:00:00. > :00:00.Conservatives. Thank you so much. It is going to be a long night. Much
:00:00. > :00:00.more for you anytime, of course, on the BBC website. Now on BBC News,
:00:07. > :00:18.the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:19. > :00:28.China's first commercial aircraft is ready for takeoff, but can it
:00:29. > :00:32.compete with Airbus and Boeing? And the challenges of doing business in
:00:33. > :00:38.Myanmar. We speak to a regional boss. Good morning, Asia. Hello,
:00:39. > :00:45.world. Welcome to another edition of Asia Business Report. Glad you could
:00:46. > :00:50.join us. It's a Friday. The first made in China passenger jet will fly
:00:51. > :01:00.for the first time this morning. It is called the C919, and it is built
:01:01. > :01:05.by Komak. It will not be delivered to airlines until at least 2020, but
:01:06. > :01:09.the industry buzz around the aeroplane is huge. It has been in
:01:10. > :01:15.the works for nearly a decade as China tries to rely less on European
:01:16. > :01:23.airlines like Boeing. We had a sneak preview. Made in China, those three
:01:24. > :01:30.words now applied to commercial aircraft. This is the C919, China's
:01:31. > :01:36.first home-made commercial aircraft. Actually, it is a mock-up, but they
:01:37. > :01:42.hope to roll them off the production line next year. China hopes this
:01:43. > :01:47.will be the chance for them to break into the global aviation market and
:01:48. > :01:53.break the struggle hold of Boeing and Airbus that have long dominated
:01:54. > :01:58.this industry. Let us have a look. It is home-made, but not in its
:01:59. > :02:04.entirety. This is a large, the wing, the tower, all median China, but the
:02:05. > :02:10.engines and systems are from foreign key factor is. -- tail. Let's go to
:02:11. > :02:17.first class, and now the cockpit. The president, Xi Jinping, has sat
:02:18. > :02:22.in this seat. That shows you how important it is for China and the
:02:23. > :02:25.leadership that this works. It is a moment of huge national pride for
:02:26. > :02:28.China. They have had a few problems in terms of hitting the high
:02:29. > :02:33.standards demanded by regulators in the US. But they hope that the C191
:02:34. > :02:42.will change all of that. Now, this will sell well here because domestic
:02:43. > :02:49.airlines are on board. But will foreign air lines
:02:50. > :02:59.buy it. They hope that someday you will fly on a home-made Chinese
:03:00. > :03:06.commercial aircraft. Earlier, I spoke with an aviation analyst who
:03:07. > :03:12.is the Asia managing editor at Flight Global. I asked him whether
:03:13. > :03:18.it poses any commercial threat to Boeing or Airbus? For the time
:03:19. > :03:27.being, very little threat. Boeing or Airbus have a solid Lockley and they
:03:28. > :03:30.have support networks. -- duopoly. They have proven products and our
:03:31. > :03:35.lines are comfortable working with them to be that said, the new plant
:03:36. > :03:41.is hitting the toughest part of the market. -- That said, the new plane.
:03:42. > :03:47.This is definitely going to get attention. So far, most of the
:03:48. > :03:51.demand is coming from within China. Would there be any interest outside,
:03:52. > :03:56.do you think? Potentially, long-term, you could see that. The
:03:57. > :04:01.aircraft is going to have to develop a track record for reliability and
:04:02. > :04:09.supportability in the field. Nothing to airlines hate more than AOG
:04:10. > :04:15.situations. They want 99% reliable or better. If you are falling short
:04:16. > :04:18.of that, airlines are going to be dubious about working with you.
:04:19. > :04:22.Customer service is also crucial in this market. The global
:04:23. > :04:26.infrastructure and support network is what they are going to have to
:04:27. > :04:31.build if they want to compete with the big guys. It is a competitive
:04:32. > :04:35.market and hard to make money. Is it safe to say that the government is
:04:36. > :04:41.almost bankrolling this project? Yes. It is a huge upfront costs on
:04:42. > :04:44.behalf of the Chinese government. I have been to their facilities and
:04:45. > :04:50.their research and development facilities outside Shanghai. There
:04:51. > :04:55.is enormous cost and resources going into this programme. But it is about
:04:56. > :05:01.national prestige and high-value jobs. Long-term, it is about being
:05:02. > :05:05.the third major player in the global aviation market. In other business
:05:06. > :05:12.news, oil prices have hit five months lows with Brent Crude hitting
:05:13. > :05:16.levels not seen since OPEC agreed to cut production by 1.2 billion
:05:17. > :05:20.barrels a day in late November. Those cuts are likely to be
:05:21. > :05:26.continued, though deeper cuts are unlikely, they said. Since most
:05:27. > :05:29.international sanctions against Myanmar were lifted, companies have
:05:30. > :05:36.been lining up to take advantage of the growing market. Unilever was
:05:37. > :05:44.among the first. It just struck a joint-venture deal with a local
:05:45. > :05:48.rival, Europe and Asia Commercial Company. What are the challenges of
:05:49. > :05:55.doing business there? I asked the regional president about the tie up.
