:00:00. > :00:16.Now on BBC News all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:17. > :00:24.20 years since Hong Kong's hand over to China - is its economy better or
:00:25. > :00:29.worse off? And it has been two decades since the Asian financial
:00:30. > :00:34.crisis - we look at the Philippines and why it did better than its
:00:35. > :00:37.regional neighbours in riding out the turmoil.
:00:38. > :00:43.Thank you for joining me for this Friday edition of Asia Business
:00:44. > :00:54.As we told you on Newsday this weekend marks 20 years since Hong
:00:55. > :00:58.Kong saw the end of British colonial will. Chris Patten was the last
:00:59. > :01:02.governor of Hong Kong, which is one of the major financial hubs of Asia.
:01:03. > :01:05.My colleague asked him if he is concerned about the future of the
:01:06. > :01:11.economy under China's growing influence. My biggest worry about
:01:12. > :01:16.Hong Kong wasn't that the tanks would roll in from the north but
:01:17. > :01:20.that Hong Kong would simply become the richest city in China. I don't
:01:21. > :01:23.think that is going to happen so long as Hong Kong can hold onto the
:01:24. > :01:30.rule of law, independent judiciary and all of those things. They are
:01:31. > :01:33.crucial for business. Even some Chinese businesses feel they have to
:01:34. > :01:42.go to Hong Kong to sign contracts with one another because that way
:01:43. > :01:46.they can be properly just -- justiciable. It is the rule of all
:01:47. > :01:51.which makes Hong Kong special and will mean it has advantages over
:01:52. > :01:57.Shanghai or other Chinese cities. Now to India, less than a year after
:01:58. > :02:00.the high-value currency notes were removed from circulation, another
:02:01. > :02:07.ambitious reform initiative - the goods and services tax, GST. The
:02:08. > :02:12.country's 1.5 billion people live in 29 separate states and each of those
:02:13. > :02:18.states has its own tax arrangements. As of tomorrow, the GST replaces the
:02:19. > :02:23.complex web of taxes. What does this mean for India? Our India business
:02:24. > :02:29.team makes it down. -- breaks it down.
:02:30. > :02:37.The goods and services tax, the GST, will unify India into a single
:02:38. > :02:40.market. Businesses will pay one tax rather than several state and
:02:41. > :02:55.federal taxes that they pay at the moment. There are four basic rates,
:02:56. > :02:59.five, 12, 18 and 20 8%. Most goods and services were signed a tax rate.
:03:00. > :03:25.There are some exceptions like milk and vegetables. -- 28%.
:03:26. > :03:31.India's finance minister says GST could lift growth as much as 2% by
:03:32. > :03:35.streamlining tax collections, so the government can make more money.
:03:36. > :03:45.Businesses are worried that they are not ready for the tax overhaul.
:03:46. > :03:51.It has been a good six months for Asian share prices despite concerns
:03:52. > :03:56.over rising interest rates in the US. Stock markets across the region
:03:57. > :04:00.have rallied. Looking at the Regent's biggest markets - Hong Kong
:04:01. > :04:04.and South Korea are some of the top performers up nearly 20% since the
:04:05. > :04:11.beginning of the year. Japan is up 6% and stocks in China have inched
:04:12. > :04:13.higher by nearly 3%. I asked an independent strategist, Andrew
:04:14. > :04:17.Solomon, why the difference in performance between Hong Kong and
:04:18. > :04:22.China. This year is strange for China with the party conference at
:04:23. > :04:25.the end of the year. People are very much expecting the markets will
:04:26. > :04:29.trudge along ahead of that. They don't expect upside because the
:04:30. > :04:35.government doesn't want bubbles in any sector. Equally, we don't expect
:04:36. > :04:41.to see downside because the government will want to support the
:04:42. > :04:47.market and maintain confidence. It is range bound. The concern is that
:04:48. > :04:50.the yuan will weaken another policy of the government post the party
:04:51. > :04:53.conference will be towards tightening, people are concerned
:04:54. > :05:01.about the property market. In Hong Kong, we have seen more growth.
:05:02. > :05:08.Largely it has come from tech names, like has done so well, and banks
:05:09. > :05:13.continue to do well -- like Ten Cent, which is done well. Because
:05:14. > :05:19.there is no dollar risk, it has helped Hong Kong as well.
