:00:00. > :00:00.The former Aston Villa striker Mr Atkinson has died. He suffered a
:00:00. > :00:00.cardiac arrest as he was being taken to hospital.
:00:00. > :00:15.Now on BBC News, all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:16. > :00:22.Full-year results from mining behemoth BHP Billiton. How is it
:00:23. > :00:36.whether in with the mining industry slowdown? And cheaper, greener cars.
:00:37. > :00:39.How is Nissan Motors from Japan on track to meet those goals?
:00:40. > :00:43.Good morning, Asia. Hello, world. I'm Rico Hizon. Thank you for
:00:44. > :00:56.investing your time in us. This is Asia Business Report. It's a
:00:57. > :01:00.Tuesday. Copper, oil, these are BHP Billiton's main stock. They are
:01:01. > :01:03.reporting their full-year earnings and the market is reporting huge
:01:04. > :01:09.losses, with some estimates close to 6 billion US dollars. Last month, in
:01:10. > :01:15.the fourth quarter update, they'd miss targets for iron ore and
:01:16. > :01:23.lowered its gas outputs. All of this comes along low demand for the
:01:24. > :01:26.biggest commodity customer, China. Our reporter in Sydney says this
:01:27. > :01:33.isn't the only factor behind its losses. They are likely to announce
:01:34. > :01:36.their largest loss ever. They are coming from the Americas, in
:01:37. > :01:45.particular, the US energy operations. They will take that down
:01:46. > :01:49.almost $5 billion. That is the largest write-down by a mining
:01:50. > :01:55.company ever. And they will also have the Samarco mining disaster
:01:56. > :02:01.factored into that. $1.2 billion. That is over 6 billion already.
:02:02. > :02:07.Given that we have an underlying profit of 600 billion, it looks like
:02:08. > :02:11.it will be in the loss margin of 6 billion. This looks like an
:02:12. > :02:16.extraordinary change for BHP Billiton. But it is also affecting
:02:17. > :02:23.commodities. Demand is starting to pick up with prices. Only three
:02:24. > :02:28.years ago the HP announced a profit of $4.4 billion for a single year,
:02:29. > :02:37.their best ever. But sliding demand has hit their operations. They are
:02:38. > :02:43.working hard to keep it going. There are signs in the commodity prices,
:02:44. > :02:47.in particular iron ore and oil, they have stabilised. Demand may be
:02:48. > :02:53.ageing back towards equilibrium again. That is good news for
:02:54. > :02:58.long-term BHP Billiton investors are. What will this mean for job
:02:59. > :03:06.prospects for them? Unfortunately, many of the job losses have already
:03:07. > :03:10.occurred. They have been on this bent for the last three years. There
:03:11. > :03:15.were significant losses, especially in northern Australia. It looks like
:03:16. > :03:19.that have been paired back and shouldn't mean any more job losses
:03:20. > :03:22.in the next 12 months. What are you looking for in the next 12 months in
:03:23. > :03:32.terms of commodity prices and earnings for BHP? Therefore, major
:03:33. > :03:36.commodities are key. A more positive outlook for iron ore and the energy
:03:37. > :03:44.complex means two out of four working well for them. But there are
:03:45. > :03:47.concerns about the oversupply in the market. While the commodity market
:03:48. > :03:52.may have stabilised, at this stage there is no sign of an upturn. The
:03:53. > :03:59.trading floor of the markets in Sydney. Chinese stock is surging to
:04:00. > :04:03.a seven-month high. That is after speculation of more stimulus from
:04:04. > :04:06.the Central Bank. Their index kicked off the week with more than double
:04:07. > :04:14.the normal trading volume two post its best two-day climb since March.
