:00:00. > :00:00.I will be back with more of the day's news, including the breaking
:00:00. > :00:00.news from America. MSNBC have got hold of Donald Trump's tax returns
:00:00. > :00:08.from the year 2005. Now on BBC News, all the latest
:00:09. > :00:18.business news live from Singapore. China's message for the world. The
:00:19. > :00:23.National People's Congress comes to a close. What have we learnt? And
:00:24. > :00:35.one Southeast Asian city claims the ranks to number one when it comes to
:00:36. > :00:41.having the best quality of living. Hello, and welcome to Asia Business
:00:42. > :00:44.Report, the National People's Congress in Beijing has come to a
:00:45. > :00:48.close. Delegates from across China pledged to implement the use of
:00:49. > :00:55.technology to strengthen the military. Well, the 10-day session
:00:56. > :00:58.had kicked off with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang announcing slower growth
:00:59. > :01:03.this year compared with last year's 6.7% expansion. I spoke with our
:01:04. > :01:08.correspondent in Beijing and asked for some of the highlights from this
:01:09. > :01:11.year's National People's Congress. I think the headline news is the
:01:12. > :01:14.government is targeting lower growth this year than last year. In actual
:01:15. > :01:18.fact, sentiment in Beijing is relatively up heat on the economy at
:01:19. > :01:25.the moment so 6.5% growth for this year as a whole -- upbeat. We are
:01:26. > :01:28.seeing a bit of a recovery in the industrial manufacturing sector
:01:29. > :01:32.here. So the mood and sentiment is relatively upbeat despite the
:01:33. > :01:36.lowering of the headline growth target. You say it is upbeat,
:01:37. > :01:42.nonetheless that lower growth target to 6.5%, it is still the lowest in
:01:43. > :01:47.more than 25 years, so how might that impact a lot of China's
:01:48. > :01:51.neighbours which rely on it as an engine of growth? I think china's
:01:52. > :01:55.neighbours will welcome slower growth, China is going to make
:01:56. > :01:59.progress on structural reform in tackling some of the imbalances in
:02:00. > :02:01.its economy. This is the key to sustainable long-term growth in
:02:02. > :02:06.China and that should be something which its neighbours, with China a
:02:07. > :02:10.significant export market, should welcome. Slower growth doesn't mean
:02:11. > :02:14.necessarily a bad thing for the global economy if it means China
:02:15. > :02:18.will be a more stable footing in the years to come, that will be a
:02:19. > :02:21.positive. We heard from Premier Li Keqiang at the National People's
:02:22. > :02:25.Congress essentially reiterating a lot of pledges we have heard before,
:02:26. > :02:27.the need to tackle large data and enterprises, zombie companies
:02:28. > :02:32.producing too much coal and steel, the need to tackle pollution. As I
:02:33. > :02:37.mentioned, we have heard this before and they have proven hard to fulfil.
:02:38. > :02:40.How effective is the National People's Congress really? I think
:02:41. > :02:43.they are moving a little bit too late on both the issue of tackling
:02:44. > :02:46.zombie companies and tackling air-pollution, but last year they
:02:47. > :02:50.move more aggressively than they have before on both those areas. In
:02:51. > :02:54.terms of implementation, there is still a lot to be desired. We think
:02:55. > :02:57.capacity cuts this year will be difficult, because they haven't
:02:58. > :03:03.really reformed the state-owned sector, which is potentially more
:03:04. > :03:06.difficult than the cuts in the private sector last year. And we are
:03:07. > :03:10.also hearing a lot more protectionist language from the new
:03:11. > :03:13.Trump administration, especially in the US. Were there any clues from
:03:14. > :03:18.the National People's Congress on how China might deal with trade
:03:19. > :03:22.tensions with the US? Well, I think in one sense China sees this as an
:03:23. > :03:26.opportunity for itself to assume some of the global leadership roles
:03:27. > :03:33.in globalisation, although its own record in terms of opening its own
:03:34. > :03:37.economy leaves much to be desired. I think that Trump and Xi Jinping are
:03:38. > :03:41.going to meet next month in the US, which is a positive sign and suggest
:03:42. > :03:44.those trade tensions might not spill over to the extent of having
:03:45. > :03:49.significant implications for both the US, Chinese and global economies
:03:50. > :03:52.in the future. So if they are meeting, it probably suggest there
:03:53. > :03:57.is room for compromise on some of the issues which divided them. That
:03:58. > :04:01.is Tom Rafferty speaking to me earlier. It is the news that
:04:02. > :04:04.investors have been waiting for. The US Federal Reserve is expected to
:04:05. > :04:09.announce an interest rate increase at the world's largest economy,
:04:10. > :04:13.gaining momentum. It comes as many await more concrete details about
:04:14. > :04:18.Donald Trump's economic policies. So what does a rate hike mean for the
:04:19. > :04:25.average American worker? Our correspondent reports from New York.
:04:26. > :04:29.An increasingly common sight in America today. Machines making
:04:30. > :04:34.everything from factory robots to aircraft landing gear. After a
:04:35. > :04:38.painfully slow recovery, the sights and sounds of economic activity.
:04:39. > :04:45.Nearly everyone who wants a job in the US has one. It has been getting
:04:46. > :04:50.better for us since 2008, 2009. That was the worst I have seen in my
:04:51. > :04:54.working life. I have seen more jobs coming back to the United States.
