:00:00. > :00:12.Now on BBC News all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:13. > :00:17.The Indonesian government has decided it can't bank on its
:00:18. > :00:24.partnership with JP Morgan Chase. We find out why. And would virtual
:00:25. > :00:28.reality footwear takeoff? A report from Las Vegas checks out the latest
:00:29. > :00:39.offering from a Japanese firm. Hello and welcome to Asia Business
:00:40. > :00:44.Report. The Indonesian government has dropped a number of business
:00:45. > :00:49.partnerships with the banking giant JP Morgan Chase following the bank's
:00:50. > :00:53.decision to downgrade its assessment of Indonesia's equities, so could
:00:54. > :00:59.government decisions like this but the finance sector's ability to give
:01:00. > :01:02.Frank and fearless advice? Earlier I spoke with our Asia Business Report
:01:03. > :01:08.bonded Karishma Vaswani and asked her if the move was unprecedented.
:01:09. > :01:13.In a move can, that is what Indonesia has done with regards to
:01:14. > :01:17.some of the business partnerships it has with JP Morgan Chase and this
:01:18. > :01:21.isn't the first time Indonesia has punished the bank for what it
:01:22. > :01:25.believes are unfair and in the words of some Finance Minister ee
:01:26. > :01:29.officials there's been a lack of credibility in some of their
:01:30. > :01:33.assessments, JP Morgan Chase assessments of Indonesia's equities.
:01:34. > :01:35.But the fact there's been such an outcry from the Indonesian
:01:36. > :01:40.government, that seems unprecedented. Companies have
:01:41. > :01:45.complained before about assessments from banks and ratings agencies,
:01:46. > :01:50.that's normal not to be pleased with the way a bank or ratings agency
:01:51. > :01:55.assesses you, but to cut off business ties seems like quite a
:01:56. > :01:59.harsh decision. Should banks be held responsible for influencing
:02:00. > :02:07.fundamentals and psychology? Those are the words of the Finance
:02:08. > :02:11.Minister. Yes, she is a well-respected Finance Minister and
:02:12. > :02:15.the former finance the rector of the World Bank and she gets how this
:02:16. > :02:19.game is played, she knows investment banks have research arms in their
:02:20. > :02:24.institutions that often make calls on equities and the economic
:02:25. > :02:28.fundamentals of a country while advising the country that they are
:02:29. > :02:35.reporting on. She understands this but some of the words she has used
:02:36. > :02:38.in her description of the equity situation, or JP Morgan Chase boss
:02:39. > :02:43.assessment of the equity situation in Indonesia, they have taken many
:02:44. > :02:47.by surprise. They've talked about the fact JP Morgan Chase a special
:02:48. > :02:53.partner, a partner with special privileges I should say and that
:02:54. > :02:55.comes with big responsibilities. Responsibilities that include
:02:56. > :03:00.creating a positive psychology for the country and I think many people
:03:01. > :03:04.will be surprised by that. Surprised and could this be the end of
:03:05. > :03:08.objective and frank opinion from banks in Indonesia? The finance
:03:09. > :03:13.ministry in Indonesia has been asked this question by the local press and
:03:14. > :03:17.reportedly they have said if the assessments are credible and make
:03:18. > :03:20.sense then they will agree with those assessments, and they've said
:03:21. > :03:24.to local banks and international banks operating in Indonesia,
:03:25. > :03:29.there's nothing to fear if you say what we think to be true. Karishma
:03:30. > :03:35.Vaswani speaking to me earlier. Japanese firm tosh either has issued
:03:36. > :03:39.a recall for 81,000 laptops as the lithium ion battery pack could
:03:40. > :03:46.overheat posing burn and fire hazards to users. It battery packs
:03:47. > :03:53.in 41 models sold between June 2011 and November 2016. -- it involves.
:03:54. > :03:57.Deutsche Bank has agreed to pay $95 million to resolve a US government
:03:58. > :04:01.lawsuit which accuses the bank of using shell companies to pay taxes
:04:02. > :04:09.in 2000. The settlement revolves around a lawsuit which was filed in
:04:10. > :04:14.December, 2014. It was aimed at recovering $190 million in taxes,
:04:15. > :04:18.penalties and interests. Rex Telus, the former Exxon chairman and Chief
:04:19. > :04:23.Executive chosen by Donald Trump for US Secretary of State will receive
:04:24. > :04:28.$180 million to cut financial ties with the energy firm. The pay-out
:04:29. > :04:32.will take place only if he is confirmed in the new role and it's
:04:33. > :04:35.aimed at addressing concerns the former Exxon executive could favour
:04:36. > :04:41.the oil giant or his own interests while in office. He left Exxon at
:04:42. > :04:47.the end of last year. 2016 was a year for wheeling and dealing,
:04:48. > :04:52.although it was down from record levels, the previous year, there was
:04:53. > :04:57.still lots more deals going on, more than $2.5 trillion done last year.
