:00:00. > :00:13.Now on BBC News, all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:14. > :00:25.The global airbag recall widens, Canon Takata weather the financial
:00:26. > :00:29.fallout? As China economy's slows, we look at the changing face of
:00:30. > :00:40.investment is -- investors in Chinese art. Good morning Asia,
:00:41. > :00:43.hello world. It is Wednesday, thanks for joining us for this addition of
:00:44. > :00:47.Asia business reporter, I am Rico Hizon. It is one of the car
:00:48. > :00:54.industry's highest profile global recalls, and Japanese airbag maker
:00:55. > :00:58.Takata is at the centre of it all. Later today the company is expected
:00:59. > :01:04.to announce that it lost money in the second year, and the estimate is
:01:05. > :01:10.a loss of $120 million. That figure does not take into account other
:01:11. > :01:12.major costs it could face from the scandal. He was a look at some key
:01:13. > :01:58.numbers. The final cost to the company is
:01:59. > :02:03.expected to run into the billions of dollars, and Aliir I asked an auto
:02:04. > :02:10.analyst how this is in backing the firm's reputation. Currently they
:02:11. > :02:17.are at the highest recall by Takata globally. The numbers affected are
:02:18. > :02:20.across the next. It is the highest profile recall ever we have seen.
:02:21. > :02:23.The reason why they are going to face more and more financial
:02:24. > :02:28.troubles is that the brands that are doing the recall on behalf of
:02:29. > :02:31.Takata, they will charge back Takata about the cost. That is not
:02:32. > :02:35.integrated into their financial forecasts, and that is the big
:02:36. > :02:40.downside that they have in the profit. At this point it cannot be
:02:41. > :02:47.quantified, the volume of how much this will impact Takata airbags, do
:02:48. > :02:50.you think with this major problem, but the airbag manufacturer is
:02:51. > :02:55.facing, they could close shop? Potentially. Because of the
:02:56. > :03:03.financial trouble, it can happen. Although technology clear that --
:03:04. > :03:10.technologically they could call back. We have started to see
:03:11. > :03:13.customers turn away from them, and they have re-evaluated whether they
:03:14. > :03:17.should be working with them not. Reputational damage is indeed
:03:18. > :03:22.humongous, could there be a buyer for Takata? I think that is the only
:03:23. > :03:31.way out, because you cannot just close shops, there are so many
:03:32. > :03:33.people working there, so many intellectual property available with
:03:34. > :03:42.the company, so many plants running, so the company could be bought out
:03:43. > :03:46.and other airbag manufacturer. Stay with the sector, the world's biggest
:03:47. > :03:50.car maker, Toyota, is expected to report it and used, its third
:03:51. > :03:56.straight year of record profits. It is estimated to have made $22
:03:57. > :04:02.billion last year, which is a jump of 8% compared to levels year ago.
:04:03. > :04:07.Its bottomline is likely to have been hit by the strong yen, airbag
:04:08. > :04:11.rentals and last month's earthquakes in Japan, which disrupted
:04:12. > :04:18.production. -- recall. It is turn our attention now to the world's
:04:19. > :04:20.biggest oil exporter Saudi Arabia, and its state-owned giant Aramco.
:04:21. > :04:27.The company's what has been finalising plans for by, after the
:04:28. > :04:37.state government said it wanted to rely less on oil and diversify its
:04:38. > :04:43.economy. The BBC was invited to the company's headquarters and sent this
:04:44. > :04:48.report. This is a south-eastern outpost of Saudi Aramco's sprawling
:04:49. > :04:51.energy empire. An empire they now want to controversially sell a slice
:04:52. > :04:56.of to foreign investors. But why now? We have seen volatility in the
:04:57. > :05:01.oil market before back in 1998, oil prices were below $10 a barrel. In
:05:02. > :05:05.2007 they were $147. What makes this juncture different? Is it because
:05:06. > :05:10.they want to put the Americans out of business with their industry, is
:05:11. > :05:14.it that they want to hamstring Iran as it re-emerges into the oil
:05:15. > :05:18.industry, or do they worry that because we are moving towards a low
:05:19. > :05:21.hydrocarbon future, other time they get the stuff out of the ground it
:05:22. > :05:28.will not eat worth much, so let's pump as much of it as long as we
:05:29. > :05:33.can. These are the questions for the Saudi government and Saudi Aramco,
:05:34. > :05:40.Wendy IP comes along it will be worth three apples by some
:05:41. > :05:44.calculation is. They have a lot of people in the country who need
:05:45. > :05:47.something to do, and this industry with its trajectory cannot sustain
:05:48. > :05:51.the young people coming into the workforce. Whatever reason, there
:05:52. > :06:00.are some epic things going on in the oil industry, in this epic
:06:01. > :06:03.landscape. What role does a postal service have in the age of the
:06:04. > :06:07.Internet? That is the question Singapore Post has been grappling
:06:08. > :06:12.with in recent years. It looks like the new strategy is paying off. It
:06:13. > :06:18.posted a record full-year profit of more than $180 million.
