:00:00. > :00:00.what the Metropolitan Police called a show of determination to protect
:00:00. > :00:15.the public from terrorism. Now it is time for the Asia Business Report.
:00:16. > :00:23.Looking under the bonnet. We see if they are in gear for the latest
:00:24. > :00:32.earnings. And India sweeps aside taxes. Good morning, Asia. Hello,
:00:33. > :00:40.world. This is Asia Business Report. It is Thursday. I am glad you could
:00:41. > :00:44.join us. I am Rico Hizon. By some measures it is the world's largest
:00:45. > :00:50.carmaker and has sold more than 10 million cars last year. They report
:00:51. > :00:57.their latest reports today and there could be trouble ahead. We explain.
:00:58. > :01:02.After the last quarter results they flagged possible earnings had been.
:01:03. > :01:05.They sold under 5 million cars in the first half of the year, down
:01:06. > :01:15.slightly from last year. We have already had a taste of what is to
:01:16. > :01:22.come from Toyota. Five firms took a hit from earthquakes in April. That
:01:23. > :01:27.could have a flow on effect to Toyota's results. A strong yen has
:01:28. > :01:31.affected exports, hurting companies like Toyota, depending heavily on
:01:32. > :01:38.overseas sales. I asked an analyst how the recall might affect the
:01:39. > :01:47.results. What has happened is that this has affected them, Hyundai in
:01:48. > :01:55.particular. But the supplier has been hurt. Everyone is suffering
:01:56. > :01:57.from this scandal. Will that reflect on Toyota's numbers in the first
:01:58. > :02:05.quarter of their financial year? Will they be making an announcement?
:02:06. > :02:08.For this particular boss, the scandal has been going on for a long
:02:09. > :02:12.time. I am sure they would have advertised this amount everywhere.
:02:13. > :02:17.It will not hit this particular quarter but it is definitely
:02:18. > :02:21.impacting the bottom-line. What about the yen and the earthquake in
:02:22. > :02:30.April? How much will this affect Toyota 's bottom-line? It will hurt
:02:31. > :02:37.them and all Japanese makers and auto companies. It has been
:02:38. > :02:42.unexpected. That has caused a big challenge. I won't say the
:02:43. > :02:47.earthquake has a big impact. The past earthquake had already done a
:02:48. > :02:53.stress test on their supply team. The impact may not the as high on
:02:54. > :02:58.the bottom-line. Toyota faces many challenges, the emissions, the
:02:59. > :03:03.airbags scandal, the strong yen, the earthquake, anything positive that
:03:04. > :03:08.could lift up there earnings? Yes. They are doing well with pick-up
:03:09. > :03:14.trucks in the US. That is where they make their money. That is where they
:03:15. > :03:18.earn their dollars. That is doing very well. They have done well in
:03:19. > :03:23.emerging market. That is the silver lining to the black cloud. From
:03:24. > :03:30.April, they changed their corporate structure to increase efficiency of
:03:31. > :03:34.the work process. Will these efforts positively impact earnings? This has
:03:35. > :03:40.an impact on the long-term. Just because the reorganisation happened
:03:41. > :03:44.doesn't mean they will make money from tomorrow. They will be sped up
:03:45. > :03:51.and they will become more responsive to the market. That will impact the
:03:52. > :03:57.market. Staying with the auto sector, has lower is reporting yet
:03:58. > :04:01.another loss for the second quarter. -- Tesla. That means they have been
:04:02. > :04:05.losing money for more than three years now. Chief Executive Elon Musk
:04:06. > :04:10.has promised investors repeatedly they will make money eventually.
:04:11. > :04:15.They say the market seems to want to give him the benefit of the doubt.
:04:16. > :04:21.It has taken a decade of political wrangling, but India's government
:04:22. > :04:25.has finally passed a bill to overhaul their taxation system. The
:04:26. > :04:30.Goods and Services Tax, GST, will replace many taxes levied by both
:04:31. > :04:35.the central and state governments. Economist predicts it could be a
:04:36. > :04:43.real boost to the economy stop it we have a report. Voting time starts
:04:44. > :04:49.now. Ten years in the making, and after hours of debate, this is the
:04:50. > :04:55.moment Indian politicians voted for the country's most revolutionary tax
:04:56. > :04:59.change its independence. -- since. But while all eyes are on
:05:00. > :05:06.Parliament, it is places like this that will really feel the impact.
