:00:00. > :00:00.liquid was sprayed during an argument.
:00:00. > :00:18.Now on BBC News all the latest business news live from Singapore
:00:19. > :00:26.America first. The US President unveils his plans to change the
:00:27. > :00:34.rules for the controversial hate one big fees. American workers have long
:00:35. > :00:38.called for reforms to end these Visa abuses and for the first time their
:00:39. > :00:42.calls are being entered for the first time. And a snap election for
:00:43. > :00:49.the UK. How much nervousness does is add to the market?
:00:50. > :00:58.Good morning, Asia and hello world. This is Wednesday. Thank you for
:00:59. > :01:03.joining us. I am Rico Hizon. By America, higher America, that is the
:01:04. > :01:07.aim of US President Donald Trump's latest executive order. As we
:01:08. > :01:12.reported just hours ago he signed the order to review a temporary Visa
:01:13. > :01:16.programme used to place foreign workers in highly skilled US jobs.
:01:17. > :01:22.Mr John says he wants to stop abuse of the immigration system. Right
:01:23. > :01:25.now, widespread abuse in our immigration system is allowing
:01:26. > :01:29.American workers of all backgrounds to be replaced by workers brought in
:01:30. > :01:39.from other countries to feel the same job for some time less pay.
:01:40. > :01:43.This.. American workers have long called for reforms to end these Visa
:01:44. > :01:46.abuses and today their calls are being entered for the first time.
:01:47. > :01:55.That includes taking the first steps to set in motion a long overdue
:01:56. > :02:01.reform of H one B visas. The order falls way short of Mr John's
:02:02. > :02:03.campaign pledge to end the controversial programme, technology
:02:04. > :02:08.companies say the visas help them feel vital skill shortages. Data
:02:09. > :02:13.from the US citizenship and immigration services reveal that
:02:14. > :02:18.more H one B visa holders come from India than any other country. As for
:02:19. > :02:23.the White House, well, they say eight out of ten workers on the Visa
:02:24. > :02:28.are paid less than the median wage for their industry. Earlier we spoke
:02:29. > :02:30.to our North American business correspondent about what the order
:02:31. > :02:35.will actually achieve. What Donald Trump is doing is directing the
:02:36. > :02:42.administration, the people who work for him, to reassess how this
:02:43. > :02:46.programme is working, to enforce it where it is not being enforced. The
:02:47. > :02:51.rules that exist. And to see whether or not it is doing what it was
:02:52. > :02:58.designed to do. So you are not talking about ripping up the Visa
:02:59. > :03:03.programme as some fear based on remarks he had made, I think what we
:03:04. > :03:07.are seeing is sort of the pragmatism, the businessman who
:03:08. > :03:12.regularly meets with other CEOs, other business leaders and he
:03:13. > :03:17.remembers the value of this programme. This is not targeting, it
:03:18. > :03:21.does not sound like it at any rate, highly skilled workers, but those
:03:22. > :03:29.who perhaps may be seen to be taking away from American jobs. This idea
:03:30. > :03:33.of higher American, by American, it is the higher American portion that
:03:34. > :03:38.we are seeing being put into practice here. He has basically
:03:39. > :03:42.flagged this policy in throughout his presidential campaign that the
:03:43. > :03:50.executive order seems to not go that very far. What will this mean for
:03:51. > :03:56.technology companies? It does not go that far and at this point it is
:03:57. > :03:59.really just a sort of stuff being ordered to collect recommendations
:04:00. > :04:05.about what they would like to see. The reports need to be submitted and
:04:06. > :04:08.the commerce Secretary will review them. There will be more
:04:09. > :04:11.consultation and at this point the changes are yet to be fully
:04:12. > :04:16.determined. I think technology companies are not worried yet. What
:04:17. > :04:20.we are seeing, however, is that there are polls coming out here in
:04:21. > :04:24.the United States showing that perhaps Donald Trump is losing
:04:25. > :04:28.support amongst some of his core supporters and this is one way,
:04:29. > :04:32.certainly, to try and get back to that populist message that proved so
:04:33. > :04:36.successful for him on the campaign trail, which was to try and help
:04:37. > :04:42.those in America who feel that they are losing their jobs to other
:04:43. > :04:46.countries in the world. As we mentioned, India has been the single
:04:47. > :04:50.biggest source of workers migrating to America to work in tech
:04:51. > :04:56.companies. The order could lead to changes in how these visas are
:04:57. > :05:00.worded and would likely affect the 150 billion dollar industry in
:05:01. > :05:08.India. Any changes to the Visa process in the US will mean bad news
:05:09. > :05:14.for the 150 billion dollar IT service industry in India. Every
:05:15. > :05:25.year 65,000 visas are issued in a lottery system and most of them are
:05:26. > :05:29.taken by Indian consultancy firms. The order in itself will not change
:05:30. > :05:33.the Visa process but it asks for suggestions from federal agencies.
