:00:00. > :00:14.Now it's time for Asia Business Report with Rico.
:00:15. > :00:22.Leaders get down to business in Laos. And tying the knot in front of
:00:23. > :00:23.strangers, the start-up offering tourists novel experience of an
:00:24. > :00:35.Indian wedding. Good morning, Asia, and hello world.
:00:36. > :00:39.It is Wednesday. Glad you could join us for this edition of Asia Business
:00:40. > :00:44.Report. The Philippines president Rodrigo Duterte is striking a more
:00:45. > :00:47.conciliatory tone this morning saying he regrets using insulting
:00:48. > :00:51.language against the US president over extrajudicial killings in the
:00:52. > :00:57.Philippines putter drug war. We'll be friction linger as the ASEAN
:00:58. > :01:02.leaders meeting gets down to business? I am joined by our
:01:03. > :01:07.correspondent. If the name calling continuing on day two of this ASEAN
:01:08. > :01:14.summit, or has it been forgotten and it is now business, business,
:01:15. > :01:18.business? Well, I think it would be fair to say that the name-calling
:01:19. > :01:26.will not continue into today. It was the topic of discussion on the first
:01:27. > :01:29.day of the summit, also at the sidelines with discussions media
:01:30. > :01:34.people were having in the corridors at the National convention centre.
:01:35. > :01:38.Today it is all about the big meetings, and if you just look
:01:39. > :01:43.through the guide for the events that are expected to take place
:01:44. > :01:47.today, as many as seven meetings with some of ASEAN's major trading
:01:48. > :01:53.partners, China, the biggest partner for ASEAN, we kick off the day with
:01:54. > :01:59.a meeting between ASEAN and China, then a ASEAN and Japan and a ASEAN
:02:00. > :02:03.and Korean, followed by a ASEAN and Australia meeting today. A packed
:02:04. > :02:08.day of discussions between ASEAN and some of its key partners in the
:02:09. > :02:18.region. China is a key partner of many ASEAN countries. Yes, China has
:02:19. > :02:23.really boosted economic growth in ASEAN over the last decade or so. As
:02:24. > :02:26.China's economy has grown, we have seen a corresponding effect and in
:02:27. > :02:32.packed in economies around the region. We sell a lot of that stuff
:02:33. > :02:37.to China, but what is also happening is as China's economy is starting to
:02:38. > :02:41.slow down, there has been a corresponding effect across the
:02:42. > :02:45.region, and now a lot of ASEAN nations have had to figure out a new
:02:46. > :02:50.strategy. In the mix of all of this is the issue of the South China Sea.
:02:51. > :02:54.From the draft declaration that is being circulated amongst some people
:02:55. > :02:58.here at ASEAN, it doesn't appear that the issue will take centre
:02:59. > :03:02.stage or that the language around the South China Sea will be as
:03:03. > :03:07.strong as some would have liked, and don't forget ASEAN is a consensus
:03:08. > :03:12.-based form and decisions are made as a result of everyone agreeing on
:03:13. > :03:16.the same thing. It may well be that some of the partners, some of the
:03:17. > :03:19.member states, did not want that strong language included. We will
:03:20. > :03:22.have to leave it there. Thank you for the update on day two of the
:03:23. > :03:33.ASEAN leaders' summit. Going for gold, as Charlie are
:03:34. > :03:40.expected to have a remarkable 25 years of growth -- is jolly. The
:03:41. > :03:47.only other developed nation to have achieved asymmetric feet is the
:03:48. > :03:52.Netherlands. For more on what is driving the Australian economy, we
:03:53. > :03:57.spoke with an HSBC chief economist for stadia. It is impressive. We
:03:58. > :04:03.managed to avoid having a recession when the global financials crisis
:04:04. > :04:06.hit, any IT bubble burst in the early 2000, and when the global
:04:07. > :04:12.financial crisis struck more recently. 25 years of continuous GDP
:04:13. > :04:16.growth in Australia, it is the longest period of our own expansion
:04:17. > :04:19.and the bonus period of expansion across the OECD economies for that
:04:20. > :04:25.period. The Netherlands did it for 26 years, they went into the global
:04:26. > :04:31.financials crisis and had a downturn. Can this be sustained,
:04:32. > :04:37.especially with the big risk hanging over Australia, China? So far so
:04:38. > :04:42.good. A lot of our success has today with our strong ties to the Chinese
:04:43. > :04:46.economy. When the global financial crisis came along, a strong pickup
:04:47. > :04:51.in the mining sector helped to bail Australia out. We had a big room and
:04:52. > :04:59.increase in commodity prices, mostly driven by China. -- boom. As
:05:00. > :05:02.commodity prices fell and China's demand for commodities slowdown,
:05:03. > :05:05.Australia has been able to shift its economy towards services.
