:00:18. > :00:25.Malaysia scandal fund one MDB loses its board of directors as questions
:00:26. > :00:29.continue about its finances. And these pieces of Amber are worth more
:00:30. > :00:36.than their weight in gold because of surging Asian demand.
:00:37. > :00:44.Good morning, Asia. Hello, world. It's a Thursday. Glad you could join
:00:45. > :00:49.us. I'm Rico Hizon. The decision to dissolve the board of advisors at
:00:50. > :00:54.Malaysia's State fund, one MDB, puts the spotlight yet again on the Prime
:00:55. > :00:59.Minister. It's the latest twist in a long-running scandal that has
:01:00. > :01:05.gripped Malaysia and made headlines around the world. One MDB holds more
:01:06. > :01:11.than 11 billion US dollars in debts that last week defaulted on a major
:01:12. > :01:15.bond repayment, raising concerns about its finances. It's also being
:01:16. > :01:18.investigated in around ten countries, including Switzerland,
:01:19. > :01:24.the United States, Singapore and Hong Kong, and earlier I was asking
:01:25. > :01:28.a reporter what the future was for the fund. That's a really tricky
:01:29. > :01:33.question. It's already missed an interest payment of $15 million last
:01:34. > :01:37.week and defaulted on a bond. It's reportedly asked investors to hold
:01:38. > :01:41.off on any requests the early payment, possibly even a waiver, so
:01:42. > :01:45.the future is looking great. Presumably the new board of advisers
:01:46. > :01:48.will have to be appointed, and not shared by the Prime Minister
:01:49. > :01:53.himself, who of course set up the fund in 2009, and the whole idea was
:01:54. > :01:57.to promote development, but, as we've been reporting, numerous
:01:58. > :02:00.allegations of corruption, and somehow $700 million, possibly even
:02:01. > :02:04.more, ended up in his private bank account, which he and the fund
:02:05. > :02:10.repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, but as you say, the fund faces
:02:11. > :02:16.investigations in ten countries. What if 1MDB does not meet its
:02:17. > :02:21.obligations going for $11 billion? That's a huge amount of money. Could
:02:22. > :02:25.there be a knock-on effect on the overall Malaysia economy? I think
:02:26. > :02:29.it's fair to say that. It's very difficult to put an exact figure on
:02:30. > :02:33.what the reputational damage has been, but it's fair to say, if you
:02:34. > :02:37.are investing in Malaysia, you would be concerned about this ongoing
:02:38. > :02:40.scandal, and this scandal came at a time when the economy has been
:02:41. > :02:45.facing falling oil prices, so it definitely has affected the economy
:02:46. > :02:48.in that way, and of course ordinary Malaysians, who's been listening,
:02:49. > :02:53.watching the news about this scandal, they obviously feel quite
:02:54. > :02:54.annoyed about having to pay this tax on all the money has been moved
:02:55. > :03:03.around. In other business news, Japanese
:03:04. > :03:07.airbag manufacturer Takata will more than double its recall of faulty
:03:08. > :03:12.airbags after US authorities said they found further safety defects
:03:13. > :03:17.with their products. The company will add upto 40 million more
:03:18. > :03:21.airbags to its recall, this affecting vehicles from 12
:03:22. > :03:27.carmakers. Faulty Takata airbags have been linked to deaths and more
:03:28. > :03:28.than 100 injuries and some 30 million airbags have already been
:03:29. > :03:36.recalled. Tesla motors say they are on track
:03:37. > :03:41.to produce 500,000 vehicles a year by 2018. That's two years earlier
:03:42. > :03:45.than expected. The optimism comes as the US electric car maker reported
:03:46. > :03:51.first-quarter loss of almost $300 million, up from $150 million year.
:03:52. > :03:54.The loss was in line with investors' expectations and the
:03:55. > :03:57.announcement that it was increasing production sends its shares up 4% in
:03:58. > :04:03.after hours US trading. We are just days away from the
:04:04. > :04:11.Philippine election and investors are watching closely to see who will
:04:12. > :04:16.take over from President Akido. Since he took over four years ago,
:04:17. > :04:22.the economy and public finances have improved. I asked, why despite
:04:23. > :04:26.strong growth rates, the country was still rated very low when it comes
:04:27. > :04:32.to the ease of doing business. The Philippines certainly has become a
:04:33. > :04:37.tiger economy under President Akino, who has had a focus on economic
:04:38. > :04:40.reforms and better economic management, but still the
:04:41. > :04:44.Philippines does lag in the ease of doing business index compared to
:04:45. > :04:50.many other Asian countries. And I think some of the issues around that
:04:51. > :04:55.include government bureaucracy, issues around corruption, which
:04:56. > :04:59.although the Akino government has been fighting, it still work in
:05:00. > :05:03.progress. Do you think the next president of the Philippines will be
:05:04. > :05:08.able to improve and follow through on the reforms already started by
:05:09. > :05:10.President Akino? I think it's crucial that the Philippines
:05:11. > :05:16.administration that now comes into office does put a high focus on
:05:17. > :05:20.continued economic reforms, because, per capita GDP in the Philippines is
:05:21. > :05:24.still low, poverty levels are among the highest in Southeast Asia -
:05:25. > :05:28.there's a lot of work still to do, and to create the opportunities in
:05:29. > :05:31.manufacturing, they've got to attract foreign investment, so
:05:32. > :05:37.there's got to be a good interaction with the foreign business are keen
:05:38. > :05:40.there's got to be a good interaction with the foreign business are --
:05:41. > :05:44.community. A lot of people on the ground are saying, whether it's a
:05:45. > :05:49.crimebusting Mayor, Senator or Vice President, the economy will expand
:05:50. > :05:55.6-7% in 2016, but the big question is, can this be sustained over the
:05:56. > :05:59.next couple of years? I think definitely the 2016, the growth path
:06:00. > :06:05.is very much set on track for around 6% growth. In our view, we think the
:06:06. > :06:07.Philippines can sustain six or even higher growth in the next five
:06:08. > :06:17.years. Well, it's the business that has
:06:18. > :06:21.taken up the accommodation industry. In just a few years, Airbnb has
:06:22. > :06:27.moved from a small San Francisco start-up to one of the world's most
:06:28. > :06:30.valuable technology companies worth an estimated $25 billion. Asia is a
:06:31. > :06:34.major part of its expansion plans and India is now getting a big push.