:04:55. > :04:59.This shop in Brooklyn they make metal parts, mainly for the aviation
:05:00. > :05:04.industry. Like many factories across the US, there is lots going on in
:05:05. > :05:09.room to grow. Were fortunate we have a steady flow of business. Now and
:05:10. > :05:14.for the foreseeable future, we have a steady flow of business. Activity
:05:15. > :05:19.that hasn't gone unnoticed by this woman. Fed chair Janet Yellen is
:05:20. > :05:23.among those making the case that the world's largest economy is strong
:05:24. > :05:28.enough to withstand higher interest rates, making the prospect of a rate
:05:29. > :05:32.hike in March a near certainty. The economy is clearly ready for another
:05:33. > :05:37.rate hike, inflation is moving towards the Fed's inflation target
:05:38. > :05:41.of 2%. The job market is in very good shape, and financial market
:05:42. > :05:46.conditions have eased. Back at the tool shop, this man sees the
:05:47. > :05:50.prospect of a higher rate as a vote of confidence in the economy.
:05:51. > :05:54.Probably is a good time to raise interest rates, although I don't
:05:55. > :05:57.want to pay more interest. And a few miles away on what will your Mac
:05:58. > :06:03.Wall Street, investors are prepared, even looking ahead, wondering about
:06:04. > :06:07.the pace of future hikes -- on Wall Street. If the Federal Reserve
:06:08. > :06:11.raises interest rates this will be only the third time it has done so
:06:12. > :06:15.since the global financial crisis. Almost a decade later, it would send
:06:16. > :06:23.a signal that the US economy is returning to some kind of normality.
:06:24. > :06:27.In other business news, Toshiba shares are down by more than 7% in
:06:28. > :06:32.Tokyo this morning. The Tokyo stock exchange has placed the shares under
:06:33. > :06:36.supervision for a possible delisting. On Tuesday, Toshiba said
:06:37. > :06:41.it may sell its majority stake in the US nuclear unit Westinghouse.
:06:42. > :06:45.The Japanese firm bought Westinghouse in 2006 but it has been
:06:46. > :06:50.suffering huge cost overruns. Toshiba has been granted permission
:06:51. > :06:56.to delay reporting its earnings second time, until 11 April, and is
:06:57. > :07:01.expected to announce a write-down of about $6 billion for the struggling
:07:02. > :07:06.nuclear business. Now, the list is in the cities with the best quality
:07:07. > :07:13.of living, and the worst. Vienna in Austria ranked number one in the
:07:14. > :07:17.world, according to consultancy farm Mercer, Auckland, Sydney, Wellington
:07:18. > :07:22.and Melbourne remain in the top 20 however in Asia, Singapore ranked
:07:23. > :07:26.the highest, moving up one place, in fact, since last year, for its
:07:27. > :07:30.business opportunities as well as it in the structure. It is followed by
:07:31. > :07:37.several Japanese cities, including Tokyo, Yokohama and Kobe. Hong Kong
:07:38. > :07:40.moved down one spot but it is still the highest of all its neighbouring
:07:41. > :07:49.cities, including Taipei, Shanghai and Beijing. I asked a correspondent
:07:50. > :07:52.from Mercer consulting firm what factors they consider in their
:07:53. > :07:56.ranking system. There are clear focus is on air pollution. There is
:07:57. > :08:02.focus on traffic congestion. There is focus on freedom of speech, there
:08:03. > :08:06.is focus on economic environment, including access to currency
:08:07. > :08:12.exchange rates. And all of those factors relatively have kind of push
:08:13. > :08:17.down the Chinese cities to a lower ranking. You have got the likes of
:08:18. > :08:20.Auckland at number three. It has out ranked Singapore for the
:08:21. > :08:23.Asia-Pacific region, but if you think about multinationals who you
:08:24. > :08:27.are aiming this study at, don't you think that Auckland perhaps might be
:08:28. > :08:32.seen to be too far away to set up a big business, or a regional company?
:08:33. > :08:38.I think you need to differentiate between quality of living bursars,
:08:39. > :08:45.you know, what might make sense for a multinational from a regional hub
:08:46. > :08:49.perspective -- versus. Access to raw materials, access to clients,
:08:50. > :08:55.availability of different kinds of talent, all might have a bearing on
:08:56. > :09:02.where you want to set up. Let's take a look at the cities at the bottom.
:09:03. > :09:08.For this part of the world, Baghdad and Dhaka it near the bottom, what
:09:09. > :09:12.is it about these cities? Safety and security has a clear bearing, and
:09:13. > :09:16.clearly Baghdad, Dhaka, and some of the other cities which are ranked
:09:17. > :09:21.much lower, have clearly been impacted by the safety and security
:09:22. > :09:25.issue, of a safe environment. Plus, there are additional factors. As I
:09:26. > :09:31.said, there are 39 different factors. Air pollution, traffic
:09:32. > :09:34.conditions, economic stability, access to international flights, all
:09:35. > :09:39.of those have kind of played a part in some of those cities being scored
:09:40. > :09:43.lower. All right, but in terms of infrastructure, this is the first
:09:44. > :09:47.year you have put out a list which assesses the best infrastructure,
:09:48. > :09:50.Singapore tops are but we know that there are many other Asian cities
:09:51. > :09:55.with equally good infrastructure. What is it about Singapore
:09:56. > :09:58.specifically? I am very proud to say that Singapore is ranked number one
:09:59. > :10:04.worldwide in city infrastructure rankings we came out with. In the
:10:05. > :10:06.way they are measured are around uninterrupted electricity supply,
:10:07. > :10:14.water availability, integrated public transportation system, and,
:10:15. > :10:17.you know, traffic conditions, access to international airports all
:10:18. > :10:22.flights. Singapore clearly scored a much higher ranking in lots of
:10:23. > :10:26.those. Let's take a quick look at the market before we go, because
:10:27. > :10:30.there is a lot of caution setting and in the markets. That is why they
:10:31. > :10:34.are all lower. A lot of investors sidelined ahead of those meetings,
:10:35. > :10:37.the Fed reserve, the Bank of England and the bank of Japan. That is it
:10:38. > :10:38.for the show, thank you for