:06:19. > :06:24.The humble letter has been going out of fashion for a while, that is why
:06:25. > :06:28.Singapore's mailing service and many others in Asia are looking to
:06:29. > :06:32.reinvent themselves. As more people switch to e-mail, Singapore Post is
:06:33. > :06:39.now focusing on Internet commerce and logistics. It says the average
:06:40. > :06:44.household in Southeast Asia receives just 2-3 parcels per year, compared
:06:45. > :06:51.to 30 in developed nations. That is expected to grow though, which is
:06:52. > :06:55.why it has partnered with China Alibaba group, which has become its
:06:56. > :06:59.second-biggest shareholder. It has not been business as usual in recent
:07:00. > :07:04.months, some of the company's deals have come under scrutiny over
:07:05. > :07:07.corporate governance issues. It is also undergoing a top-level
:07:08. > :07:11.reshuffle, after is Chief Executive and chairman unexpectedly quit. The
:07:12. > :07:14.saga has hit its shares over the last few months as Singapore Post
:07:15. > :07:22.now hopes that its new management is going to send the scandal away. Over
:07:23. > :07:26.the past decade, buying fine art has been one of the most talk about
:07:27. > :07:30.alternative ways to grow your investment portfolio. But the art
:07:31. > :07:38.world has not been immune to the crisis. Last year as the economy
:07:39. > :07:49.showed -- slowed, China's art market dragged significantly.
:07:50. > :08:00.Old or new, big or small. Sometimes, it is in a category on its own.
:08:01. > :08:07.There are plenty of reasons why people buy art. The bottomline, it
:08:08. > :08:13.is often about money. The global market shrank by 7% in 2015, the
:08:14. > :08:18.European fine Art foundation says it is the first contraction in four
:08:19. > :08:24.years. The Chinese market, once the world's number two after the US, has
:08:25. > :08:30.contracted by nearly a quarter. Chinese fund manager has become much
:08:31. > :08:35.more capable about -- careful about where he put his money. Before I was
:08:36. > :08:39.very impulsive. If I thought it was beautiful I would buy it. Now I am
:08:40. > :08:42.much more logical. I will consider its artistic value and artistic
:08:43. > :08:47.content, and also I consider the artist much more. Investors are
:08:48. > :08:52.still buying, but they are looking at younger artists, with great
:08:53. > :08:55.potential, over more established names, says this billionaire
:08:56. > :09:01.collector. Collectors become much more cautious, but also more
:09:02. > :09:08.sophisticated, as a result, they do more research, they want artists who
:09:09. > :09:10.have full credentials, who had exhibitions in museums, instead of
:09:11. > :09:16.being more impulsive in speculating, they are actually more
:09:17. > :09:23.for a longer term collection. Auctioneers have been hit even
:09:24. > :09:26.harder. The once booming auction market has been directly affected by
:09:27. > :09:32.the slowdown. Both sales and the number of works being offered by top
:09:33. > :09:38.Chinese artists have halved in the last year. To boost interest,
:09:39. > :09:44.auction houses like Sotheby's art offering blockbuster pieces by
:09:45. > :09:48.eminent artists. Sold! After furious bidding, the hammer comes down on a
:09:49. > :09:55.record price. Even in tough times, the best still sells. But you have
:09:56. > :10:00.to pick your market. Let's have a look now at the markets, and so far
:10:01. > :10:05.so good, a positive day the Asian share prices. In early Wednesday
:10:06. > :10:08.trade after US equities surged to their biggest gain in two months
:10:09. > :10:19.after the Chinese commitment to stimuli at the economy, the Nick
:10:20. > :10:23.Hayes surging -- the Nikkei. On Wall Street, the key industries were
:10:24. > :10:28.gaining as well, by 1.3%, led by energy stocks, chemicals and
:10:29. > :10:33.machinery companies. A great day for the markets, think if your time,
:10:34. > :10:41.have a great Wednesday, I Rico Hizon, by far now. -- by now.
:10:42. > :10:45.this hour. US officials say President Obama
:10:46. > :10:48.won't apologise for the bombing of Hiroshima, when he makes a historic
:10:49. > :10:51.visit to the Japanese city later this month.
:10:52. > :10:55.The British Prime Minister has been overheard describing Nigeria and