:00:00. > :00:14.Now on BBC News, all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:15. > :00:22.Hoping for the best but fearing the worst. We look at China's latest
:00:23. > :00:34.growth numbers which will be released soon. And we navigate the
:00:35. > :00:40.country's massive traffic problems. Good morning! It is Friday. Thank
:00:41. > :00:47.you for joining us. I am Rico Hizon. We start with China.
:00:48. > :00:52.Investors are closely watching the mainland today with the world's
:00:53. > :00:57.second-largest economy about to unveil its latest economic growth
:00:58. > :01:05.numbers. Many are speculating it will be the slowest in seven years.
:01:06. > :01:10.The growth numbers may come in soon so we will speak to someone about
:01:11. > :01:19.this. It is certainly appearing as if the data over the last few months
:01:20. > :01:24.is improving. We had trade data out earlier this week showing that
:01:25. > :01:32.exports in China, the key indicator of how they are doing, was so much
:01:33. > :01:38.better in March. Let's take a look at this graph to get a sense of
:01:39. > :01:44.their economy and how the slowdown has come about over the last few
:01:45. > :01:51.years. You can see the dip from the time of the 2009 financial crisis.
:01:52. > :02:05.It has been going downwards. Economists are expecting anywhere
:02:06. > :02:09.between 6.6 to six .8%. This is all part of the narrative. It is about
:02:10. > :02:14.the fact that China is managing this transition from an economy that has
:02:15. > :02:19.been focused on manufacturing and investment and is now trying to turn
:02:20. > :02:22.the corner and focus more on services and innovation. It is a
:02:23. > :02:27.painful transition and it will take time. That is what the numbers will
:02:28. > :02:34.show today. Very challenging in that transition. We were surprised with
:02:35. > :02:37.the IMF, that they gave a very gloomy assessment of the world
:02:38. > :02:46.economy but they upgraded China's economic growth. They did indeed, by
:02:47. > :02:50.a point of a percentage point. But beyond the numbers it is important
:02:51. > :02:54.to recognise how China is doing this. How did you go from being in
:02:55. > :02:59.the economic doldrums in the last two years to say they are turning
:03:00. > :03:04.the corner, the IMF is giving them an upgrade, it is about the same
:03:05. > :03:07.formula they are using, throwing money at the problem. More
:03:08. > :03:13.investment and more stimulus, kicking the can down the road.
:03:14. > :03:19.Credit, credit, credit. What kind of impact will this have on Asia? The
:03:20. > :03:25.IMF says that any 1% decline in GDP growth in China knocks off about .2%
:03:26. > :03:35.of growth on the GDP countries as a whole. -- G20. What happens to China
:03:36. > :03:39.matters to Asia. We buy stuff from them, we sell stuff to them, so if
:03:40. > :03:51.they do better it is Gujarat but it is a declining trend. -- it is good
:03:52. > :04:01.but. The ability of the world's wealthy to hide their money is a hot
:04:02. > :04:05.topic in Washington DC. They are trying to figure out what to do
:04:06. > :04:12.about industrial scale international tax avoidance. We spoke to The World
:04:13. > :04:15.Bank president. Transparency is the way of the future. We will not go
:04:16. > :04:22.backwards and become less transparent overtime. The notion
:04:23. > :04:30.that you can hide illicit wealth or avoid paying taxes, I hope that will
:04:31. > :04:34.be an idea that gets eroded. It is straightforward for us. When state
:04:35. > :04:38.officials take state resources away when people do not pay their or
:04:39. > :04:50.corporations do not pay them it is very bad for the poorest. -- taxes.
:04:51. > :04:56.It is even more aggressive in developing countries which is the
:04:57. > :05:03.opposite of what you want to see. 84% of loans, at least for the
:05:04. > :05:10.private sector, actually end up in offshore tax havens. What do you say
:05:11. > :05:14.to taxpayers in developed nations who are worried about where their
:05:15. > :05:19.development money ends up? When the money is given to us we audit every
:05:20. > :05:26.single project. We have an entire team that looks at corruption. Most
:05:27. > :05:31.reports come from our own staff, because they know we have to watch
:05:32. > :05:37.out for these corrupt practices. If you want to look at end organisation
:05:38. > :05:43.that follows the money perfectly look at us. -- an. Some of our
:05:44. > :05:50.finance people actually followed the account. I would say to taxpayers,
:05:51. > :05:59.you have nothing to worry about. The International Monetary Fund. They
:06:00. > :06:04.say they has been progress on tax evasion but she told the BBC's
:06:05. > :06:15.HARDtalk that more needs to be done and it has to be universal. What is
:06:16. > :06:21.called base erosion and profit shifting projects applied to
:06:22. > :06:28.corporate is in the main and I think that is an area where it needs to be
:06:29. > :06:31.made universal. -- corporates. The automatic exchange of communication
:06:32. > :06:38.between countries. The problem is everyone has to be part of it. If
:06:39. > :06:41.you have little holes in the system creative thinkers and tax
:06:42. > :06:46.optimisers, and there are plenty of those and they have great minds and
:06:47. > :06:51.imaginations... It needs global leadership. Definitely. And it needs
:06:52. > :06:58.to be totally comprehensive and it needs to include the implementation
:06:59. > :07:08.are obvious. -- arm of it. Christine Lagarde. The figures of the G-15
:07:09. > :07:15.revealed it was at a turning point. -- 2015. Total income showed its
:07:16. > :07:22.first solid gains. The boss of Sony says the landscape is indeed
:07:23. > :07:27.changing. This is without any doubt the future for the industry. Paid
:07:28. > :07:33.subscription is what is bringing value. 68 million paid subscribers
:07:34. > :07:39.around the world up from 41 million. We should see hundreds of millions
:07:40. > :07:44.in the future hopefully. But we need to increase the speed of growth.
:07:45. > :07:52.Paid subscription is the one that is generating the growth right now in
:07:53. > :07:58.terms of value for the artists and rights holders, but we are actually
:07:59. > :08:04.agnostic to it as long as the remuneration for artists is there.
:08:05. > :08:09.On Friday, the Indian capital is introducing another round of car
:08:10. > :08:16.registration. There will be a fortnight of restrictions dictating
:08:17. > :08:23.which cars can be on the road. -- we went out to meet a business designed
:08:24. > :08:31.to help people navigate the system. I am 30 years old and live in
:08:32. > :09:03.Delhi. -- 13. I thought of making a website that
:09:04. > :09:10.would help people to find a commute partner. It is common to not know
:09:11. > :09:12.your neighbours. So this website helps you find someone in the same
:09:13. > :09:37.place at the same time. I was told by a business that my car
:09:38. > :09:44.pooling website was very strong. So the public could be benefited a lot.
:09:45. > :09:48.We saw it was a brilliant idea. The name was very catchy. As a result
:09:49. > :09:53.many people registered. In the second phase we are expecting they
:09:54. > :09:58.will be many more people since the awareness has increased multifold. I
:09:59. > :10:06.see many problems in my surroundings. These small problems
:10:07. > :10:13.will only lead to a better in the if they are corrected. A brilliant
:10:14. > :10:18.teenager. A quick look at the markets. This is what is happening
:10:19. > :10:26.in the Asian markets. Next currently. -- mixed.
:10:27. > :10:37.Thank you so much for investing your time with us. I am Rico Hizon. Sport
:10:38. > :10:39.Today is up next. Have a great