:05:20. > :05:22.The latest buzzword in the mobile technology is 5G and smart phone
:05:23. > :05:27.makers have teamed up with telcos to show what the technology could bring
:05:28. > :05:31.in a couple of years' time. Mobile phones have come a long way since
:05:32. > :05:37.Motorola produced the first model in 1973. Check out this picture, Martin
:05:38. > :05:42.Cooper, the inventor, with the first device. In 2020 they are on target
:05:43. > :05:48.to be a $50 billion industry. We asked Jake Saunders about the race
:05:49. > :05:54.to be first with 5G phones. 5G won't start properly until 2020. In 2018
:05:55. > :06:00.just next year, in Korea they have the Winter Olympics. Samsung and LG
:06:01. > :06:07.will do a number of 5G demos. Samsung says it will have a 5G
:06:08. > :06:13.handset and it will have a 5G coverage running. In 2019 in the US
:06:14. > :06:18.AT and Verizon are keen to get 5G up and running just four mobile
:06:19. > :06:22.services. What is intriguing is it has the opportunity to provide
:06:23. > :06:28.coverage in rural communities and perhaps small towns and villages.
:06:29. > :06:31.In our final report this week, 20 years on from the Asian financial
:06:32. > :06:36.crisis we look at the Philippines which at the time was seen as the
:06:37. > :06:40.sick man of Asia but the economy did not suffer as much as its neighbours
:06:41. > :06:44.in the region. I went to my hometown of Manila to hear from one survivor
:06:45. > :06:46.of the crisis and find out why the Philippines is now one of the
:06:47. > :06:55.fastest-growing economies in the region.
:06:56. > :07:03.Manila, the capital city of one of the most dynamic economies in South
:07:04. > :07:07.East Asia. When the Asian financial crisis devastated the region, the
:07:08. > :07:14.Philippines managed to pull through better than its neighbours. So, how
:07:15. > :07:18.did it happen? One of the crucial factors was its remittance economy -
:07:19. > :07:23.everyday hundreds if not thousands of people queue up here to try to
:07:24. > :07:27.get the permits to work overseas. The money they send back helps to
:07:28. > :07:35.drive consumption and keep the economy buoyant. 20 years ago
:07:36. > :07:41.remittance is made up 6%- 8% of GDP - that nearly doubled in 2005. Today
:07:42. > :07:47.it is still worth 10% of the national income. What other factors
:07:48. > :07:52.helped the Philippines ride out the crisis and recover quicker than
:07:53. > :07:56.everyone else? We were late in the game in the property sector, so we
:07:57. > :08:01.didn't have a property bubble just yet at the time. Compared with
:08:02. > :08:06.Thailand and Indonesia, you know, they had a property bubble that was
:08:07. > :08:12.financed by dollar debts. But at the same time... It was a tough time for
:08:13. > :08:16.many. In 1997 Wellington song watched his business empire all but
:08:17. > :08:21.collapsed. He is building technology company was wiped out and he spent
:08:22. > :08:26.years painstakingly rehabilitating the luxury car dealership he began
:08:27. > :08:31.from scratch. It came as a total surprise. We didn't know where it
:08:32. > :08:36.came from, we had no idea how it was going to affect us. And then we just
:08:37. > :08:41.realised that it was a financial holocaust - it was a corporate
:08:42. > :08:47.nightmare. Every day being so fearful of what new problems will
:08:48. > :08:53.arise. And it was like eating broken glass for breakfast every day for 11
:08:54. > :08:56.years. So, what do you think, guys, will I be warm in London? The
:08:57. > :09:03.Philippines is looking forward, not back. This woman is typical of the
:09:04. > :09:09.new generation. In her early 20s, she is the average age of the
:09:10. > :09:15.population and like many Filipinos she sees a future are broad and she
:09:16. > :09:20.is preparing to move to London. -- abroad. Here in the Philippines are
:09:21. > :09:30.don't get paid as much as I work for the job. -- I don't get paid. I work
:09:31. > :09:34.48 hours and I don't get much. The expanding Philippine economy has its
:09:35. > :09:36.challenges - a slowdown in remittances, the need to improve
:09:37. > :09:45.infrastructure and tackling the poverty gap. Still, Anna is excited
:09:46. > :09:49.and optimistic about the future and so too is the Philippines.
:09:50. > :09:54.And don't forget to tune into the special programme playing out this
:09:55. > :09:58.weekend, starting on Saturday. And before we go, a BBC exclusive, the
:09:59. > :10:01.Philippines central bank governor takes over this weekend. In his
:10:02. > :10:15.first interview with foreign media as head of the BSB, Nesto Junior
:10:16. > :10:19.tells us of his priorities on Monday on Asia Business Report. And on the
:10:20. > :10:23.market put screens, Asian markets are in negative territory, the
:10:24. > :10:29.Nikkei is down 216 points and the All Ordinaries losing around 9%.
:10:30. > :10:33.Thank you so much for investing your time with us, have a productive
:10:34. > :10:34.Friday! I'm Rico Hizon, goodbye