:00:00. > :00:14.Now on BBC News, all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:15. > :00:23.A nation in limbo. Australia's election cliffhanger leads to
:00:24. > :00:27.worries about economic uncertainty. And find out why this game in
:00:28. > :00:40.Pakistan is raking in the sponsorship cash during the holy
:00:41. > :00:46.month of Ramadan. Good morning Asia, hello world. It is the start of a
:00:47. > :00:49.brand-new trading week. I am Rico Hizon in Singapore. Australia could
:00:50. > :00:53.be facing the prospect of a sovereign credit rating downgrade in
:00:54. > :00:57.the wake of the inconclusive federal election over the weekend. The
:00:58. > :01:00.failure to produce a clear winner means possible Parliamentary
:01:01. > :01:05.deadlock and unwelcome uncertainty. A chief economist at National
:01:06. > :01:10.Australia Bank joined me from Melbourne earlier. I asked if the
:01:11. > :01:14.result could cause instability in the economy. It is hard to tell. We
:01:15. > :01:19.are probably two or three weeks away from knowing what the actual numbers
:01:20. > :01:22.are going to be, and then it is really going to depend on how or if
:01:23. > :01:26.the government can actually operate. We also have obligations in the
:01:27. > :01:34.upper house, where it looks like there are a large number of
:01:35. > :01:36.independents as well. -- complications. You need to put it in
:01:37. > :01:41.the context that the Australian economy has been performing pretty
:01:42. > :01:45.well leading into this, and it might cause some uncertainty for a little
:01:46. > :01:50.while but I think ultimately hopefully people will look at their
:01:51. > :01:56.own economic outcomes and react according to that. That is what the
:01:57. > :01:59.history has been. A lot of different scenarios. What do you think of a
:02:00. > :02:06.potential downgrade? Is that possible? It is possible that
:02:07. > :02:11.Standard and Poor's might put us on credit watch but I think that is two
:02:12. > :02:14.or three months away. What has happened is basically two of the
:02:15. > :02:19.three ratings agencies came out and said basically they are not on
:02:20. > :02:22.negative watch. One has not said anything. I think really you would
:02:23. > :02:27.need to wait and see how this all pans out. And for me, if you were
:02:28. > :02:32.going to put Australia on negative watch you probably wouldn't do it
:02:33. > :02:35.for several months. So our fiscal position is pretty strong. Will this
:02:36. > :02:40.mean the cost of money will be higher if there is a credit rating
:02:41. > :02:44.downgrade for Australia? Well, Australia is already a fairly
:02:45. > :02:47.expensive trip away so I suspect at the end of the day it is not really
:02:48. > :02:50.going to make that much difference. Most people assume you get credit
:02:51. > :02:54.downgrades and immediately the cost of money goes up. It will mean that
:02:55. > :02:58.all the Australian big banks are double-A rated and they will
:02:59. > :03:04.probably move down a notch, but I don't think it is a laydown is at
:03:05. > :03:07.that it is going to happen and in terms of the actual cost of
:03:08. > :03:15.borrowing I am not sure it will make a big difference -- lay-down misere.
:03:16. > :03:21.Now to another vote which sent a shockwave across the world, the
:03:22. > :03:23.effect of the UK leaving the EU are far reaching, including possibly on
:03:24. > :03:30.those who would want to work in the UK. One law firm has seen 1001 %
:03:31. > :03:36.rise in immigration enquiries. I spoke to the head of immigration at
:03:37. > :03:40.one firm in the UK and she said it could mean opportunities for UK
:03:41. > :03:44.workers. Traditionally the UK has looked to the Asian market because
:03:45. > :03:49.it is recognised they have a high skill set. In the UK at the moment
:03:50. > :03:54.we have skills shortages in certain areas and particularly in IT,
:03:55. > :03:58.software development, and construction and engineering as
:03:59. > :04:04.well. Those are the areas that the UK would look to the Asian market,
:04:05. > :04:07.particularly as the European market is likely to become more restricted.
:04:08. > :04:14.And briefly, what challenges ahead does the jobs market faced after
:04:15. > :04:19.Brexit? Yes, so traditionally for many years the UK has had a ready
:04:20. > :04:23.source of employees from the European Union. Now we can't say how
:04:24. > :04:29.the European economy will shape up in the next two to ten years but it
:04:30. > :04:31.seems likely that there will be restrictions on European migration
:04:32. > :04:35.which will pose further challenges for businesses, who are likely then
:04:36. > :04:41.to look further overseas towards the Asian markets to meet their
:04:42. > :04:50.recruitment needs. Now to another major British story but not Brexit.
