08/06/2017 Asia Business Report

Now on BBC News all the latest business news live from Singapore.

It is triple threat Thursday. Good global event create time oil in the

market. A new generation of robots hitting the factory floor. A factory

helping manufacturers prepare for the future. It is a Thursday,

everyone. Good morning, Asia, hello, world. We start off the programme

with the US dollar dropping seven week low to what some are calling

triple threat Thursday and it will indeed be a busy day with plenty to

make traders edgy. Sacked FBI director James Comey gives a

testimony to the Senate committee and the European Central Bank

deciding on interest rate policy and of the UK is waiting in its general

election that will choose a government that will steer it

through Brexit. What will it mean to the pound and the euro? I asked an

expert if these global events are likely to have significant impact.

The fact the Trump Administration has managed to get nothing through

in its legislative agenda is starting to see this Trump inflation

effect drop. A lot of life sucked out of the expectations of Federal

rate hikes in the US. Do you see more pressure on the US dollar going

forward? I think we will, into the next 24 hours at least. Into the

early part of next week as well when we get the rate hike decision from

the Federal Reserve and it should remain under sustained pressure. The

UK elections, what kind of impact will it have on the pound? In a

short way of saying it, if Labour were to get into power, or a hung

parliament, that would be perceived as a negative for sterling

initially. Remember these results will come out in Asian time tomorrow

morning, much like Brexit. An increased majority for the Tories

will see that pound rise reflecting the weaker dollar we are seeing

against the other majors. What will this mean for the euro, the policy

from central back. We are not expecting major changes that. A lot

of push and pull is because of the developments in the global landscape

but what about the Japanese yen? With the rate differential between

Japan and the US and the interest rates closing up, it has put added

pressure on the Japanese in yen. A double-edged sword, a negative for

exporters are positive for importers? Yes, unfortunately oil

also fell overnight so will be an offset. Which among the major

currencies do you like given this environment? You cannot go too far

away from the Japanese yen. Emerging markets has seen the Singapore

dollar be very strong and investors will be looking for someone nice and

quiet to put their money over the next few days. The Japanese

government has just released economic numbers of revealing the

country 's economic growth between January and March was a slower than

first thought. Revised GDP figures reveal and analyse growth rate of

just 1%, revised down to 2.2%. Latest trade figures will be

announced. Data which is a key indicator of global demand. What are

we looking out for? An analyst joined us from Beijing. He strayed

slowing or will the numbers remain stable? Import will be strong this

year going into China but some signs that economic activities and

domestic economy is starting slow down. If the import number stays

down in May, that would be a site confirming domestic growth may be

slowing. Possible trade frictions between Beijing and Washington, have

those fears ease? Yes, certainly in the short term. They are discussing

trade globalisation matches and have reached agreement on other aspects

of the relationship. We expect this moment 3-piece will last mainly

because US policies unpredictability and the fact that the US policy is

dependent on the North Korea issue. It is never going to an entirely

satisfy the US. Not only the trade data, is set investment retail sales

with Beijing curbing lending has these avoided debt risks and above

all? That process has only begun. The debt mountain for China is

massive and it will take years to sort that problem out. Their steps

this year have been positive. They have tightened credit policy. That

is encouraging. They will be easing off that campaign as they come into

a political transition. Leadership will want stability ahead of that.

The ER you, Rafferty. Donald Trump has been criticised by both

political and business leaders for withdrawing America from the Paris

treaty. Some are cheering the decision, however. America's largest

underground coalmining firm told us whether the President made the right

decision. Mr Trump is a hero and lauded for doing the right think

which -- thing from the treaty. It did not obligate China but obligated

the US, and China has a coal industry which is many times bigger.

US mining chief executive Robert Murray. A new generation of robots

are on the way - smarter and more mobile, promising to bring major

changes to the factory floor but how are they preparing for these

arrivals? Experts helping companies to get ready.

Welcome to the factory of the future. It is a multi- million US

dollar project set up by Mackenzy and it aims to help companies make

the most of the new technology that is becoming available. Some of the

highlights are predicted maintenance. There is also 3-D

printing. It is getting sophisticated. They can print out

more complex designs using more materials and it means factories can

print out spare parts whenever and wherever they need them rather than

keep a warehouse full of spares. In South East Asia 70 million jobs are

at risk from this. In the future we see people as platforms. If you look

at the transport sector, they are ripe for transformation. More

autonomous vehicles. We're starting to see them here. Manufacturing

industry, it will see changes in the transport logistics. If you go into

healthcare, there will still be a need for tasks to be performed by

humans. There will still be a need for old traditional skills but I

would encourage people to make it is a period of renewal for each

individual and they need to understand how to work with machines

like the ones we have in the background. Technology is

transforming everything, forcing companies to retool the way they

work-it is all about efficiency and productivity. In Asia, where Labour

is comparatively cheap, will companies embrace it as quickly?

Before we go, a look at the markets. As you can see, the Nikkei is

already open for trading and up. The all ordinaries lower due to a fall

in oil prices overnight. Nevertheless not much of an imam.

Gains in the US stocks with investors are looking ahead to the

testimony of James Comey, the UK election and the central bank

announcement. Thank you for your time. - now.

Former FBI Director James Comey has said Donald Trump asked him to drop

an investigation into a top White House official's