:00:00. > :00:00.of onlookers. Stay with BBC World News. Child protection protection
:00:00. > :00:07.expert has been appointed chair of the royal commission. Now on BBC,
:00:08. > :00:20.Asia Business Report. China's commerce giant Alibaba
:00:21. > :00:24.recording its strongest rise in revenue since its stock market
:00:25. > :00:34.listing. And we met the import manager who make sure it is smooth
:00:35. > :00:38.sailing all the way to the dock. Good morning Asia, hello, world. It
:00:39. > :00:43.is a Friday. Almost a weekend. Glad you could join us for this edition
:00:44. > :00:48.of Asia Business Report. I am Rico Hizon in Singapore. We start off
:00:49. > :00:54.with the world's biggest e-commerce company Alibaba, recording revenue
:00:55. > :00:57.up by almost 60%. The big question is can the online marketplace break
:00:58. > :01:03.out of its poor Chinese market and become a truly global player? Our
:01:04. > :01:05.correspondent has the details. Alibaba's dramatic jump in
:01:06. > :01:10.international sales could be a sign that it is finally gaining some
:01:11. > :01:18.momentum outside China. International sales were up 123% in
:01:19. > :01:23.this last quarter. But that is still just a small part of Alibaba's
:01:24. > :01:27.business, accounting for about 4% of total revenue. Alibaba's current
:01:28. > :01:32.business model has analysts feeling pretty up heat. Most e-commerce
:01:33. > :01:35.companies try to focus on the Chinese market and look at China as
:01:36. > :01:41.a source of product, a source of stuff. Alibaba kind of text that
:01:42. > :01:44.theory and turns it on its head in what they are doing as they are
:01:45. > :01:52.using the international suppliers like American e-commerce companies
:01:53. > :01:56.or offline companies, European companies, etc, as suppliers to
:01:57. > :02:02.Chinese consumers. And while there is still room to grow in its core
:02:03. > :02:12.market, these latest earnings show that perhaps Alibaba has potential
:02:13. > :02:18.outside China. For more on Alibaba I spoke earlier to a correspondent.
:02:19. > :02:25.Deeper in their earnings you will see that more than 70% of their
:02:26. > :02:29.earnings is coming from their core e-commerce marketplace and if you
:02:30. > :02:34.look at the consumer investment market, that is growing at 20%. So
:02:35. > :02:39.their reach is growing and the amount of spending per person is
:02:40. > :02:45.growing and what is more, they are growing really profitably, 60 plus
:02:46. > :02:50.percentage. So I think the focus of growing their core is really first,
:02:51. > :02:54.but it is not like they are ignoring the rest of the world. It seems like
:02:55. > :02:57.e-commerce consumers want the discounts, they like buying online
:02:58. > :03:01.rather than in brick and mortar shops but they have also diversify
:03:02. > :03:06.into other businesses including cloud computer, driverless cars and
:03:07. > :03:11.online shopping in Southeast Asia. Are they spreading themselves too
:03:12. > :03:14.thin? I think if you look at the fundamentals, they are still having
:03:15. > :03:17.e-commerce as their core, and these are the ecosystems they are building
:03:18. > :03:22.around it. Let me give you the example of cloud computing. The
:03:23. > :03:25.largest customer for the cloud computer business of Alibaba is the
:03:26. > :03:28.marketplace. If you look at a marketplace it requires so much
:03:29. > :03:35.computing power so therefore it is an area which is a logical extension
:03:36. > :03:50.for them. Shares of Sharp surging in early trade after China's Foxcon
:03:51. > :03:56.approve the deal. Malaysia has made headlines for all the wrong reasons
:03:57. > :03:59.lately with corruption allegations surrounding state development fund.
:04:00. > :04:05.Later today we will find out how its economy performed between April and
:04:06. > :04:08.June. Stronger growth is forecast because of weaker demand for
:04:09. > :04:13.commodities. The reputational damage from the scandal could impact its
:04:14. > :04:15.economy in the future. The reputational issue is certainly
:04:16. > :04:22.becoming more and more challenging. And going forward I think it will
:04:23. > :04:26.begin to have an impact on FDI inflows and perhaps even portfolio
:04:27. > :04:33.inflows. Malaysia actually had two very good quarters of foreign
:04:34. > :04:36.investment inflows primarily because the Chinese bought a number of
:04:37. > :04:41.assets in December and the first quarter of this year. So that helped
:04:42. > :04:46.with the foreign investment numbers. The other big challenge for Malaysia
:04:47. > :04:51.of course is oil. With oil prices this week, the fiscal position has
:04:52. > :04:55.deteriorated. Last year's fiscal position was only 3% of GDP but in
:04:56. > :05:00.the first quarter the deficit was about 6% of GDP. So I think we will
:05:01. > :05:04.be watching very closely to see what the second quarter of fiscal numbers
:05:05. > :05:09.are, because that would be indicative of potential trouble
:05:10. > :05:15.ahead. Because if the deficit stays this large they will have to rein in
:05:16. > :05:19.spending. The GST was a big boon to revenues last year. That is now
:05:20. > :05:26.done. I don't think we can raise the GST rate. And so, really, there
:05:27. > :05:30.isn't too much that can be done under the current circumstances,
:05:31. > :05:37.given the fact that oil prices are low. And you know, there is a little
:05:38. > :05:43.bit of potential for generating revenue from the palm oil sector but
:05:44. > :05:47.not much else. Maternity leave for many working mothers in India will
:05:48. > :05:51.be more than doubled after the country's Parliament voted changing
:05:52. > :05:54.the law. At the moment only government workers qualify for more
:05:55. > :05:58.than 12 weeks off following the birth of a baby but the new law will
:05:59. > :06:05.bring India into line with many western countries. The BBC's
:06:06. > :06:10.correspondent has more from Mumbai. Here in India only one in four
:06:11. > :06:13.females aged 15 and over are in work, according to the World Bank.
