:00:00. > :00:11.Now on BBC News, all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:12. > :00:18.The trial of Samsung's boss continues today, adding another
:00:19. > :00:25.chapter to the scandal that has gripped South Korea. And we'll take
:00:26. > :00:26.a sneak peek at how airlines are attracting business travellers to
:00:27. > :00:39.splash their cash in the skies. Good morning, Asia. Hello, world.
:00:40. > :00:43.I'm Rico Hizon for Asia Business Report, glad you could join us, the
:00:44. > :00:48.era parent of Samsung is going to court today in what is considered to
:00:49. > :00:54.be South career's trial of the century. He's accused of bribing the
:00:55. > :00:59.country's president and ) in return for business favours. Earlier I
:01:00. > :01:06.asked Jake Saunders whether the scandal is impacting the bottom
:01:07. > :01:11.line. -- close friend. If you look at the stock market, no, everything
:01:12. > :01:14.is fabulous there, it is an upward trend, looking at the revenue of
:01:15. > :01:21.Samsung Electronics, over the last three years it is quite flat, doing
:01:22. > :01:25.about $175 billion. Why is there a disconnect between the stock price,
:01:26. > :01:29.which has hit seven record highs over the past months, and revenues
:01:30. > :01:37.of Samsung and the scandals there facing? Visa on the fringes of the
:01:38. > :01:43.company -- these are. Clearly these have consequences. There have been
:01:44. > :01:47.ramifications. At the top of the corporate of Samsung there's the
:01:48. > :01:50.corporate strategy office, that used to co-ordinate and plan long-term
:01:51. > :01:55.product developments and research and development, that's been
:01:56. > :02:00.dissolved, that had a team of around 200 staff, very senior people which
:02:01. > :02:05.helped strategise, that unit has disappeared. The problems of Samsung
:02:06. > :02:09.and the problems in South Korea's corporate sector, will this have a
:02:10. > :02:14.lasting effect going forward? I think we're going to have to see how
:02:15. > :02:19.2017 really pans out. At the end of this month we are going to see their
:02:20. > :02:23.flagship phone, later in the year perhaps they will try to reboot the
:02:24. > :02:27.Note and whether the issue of exploding batteries is resolved, so
:02:28. > :02:32.a lot will be riding on this year and a lot of people will be looking
:02:33. > :02:38.to see what senior manager management achieves this year. No
:02:39. > :02:43.goal, no talks, the EU is saying the UK must leave the single market
:02:44. > :02:49.before negotiating a trade deal. Theresa May wants to start trade
:02:50. > :02:57.negotiations with the EU while at the same time negotiating the exit.
:02:58. > :03:01.But that is not possible. We can't negotiate a trade agreement with a
:03:02. > :03:04.country who is still a member of the European Union, and getting out of
:03:05. > :03:11.the EU is going to be extremely complicated. So we have no intention
:03:12. > :03:15.to delay this. But we cannot negotiate with the UK as long as
:03:16. > :03:19.they are members. By the European companies stand to lose an important
:03:20. > :03:26.trading partner in the UK if these negotiations don't happen quickly --
:03:27. > :03:31.but European companies. Why not move them to the top of the list? People
:03:32. > :03:36.are sad to see the UK leaving, now we have to deal with it, nobody has
:03:37. > :03:41.any intention to be difficult. But it will be difficult, there are lots
:03:42. > :03:45.of things that need to be solved and we have not done this before. But of
:03:46. > :03:49.course, it's in everybody's interests to make sure this is a
:03:50. > :03:53.friendly and constructive process. The EU is trying to sign a trade
:03:54. > :03:57.deal with the US, which has been on the backburner recently, how hopeful
:03:58. > :04:02.are you of getting that deal through with Mr Trump empowered? Well, it's
:04:03. > :04:09.not going to happen next week. -- in power. I think we have to realise
:04:10. > :04:14.it's in the freezer for the moment. The US TR, the trade ministry, has
:04:15. > :04:18.not been confirmed yet, that process has still to take some time. So
:04:19. > :04:23.there's no one really to talk to. The case for a trade agreement
:04:24. > :04:27.between the EU and the US, the two biggest economies of the world,
:04:28. > :04:31.facilitating trade, is still very strong and I hope our American
:04:32. > :04:36.friends will realise that as well, in what for and when, I can't tell
:04:37. > :04:40.you, you will have to wait. What do you make of President Trump's trade
:04:41. > :04:46.strategy and trade policies? I don't think he has a coherent policy yet,
:04:47. > :04:50.it has been individual things he has pronounced, he will renegotiate
:04:51. > :04:56.Nafta, an electoral promise, he has said he will renege on TPP, that was
:04:57. > :05:00.also an electoral promise, but we will have to wait and see. Trade has
:05:01. > :05:05.been very beneficial for the US and I hope they realise it will be so in
:05:06. > :05:10.the future as well. Protectionism is on the rise in the US, what impact
:05:11. > :05:15.does that have on Asian economies? When we look at the global rise of
:05:16. > :05:19.global protectionism, I don't see that in Asia, Asia will continue to
:05:20. > :05:24.engage with each other, other parties and with us to show that
:05:25. > :05:29.trade agreements are good for people and the economy and we will continue
:05:30. > :05:34.to stand up for free and fair trade. The EU trade chief speaking to our
:05:35. > :05:37.very own Karishma Vaswani. The car industry is among those sectors
:05:38. > :05:41.facing the biggest threats from rising protectionism and barriers to
:05:42. > :05:49.global trade. As the UK threatens a hard exit from the EU that is.
