:00:00. > :00:16.Now on BBC News all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:17. > :00:28.The US government seeks to recover $1 billion worth of assets from the
:00:29. > :00:34.Malaysian 1MDB fun. And, too many cooks, or in Singapore's case, not
:00:35. > :00:42.enough? Looking at initiatives to get more chefs into training.
:00:43. > :00:50.Good morning, it is Thursday, glad you could join us. US authorities
:00:51. > :00:54.have filed a lawsuit to recover assets worth more than $1 billion
:00:55. > :01:01.bought with money linked to a state fund in Malaysia. They say the money
:01:02. > :01:04.came from 1MDB, a fund set up and overseen by Prime Minister Najib
:01:05. > :01:09.Razak, but he has denied any wrongdoing. I asked our
:01:10. > :01:25.correspondence to explain the details.
:01:26. > :01:28.We have just received in the past hour a statement
:01:29. > :01:29.from the Malaysian Prime Minister's office.
:01:30. > :01:31.The spokesperson for the Malaysian Prime Minister,
:01:32. > :01:34.Najib Razak, says that the Malaysian government is ready to co-operate
:01:35. > :01:37.The Prime Minister has consistently talked
:01:38. > :01:40.about the fact that he has denied any wrongdoing,
:01:41. > :01:42.but if anything it is proven to have been done wrong,
:01:43. > :01:55.the full force of the law will be enforced.
:01:56. > :01:57.We have also received a statement from the production
:01:58. > :02:00.company Read Granat, co-founded by the Malaysian Prime Minister's
:02:01. > :02:01.The allegation is that money stolen from
:02:02. > :02:04.1MDB was used to finance the making of this film,
:02:05. > :02:07.as well as to buy a number of massive and luxurious
:02:08. > :02:12.The US attorney general, Loretta Lynch, in her news
:02:13. > :02:14.conference detailing all the allegations in this report,
:02:15. > :02:16.said that the Malaysian people have been
:02:17. > :02:26.The producers of The Wolf of Wall Street have denied that they have
:02:27. > :02:37.used illegitimate money to produce the film, but on the other hand, how
:02:38. > :02:43.could this controversy impact the reputation of Malaysia as a
:02:44. > :02:48.destination? In this court filing, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, who,
:02:49. > :02:52.as you said earlier, was the man who set up 1MDB, he is never directly
:02:53. > :02:58.implicated or cited in this court ruling. But Malaysian official
:02:59. > :03:03.number one, that is what the court filing calls him, calls a
:03:04. > :03:07.high-ranking Malaysian official, it pretty much clearly identifies with
:03:08. > :03:13.all of the evidence in this court filing that it is Prime Minister
:03:14. > :03:16.Najib Razak. I think it will raise lots of questions about how deeply
:03:17. > :03:21.he has been involved in this particular case, and I think that a
:03:22. > :03:26.lot of investors looking at Malaysia will be very concerned about the
:03:27. > :03:30.reputational damage to the country's economy, and Malaysians themselves
:03:31. > :03:33.will be asking questions about the levels of corruption within their
:03:34. > :03:42.country, within their government, and just how deep it goes.
:03:43. > :03:51.Atop HSBC executive has been charged with fraud in the US. The company's
:03:52. > :03:56.global head of foreign exchange trading, Mark Johnson, and his
:03:57. > :04:01.colleague, are accused of profiting from a $3.5 billion currency deal.
:04:02. > :04:07.HSBC has so far declined to comment. Following the failed coup, the
:04:08. > :04:17.Turkish lira is weakening against the US dollar. Its credit outlook
:04:18. > :04:21.has also been lowered to negative. So far, the Turkish lira has lost
:04:22. > :04:29.70% of its value against the greenback. Quarrel, is reporting
:04:30. > :04:41.strong results, with shares rising in after hours trade. -- Qualcomm.
:04:42. > :04:44.The bank of Indonesia meets today to consider another rate cut after it
:04:45. > :04:54.lowered the cost of borrowing four times this year by a full %. The
:04:55. > :05:02.board's position could be a pointer for other banks aimed at boosting
:05:03. > :05:06.growth. So far, Australia, Indonesia, Malaysia and the
:05:07. > :05:11.Philippines have all cut rates, China has remained steady, and rates
:05:12. > :05:16.are already zero in Japan. They have been very busy this year trying to
:05:17. > :05:21.revive growth, but we now actually expect them to stay on the sidelines
:05:22. > :05:25.in this monetary policy meeting. There are a number of reasons to
:05:26. > :05:28.this. Firstly it is the last such meeting since they introduced a new
:05:29. > :05:35.reference rate. That will be lower than what we currently are seeing at
:05:36. > :05:38.6.5%. This 4% of rate cuts this year, hasn't already been impacting
:05:39. > :05:42.the Indonesian economy? That is where the problem has been, and
:05:43. > :05:47.impairment with the current policy rate. There has been a transmission
:05:48. > :05:53.from the policy rate is too lending rates, so we haven't actually seen
:05:54. > :05:58.banks passing on those cuts to consumers. If anyone has a true
:05:59. > :06:04.group on cyber security threats, you would have to imagine it is the FBI.
