09. > :03:12.It is a challenge Beijing is trying to manage. At the recent party
:03:13. > :03:17.congress the government said millions of jobs would be created
:03:18. > :03:21.this year and it has launched a $15 billion fund aimed at workers who
:03:22. > :03:26.have lost their jobs. But this transition isn't going to be easy.
:03:27. > :03:31.Another day, another shift ends. Factory life has given millions of
:03:32. > :03:35.workers a shot at the Chinese dream. As China makes this transition, so
:03:36. > :03:40.will adapt, but many more will struggle to find a place for
:03:41. > :03:47.themselves in the new China. Now, you talk about a new China, and
:03:48. > :03:51.this need to adapt. This meeting comes against the context of a
:03:52. > :03:58.slowdown in the economy. Tell us about what's on the agenda and what
:03:59. > :04:02.people will be talking about? Very much the transition you have
:04:03. > :04:08.mentioned. Innovation is a key focus at the forum. We will see the likes
:04:09. > :04:18.of the CEO of Uber, his Chinese counterpart, the man who runs a AB
:04:19. > :04:23.-- AirBnb and China's manager of AirBnb. Innovation at the heart of
:04:24. > :04:27.seminars taking place at the forum. In fact, even as I speak, in the
:04:28. > :04:31.conference room behind me there is a discussion about global economic
:04:32. > :04:37.governance and later today currency war is high on the agenda as well.
:04:38. > :04:42.It sounds like a couple of easy days. Thank you. Members of the oil
:04:43. > :04:46.cartel OPEC will meet in coming weeks to discuss a freeze in output
:04:47. > :04:52.at January levels to try to stabilise the global oil market. Oil
:04:53. > :04:56.prices have staged a turnaround following a fall below $30 a barrel
:04:57. > :05:01.in January. Let's see what they are doing. You can see they are trading
:05:02. > :05:04.at around $41 although there are concerns of oversupply with a report
:05:05. > :05:11.out overnight showing US crude stocks rose almost 9 million barrels
:05:12. > :05:17.to reach a record high. I asked Neal Atkinson, head of the oil department
:05:18. > :05:23.at the international energy agency where prices are headed next.
:05:24. > :05:27.Meeting at the January period it will be at the bottom. It is
:05:28. > :05:33.forward-looking, oil markets. There is still a lot of supply. Into the
:05:34. > :05:38.second half of 2016, the oil market starts to move closer to balance. If
:05:39. > :05:42.it doesn't yet balance, there would be a surplus of supply over demand
:05:43. > :05:46.but it is heading towards balance and in 2017 we think the market will
:05:47. > :05:50.balance. There is if you like a platform for prices to build from
:05:51. > :05:55.although we are not expecting prices to rise dramatically anytime soon.
:05:56. > :06:00.April 17 is the date everyone is watching out for, went OPEC
:06:01. > :06:07.producers meet. Will Saudi Arabia's agenda to keep production fairly
:06:08. > :06:11.high and to keep prices low and as a result drive out US shale
:06:12. > :06:14.producers, will that still be the theme? -- when POEC producers meet.
:06:15. > :06:17.That has not turned out to be as simple a task as they might have
:06:18. > :06:20.imagined when they took their decision to go for market share
:06:21. > :06:25.rather than support prices. As far as the upcoming talks are concerned,
:06:26. > :06:30.it is not entirely clear what format they are taking place in -- OPEC. As
:06:31. > :06:36.far as we are aware there isn't an official OPEC initiative as such.
:06:37. > :06:42.There is an initiative among the producers, including Saudi Arabia,
:06:43. > :06:47.Russia and others to put a stop on the prices, suggesting that prices
:06:48. > :06:49.won't rise further, although there is suggestion that countries
:06:50. > :06:53.involved in these talks couldn't increase oil production even if they
:06:54. > :06:57.wanted to. I think there is more symbolism than actual reality in
:06:58. > :07:06.terms of affecting the oil supply around that. Neal Atkinson. In other
:07:07. > :07:14.news, profits at New Zealand's dairy giant Fontera jumped 20% in January
:07:15. > :07:18.to $276 million, boosted high load global milk prices, reducing the
:07:19. > :07:21.ingredient cost for consumer products at the biggest exporter of
:07:22. > :07:28.New Zealand, but those prices have seen farming incomes slashed by
:07:29. > :07:32.billions in the last two years -- lower global prices. In Japan, the
:07:33. > :07:36.more money you get, the more money you own as long as you stay with the
:07:37. > :07:39.same employer - at least that has been the norm. Recently, companies
:07:40. > :07:46.have been experimenting with a different model were working salary
:07:47. > :07:50.is based on skill and not seniority. As part of the study in Japan
:07:51. > :08:00.series, we look at whether the approach is paying off. Out on the
:08:01. > :08:05.street, 29-year-old Kataku has his groove, but in the corporate world
:08:06. > :08:09.he had a frustrating start. He knew that his turn for a promotion and
:08:10. > :08:14.pay rise was decades away. There was a long line of older workers at the
:08:15. > :08:21.company who needed to be rewarded first. For Japan Inc, that has been
:08:22. > :08:26.the tradition for over half a century, so he quit his first job
:08:27. > :08:30.and joined an online media and advertising firm in 2013. Within two
:08:31. > :08:35.years, he rose through the ranks to become a manager. TRANSLATION:
:08:36. > :08:40.Initially, I was surprised to have staff who were older than me, or to
:08:41. > :08:43.have a boss who was younger than me but I like the fact that CyberAgent
:08:44. > :08:50.rewards its workers based on performance, not on age. This man is
:08:51. > :08:56.in charge of human resources at CyberAgent. TRANSLATION: Many of our
:08:57. > :09:01.executives worked at companies where the oldest at the biggest salary. We
:09:02. > :09:04.all felt that was unfair. This model means more competition. It is
:09:05. > :09:08.natural for all the staff to feel awkward, to see younger colleagues
:09:09. > :09:12.promoted first, but because it has been policy from the start I think
:09:13. > :09:19.it was easier for us compared with older companies. During Japan's
:09:20. > :09:22.economic boom of the 80s and 90s, companies could afford to keep
:09:23. > :09:27.raising salaries for older workers as a reward for their loyalty, but
:09:28. > :09:33.since the economic bubble burst even household names like Panasonic and
:09:34. > :09:37.Sony had to reconsider their policies - jobs were cut, which
:09:38. > :09:43.shocked Japanese workers who were expecting the guarantee of lifelong
:09:44. > :09:46.employment. TRANSLATION: It is like a couple who just found out that
:09:47. > :09:50.your partner was cheating on you. They are feeling betrayed. But
:09:51. > :09:53.companies which revised their policies have not all been
:09:54. > :09:56.successful, because unless you can turn your business around you are
:09:57. > :10:02.just creating unhealthy competition among your employees. For young
:10:03. > :10:08.companies like CyberAgent, the new salary model has so far paid off.
:10:09. > :10:13.And its success is what the rest of Japan Inc is also hoping to achieve,
:10:14. > :10:18.but it is much trickier for bigger and older companies to adjust to the
:10:19. > :10:23.new economic reality. A quick look at the markets and this
:10:24. > :10:27.is where they are trading right now, fairly neutral reaction to the
:10:28. > :10:32.Brussels at a. That is it for this edition of Asia Business Report.
:10:33. > :10:33.Thanks for watching -- Brussels