:00:00. > :00:00.of Northern Ireland at Downing Street, to try to reassure
:00:00. > :00:00.them that a proposed deal between the Conservatives
:00:00. > :00:00.and the Democratic Unionists, wouldn't affect the prospects
:00:07. > :00:14.of restoring power-sharing at Stormont.
:00:15. > :00:23.US authorities seize assets worth over half $1 billion in a money
:00:24. > :00:34.laundering scandal surrounding Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund.
:00:35. > :00:38.And wind, solar, or hydro. A look at Kazakhstan and their plans for
:00:39. > :00:41.renewable energy. Good morning, Asia. Hello, world. Welcome to
:00:42. > :00:44.today's edition of Asia Business Report. I'm Sharanjit Leyl. It's a
:00:45. > :00:51.Friday. From a Picasso painting to a Jim Carrey movie. US authorities are
:00:52. > :00:57.seizing assets worth half $1 billion as part of a global money-laundering
:00:58. > :01:04.case. The items were allegedly purchased using money diverted from
:01:05. > :01:09.Malaysia's sovereign wealth fund 1MDB. We have all details. US
:01:10. > :01:16.authorities are moving in on a number of items. They include a
:01:17. > :01:26.Picasso building and an apartment in Manhattan. Also the rights to
:01:27. > :01:29.several Hollywood films, like Jim Carrey's Dumb and Dumber Two movie
:01:30. > :01:33.and another starring Will Ferrell. This is part of a global
:01:34. > :01:43.money-laundering case which has spread from Malaysia to hear in the,
:01:44. > :01:50.the US. They stole more than half $1 billion from the sovereign wealth
:01:51. > :01:55.fund of Malaysia us. They say funds were diverted and passed through the
:01:56. > :02:00.United States. That is where they come in the picture. An acting US
:02:01. > :02:06.attorney in California says these cases used billions of dollars that
:02:07. > :02:10.should have helped people in Malaysia but fuelled astonishing
:02:11. > :02:15.greed for a small number of people instead to bite we have just heard
:02:16. > :02:20.the Malaysian authorities respond to this case in the US. How far has the
:02:21. > :02:24.Department of Justice gotten in this case so far? This is not the first
:02:25. > :02:29.time they have tried to seize assets. There was an early attempt a
:02:30. > :02:36.few days ago. Before that, you have to go back a year. This involves
:02:37. > :02:39.seizing other assets. Leonardo DiCaprio, who apparently was
:02:40. > :02:45.involved tangentially, receiving gifts from someone connected to
:02:46. > :02:49.this, apparently has said he is co-operating. The Department of
:02:50. > :02:56.Justice, as I said, got involved in part because the US filed complaints
:02:57. > :03:00.to recover more than $1.7 billion. There are also investigation is not
:03:01. > :03:06.just in the US but Singapore and Switzerland. Like I said, this is a
:03:07. > :03:10.wide and vast sprawling investigation involving money that
:03:11. > :03:16.apparently was taken from between 2009 and 2015. And we have also
:03:17. > :03:21.heard from the Press Secretary of the Prime Minister in Malaysia, the
:03:22. > :03:26.country where this sovereign wealth fund is from, basically saying this
:03:27. > :03:32.is politically motivated, saying the motivation goes beyond the objective
:03:33. > :03:36.of seizing assets. Michelle Fleury speaking to me earlier from New
:03:37. > :03:43.York. Other business news. After years of discussion, global market
:03:44. > :03:50.index provider, MSCI, will announce whether they will include Chinese A
:03:51. > :03:55.shares in its indexes. Last year it surprised the market by not
:03:56. > :04:00.including them. Trading in shares of Japanese aid bag maker, Takata, have
:04:01. > :04:06.been suspended after reports the company is preparing to file for
:04:07. > :04:12.bankruptcy. -- airbag. They face billions of dollars in liabilities
:04:13. > :04:15.from defective airbag inflators. Finances from euro countries have
:04:16. > :04:21.agreed to delay payment of 8.5 billion euros to Greece. Under the
:04:22. > :04:24.bailout programme, they have repayments on loans due next month
:04:25. > :04:40.which it could not otherwise have made. Fatah, isolated by Gulf
:04:41. > :04:46.neighbours, have agreed to buy $12 billion of F15 fighter jets. --
:04:47. > :04:54.Qatar. Kazakhstan, central Asia's largest economy. It is hosting a
:04:55. > :04:59.three-month expo to outline its economy plan. Traditionally driven
:05:00. > :05:12.by oil and gas, there economy slumped when oil prices fell. It
:05:13. > :05:17.wants to meet those needs with wind, solar, hydro, or nuclear by 2050.