:05:34. > :05:39.Analysts say that the Trump administration wants to get rid of
:05:40. > :05:43.the lottery system. The Congress is also debating a piece of legislation
:05:44. > :05:47.which once companies to more than double the minimum wage paid to
:05:48. > :05:56.foreign workers who are working on a H1B Visa. Last year, it India's IT
:05:57. > :06:06.services industry generated $65 billion of revenues from the US
:06:07. > :06:10.market. So if they have to pay foreign workers more, or hire people
:06:11. > :06:17.from the US market, then that will hit their revenues and profitability
:06:18. > :06:21.in the long-term. The US is not the only large democracy to announce an
:06:22. > :06:25.overhaul to its immigration policy. The Australian government has
:06:26. > :06:30.announced it will scrap its 457 skilled guest worker Visa although
:06:31. > :06:36.it has a replacement in mind. As our correspondent tells us how many
:06:37. > :06:40.people that is likely to affect. At the moment there are some 95,000
:06:41. > :06:45.workers who have these coveted 457 visas for highly skilled workers.
:06:46. > :06:49.They are meant to apply to jobs where you have at least a university
:06:50. > :06:55.standard education but they range massively, everything from actors
:06:56. > :06:59.and airline pilots to firefighters, police officers, even zookeepers.
:07:00. > :07:03.Now all of those jobs are mentioned are on a list that the government
:07:04. > :07:07.has set out saying that in the future none of those professions
:07:08. > :07:11.would be considered for the replacement visas. However, similar
:07:12. > :07:16.situation to what you heard there in America, the majority of 457 visa
:07:17. > :07:19.holders come from India, about one quarter, followed by the UK and
:07:20. > :07:23.China. Most of the jobs and most of the visas are given to the IT
:07:24. > :07:27.sectors and the hospitality industry. Both of those business
:07:28. > :07:31.sectors bringing forward complaints at the moment saying they are
:07:32. > :07:37.uncertain about what this will meet their industry. Why is the
:07:38. > :07:41.government changing the Visa well, I guess 457s are no longer vote
:07:42. > :07:44.winners, a bit like in America, they have become unpopular domestic
:07:45. > :07:48.league because of this idea that they may be taking jobs from
:07:49. > :07:51.domestic workers. The Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull,
:07:52. > :07:55.yesterday said they should not be a passport for foreign workers to take
:07:56. > :07:59.Australian jobs. But Australian jobs should be for Australia and workers
:08:00. > :08:03.and only then filled by foreign workers. The focus now will be on
:08:04. > :08:08.what comes next. What exactly this replacement system will mean and in
:08:09. > :08:12.the budget in May, what businesses are looking at is whether there will
:08:13. > :08:16.be an increased tax for businesses to pay to help find the training of
:08:17. > :08:20.Australian workers so that in the future there are are not these big
:08:21. > :08:27.skill gaps in Australia that mean they have to import workers to come
:08:28. > :08:31.here. In other business news, a well-known Indian business tycoon
:08:32. > :08:36.has been granted bail after his arrest in the United Kingdom. He
:08:37. > :08:39.faces extradition to India over accusations of fraud. The flamboyant
:08:40. > :08:44.businessman, who are denied any wrongdoing, made his fortune selling
:08:45. > :08:55.beer under the iconic Kingfisher brand before branching out into F1
:08:56. > :08:59.racing, IPL and aviation. Prime Minister may have called for a snap
:09:00. > :09:04.election in June. A stronger mandate for a party will allow them to
:09:05. > :09:07.negotiate a better Brexit deal. The British Pound strengthened on the
:09:08. > :09:11.news and I asked whether investors should expect more volatility? That
:09:12. > :09:16.strengthening pound had an immediate impact on sharemarket trading with
:09:17. > :09:24.the sharemarket dropping by 2.5% in trading overnight. It is a bit of a
:09:25. > :09:27.surprising move to see a currency strengthen on a weak economic
:09:28. > :09:31.development that it reflects on the market. The market is concerned
:09:32. > :09:35.about the outlook for the pound and is very short at any news and it's
:09:36. > :09:38.the social position scrambling for cover. Although the pound has
:09:39. > :09:45.strengthened I would see that reverse over the next one or two
:09:46. > :09:50.days. That was our correspondent in Sydney. As a look now at how market
:09:51. > :09:56.action is shaping up in early Asian trading. The two to five down by 45
:09:57. > :10:02.points. The All Ordinaries giving back 24 points. Most of them in
:10:03. > :10:09.negative territory. Asia, the investor sentiment has dropped on US
:10:10. > :10:13.markets after the Prime Minister of the UK called for a snap election.
:10:14. > :10:20.On Wall Street, let's have a look at a quick numbers there. Also in the
:10:21. > :10:23.red. US stocks are retreating admit disappointing early results after
:10:24. > :10:30.disappointing results from Goldman Sachs. China's growth targets for
:10:31. > :10:32.2017 and 2018. Thank you so much investing your time with us. Sport
:10:33. > :10:37.Today is up next. More now on the story that's been
:10:38. > :10:42.dominating the headlines -