:00:00. > :00:00.Many feel they're no longer earning enough here.
:00:00. > :00:18.Now on BBC News, all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:19. > :00:29.To jail or not to jail. We will soon learn the fate of the de facto
:00:30. > :00:34.leader of Samsung, JY lay. It could be 12 years. And the latest earnings
:00:35. > :00:39.report for Qantas. What will it take to keep the competitive edge? Good
:00:40. > :00:42.morning, Asia. Hello, world. This is Asia Business Report. I am Sharanjit
:00:43. > :00:49.Leyl. Thank you for joining me. It is Friday. A South Korean court is
:00:50. > :00:55.expected to pass its ruling in a corruption case revolving around the
:00:56. > :00:59.de facto boss of Samsung. He has been in jail since February since
:01:00. > :01:06.been charged in a scandal leading to the outing of the former president
:01:07. > :01:09.of South Korea. I am joined live from Seoul in front of the
:01:10. > :01:19.courthouse. What are we expect today? Well, he will be presented
:01:20. > :01:25.behind me in court. Prosecutors have asked for a 12 year jail sentence
:01:26. > :01:29.for him. The big charge is bribery. He is accused of donating to
:01:30. > :01:32.organisations run by the close friend of the former president in
:01:33. > :01:38.return for favours that would pave the way for him to become the boss
:01:39. > :01:43.of the Samsung group. There are also charges of embezzlement, hiding
:01:44. > :01:48.assets overseas, perjury. We will hear today whether he is found
:01:49. > :01:52.guilty of all of those charges. It is quite significant how large a
:01:53. > :01:56.sentence he will get if he is guilty. A significant sentence. If
:01:57. > :02:02.he is put behind bars, what are the future plans of the company?
:02:03. > :02:07.Especially who takes over next? This is a family run conglomerates, run
:02:08. > :02:13.by his family ever since being founded in the late 1930s. His
:02:14. > :02:17.father was incapacitated after a heart attack a few years ago. He has
:02:18. > :02:22.two sisters in the management of different parts of the group.
:02:23. > :02:27.Samsung has not put out a formal plan according to if he goes to
:02:28. > :02:31.jail. That is because they denied the allegations against him, saying
:02:32. > :02:36.he did not bribe anyone or seek any favours. Whatever happens today
:02:37. > :02:41.could potentially have a huge impact on Samsung as well as the South
:02:42. > :02:46.Korean economy. After all, it is the largest conglomerates in the
:02:47. > :02:49.country. That is correct. It accounts for almost a fifth of the
:02:50. > :02:54.economy. It is the biggest company in the country. Concerning Samsung,
:02:55. > :03:02.they don't seem to be dented by the trial. They had record profits in
:03:03. > :03:07.the last quarter. This verdict is not just about Samsung. There are
:03:08. > :03:16.large conglomerates dominating the South Korean economy. In the past,
:03:17. > :03:21.many of the head of this company group have been pardoned saying it
:03:22. > :03:24.will be an economic impact. Now we have a new government which has
:03:25. > :03:32.promised to clean up the economy. If Jay Y Lee gets a strong sentence
:03:33. > :03:36.today, they are saying it will be a strong message to the large
:03:37. > :03:45.conglomerates. OK. Watching the verdict due later in the afternoon
:03:46. > :03:50.in the hour. A major overhaul of Qantas has paid off. In the last two
:03:51. > :03:55.hours, they posted their second-best profit ever, slightly ahead of
:03:56. > :04:00.analyst estimates. It cut staff by more than 5000 and reduced costs by
:04:01. > :04:08.$2 billion to achieve that higher efficiency. I asked an analyst how
:04:09. > :04:13.the company plans to hold on to those gains. You have raised the
:04:14. > :04:19.right points. This is the first step in becoming future proof. It is not
:04:20. > :04:23.cost savings, it is about setting the stage for being successful in
:04:24. > :04:28.the future. It comes from a cost basis. What is yet to be found out
:04:29. > :04:32.is whether they can drive a premium against other carriers. That can
:04:33. > :04:38.only come through better service quality, high value, and taking
:04:39. > :04:45.values into the international market from their national market. There is
:04:46. > :04:48.speculation from unnamed sources they may also announce today along
:04:49. > :04:58.with their result is what could we the longest flight in the world.
:04:59. > :05:01.That is the non-stop Sydney to London route. It will be shorter
:05:02. > :05:08.because it usually has a stop. What could that mean for Qantas? I like
:05:09. > :05:15.the idea. Time-saving is something business travellers would value.
