:00:00. > :00:00.child sex offences. He admitted abusing 11 boys between 1969 in
:00:07. > :00:19.1986. Now on BBC News, life in Singapore. Win Palace opens an
:00:20. > :00:22.account that can turn around the fortunes of the territory's
:00:23. > :00:31.struggling gaming incher street. And charities are stepping in to help
:00:32. > :00:41.first-time homebuyers in Australia. Good morning, Asia. Glad you could
:00:42. > :00:45.join us. Casino magnate and rolling dice on the future of gaming in
:00:46. > :00:49.Macau, an industry struggling with very little growth. But investors
:00:50. > :00:52.continued to pour money despite China's sterling economy and the
:00:53. > :01:01.government's campaign against corruption. Check out this footage.
:01:02. > :01:07.American casino tycoon macro tool, just open the most expensive casino
:01:08. > :01:12.in Macau,. -- Steve Wynn. Its rival, Sheldon Anderson, hopes to open a $3
:01:13. > :01:17.billion resort but will they walk away with winning profits? I asked
:01:18. > :01:25.Sophie from corporate ratings whether the men are making safe
:01:26. > :01:30.bets. We do expect slower growth in casino 's these days. Normally it
:01:31. > :01:37.will take up to 18 months but for Wynn Palace and also the recently
:01:38. > :01:44.opened studio city, we expect 18- 24 months to become a more mature
:01:45. > :01:49.casino, given the top rating environment. It is a tough operating
:01:50. > :01:55.environment. It is quite saturated. So many casinos in Macau and also,
:01:56. > :01:57.you have more competition throughout the region, particularly from the
:01:58. > :02:07.likes of Singapore and the Philippines. We do expect Macau to
:02:08. > :02:12.be relatively competitive, not only because of the holdings in Macau but
:02:13. > :02:17.also, the Philippines, Vietnam, Cambodia and also Singapore. They
:02:18. > :02:23.also compete for VIP gamblers from China. That being said, we are still
:02:24. > :02:29.positive on the long-term growth in Macau gaming given the penetration
:02:30. > :02:35.and also the rising middle class as well as the growing disposable
:02:36. > :02:40.income in China. Macau, Sophie, also has a limited number of licences.
:02:41. > :02:46.How will this impact the industry? Most of the licences will expire in
:02:47. > :02:53.2020 or 2022. We do expect the government will review the licences
:02:54. > :03:00.of when the time is bad but given a huge amount of investment, we cannot
:03:01. > :03:03.think of any one of them that may not be given the gaming licence
:03:04. > :03:12.renewal when the current licence expires. Sophie Lin they're speaking
:03:13. > :03:19.about Macau's gaming market. Profits at Petronas have dropped 96% in the
:03:20. > :03:23.three months to June. Though oil prices and volatility in the sector.
:03:24. > :03:27.Net income falling to $86 million. The firm had been planning a
:03:28. > :03:32.restructure of its business with a loss of about 1000 jobs. Letters
:03:33. > :03:33.have a quick look at oil price is standard early Asian trading. To
:03:34. > :03:47.step. This is in addition to the loss of
:03:48. > :03:56.3% in New York trading overnight. US pharmaceutical giant, Pfizer has
:03:57. > :04:00.confirmed it will buy back cancer drug company Medivation. It produces
:04:01. > :04:07.a well-known prostate cancer treatment which is reportedly worth
:04:08. > :04:18.about $2 billion in retail sales. Shares in the Swiss agricultural
:04:19. > :04:23.group have grown after US regulator approved a takeover by Chemchina. It
:04:24. > :04:27.will be the biggest acquisition by a Chinese firm that it still needs
:04:28. > :04:31.final regular tree approval by regulators. The company makes
:04:32. > :04:36.pesticides on seeds and a quarter of its sales are in the US. Well, it's
:04:37. > :04:39.been two months since British voters decided to leave the European Union
:04:40. > :04:43.and head of the referendum, Japanese businesses were some of the most
:04:44. > :04:50.vocal against Brexit. Household names such as Hitachi and Nissan
:04:51. > :04:55.said they might even pull investment out of the UK. Lawyers Simon Black
:04:56. > :04:59.implies is Japanese businesses. They asked him what he is telling his
:05:00. > :05:04.clients today. The first think we are telling them is to try to
:05:05. > :05:09.clarify some of the uncertainties, particularly on process of the
:05:10. > :05:14.withdrawal and the timing of Article 50 and try to give some insight into
:05:15. > :05:18.what the likely negotiating position of the British government is because
:05:19. > :05:23.that then sets the scene for businesses to do, in some degree,
:05:24. > :05:30.planning. It is very uncertain. But the timing and negotiating position.