:06:14. > :06:17.This is one of the lowest workforce participation rates in the world. So
:06:18. > :06:22.why? Well, raising a child is largely seen as a woman's job in
:06:23. > :06:25.India, not a shared responsibility between both parents and half of
:06:26. > :06:32.women in India quit their careers after having a baby. Existing laws
:06:33. > :06:34.already give job protection during maternity and 12 weeks paid
:06:35. > :06:39.maternity leave but now Parliament is changing the law, doubling paid
:06:40. > :06:42.leave to 26 weeks, giving paid leave for adoption and surrogacy and
:06:43. > :06:51.forcing firms employing more than 50 people to provide creche facilities.
:06:52. > :06:55.These will help 2 million women across the country but what do the
:06:56. > :06:59.women think? A sickly we have too many nuclear families in Mumbai and
:07:00. > :07:04.especially in the suburbs so getting additional leave will definitely be
:07:05. > :07:08.helpful -- basically. My friend is currently pregnant and I think it is
:07:09. > :07:12.a really good idea of because her to come back in three months is too
:07:13. > :07:18.short, you need more time with your baby and I think it is a good
:07:19. > :07:23.decision. Keeping women in work is something that it is suggested will
:07:24. > :07:26.boost India's economy. But for many, especially in the informal
:07:27. > :07:32.environment, it will still depend on family support and perhaps changing
:07:33. > :07:36.traditional attitudes towards work. Singapore's shipping terminals and
:07:37. > :07:40.port facilities are some of the busiest in the world. In fact, they
:07:41. > :07:47.handled more cargo tonnage than any port on earth. So who would want to
:07:48. > :07:56.manage all those ships and all their containers? We hear why being a port
:07:57. > :08:06.manager in Singapore is this man's dream job?
:08:07. > :08:13.As the port Master in Singapore I am responsible for the safe passage of
:08:14. > :08:20.goods. On a day-to-day basis my work covers various portfolios. I have
:08:21. > :08:29.about 200 staff under me, ensuring the Port runs like clockwork. I
:08:30. > :08:32.remember very clearly, when you do things differently, you make sure
:08:33. > :08:40.you do it better. And whatever you do, try to do what is not known,
:08:41. > :08:44.because doing something known, which is obviously the easiest way out of
:08:45. > :08:50.doing it. So I embarked on a seagoing career at the age of 18,
:08:51. > :08:54.which was not quite normal back then, and I sailed for 12 years,
:08:55. > :08:59.plus the added experience of handling ships in the busiest port
:09:00. > :09:03.in the world. In totality I have about 20 years of seagoing,
:09:04. > :09:10.chipboard experience. Doing this job right now reflects back on the
:09:11. > :09:17.things I have done before. -- ship-board. The ship handling skills
:09:18. > :09:21.I have gained, personally, has allowed me to actually use that
:09:22. > :09:26.knowledge, which is crucial, because without experience you find it very
:09:27. > :09:40.difficult to understand the industry's problems. I don't think
:09:41. > :09:47.there is such a thing called a normal day in my job, per se.
:09:48. > :09:54.Because when you have 1000 ships calling the port home at one time,
:09:55. > :09:56.you will have various degrees of domestic issues and international
:09:57. > :10:03.and regional issues which you need to deal with. But in a sense, being
:10:04. > :10:08.a 24/7 port, there is no such thing as a 9-to-5 job Port Master because
:10:09. > :10:17.as long as the Port of Singapore is running 24/7, it is all happening.
:10:18. > :10:22.We are both in our dream jobs! Here is a quick look at the markets in
:10:23. > :10:28.Asia. As you can see all in positive territory and heading north after US
:10:29. > :10:33.stocks rose due to strong gains in petroleum shares and retailers.
:10:34. > :10:36.Japan, Hong Kong and Australia in positive territory. Thank you for
:10:37. > :10:50.investing your time with us. Stay with us.
:10:51. > :10:51.At the Rio games, Fiji makes history. The Rugby