:05:16. > :05:19.What does it mean for the airline? They could charge a higher premium
:05:20. > :05:22.on the tickets. That comes with more energy efficiency and fuel
:05:23. > :05:26.efficiency. That has to come together. If they can do this, I
:05:27. > :05:33.believe this could be a successful route. A 20 hour flight. I don't
:05:34. > :05:36.know if I want to do that. What does Qantas need to do to stay
:05:37. > :05:41.competitive? What advice do you have? Offering free meals on a 20
:05:42. > :05:49.hour flight, what could drive success in the long-run is giving a
:05:50. > :06:00.premium across all of what the airline has to offer. That starts
:06:01. > :06:04.had been Qantas, being a Streelman. -- with being. -- Australian. And
:06:05. > :06:10.what are the benefits do they have against Middle Eastern carriers etc?
:06:11. > :06:16.They have done this in local routs, donating food to food banks,
:06:17. > :06:20.spending money on carbon offset programmes. I think they need to
:06:21. > :06:29.improve a lot on that. Speaking to me earlier. There has been an
:06:30. > :06:33.additional $3 billion of investment from SoftBank into Wiiwork. They
:06:34. > :06:36.have already made almost one half billion dollars from investing in
:06:37. > :06:40.the New York-based company as they set up shop in China, South Korea,
:06:41. > :06:46.Japan and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. They rent out office space to
:06:47. > :06:52.individuals and small companies like start-ups. Have you heard this? In
:06:53. > :06:58.this world, nothing can said to be certain except death and taxes.
:06:59. > :07:05.Those are the words of Benjamin Franklin. They are still true in
:07:06. > :07:17.today's society. In many societies, death and taxes are given. But in
:07:18. > :07:26.some places, they are not applied. I tax is good for business? -- are
:07:27. > :07:32.taxes. In this series, two tax experts have gone head-to-head to
:07:33. > :07:37.argue the pros and cons. I would say inheritance tax is could be the
:07:38. > :07:46.economy. It puts money into the Treasury. -- is good for the
:07:47. > :07:51.economy. But inheritance tax has built-in benefits for businesses. It
:07:52. > :08:00.doesn't raise that much money. Half per cent of GDP. Now you get a tax
:08:01. > :08:09.for only those people without knowledge to pay for accountants to
:08:10. > :08:13.hide it for them. If people see 40% of what they leave will effectively
:08:14. > :08:20.be taken by the revenue, it does not encourage them to live their lives
:08:21. > :08:29.and spend. That is good for the economy. I think inheritance tax is
:08:30. > :08:33.marginal to business. It does remove potential investment capital from
:08:34. > :08:38.the economy. Relatively small businesses is what we are talking
:08:39. > :08:42.about. A few hundred pounds is something you could invest in a
:08:43. > :08:47.business. It could be reinvested. I don't think it takes away from
:08:48. > :08:52.business. You could put it in the business. If someone has a lot of
:08:53. > :08:57.cash, it will have that 40% inheritance tax. If they invest it
:08:58. > :09:02.in their children's business, that is then converted into something
:09:03. > :09:08.exempt. The regime can encourage investment in the business. I think
:09:09. > :09:13.inheritance tax should be abolished. For the amount of revenue it raises
:09:14. > :09:16.for the Treasury, it isn't worth it. I don't think it should be
:09:17. > :09:22.abolished. It makes its contribution to the Treasury. It is an awful lot
:09:23. > :09:24.better than some of the alternatives, effectively paying
:09:25. > :09:31.more tax during your lifetime when you should be enjoying your money
:09:32. > :09:41.and what you have earned. A contentious discussion. If you want
:09:42. > :09:46.to join in, get in touch with us on #businessofdeath. People will be
:09:47. > :09:51.watching the president of the European Central Bank today. They
:09:52. > :10:00.will be listening for hints of shifting interest rate plans.
:10:01. > :10:04.Representatives of international banks from 40 countries are all
:10:05. > :10:10.attending this conference in the US State of Wyoming. These are the
:10:11. > :10:16.markets. The Nikkei gaining slightly. That is because of a
:10:17. > :10:20.weaker yen helping exporters. Australia is not benefiting from the
:10:21. > :10:25.fact we saw Qantas reporting stellar results. In fact, they are slightly
:10:26. > :10:34.lower as well, those Qantas shares. Wall Street ended flat. And that is
:10:35. > :10:35.it for this edition of Asia Business Report. Thank you so much for