:06:35. > :06:42.Simon Atkinson caught up with the co-founder of Airbnb in Delhi and
:06:43. > :06:46.asked how much the company has two localise its business to work in a
:06:47. > :06:50.new like India. Sometimes you do have to customise for the local
:06:51. > :06:53.contacts. We have an office that will help make that assessment.
:06:54. > :06:57.Maybe the best example of what we have elsewhere is in China. China is
:06:58. > :07:01.a market that is known to be very difficult for Western companies, and
:07:02. > :07:06.there we've had to enter great with the local payment networks, the
:07:07. > :07:10.local social networks, so in much of the world you have Facebook.
:07:11. > :07:18.Facebook is blocked actually, in China and on our website, there are
:07:19. > :07:27.benefits because the account is automatically populated. In China,
:07:28. > :07:32.instead we've integrated with Webo to do the same thing but that means
:07:33. > :07:35.a lot of work for us. When you enter a Newmarket, you come up against
:07:36. > :07:38.different types of regulation. This week in Berlin the government has
:07:39. > :07:45.banned people renting properties. What do you make of that? This is a
:07:46. > :07:49.new model and the rules often go back decades, never contemplating
:07:50. > :07:52.this. I think everyone recognises the policies need to be modernised
:07:53. > :07:55.for the 21st-century and governments are trying to work out how to do
:07:56. > :08:02.this. Amber has long been used to make
:08:03. > :08:07.jewellery or ground into powder for traditional medicine here in Asia,
:08:08. > :08:10.and in the region it's believed to bring luck. Strong demand,
:08:11. > :08:15.especially from China, has driven up prices, making this very colourful
:08:16. > :08:17.resin worth more than its weight in gold, but some traders fear risky
:08:18. > :08:29.times ahead. Chicken fat, egg yolk, cherry,
:08:30. > :08:34.butterscotch. This isn't food, it's the description of some of the many
:08:35. > :08:38.shades of amber. The fossilised tree resin has been valued since the
:08:39. > :08:44.ancient Egyptians, and the Romans used it in medicine. Recently its
:08:45. > :08:47.popularity as a gemstone has surged, particularly in China, where it's
:08:48. > :08:53.believed to bring luck and good health. Driven by that Chinese
:08:54. > :08:58.demand, the value of amber has soared. Five years ago, a piece of
:08:59. > :09:08.amber like this, wholesale, cost around $2-3 per gram. Now it's $75
:09:09. > :09:14.-150 times that. This July has been dealing in amber for 20 years. Well,
:09:15. > :09:17.we believe there's healing properties to it. They like the
:09:18. > :09:22.colour. It's yellow, and that's the colour of the Emperor. They attach
:09:23. > :09:26.it to luck. And of course there is the middle-class getting more
:09:27. > :09:31.prosperous, with more disposable income, and they are going after
:09:32. > :09:36.things they feel they can keep. Amber is not exactly something easy
:09:37. > :09:40.to find and its relatively rare. What about inclusions, the ancient
:09:41. > :09:48.insects and plants trapped inside the resin? How does that add to the
:09:49. > :09:52.value? Scarcity. I've seen only in more than 20 years and the foot of a
:09:53. > :09:57.lizard once, and they were asking for just the foot of the lizard, I
:09:58. > :10:05.think it was stopped 15,000 US dollars. That's really expensive.
:10:06. > :10:08.Simon says demand for high-quality amber and unusual colours should
:10:09. > :10:12.remain steady, but he cautions buyers to beware for lower quality
:10:13. > :10:17.product where the market is more fickle.
:10:18. > :10:24.Asia-Pacific markets are lethargic in early Thursday trading. With the
:10:25. > :10:29.US markets moving lower for a second day. Japan is closed for a public
:10:30. > :10:34.holiday, Hong Kong opening in about 15 minutes' time. Thanks for joining
:10:35. > :10:37.us. I'm Rico Hizon. Goodbye for now.