:05:06. > :05:18.When you see an ad online, you are looking at the growing basis of ad
:05:19. > :05:23.technology. A Chinese consortium bid $800 million for one of the largest
:05:24. > :05:30.deals in the industry. To get his day, we have been speaking to the
:05:31. > :05:38.head of Bliss. He sought his first company three years ago for 21
:05:39. > :05:45.million US dollars. We asked what the deal means. It is an encouraging
:05:46. > :05:48.sign that there is huge appetite in the digital advertising technology
:05:49. > :05:54.scene. The fact that the buying group is an Asian consortium or
:05:55. > :05:58.Chinese consortium obviously shows that these large advertising and
:05:59. > :06:04.data driven technology companies are still on the forefront of
:06:05. > :06:07.innovation. And there is a lot of other type of those type of
:06:08. > :06:11.businesses still. You say the industry is growing, especially in
:06:12. > :06:17.Asia, but we are already seeing economies like China starting to
:06:18. > :06:21.slow. Can this great continue at the same pace? No, it won't sustained
:06:22. > :06:28.and it will slow. However, the size of the market is joined. -- giant.
:06:29. > :06:32.Therefore while you don't have to be in a space that is going, if you
:06:33. > :06:36.have a differentiated proposition and the best in market technology,
:06:37. > :06:42.you cannibalise other people's revenue streams and eat market
:06:43. > :06:47.share. That is what we have been able to do in markets where it is
:06:48. > :06:55.more established and is not blowing at that rapid pace. How would you
:06:56. > :06:59.like to attend a wedding in India for a fee? That is a new business
:07:00. > :07:03.idea kicking around to help newlyweds recoup their wedding
:07:04. > :07:08.costs. It can run into the tens of thousands of dollars. With this make
:07:09. > :07:13.their big day a little less special? We attended one such wedding in
:07:14. > :07:20.Bangalore and got this report. CHURCH BELLS RING
:07:21. > :07:30.-- CHURCH BELLS RING meet this is struggling in Spanish person, taking
:07:31. > :07:34.part in the wedding but not related to friends with the bride and groom.
:07:35. > :07:41.In fact, they have paid to be here -- Australian. I don't know if words
:07:42. > :07:44.describe what we just experienced. A traditional Indian wedding can run
:07:45. > :07:50.for up to a week. These wedding tourists have chosen the first day,
:07:51. > :07:53.music, times and henna. It is so wonderful to be brought into a
:07:54. > :07:59.family and see all of this completely different cultural
:08:00. > :08:02.experience. And their hosts are one of the first couples to use a new
:08:03. > :08:07.start-up that helps people around the world invite total strangers to
:08:08. > :08:13.their wedding for a price. She called me one day and said, let's do
:08:14. > :08:16.this. It looks like a good idea. Everyone around us like how could
:08:17. > :08:25.you trust people? They could be some crazy person coming. On day two,
:08:26. > :08:31.more tourists. A couple from Ireland, Pembroke, who has come from
:08:32. > :08:36.New Zealand. -- and Luke. The couple have made about $400 from tickets
:08:37. > :08:40.us, but that doesn't go far when you pay for things like food and
:08:41. > :08:43.transport. The extent is more exciting. Even my family were
:08:44. > :08:50.excited to have a foreign person in our wedding. I feel a bit bad about
:08:51. > :08:56.arriving with no flowers or gift. We give them a smile. But to even do
:08:57. > :09:07.that, they will have to queue along with 1000 others. Food is a huge
:09:08. > :09:10.part of an Indian wedding, and so is dressing up for the occasion. CHURCH
:09:11. > :09:19.BELLS but while they have enjoyed
:09:20. > :09:25.themselves, would-be travellers like the idea of people they don't know
:09:26. > :09:29.coming to their weddings? I'm not sure it would be same for a wedding
:09:30. > :09:33.in New Zealand, especially in my family. We are very small, only 50
:09:34. > :09:38.people. It is an idea clearly not for everybody. But if this business
:09:39. > :09:40.takes off, weddings might not just be a social occasion, but for some,
:09:41. > :09:51.a way to earn money as well. A very interesting business concept.
:09:52. > :09:55.Before we go, a quick look at the markets. The opening numbers are in
:09:56. > :10:01.Asia. You have the Japanese stock market down by 148 points, about a
:10:02. > :10:05.full %. This is because of the stronger yen against the US dollar
:10:06. > :10:10.due to weaker economic data coming out of the US. The Hang Seng index
:10:11. > :10:17.will open in about 15 minutes. The All Ordinaries index is up buy
:10:18. > :10:21.templates due to resource prices because traders and analysts are
:10:22. > :10:28.expecting better earnings data coming out over the next few months
:10:29. > :10:29.-- up ten points. That is it for this edition of Asia Business