:06:05. > :06:08.So what are the major threats that exist to businesses and financial
:06:09. > :06:14.institutions, and are they more of a challenge in this region? We spoke
:06:15. > :06:19.with the FBI's head of security for investigations. As technology
:06:20. > :06:25.expands it provides law enforcement with more tools and more tools to
:06:26. > :06:30.defend themselves. At the same time it expands the attack surface, so
:06:31. > :06:37.the more items that are connect it to the internet, cars,
:06:38. > :06:42.refrigerators, the internet of things, the more we are connected to
:06:43. > :06:45.more surface there is. You are headed cyber security criminal
:06:46. > :06:50.investigations at the FBI. Where do you believe the greatest risk is
:06:51. > :06:52.here, what keeps you awake at night? The targeting of critical
:06:53. > :06:59.infrastructure would be on the leading edge of that. Are we in a
:07:00. > :07:05.situation where we have actors that are targeting electrical grids or
:07:06. > :07:13.the like to conduct crime? Again at the end of the day, this is a human
:07:14. > :07:15.oriented problem, so it is a human that the bad guy is targeting, and
:07:16. > :07:20.it doesn't have to be the most technical. It can be essentially
:07:21. > :07:23.e-mail to an unsuspecting person that contains malicious code, and
:07:24. > :07:31.when they click on the link the unsuspecting person, the actor then
:07:32. > :07:39.can facilitate a compromise. This can happen everyday, and it is a
:07:40. > :07:42.real problem, so it us up. Today, Mitchell and launchers for
:07:43. > :07:46.the first time here in Singapore. The citystate has long been a
:07:47. > :07:51.destination for food lovers from around the world. The industry has
:07:52. > :07:56.been served mainly by foreign workers, but no longer. Curbs on
:07:57. > :07:59.foreign labour are causing huge headaches for the hospitality
:08:00. > :08:06.industry -- Michelin. The challenge is to find more local employees.
:08:07. > :08:12.This man is only 18 but he knows what he wants to be when he is
:08:13. > :08:15.older, and who he wants to be like. My mindset is fixed on wanting to be
:08:16. > :08:22.a chef, having a very big restaurant and inspiring others. Like Gordon
:08:23. > :08:26.Ramsey has inspired me, he is one of the famous people that I look up to.
:08:27. > :08:31.So enthusiastic is he about a career as a chef, he enrolled at the
:08:32. > :08:36.Singaporean: preschool. Jelly will saute onions now. That will be the
:08:37. > :08:41.start of your carrot soup, that is fantastic. He and his classmates
:08:42. > :08:46.don't just have dreams to become the next celebrity chef, they are also
:08:47. > :08:49.here to fulfil a crucial need in Singapore, where there has been a
:08:50. > :08:55.shortage of chefs and service staff to cater to the burgeoning
:08:56. > :08:59.hospitality industry. A cut in the number of foreign workers restaurant
:09:00. > :09:04.in hotels can hire, and expensive levies to employ them, has made the
:09:05. > :09:14.problem especially acute. So, the government has introduced chaining
:09:15. > :09:21.-- training programmes, to sign up chefs and service staff. The chief
:09:22. > :09:25.executive of the culinary school, who is also a director at the
:09:26. > :09:31.Singapore hotel association, says attitudes are changing. Interest now
:09:32. > :09:35.for the younger generation is that they want to pursue their dreams, it
:09:36. > :09:40.is not just what my parents want. I think that is fantastic. The rise in
:09:41. > :09:43.her school's intake could go a little way to fixing the problem,
:09:44. > :09:49.but it will take many more young people with enthusiasm to help
:09:50. > :09:54.reduce Singapore's reliance on foreign labour. It has some of the
:09:55. > :09:56.highest proportions of foreigners among its population in workforce in
:09:57. > :09:58.the world, and weaning itself off the stoop recruit home-grown talent
:09:59. > :10:08.will continue to be a big challenge. Before we go, a quick look at the
:10:09. > :10:13.markets. Asia is back to its winning ways in positive territory in early
:10:14. > :10:19.Thursday trade after US stocks took a modest step forward. Several
:10:20. > :10:24.companies reported profits that were stronger than expected. The Nikkei
:10:25. > :10:32.is up by 210 points, and the All Ordinaries gaining 35. Hong Kong
:10:33. > :10:33.will be opening in about 15 minutes. Thank you for investing your time
:10:34. > :10:37.with us. Sport Today is next.