14/04/2016 Asia Business Report

when he met her, and the relationship hadn't affected

Now on BBC News, all the latest business news live from Singapore.

Europe's largest oil and gas exporter tells us how weak is coping

with lower commodity prices. -- how it is. India's only a electric car

maker talks about the challenges of getting motorists to embrace battery

power. Good morning. It is Thursday. Thank you for joining us. I am Rico

Hizon. How much you pay for your fuel may be determined bad a meeting

being held in Qatar. --. 15 or producers will decide whether to

freeze oil production. -- oil. Norway has been hit badly by the

fall in oil prices. We caught up with the Prime Minister of Norway to

ask her what she expected from the summit. I hope that the OPEC meeting

is finding a deal where they will at least not increase a fall in the old

price. I think we should have... I am not over optimistic. We have a

surplus in the world economy. It will take time before it fixes. Will

they freeze at? I hope they find an agreement. We have had a lower in of

it for the last ten years. -- lowering. Our impact has become

lower on the market. But gas production has become higher. That

is more direct with the European market. Tax transparency has become

a key issue in the world because of the Panama Papers. In Norway,

everyone publishers there's. You think this will influence the UK? --

theirs.. You have to give up your identity when checking. We have a

model where you are open on how much tax people are paying and how much

money people have and open on who is looking at your numbers. That is a

good balance. You haven't been untouched by the crisis from the

papers. Your country's largest bank has been found guilty of helping

wealthy clients avoid their taxes. As the Prime Minister of a country

that prides self on being transparent when it comes to public

finances and taxes, what do you do about this? I am disappointed about

it. I am surprised? No. The temptation of making money will

always be there for every type of company, even if it is regional. I

and disappointed because it has been clear, especially the largest bank,

they should follow higher standards of ethics and deciding on what is in

and out of the Lord. -- I am. They should follow effects. -- law. --

ethics. China's growth figures are out tomorrow and they are expected

to show the economy remaining under pressure with overcapacity and a

growing number of unemployed workers. The IMF is concerned as

well. In its global stability report they put China down as a key concern

for the global economy. The IMF has warned that the volatility we saw in

the stock market could be repeated if nothing was done to clean up the

bank balance sheets, especially in China. Its transition into a more

consumer driven economy instead of depending on trade and investment is

having an impact on the corporate sector according to the IMF. $1.3

trillion of corporate loans are owed by companies whose profits don't

even cover their interest payments. The IMF estimates that this could

translate into potential back losses of 7% of the country's GDP. The

director of the IMF says this is manageable as long as they continue

their strong economic growth. Not everyone shares the IMF's pessimism

about China. Mark Mobius told us he believes worries may be overblown. I

believe that a lot of the negative press about China is off the market.

Yes, the economy is slowing, but seven or 6% today in dollar terms is

much more than 10% in 2010. People are looking at the actual numbers at

the end of the day. Secondly, if you see the shift taking place in China

from an industrial export economy to a service economy, a more consumer

led economy, that is a big change that is going to provide

opportunities. You say you are still investing quite a bit in China. But

there are concerns about its slowing growth. It was expected to have

expired 7% this year but people are saying 4%. -- shown. It was 7%! They

forget that China is a plant economy. They make a plan, 7%

growth, orders go out to each of the governors of the provinces and

manners of the cities and they say you need this. -- mayors. So they go

out and start building. Roads, bridges, apartment buildings,

complexes, so forth, to achieve what they have in a signed. The growth is

there. -- been. And now they have gone to the government banks and

received these loans. Many projects are not viable, it may go nowhere,

it may be a housing complex that is an the, but, the growth rate has

been hit. -- empty. The consequences are something we have to deal with

down the road. What do you think is the biggest risk in China? Any kind

of political instability would be very bad. I and talking about on a

national level. -- am. National strikes, changes in leadership that

indicate turmoil, that would be bad news. A US Federal Reserve survey

suggests there is increasing optimism about the state of the

economy. It found that the economy continues to expand, from late

February to early April, unemployment seems to be sparing

wage growth. -- spurring. They increased in the bank districts. The

report found only modest increases in consumer and capital spending.

Moving to auto. Thousands of cars hit the roads in India every day.

That brings pollution. By 2030, all cars told in the country could be

electric vehicles. But Mahindra, the auto company, is that only electric

car company. It sold only 1000 units last year. Are they ready? We spoke

to the head of their electric car division. Last year, in April, the

Indian government announced that scheme. Incentives on research and

development projects as well and infrastructure. I have to say that

in the last year the growth has been good. But having said that, Europe

and China have been increasing for the last four years. What are the

big challenges with India to find more buyers of electric vehicles?

Electric infrastructure. We have fuel stations on every corner of the

country but no charging stations. Anxiety of finding electricity is a

problem for the buyer. Until that infrastructure comes in you will

always have this barrier. If you go to London or Amsterdam or China

there a charge points almost every half a kilometre. Do you think

electric cars are ready to go mainstream? They are very mainstream

when it comes to cities because to distances are not very far, the

cities are very polluted, and if you find a higher rate of electrics, you

will solve the congestion and pollution problems. -- your cities.

The way we have the vision our vehicle, it is more designed for

city driving, not long as. I don't see the big need for that yet. --

long distance. But congested cities, especially in India, Electric is

definitely the way to go. A quick look at the markets. In early

trading day. Positive results from the financial sector. An upbeat

China trade. These are the GDP numbers this week. Thank you very

much for investing time with us. I am