:05:18. > :05:22.How realistic is that? This is what Kazakhstan says it wants power
:05:23. > :05:27.generation to look like. Massive wind turbines rotating above the
:05:28. > :05:35.central Asian steppes, powering homes, offices, and schools. Listen
:05:36. > :05:39.to this. That is the sound of wind going at 60 kilometres per hour. And
:05:40. > :05:43.that is not even at full speed. To be honest, I don't know if I can
:05:44. > :05:50.keep standing. I am honestly worried of being blown away. This is one of
:05:51. > :05:54.the key reasons why Kazakhstan is so well-suited for renewable energy.
:05:55. > :06:00.That is why Kazakhstan is putting on this grand show. The expo designed
:06:01. > :06:07.to attract foreign investors to the renewables market of the country.
:06:08. > :06:15.They are finding it challenging with energy storage solutions. The local
:06:16. > :06:24.currency fell 55% in 2015. That gives a negative effect on special
:06:25. > :06:27.renewable projects. All of the equipment, even small bolts, are
:06:28. > :06:32.imported. When the investors come, there is too much uncertainty. The
:06:33. > :06:36.government did not set a proper rules stop white but the government
:06:37. > :06:40.says it is trying to help investors. TRANSLATION: We understand foreign
:06:41. > :06:46.companies face certain risks because they will earn profits in local
:06:47. > :06:53.currency, which has been volatile. We are trying to take the risks away
:06:54. > :06:57.from them by tying tariffs to the currency. So, if the local currency
:06:58. > :07:06.drops, then tariffs will rise. This is where you live? Thank you. It is
:07:07. > :07:10.not just investors. Many Kazakhs also feel the government strategy is
:07:11. > :07:15.not well thought out. But very few dare to speak out. This is when they
:07:16. > :07:21.sentence due to three years of no public speaking, no organised
:07:22. > :07:26.protesting? This lawyer and activist tells me it is all for show.
:07:27. > :07:32.TRANSLATION: They just built a few wind power plants around the area.
:07:33. > :07:37.Why not everywhere, why not cheaper, so people can actually use it? None
:07:38. > :07:45.of this is changing every day like. 80% of Kazakhstan still uses call
:07:46. > :07:49.because it is cheap. -- coal. Until there is a clear roadmap, the lofty
:07:50. > :07:57.vision of Kazakhstan may remain out of reach. And we will have a special
:07:58. > :08:04.edition of Talking Business this weekend from the expo in the area.
:08:05. > :08:13.The largest hotel chain with 6000 Robert Hughes and 13 brands globally
:08:14. > :08:21.is becoming famous wildlife -- properties. It is our fastest
:08:22. > :08:27.growing region in the world. In Asia-Pacific, in more than half of
:08:28. > :08:36.the pipeline, it is in Asia-Pacific. This is a luxury part of the world.
:08:37. > :08:45.Who do you target? Every segment. We have 20 brands in the Asia-Pacific.
:08:46. > :08:48.It goes all the way down to more economic travellers who decide to
:08:49. > :08:53.stay in more economic brands. Chinese travellers are strategically
:08:54. > :08:57.twofold. Chinese travellers inside of China growing at a very fast
:08:58. > :09:03.rate, double digits. Outbound travel, it is huge. We would never
:09:04. > :09:09.have seen that in many resort destinations. Today, the number one
:09:10. > :09:13.source market is China. What other markets are you looking at in Asia?
:09:14. > :09:17.There is a slowdown in the North American market where you still have
:09:18. > :09:22.the biggest presence. Donald Trump cannot have helped and his policies.
:09:23. > :09:27.It made us worried, but we had a great start to the year. The good
:09:28. > :09:36.news is we are naturally hedged. In the Asia-Pacific, the largest source
:09:37. > :09:41.markets for us were intra-Asia travellers. They are the number one
:09:42. > :09:53.market for everything Asia-Pacific. The Indians are growing at a great
:09:54. > :09:58.rate, outbound Indian travellers. UK Labour rally travel anywhere and
:09:59. > :10:04.find hotels. -- you can literally. If you wanted to go to the Maldives
:10:05. > :10:09.before, we did not have a single hotel. Now we have three. It gives
:10:10. > :10:13.our loyal customers, and also customers who want to learn about
:10:14. > :10:22.us, more opportunity to stay with us anywhere at any time in any brand.
:10:23. > :10:31.Up and down the scale of luxury. A quick look at the markets. The
:10:32. > :10:38.Nikkei is up. The weaker yen propelling exporters. Australian
:10:39. > :10:45.markets are lower, as you can see. I am Sharanjit Leyl. Thank you for
:10:46. > :10:48.watching. This is BBC News. We will bring you up-to-date with the
:10:49. > :10:50.stories this hour.