0:00:00 > 0:00:03police found pornography on a computer in his office
0:00:03 > 0:00:07nine years ago.
0:00:07 > 0:00:16Now on BBC News all the latest business news live from Singapore.
0:00:16 > 0:00:20A huge new league of financial documents known as the Paradise
0:00:20 > 0:00:24Papers has revealed how the powerful and wealthy secretly invest vast
0:00:24 > 0:00:29amounts of money in offshore tax havens. And it will President Trump
0:00:29 > 0:00:38toned down his tough talk on trade? In his trip to Asia.
0:00:38 > 0:00:45Good morning, Asia. Hello, world. Glad you could join us for this
0:00:45 > 0:00:49exciting addition of Asia Business Report. I'm Rico Hizon. The first
0:00:49 > 0:00:56results have been with the least -- released in one of the biggest
0:00:56 > 0:01:01documents of offshore secrets. 13 million document mostly from an
0:01:01 > 0:01:06offshore firm called Appleby. They reveal the tax affairs of rich and
0:01:06 > 0:01:12powerful people around the world. They have been obtained by a German
0:01:12 > 0:01:17newspaper and shared with international consortium of
0:01:17 > 0:01:25journalists including the BBC's panorama programme. They show how
0:01:25 > 0:01:31the Queen's private estate invested around £10 million offshore. It is
0:01:31 > 0:01:36important to say that tax avoidance is not illegal at it is
0:01:36 > 0:01:39controversial and these latest revelations are bound to fuel the
0:01:39 > 0:01:42political debate around offshore tax havens and whether governments
0:01:42 > 0:01:48should do more to clamp down on them. What are they and why they so
0:01:48 > 0:01:53controversial? Our economic editor explains.
0:01:53 > 0:01:58For centuries, Britain has been a centre for global finance. Focused
0:01:58 > 0:02:02here on the city of London. That is seen by many as good for our economy
0:02:02 > 0:02:07and the development of global trade. To support that, we allow the
0:02:07 > 0:02:14companies to set up in the UK and not be taxed here. Our imperial past
0:02:14 > 0:02:21is also important. Across the world what are called Crown dependencies
0:02:21 > 0:02:26like overseas territories, places like Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man.
0:02:26 > 0:02:29They have an arms length relationship with us and have based
0:02:29 > 0:02:34their economy of low tax to hold some of their wealth. Others are
0:02:34 > 0:02:43more for flung places like Gibraltar or Bermuda. Virgin Islands, Turks
0:02:43 > 0:02:50and Caicos, the British Islands. Some insist they are good for growth
0:02:50 > 0:02:54as they allow firms and individuals to avoid being taxed multiple times
0:02:54 > 0:02:58by different countries. There have been a lot of new rules on
0:02:58 > 0:03:03transparency as well. But, they are criticised for being too secret. Too
0:03:03 > 0:03:07criticised for being too secret. Too weak on regulation and to open to
0:03:07 > 0:03:11corruption. -- to open.
0:03:15 > 0:03:20They can move vast amounts of money around the world at the touch of a
0:03:20 > 0:03:25computer key. We are not the only ones who have used tax competition
0:03:25 > 0:03:29and light punch regulation to lure companies to our shores. Other
0:03:29 > 0:03:35countries include Switzerland, Singapore and America. -- light
0:03:35 > 0:03:40touch. They have low tax situations in many of its states. There is also
0:03:40 > 0:03:44an important distinction to remember when speaking about tax havens. Tax
0:03:44 > 0:03:51evasion is illegal while tax avoidance is using legal structures
0:03:51 > 0:03:58to produce tax. How much can it be worth two national exchequer is like
0:03:58 > 0:04:03the Treasury? Well, globally, anything between £75 billion and
0:04:03 > 0:04:09£180 billion. Many now believe that avoidance has now become so
0:04:09 > 0:04:14controversial there needs to be a complete change of global tax laws
0:04:14 > 0:04:19so that taxes are paid in a country where the firm or the individual is
0:04:19 > 0:04:23based. That would mean that the total tax take would be up which
0:04:23 > 0:04:29some might disagree with but public controversy would probably die down.
0:04:29 > 0:04:34The leak documents also show that commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross has
0:04:34 > 0:04:41shed in a secret -- company with Kremlin ties. It is Navigator
0:04:41 > 0:04:47Holdings which transport oil and gas for the -- for a Russian company.
