01/09/2016 Asia Business Report

Now on BBC News, all the latest business news live from Singapore.

The signs were all there. We find out what the scandal will mean for

Malaysia. Barea's largest shipping line is sinking. Is the global

industry in troubled waters? Welcome to Asia Business Report. Malaysia

government official has confirmed an unnamed official mentioned in a

lawsuit over the 1MDB scandal is the country's Prime Minister. American

investigators filed the lawsuit to seize billions of dollars worth of

assets bought with money they believe was stolen from the

Malaysian state investments fund. Still, the official claims the Prime

Minister has done nothing wrong. Our correspondent sent this report.

Frustration is rising on the streets of Malaysia. This was the first

rally in the Department of Justice filed its lawsuit, which alleged

that money was stolen from a Malaysian wealth fund by government

officials. Protesters called for the arrest of a Malaysian official who

is alleged to have received some of the money. It is widely understood

that he is Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak, but he has denied

wrongdoing. Many here have been telling me that they want Prime

Minister Najib Razak to step down. They say even if he wasn't directly

named in the lawsuit, the 1MDB fiasco happened under his watch.

Members of Parliament are behind them, 100%. But now a senior

minister in Najib Razak's Cabinet has confirmed to the BBC that he is

the Prime Minister, but says he is not guilty. You are saying that

Malaysian official number one is the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Najib

Razak. Well, I agree that number one is the Prime Minister but the fact

of the matter is that the Department of Justice did not name him

directly, just like the other three or four gentlemen who were not named

directly. That tells you that the Department of Justice is not placing

whoever he is under investigation. He was in charge, this happened

under his watch. Shouldn't he take responsibility? Yes, he took

responsibility by ensuring that 1MDB is on the right path. Not to say

that just because some NGOs or some opposition are against the Prime

Minister and asking the Prime Minister to be... To vacate his

position, the step-down, I think is a bit much. The former prime

minister is calling for Najib Razak to step down. But the government

says he is using this scandal against Najib Razak for his own

personal gain, and is not without fault. There is some corruption, not

me, during my time. We don't have corruption on this scale, involving

the Prime Minister himself and involving sums which are described

by the US as the biggest fraud and money laundering that they have had

in decades. Now the fight is going to Malaysia's villagers where the

bulk of voters live. The opposition is on tour to explain the scale of

the fraud. With elections expect that in this year, this is where the

real battle will be fought. For more on that story you can read the blog

on the BBC website. Well, it could be the largest ever collapse of a

shipping group. South Korea's shipping company will enter

receivership after its creditors refuse to provide further funding.

It is the world's seventh largest shipping line, accounting for just

under 3% of the global market. It was unprofitable and format of the

past five years and had a total debt of $5.4 billion at the end of June.

Earlier I spoke to the chief executive of another company, asking

him what affect Hanjin's collapse will have on the shipping industry.

I guess we will have to wait and see what will happen in the coming days

but it only was announced a couple of days ago. Everyone is looking at

what will happen. You describe your phone as a travel agent for shipping

lines, you the companies up with container lines. Will you continue

to do business with Hanjin? We haven't been doing business with

Hanjin for a while because of rumours about the challenges that

they have had. So we decided to downscale our commitment with Hanjin

awhile ago. But clearly the issue that Hanjin is having is perhaps

broader than an industry issue, where in the last five years

shipping lines have really struggled with imbalance and supply and

demand, and it is broader than just one shipping line. It is the entire

industry. In fact I was just going to ask you that, are its problems

really of its own making, in eight failures related to bad

decision-making or is it something more external, as you say? The

global shipping industry has been in a huge slump due to the slowdown in

global trade. Yes, so if you look at the history of the industry, until

2008 with the global crisis, growth were steady. Since the financial

crisis growth is closer to 4% or 5%, and the capacity which was built and

planned during those years is now coming back to haunt the shipping

lines because the cargo is simply not coming. In News just in, new

Japanese data shows companies have increased factory and capital

spending by more than 3% compared with the same time a year ago but it

is less than what firms spent a month earlier. The numbers will be

factored into the latest growth figures of the world's third-largest

economy, which are due out next week. The Australian consumer

watchdog has filed a lawsuit against the local arm of volts --

Volkswagen. The head of the Australian competition and consumer

commission described the alleged conduct as serious and deliberate in

nature. And now to India, which plans to offer permanent residency

to foreign entrepreneurs. The figures were confirmed as data show

that growth had slowed their 27.1% in the three months to June. That is

the lowest level in two years. Lawmakers signed off on the special

visas for an initial period of up to ten years. Our correspondent gets

the reaction of expat business owners in the capital. India is keen

to get a larger share of foreign investment. Traditionally it has

gone after big money. I sweeping reforms to rules and foreign direct

investment. Now the government wants to track small and medium-sized

businesses as well. Like Pizza rias. A franchise of Jamie Oliver's team,

it has been brought here by an investor along with an Indian

partner. Jasper read has been living here for over two years. -- Reid. He

thinks this is an exciting time to invest in India as the market is

ready for international food. He wants to stay longer and getting

permanent residency would definitely help. First thing is there is a

psychological benefit as it makes you feel more welcome and part of a

more international place. There is an administrative benefit and then

there are some domestic benefits including one's partner being able

to work. So I think there is an interesting package and that,

subject to understanding the fine print. Until now, India had no

provision for foreign visitors to obtain long-term residency in India.

Visitors or employment visas were either issued, both of which came

with much paperwork. To be eligible for the permanent residency status,

foreigners would have to invest $1.5 million over 18 months. Or they

could invest $3.7 million over three years. But some people think it is

too expensive. Maria runs an indoor swimming pool and play zone for

kids. She and her husband moved to Delhi from Chicago about one year

ago to start this is best. I assume most economies are run on small

businesses, 80% are run on small businesses. So a $1.5 million in 18

months is not something most people can do, and if you are trying to

bring in new ideas from around the world to developing countries, $1.5

million is, I don't think, I really easy way to be doing it. The

required investment may be higher by some standards, and this may put off

some young investors, but India needs job generating investors and

the government hopes its latest plan will be enough to lure entrepreneurs

who would otherwise head to destinations like Singapore and Hong

Kong. Let's take a look at the markets before we go. We are seeing

Asian shares, the ones that are open, really fairly flat as you can

see. The Nikkei barely edging, the All Ordinaries slightly lower, we

are waiting for the Hang Seng to open in little bit and they are

taking their cues from Wall Street, which also ended in a similar way

under pressure from energy stocks. That's it from Asia Business Report.

Thank you for watching. Junior doctors in England

are to intensify their strike action in the long-running dispute over

pay and working hours. This latest action will involve

a full withdrawal of labour over