09/12/2016 Asia Business Report

economy. And Singapore is pulling the plug on two G mobile phones. --

2G. Welcome to Asia Business Report. South Korea's political drama

reaches a pivotal moment today. Members of Parliament are expected

to hold a vote on whether to impeach President Park Geun-hye, who was

embroiled in a corruption scandal that has riveted the country and

paralysed administration. The country's finance and it has voiced

concern about further risk to an already weak economy, what is the

scandal to blame? Earlier I spoke to the chairman of advanced capital

partners in Hong Kong for his view. South Korea's economy was in a week

state already. During the last couple of years the growth rate has

declined and for the first time in the last 50 years the economy is now

growing more slowly than the world economy. We think of the world

economy as about 3%. Korea is lucky if it will see 2.5% growth rate. The

prospect does not get better. What needs to have had to try to bring

the economy out of this economic slump? As you say it is not just the

political impact, there is also the slowdown in the region and globally.

Yes, but really those things aren't to blame for this. Korea has an

amazing amount of potential still. It sits right next to China, which

is happily growing up to something in excess of 6% per annum. South

Korea should be piggybacking on that. What Korea needs to make

paradigms shift over the last decade and has failed to do so. The most

critical element of that is the human capital. But the only natural

Korea has. That human capital needs of the education, revitalisation, to

prepare them for the jobs of the future. There are quite a few young

Koreans, the alleged Koreans and older Koreans out of work, but they

don't have the skills needed for the day's economy and certainly not for

the economy of the future. So in a nutshell it is really about

education and that needs to be led from the government in many

respects. Asia may be rich in resources, but

one in ten of the region's workers lives in extreme poverty. That's

according to the International Labour Organisation, which has just

wrapped up a meeting in Indonesia. They say governments should focus

less on boosting employment and more on creating better quality jobs.

Joining the live is the director-general of the ILO.

Welcome. You've just ended your meeting in Indonesia, in Bali. It

takes place every four years, with labour ministers and representatives

from unions as well as employee representatives from the region.

What were some of the big concerns that came out of the meeting? I

think you've summed it up with two words. We have this region which is

seen around the world as a success story. It has succeeded in lifting a

lot of people out of poverty, but there are two questions. One, will

the region be able to sustain its economic dynamism and success in

rapidly changing conditions, and secondly, and perhaps this is the

strongest, how can we make this economic dynamism more inclusive, to

share the benefits more broadly across the societies? That's right.

That's a question that many are posing, including to your

organisation, the International Labour Organisation. Many say it is

almost a century old, a bit of a mammoth, and haven't ensured that

there labour practices are insured across the region. What are you

trying to do to pressure government in the region to comply with your

standards? And old organisation, but one with a mandate which is so

relevant to circumstances around the world today. As we are seeing people

question the current models of globalisation, simply because it is

in sharing its benefits fairly enough. So what needs to be done in

Asia? Well, we do think economic dynamism and growth and jobs needs

to be maintained. If we are going to meet the United Nations 2030 agenda

goal, decent work for everybody over the next 15 years, we have to create

249 million jobs in the Asia-Pacific region in the next 15 years. So we

have to keep it going, but we need to develop all sorts of labour

market institutions, better social protection, better respect for

workers, to make sure those benefits reach everybody. You talk about the

249 million jobs that need to be created by 2030. What happens if

they can't created? Could we see social unrest or worse? I think, and

I wouldn't focus particularly on this region in this regard, we are

seeing in our political life people beginning to say enough. We want

something different. That can be disruptive and damaging, what I

think the proper reaction is to take a look at our current policy

settings in the field of labour and make those imported things, social

protection, collective bargaining, minimum wages, those are the

answers. Briefly, we know you are off to Bangladesh next, which is

still trying to improve labour standards in the 2013 Rana Plaza

fire that led to a loss of over 1000 lives. How far would you say

Bangladesh has come in terms of improving its labour standards?

We've come a long way and the top is not finished. After the Rana Plaza

incident happened in 2013, we thought we had to join international

and national effort is to make sure the ready-made garment industry, so

important for Bangladesh's development, was sustainable, which

meant making it safe, a good place to work. Yes, we've done quite a

lot. Making sure things are structurally safe, the legislation

is right in Bangladesh. We are trying to Nate Shaw these things are

done. If, long way, but there's still more to do. -- to make sure.

Thanks very much. Japan's trade ministry have nearly doubled the

cost estimated 40 for cushy minute we are disaster and decommissioning

the plant damaged by the tsunami in 2011. -- Fukushima nuclear. The cost

would raise two some billion dollars. Shares jumped on Thursday

in anticipation that it will receive additional interest loans to cope

with the cost. Gina Rinehart and a Chinese

consortium have asked for government approval to buy a cattle empire. The

announcement follows two years sale growth. The company is the largest

private land owner, with cattle land the size of South Korea.

If you live in Singapore and you own an old school mobile phone, like one

of these, a Nokia or one of these flip open motor roller phones, it is

time to a grade. Many are still hooked to the 2G network but not for

much longer. I've been using this model since 2010.

In April, 2017, all network providers will cease operations of

2G to ensure better and faster network services. I was able to see

the sort of negative effects that smart phones have on society, where

you walk into a restaurant and you see a group of friends and everyone

is sort of in their individual world, looking down on their phones.

I text and call. It has a great alarm clock. I think the only thing

could be GPS. Sometimes I get lost. But usually I look on Google Maps on

my laptop, draw a map and follow that map.

A lot of these guys are receiving very low salaries, so it is hard for

them to pay the $100 or several 100 dollars that it would cost to buy a

new phone. Are you still holding onto a 2G mobile phone? Once you get

a smartphone, then you always have to upgrade, you always have to worry

about the next model or the battery is running out on the screen is

breaking. I imagine some people will miss

those ringtones! A quick look at the markets. We are

seeing them pretty much mixed at the moment. Hang Seng in Hong Kong has

just opened and we are seeing gains in Australia, as well as the pan.

But not massive gains. Little bit flat. -- as well as in Japan. Wall

Street hit another record, following Trump's election if you weeks ago.

And of course we have the labour numbers as well. That's it for this

edition of Asia Business The top stories this hour:

South Korea's parliament is holding an impeachment vote in a few

hours which could see President Park Geun-hye suspended,

following allegations of corruption