:05:07. > :05:10.The auto sector. This firm employs dozens of people just to file the
:05:11. > :05:17.paperwork associated with countless taxes. This should be a thing of the
:05:18. > :05:20.past now. That will make staff more productive. A lot of time was wasted
:05:21. > :05:26.on all these things. Paperwork, collecting forms. There was no point
:05:27. > :05:32.wasting energy on all of those things. It is better to do something
:05:33. > :05:40.to give business a boost and pick up on sales. It will. It will reduce
:05:41. > :05:42.costs. Products made in one state in India gets taxed multiple times
:05:43. > :05:48.before they reach the consumer in another corner of the country. That
:05:49. > :05:54.means delays and added cost. Experts say GST will be a welcome change. It
:05:55. > :05:58.will be definitely better than what it was with efficiency for the
:05:59. > :06:05.industry. Especially in the case of manufacturing. Fundamentally, I
:06:06. > :06:08.believe there will be a change to efficiency. The degree of efficiency
:06:09. > :06:16.is what we will have to wait and see. India's actual GST rate has not
:06:17. > :06:26.been set yet, but is expected to be 18%. Some products, fuel and
:06:27. > :06:29.alcohol, won't be affected. They RPI revenue raisers for the states and
:06:30. > :06:36.the government had to let them through to get it done. -- are big.
:06:37. > :06:42.At the same time, a huge ID system will need to be set up and people
:06:43. > :06:47.will have to be trained. -- IT. For companies, it will be an overhaul.
:06:48. > :06:51.This is just the beginning of the biggest tax reform India has ever
:06:52. > :06:57.attempted. BBC News, Delhi. It has been nearly six weeks since Brexit.
:06:58. > :07:02.This was one sector hit hard immediately after the vote. As the
:07:03. > :07:07.dust is settling and the Bank of England considers a rate decision on
:07:08. > :07:12.Thursday, what is the mood? London was the top investment destination
:07:13. > :07:19.last year. We have a global head of real estate. Real estate is what
:07:20. > :07:26.we're talking about. I asked him whether deals in the pipeline before
:07:27. > :07:31.Brexit have been done. For the most part, yes, there has been a pull
:07:32. > :07:37.back. 10- 15% of the deals that were in the pipeline. On the other hand,
:07:38. > :07:42.the other 85, you know, 90%, we still see being done and moving
:07:43. > :07:47.forward. What will happen in the future? It seems like there are twin
:07:48. > :07:50.forces at work. You have a weaker pound, making real estate in the UK
:07:51. > :07:57.more affected. On the other hand, more uncertainty about real estate.
:07:58. > :08:04.You have concern about corporate demand. Will people need office
:08:05. > :08:10.space? People with investment are already facing some write-downs in
:08:11. > :08:14.the short-term. Maybe it is time for a little bit of pause. We see an
:08:15. > :08:21.number who see it as an opportunity. The week pound is down 10- 11%
:08:22. > :08:29.against the dollar. Maybe 15% against the Singh dollar. And many
:08:30. > :08:32.clients are interested. Maybe this is an opportunity. Especially real
:08:33. > :08:36.estate clients. Specifically what are they telling you? You have
:08:37. > :08:44.hundreds of people working in the real estate division across this
:08:45. > :08:47.region. What our the China Sea -- what are the Chinese, Indonesians,
:08:48. > :08:52.Malaysians, what are they saying? They are looking at the UK and are
:08:53. > :08:54.seen, roughly speaking, it is not going away. They have a short-term
:08:55. > :09:00.impact from their spite in the long-term, many of these investors
:09:01. > :09:05.are looking into the long-term and they see it as even more of an
:09:06. > :09:12.opportunity. Either think the traditional, large, Asian sovereign
:09:13. > :09:17.wealth fund type of investor is, umm, see concerned about the, you
:09:18. > :09:26.know, the long-term. Do you think the prisoners, the doom and gloom,
:09:27. > :09:31.was overdone? -- pessimism. Is a continuing to be overdone? The
:09:32. > :09:41.short-term, it has been overdone. It has been subdued. Growth, GDP, over
:09:42. > :09:48.the next 18 months, we will have to see how things play out in terms of
:09:49. > :09:53.trade deals and otherwise. But, umm, most folks, again, people you talk
:09:54. > :10:01.to in the region in Europe, they are still interested in the UK. Real
:10:02. > :10:07.estate expert Howard Ross. A quick look at the market. As you can see
:10:08. > :10:11.on your screens, positive gains for Asian markets. Haiyan oil prices and
:10:12. > :10:20.solid jobs growth boosting the markets overnight. -- Higher. The
:10:21. > :10:25.Nikkei up and be All Ordinaries Index up as well. Doors will open in
:10:26. > :10:31.15 minutes tone. A good day so far for the regional financial markets.
:10:32. > :10:38.Thank you for investing your time with us. I am Rico Hizon. Sport is
:10:39. > :10:40.up next. A High Court judge has