:04:15. > :04:19.Shares listed have been among the world's best stock performers in
:04:20. > :04:21.August. Stay with us on Asia Business Report as we will be
:04:22. > :04:27.bringing you analysts is what this means for mainland stocks. That is
:04:28. > :04:32.coming up in the next hour when mainland markets resume trading in
:04:33. > :04:40.Shanghai and Shenzhen. Show voters have voted to accept the buying out
:04:41. > :04:48.of the commercial property unit in Hong Kong for $4.4 billion. Trading
:04:49. > :04:54.in shares owned by China's richest man were suspended on Monday ahead
:04:55. > :05:01.of an expected delisting. They are looking to refloat in China at a
:05:02. > :05:07.later date. Thailand's economy is expanding more than ever expect it
:05:08. > :05:11.in this quarter. That is due to increased spending on road and rail
:05:12. > :05:17.projects. Gross Domestic Product, GDP, expanded by 3.5% in the three
:05:18. > :05:21.months until June compared to levels a year ago. Infrastructure spending
:05:22. > :05:26.is a sign to offset weak demand for Thai exports. The United Nations
:05:27. > :05:33.nuclear watchdog is warning of a growing threat from terrorism
:05:34. > :05:35.involving nuclear material. The head of the International Atomic Energy
:05:36. > :05:41.Agency told the BBC that the agency has already seeing evidence of the
:05:42. > :05:45.legal nuclear materials being transported across borders. Our Asia
:05:46. > :05:55.Business Report correspondent asked him about the possibility of a
:05:56. > :06:02.nuclear attack in Asia. Whether based you'll material or attack, the
:06:03. > :06:09.danger exists of terrorists acquiring it. -- whether they steal
:06:10. > :06:14.We have been maintaining the database since 1995 and have
:06:15. > :06:18.collected a lot of information. Not all of it points towards a serious
:06:19. > :06:23.incident, but some of it is pointing towards real danger. You have talked
:06:24. > :06:28.about cyber security as a major issue for nuclear power plants. That
:06:29. > :06:35.nuclear terrorists could hack into these digital systems and take the
:06:36. > :06:41.plants over. How much of an issue is this the age? Nuclear power plants
:06:42. > :06:54.are operating by a digital system. If the hackers entered the system,
:06:55. > :07:01.they can alter the data or steal it or compromise the operations. This
:07:02. > :07:07.is a real danger. Such an attack has already taken place. Two or three
:07:08. > :07:17.years ago, that was. It was a real case. Much electricity was suspended
:07:18. > :07:21.for a long time. After everything you have described, why is nuclear
:07:22. > :07:27.energy still a viable option? This is a source of energy. It does not
:07:28. > :07:33.emit climate change. This is serious. It can provide a base load,
:07:34. > :07:44.that means a huge amount of electricity in a stable manner. And,
:07:45. > :07:47.it will bring maintained economic prosperity and development goals.
:07:48. > :07:57.These are some of the reasons that member states include nuclear
:07:58. > :08:05.energy. Also, energy security is very important for some countries.
:08:06. > :08:09.The energy chief speaking to our correspondent. Ever since cars
:08:10. > :08:13.became the great villains of climate change there has been a scramble to
:08:14. > :08:20.develop these kinds of vehicles, electric ones. One area that has
:08:21. > :08:24.seen massive investment are solar-powered batteries. Most of
:08:25. > :08:30.this relies on hydrogen cells. It is a very expensive process. Nissan
:08:31. > :09:05.seems to have found an alternative solution. Let's take a look. FUNK
:09:06. > :09:36.It is a fuel cell system that will transform it into hydrogen. Hydrogen
:09:37. > :09:46.will become electricity. And you charge your battery. In Brazil, it
:09:47. > :09:57.is available in gas stations. Our duty as carmakers is to show
:09:58. > :10:23.what we can do and let them decide. Before we go, a quick look at the
:10:24. > :10:29.markets. Currently flat and lower. They are negative territory despite
:10:30. > :10:31.the stocks at record highs. Thank you so much for joining us. I am
:10:32. > :10:38.Rico Hizon. Goodbye for now.