:04:58. > :05:04.In this region China was the standout performer with 798 outbound
:05:05. > :05:08.acquisitions and there's also been a busy year for Vietnam, Indonesia and
:05:09. > :05:14.Australia while things have been more subdued in Thailand, Malaysia
:05:15. > :05:18.and the Philippines. These figures are from a law firm and their
:05:19. > :05:23.mergers and acquisitions lawyer based in Tokyo Alun Evans is seeing
:05:24. > :05:30.a different picture for this year. The outstanding story in 2016 was
:05:31. > :05:34.the China outbound story, more than $200 billion spent overseas by
:05:35. > :05:37.Chinese companies and that was until December whether Chinese companies
:05:38. > :05:42.who have the prerogative to do this essentially pressed the pause button
:05:43. > :05:46.amid concerns about the depreciation of the R and concerns about the
:05:47. > :05:53.slightly and strategic nature of some of the acquisitions. It will be
:05:54. > :05:58.interesting going forward to see how long that pause button is pressed
:05:59. > :06:04.for, probably at least the first quarter and then after that in 2017
:06:05. > :06:08.we will see a more focused, slightly slower outbound acquisition spree
:06:09. > :06:13.from China. I think the deals above $10 billion, the mega deals, they
:06:14. > :06:18.will be heavily scrutinised by authorities and what the authorities
:06:19. > :06:22.deem to be non- call for buyers, they will also be heavily
:06:23. > :06:27.scrutinised. If not join then where will we see more action in the
:06:28. > :06:32.Asia-Pacific region this year? -- if not China. The outbound story will
:06:33. > :06:38.be strong, $84 billion spent last year, that was mainly in Europe and
:06:39. > :06:44.in the US with some big acquisitions, Softbank acquiring ARM
:06:45. > :06:50.in the UK. The fundamentals are there for 2017, low domestic growth,
:06:51. > :06:55.strong cash position is on the balance street, action and available
:06:56. > :07:00.debt but will the Japanese spend more money in Southeast Asia? Will
:07:01. > :07:05.they? What drives them abroad? It is about limited growth at home, isn't
:07:06. > :07:10.it? It's the domestic market. There's limited growth in Japan at
:07:11. > :07:14.the moment and we seen this trend developed over the last three or
:07:15. > :07:18.four years and it will continue to be there in 2017. How will the
:07:19. > :07:26.mergers and acquisitions landscape shift this year with a change at the
:07:27. > :07:31.political helm? We are seeing of course a Trump presidency in the US
:07:32. > :07:36.and concerns about fewer trade deals taking place. Yeah, I think there's
:07:37. > :07:43.some potential for the US China relationship to develop in 2017.
:07:44. > :07:46.We've seen some big deals turned down by the National Security
:07:47. > :07:51.Committee in the US. That may continue where there's Chinese
:07:52. > :07:55.buyers and therefore Chinese buyers may focus more time and money in
:07:56. > :08:00.other places, like Southeast Asia. Alun Evans speaking to me earlier.
:08:01. > :08:04.Have you ever dream of sand between your toes while sitting in the
:08:05. > :08:10.office? Now a new pair of virtual reality shoes may just be the
:08:11. > :08:15.ticket, they let the wearer feel textures underfoot and they have
:08:16. > :08:21.been unveiled by the Japanese gadget maker Sarevo at the consumer
:08:22. > :08:27.Electronics show in Las Vegas where we tried one ourselves. Here's the
:08:28. > :08:32.latest virtual reality innovation, virtual reality shoes and walking on
:08:33. > :08:37.the sand, that is really crunchy, I'm getting vibrations in my seat
:08:38. > :08:42.that make me feel like I'm moving on sand and metal and if you have ever
:08:43. > :08:45.shared a virtual reality headset and been worried about hygiene then
:08:46. > :08:50.maybe these aren't four-year. I'm going to step into a puddle, I'm
:08:51. > :08:58.going to see what that's like. -- aren't for you. That's quite
:08:59. > :09:03.convincing for a vibration. Hiro, why would somebody one virtual
:09:04. > :09:07.reality shoes? They are a great experience, it makes you feel like
:09:08. > :09:11.you're walking on a narrow bridge and it creaks and it almost gets
:09:12. > :09:16.broken so it gives a new experience. When you do a new VR experience you
:09:17. > :09:21.have to wear a headset and you have to have controllers in your hands,
:09:22. > :09:26.now shoes, isn't it going to be too much gear just for a videogame? We
:09:27. > :09:34.think this can be for a specific industry to get a better experience.
:09:35. > :09:39.Like an arcade? Sure. Will somebody want to share the shoes with the
:09:40. > :09:44.sweaty feet? You can wear socks and you don't have to worry. We don't
:09:45. > :09:50.think it will be a problem. You can watch that and lots more new gadgets
:09:51. > :09:54.being unveiled for our CES coverage. You can go to our website.
:09:55. > :10:00.Let's take a look at the markets in Asia because we are seeing some
:10:01. > :10:06.reversals, especially for the Nikkei, huge gains on its birthday
:10:07. > :10:10.in 2017 but it's reversing the trend partly because we are seeing a
:10:11. > :10:15.weakening of the US dollar. -- first-day. That is unsupportive for
:10:16. > :10:20.a lot of the exporters but we're seeing gains in Australia, the Hang
:10:21. > :10:24.Seng in Hong Kong has opened higher and in Australia we are seeing gains
:10:25. > :10:28.in commodities because of a jump in oil prices overnight. Looking at
:10:29. > :10:33.Wall Street, it continues to hold onto its games. That's it for this
:10:34. > :10:38.edition of Asia Business Report. For watching. -- its games. -- thanks
:10:39. > :10:41.for watching. -- gains. Experts are urging people to learn
:10:42. > :10:46.lifesaving skills in case they're Some may find images in
:10:47. > :10:49.Smitha Mundasad's report upsetting.