0:04:47 > 0:04:55They are under US sanctions and a to President Putin. It includes a
0:04:55 > 0:05:04Venezuelan oil company which is also under US sanctions. The revelations
0:05:04 > 0:05:08made uncomfortable reading for President Trump. Staying with Mr
0:05:08 > 0:05:12Trump and he has held its first press conference of the five country
0:05:12 > 0:05:17trip to Asia. He said he's optimistic about trade between the
0:05:17 > 0:05:24nations but the current trade situation is unfair. How will his
0:05:24 > 0:05:29message go down in Japan? For the latest, we are joined by my
0:05:29 > 0:05:37colleague Monica Miller. It looks like they are good friends when it
0:05:37 > 0:05:42comes to maybe playing golf that it may be on the trading floor or on
0:05:42 > 0:05:48the meeting room, they are not.Nine holes of golf is a distant memory
0:05:48 > 0:05:52already for Mr Trump. He came out a short while ago and was complaining
0:05:52 > 0:05:56about the trade relationship between Japan and the US, saying it is not
0:05:56 > 0:06:02fair and not open. , what is the relationship between these two
0:06:02 > 0:06:06countries? Well, Japan accounts for almost $70 billion of the US trade
0:06:06 > 0:06:11deficit in terms of goods in 2017 but it has now re-emerged at the
0:06:11 > 0:06:15second largest country to the trade deficit for the first time in three
0:06:15 > 0:06:20years. One other sticking point is the TTP. Japan have taken a
0:06:20 > 0:06:24leadership role and it is a sore point. One of the first things Trump
0:06:24 > 0:06:29did was pull out of it when he took office in January and had the US
0:06:29 > 0:06:33stadium, it would have been 40% of the world's GDP. Now the 11 members,
0:06:33 > 0:06:40it is about 13.5% GDP globally which is a very different situation and
0:06:40 > 0:06:50will find the rest of us out in a few days in Vietnam. --I end. Now
0:06:50 > 0:06:53they are faced with creating a bilateral trade agreement which they
0:06:53 > 0:06:59really didn't want to do.We have to wait and see how it all pans out. US
0:06:59 > 0:07:03Japanese trade relations, off and on the golf course. They key, Monica, a
0:07:03 > 0:07:11business reporter. -- thank you. There is a complexity and achieving
0:07:11 > 0:07:16good sound and pathetic. As part of a series of by design, we are
0:07:16 > 0:07:20looking at a concert hall in Tokyo which seems to have hit all the
0:07:20 > 0:07:28right notes. We spoke to an architect who worked on the project.
0:07:28 > 0:07:32TRANSLATION: Audience come here and listen to music only once. It
0:07:32 > 0:07:36matters what space you listen to the music in because it will be part of
0:07:36 > 0:07:38your memory.
0:07:52 > 0:07:58It is a great mystery how the architect came up with the short --
0:07:58 > 0:08:11shape. I wish he had --I wish I had asked him before he passed. Locks on
0:08:11 > 0:08:14the ceiling diffuse the sound. Without them, sound reflection
0:08:14 > 0:08:19becomes too simple and the sound will not be evenly distributed. But
0:08:19 > 0:08:24with the sound reflector, the sound is diffused and well blended and it
0:08:24 > 0:08:31is delivered to the audience.
0:08:32 > 0:08:36Since the hall is shaped like a shoebox, how sound reflector from
0:08:36 > 0:08:42the sound walls -- sidewalls reaches the audience is important. The
0:08:42 > 0:08:45architect analysed how sound is reflected with an acoustic steam.
0:08:45 > 0:08:57Because this distorted pyramid ceiling had never been used before.
0:08:57 > 0:09:02Using wood makes the sound better. The hall is like a musical
0:09:02 > 0:09:08instrument, like a violin, the sound gets better with time. But, it is
0:09:08 > 0:09:23rare to find a concert hall made entirely out of wood. In fact,
0:09:23 > 0:09:28designing this involves a lot of work and time. But the cost of
0:09:28 > 0:09:31building this concert Hall are no different from many other concert
0:09:31 > 0:09:37halls. So spending a lot on construction doesn't mean it is
0:09:37 > 0:09:49better.
0:09:49 > 0:09:50construction doesn't mean it is better.
0:09:50 > 0:09:55Hair is a look at the markets. Asia is often a good start in the
0:09:55 > 0:10:06brand-new trading week. -- here is a look. This is after US stocks
0:10:06 > 0:10:11finished at a fresh all-time highs on Friday with technology shares
0:10:11 > 0:10:18leading the way with a solid US jobs report strong Apple earnings. All
0:10:18 > 0:10:25the three major indices at fresh record highs. NASDAQ gained 50.
0:10:25 > 0:10:29Thank you for investing your time with us. I'm Rico Hizon. Sport Today
0:10:29 > 0:10:31is coming up next.