:05:56. > :05:59.It is a great company. We have been talking to them for a while. The
:06:00. > :06:06.country offers great potential. Macro economics are good. 55 million
:06:07. > :06:13.people. A growing middle-class which is supposed to double by 2020. The
:06:14. > :06:17.economics are very good. We are excited. By combining the two
:06:18. > :06:22.companies, you are also, your manufacturing capacity will be
:06:23. > :06:26.better. Would you consider exporting to the rest of the region for a
:06:27. > :06:30.Myanmar? They have two facilities and we have one. We will produce
:06:31. > :06:35.locally for the time being. Everything will be imported into
:06:36. > :06:40.Myanmar today. But over time we see potential for exporting. I guess
:06:41. > :06:45.Myanmar continues to make news headlines with human rights abuse,
:06:46. > :06:50.political stability, so what are the challenges of doing business there?
:06:51. > :06:53.It is a nascent economy. It is developing fast. We the business is
:06:54. > :07:00.growing in double digits. Infrastructure has to develop,
:07:01. > :07:05.obviously. -- we see. There are some electricity shortages, obviously.
:07:06. > :07:08.But we are invested in the long-term and are committed to Myanmar. What
:07:09. > :07:14.about the stability of the currency? It has fallen some 10% against the
:07:15. > :07:19.dollar in the second half of last year. That is surely going to have
:07:20. > :07:23.an impact on your business. Markets are always volatile. We are
:07:24. > :07:27.investing for the long-term. It is a commitment we have for the country
:07:28. > :07:32.in the next decade. We have been backing them since 2010. I am
:07:33. > :07:36.absolutely convinced this investment will have great returns for the
:07:37. > :07:40.long-term. In the coming days, the US will take China to the World
:07:41. > :07:45.Trade Organisation. America accuses China of subsidising its aluminium
:07:46. > :07:50.industry and says it is destroying jobs and companies on both sides of
:07:51. > :07:57.the Atlantic. China denies that it has broken any rules. Joe Lynam
:07:58. > :08:05.reports. From this day forward, is going to be only America first,
:08:06. > :08:08.America first. -- it is. The new president could not have been
:08:09. > :08:14.clearer that he will protect jobs lost to global competition. One of
:08:15. > :08:19.his first tests could be aluminium. In the 15 years since China join the
:08:20. > :08:23.WTO, it has gone from producing 10% to more than 50% of global
:08:24. > :08:28.aluminium. At the same time, the US has gone from having 23 acting
:08:29. > :08:37.smelters to just six. And with the closures have come job losses. They
:08:38. > :08:42.are stealing our jobs. According to the China task force, Chinese
:08:43. > :08:45.aluminium output has doubled since 2010, and that has dramatically
:08:46. > :08:50.pushed down global prices, forcing out many European and American
:08:51. > :08:53.producers. They have taken very cheap finance and have provided the
:08:54. > :08:58.low interest loans to these companies. They have forgiven debts.
:08:59. > :09:02.When these companies get into trouble, you may have heard the term
:09:03. > :09:08.zombie companies. They have propped up these companies and allowed them
:09:09. > :09:13.to keep reducing. It is unecomonic. We are not looking to protect
:09:14. > :09:17.anything. We are seeking a fair market under WTO rules. In a
:09:18. > :09:27.statement to the BBC, the Chinese government said this.
:09:28. > :09:37.And as for the WTO, it says there is little it can do to bring about
:09:38. > :09:42.rapid change. It is the members who monitor the situation themselves.
:09:43. > :09:47.They talk to each other, they expressed their concerns to each
:09:48. > :09:52.other, and the even propose ways of handling the situation for
:09:53. > :10:02.themselves. The WTO is just there for for them to have conversations.
:10:03. > :10:06.We tried to make it your try to facilitate those conversations.
:10:07. > :10:11.Taking a case to the World Trade Organisation is time-consuming, just
:10:12. > :10:15.ask Boeing or Airbus. It could take five years to get a decision. At
:10:16. > :10:19.which point, consumers on both side of the Atlantic could be out of
:10:20. > :10:24.business. We will show you the markets before we go. This is how
:10:25. > :10:35.market in Asia have started trading. The Nikkei of Japan has closed for
:10:36. > :10:36.the Golden Week holiday. That is it for this edition of Asia Business