:05:50. > :05:53.Toyota's European boss told the BBC the Japanese carmaker is planning
:05:54. > :05:57.for all contingencies. We are committed to our operations
:05:58. > :06:01.in the UK, but it's like in any business environment, if the
:06:02. > :06:05.environment becomes extremely hostile you have to continually re-
:06:06. > :06:10.evaluate what you're going to do in that environment. We have got to
:06:11. > :06:14.continue in the UK and continue with our operations and now our big focus
:06:15. > :06:17.is to improve the efficiency is so we can be prepared for an
:06:18. > :06:24.environment which will be maybe different from what we have had. In
:06:25. > :06:32.other news making headlines, China has granted preliminary approval for
:06:33. > :06:35.38 new Trump trademarks, mainly from hotels, security and they were made
:06:36. > :06:40.during the election campaign before he was elected. President Trump
:06:41. > :06:44.already owns 70 trademarks in China and he has pledged not to strike new
:06:45. > :06:49.foreign business deals while in office. It's an annual battle for
:06:50. > :06:54.supremacy in the skies and an international travel show in Berlin
:06:55. > :06:58.has shown the world's premium airlines are vying for the attention
:06:59. > :07:04.of business travellers, showing the latest in cabin comfort. But while
:07:05. > :07:09.they are a lucrative demographic, growth is sluggish. We look at why
:07:10. > :07:16.companies are slashing their cash on international flights.
:07:17. > :07:23.A tug on the heartstrings for lovers of luxury travel at this year's ITB
:07:24. > :07:27.tourism show in Berlin, as a Middle Eastern airline unveils a new
:07:28. > :07:33.business class aeroplane seat. It's part of an industry push to bring
:07:34. > :07:38.home comforts to the skies. What you notice immediately is very very
:07:39. > :07:43.slick technology and slick engineering. This seat area is
:07:44. > :07:48.actually pretty flexible and should you wish to you can share food with
:07:49. > :07:52.your friends who are just sitting the other side, all members of your
:07:53. > :07:56.family of course. And at the touch of a button, this seat goes
:07:57. > :08:04.completely flat and turns into a bit. The idea behind that is to
:08:05. > :08:08.create more living space around the business class, creating absolute
:08:09. > :08:13.privacy and creating a corporate atmosphere if you're travelling with
:08:14. > :08:18.colleagues. In these times where there's a focus on costs, our
:08:19. > :08:21.businesses happy to pay for this? As a matter of a fact, you're just
:08:22. > :08:28.playing the business class fare, you're paying anything extra.
:08:29. > :08:33.Corporate travel is big business. German firms spend some 50 billion
:08:34. > :08:38.euros a year sending their employees around the world. Now, of course, as
:08:39. > :08:42.a worker you want all of the add-ons you can possibly get but it might be
:08:43. > :08:46.that your company takes the view that as long as you have a seat that
:08:47. > :08:52.can go flat and a television, you'll get a good enough night's sleep to
:08:53. > :08:55.be able to work the next day. It's a combination of the needs of the
:08:56. > :09:00.traveller that likes to travel in business class of course, but when
:09:01. > :09:04.it comes to price and paying for those travels, the corporation is
:09:05. > :09:10.the one that dictates. You need to find a balance between luxury and
:09:11. > :09:14.safe travel and the cost of travel. Now, travelling for business is all
:09:15. > :09:19.very well but what people really want is as much of luxury as they
:09:20. > :09:24.can possibly afford when they're travelling for leisure. And I know
:09:25. > :09:28.when it comes to me that I want all of the features imaginable, plus, of
:09:29. > :09:35.course, when I'm in the air, complete privacy.
:09:36. > :09:40.I envy you, Tania! Let's look at Asian stock markets and at the
:09:41. > :09:44.moment a mixed bag. In China new figures released this morning
:09:45. > :09:51.revealed inflation rising at its fastest pace in nine years, CPI in
:09:52. > :09:56.February growing compared to a year ago and that is pushing down the
:09:57. > :10:02.handset and the Shanghai Composite. As for Tokyo, in positive territory
:10:03. > :10:11.with the weaker yen against the US dollar dollar. -- Hang Seng. In Wall
:10:12. > :10:18.Street, the Dow Jones closing down by 69 points and the NASDAQ gaining
:10:19. > :10:22.about a 10th of a percent. Those are the markets, thank you so much for
:10:23. > :10:25.investing your time with us. I'm Rico Hizon. Sport Today is coming up
:10:26. > :10:34.next. The Chancellor announced an extra ?2
:10:35. > :10:39.billion for social care in England, admitting the system
:10:40. > :10:44.is clearly under pressure.