:04:51. > :04:57.The world's biggest tennis tournament, Wimbledon, is under way,
:04:58. > :05:04.and Kei Nishikori is doing well so far. And every time he is on the
:05:05. > :05:09.stage, so is his sponsor. It is one of the few manufacturers who managed
:05:10. > :05:17.to enter the realm of sports sponsorship. I asked whether the
:05:18. > :05:22.success of the brand depends on the success of the players. Maybe it is
:05:23. > :05:26.not the main point, there are many reasons for success in the market,
:05:27. > :05:30.but they want the relationship are basically two reasons. One is
:05:31. > :05:34.awareness, so you want to push the brand up and become part of the
:05:35. > :05:37.competitive is that, if somebody doesn't into the store to buy
:05:38. > :05:45.something, they think how about that Rand. -- goes into the store. --
:05:46. > :05:50.that brand. And you need to benefit from the winning image of the
:05:51. > :05:56.player. It is known for its quality products, does it really need the
:05:57. > :06:01.global endorsement? Can rely on its popularity and the quality of its
:06:02. > :06:05.shirts and trousers? I think it is a question of where your target group
:06:06. > :06:13.is and who your target group is. I think in the case of Uniclo, it is
:06:14. > :06:18.well known in Asia and maybe not in the rest of the world. Wimbledon is
:06:19. > :06:23.something everyone watches anyway. When they sign a deal for $50
:06:24. > :06:27.million, probably over a period of time, they say they were trying to
:06:28. > :06:31.build him up as the face of Tokyo 2020 -- Uniqlo. It is a long-term
:06:32. > :06:35.strategy which could benefit the brand in the player. For Japanese
:06:36. > :06:40.companies overall, is it important for them to have an endorser,
:06:41. > :06:44.whether local or international? I think it is. I think it is important
:06:45. > :06:47.for any company, because as I said it needs to be a fit and it needs to
:06:48. > :06:54.be an image transfer from the player, or for the brand in the
:06:55. > :07:01.player. It is a kind of give and take. There are some companies such
:07:02. > :07:04.as Toyota Sharp or Nissan, they don't really have any endorsers but
:07:05. > :07:11.rely on the quality of their products. We see a trend of
:07:12. > :07:15.endorsers more and more. We see celebrity culture going from Asia
:07:16. > :07:19.into other markets, and we see more and more, they also have people but
:07:20. > :07:24.we don't know them because they are Japanese. So we need to see who can
:07:25. > :07:28.reuse, who was a good fit, who would give us that kind of exposure on the
:07:29. > :07:35.global stage. Look at something like Turkish Airlines at Euro 2016. They
:07:36. > :07:38.are a big sponsor, found in all the stadiums, on the shirts and
:07:39. > :07:42.everything. So I think it really benefits if you have somebody that
:07:43. > :07:53.can go out there, ring your brand out there, and it is not a brand out
:07:54. > :07:56.there, but the celebrity. Television studios in Pakistan are crammed with
:07:57. > :08:02.contestants hoping to strike it lucky on game shows. They are so
:08:03. > :08:05.popular that they are more sought after by sponsors than TV
:08:06. > :08:10.advertising. It is the hottest ticket in town. TRANSLATION: I come
:08:11. > :08:17.here to enjoy myself and win lots of prizes. People are fasting but they
:08:18. > :08:24.are also queueing to take part. A private TV channel is feeling its
:08:25. > :08:33.Ramadan schedule with gameshows. They say it brings an extra $760,000
:08:34. > :08:36.in ad revenue. All these expensive prizes like these cars, motorbikes
:08:37. > :08:42.and home appliances are sponsored by different companies. When these
:08:43. > :08:46.prizes are given away, the sponsor's name is announced repeatedly. This
:08:47. > :08:51.young man is going home a winner. TRANSLATION: The question was very
:08:52. > :08:57.easy. I knew the answer but I wasn't sure I would win the car. I am
:08:58. > :09:09.feeling good that I have won a car. Inrun -- Imran Patel is also feeling
:09:10. > :09:14.good. TRANSLATION: Gameshows run for two or three hours. There is higher
:09:15. > :09:17.viewership of these gameshows. Sponsorship of these gameshows is
:09:18. > :09:25.also bigger than TV commercials and they reach more people. But this
:09:26. > :09:31.success has created problems. Firms have started to spend less on TV
:09:32. > :09:36.advertising. TV owners took fright, and the compromises was agreed.
:09:37. > :09:41.Firms sponsoring gameshows must also agree an advertising deal.
:09:42. > :09:44.TRANSLATION: What the sponsor benefits from is that the host
:09:45. > :09:48.endorses the product during the programme. They get the brand
:09:49. > :09:52.endorsement and also the integration. On the other hand, TV
:09:53. > :09:56.commercials have their own importance. It costs more than
:09:57. > :10:00.sponsors buying airtime on TV channels, but all in all this is a
:10:01. > :10:05.win-win situation for clients. This year it is estimated that the top
:10:06. > :10:14.Pakistani companies are spending nearly $240 million on branded TV
:10:15. > :10:17.commercials for Ramadan. It is the holiest time of the year, but also
:10:18. > :10:29.the busiest one for TV companies and advertisers. And the markets, after
:10:30. > :10:33.difficult trading last week we seem lost momentum for Asian markets,
:10:34. > :10:38.they are down in early trade. Thank you very much for investing your
:10:39. > :10:39.time with us. I am Rico Hizon. Goodbye