:05:31. > :05:36.Are they still threatening to pull out of or are they reckoning to stay
:05:37. > :05:42.put until the situation is clearer. I think the threat of pullout
:05:43. > :05:47.remains. But businesses look at these over the long-term. They
:05:48. > :05:50.really want to assess the impact of Brexit. They were so many
:05:51. > :05:58.uncertainties. I don't think anyone is pulling out of and major
:05:59. > :06:04.investments have been made. Indeed, that is a sign of confidence. But
:06:05. > :06:12.these companies all sectors or industries that are threatening to
:06:13. > :06:20.pull out, which one of these. I think the banks have the biggest
:06:21. > :06:23.challenge. Those Japanese banks that have UK subsidiaries, they can do
:06:24. > :06:28.financial services businesses throughout the EU. That is at risk.
:06:29. > :06:31.The banks need to make contingency plans. For banks to reorganise, it
:06:32. > :06:36.is a major undertaking and takes more than two years. In addition,
:06:37. > :06:43.the banks understand that some businesses may flow out of London.
:06:44. > :06:46.Simon Black there in Tokyo. Getting on the property ladder can be
:06:47. > :06:49.tougher homebuyers the world over that in Australia, the property
:06:50. > :06:55.dream is slipping away for many. It is the world 's third least
:06:56. > :06:58.affordable place to buy and with most people preferring to live in
:06:59. > :07:03.the capital cities, prices there have risen by more than one third
:07:04. > :07:07.over the past five years. Charities are now offering buyers financial
:07:08. > :07:14.help to purchase their first home. Phil Mercer reports from Sydney.
:07:15. > :07:18.1.375. Selling houses in Australia is often great better. It is here
:07:19. > :07:25.the dreams of property ownership are made but at a cost. The price the
:07:26. > :07:31.rundown 4-bedroom home in a leafy suburb, more than $1.3 million.
:07:32. > :07:34.Competition for this property that lies about a half-hour drive from
:07:35. > :07:40.the centre of Sydney has been intense. House prices in Australia's
:07:41. > :07:45.most expensive city have soared by almost 60% in the past five years.
:07:46. > :07:51.Many prospective buyers fear being priced out of the market. Much of
:07:52. > :07:56.Australia's growing population hugs the east coast where space and the
:07:57. > :08:01.major centres is often scarce. As prices in Sydney continue to rise,
:08:02. > :08:05.the coalition of charities wants to go into partnership with first time
:08:06. > :08:11.buyers. Buyers who otherwise would be locked out of the market. You
:08:12. > :08:14.take out a mortgage to your share in a community housing provider will
:08:15. > :08:20.pay the rest of the mortgage on that property. At some point, if your
:08:21. > :08:23.income goes up, you can actually, what we say, is staircase up, by
:08:24. > :08:27.another slice of that property as well. With the young family to
:08:28. > :08:31.support, Paul Robinson, whose salaries above the national average,
:08:32. > :08:37.says a shared ownership scheme is his only chance of buying a home in
:08:38. > :08:40.Sydney. It is where he has seen prices spiral. Out of control,
:08:41. > :08:46.astronomical. A difficult market to get into pull someone like me. I
:08:47. > :08:51.earn a decent wage of about $85,000 but to support my family, pay my
:08:52. > :08:56.rent and get a 10% deposit, it's just an impossibility. It is the old
:08:57. > :09:02.Australian dream of owning a home, it's not a reality any more. There
:09:03. > :09:06.are many reasons why house prices are soaring. Among them, record low
:09:07. > :09:11.interest rates, tax breaks for investors foreign buyers. As another
:09:12. > :09:15.inspect -- expensive property goes under the hammer, for those
:09:16. > :09:22.unsuccessful bidders, the Hunter their dream home continues. Phil
:09:23. > :09:27.Mercer, BBC News, Sydney. Earlier, we brought you the challenges facing
:09:28. > :09:32.Macau's casinos but what about the threat of online gaming. It is a $46
:09:33. > :09:38.billion industry. We caught up with a full-time gambler to hear his
:09:39. > :09:42.story. I have never had a proper job. I'm technically unemployed. But
:09:43. > :09:46.me and my friends all play online poker for a living. It takes a lot
:09:47. > :09:52.of work to get good enough to make any money, let enough -- let alone
:09:53. > :09:55.up to support yourself. A mathematical brain and self
:09:56. > :10:01.discipline and control do not get too upset. A typical day would
:10:02. > :10:09.involve me starting playing about 8pm 9pm and finishing at 2am or 3am,
:10:10. > :10:15.depending on the game. The best times to work our Friday night,
:10:16. > :10:19.Saturday nights and evenings and weekends, essentially. Now there are
:10:20. > :10:22.all sorts of software tools to help people get better, including
:10:23. > :10:26.artificial intelligence, which people are using to create new
:10:27. > :10:31.strategies. A lot of challenges ahead for human players and I don't
:10:32. > :10:39.think I will still be playing poker in pre-5 years. Before we go, a
:10:40. > :10:43.quick look at the markets. Asia is drifting sideways in early Tuesday
:10:44. > :10:51.trading up to US equities closed lacklustre overnight.
:10:52. > :10:57.Those are the markets. Thank you for investing your time at us. Have a
:10:58. > :11:01.great Tuesday. Sport Today is up next. Goodbye for now.