0:00:00 > 0:00:17Now on BBC News all the latest business news live from Singapore.
0:00:17 > 0:00:24The highest volcano alert in Bali. The island's only airport is shut
0:00:24 > 0:00:28and tens of thousands of residents have been evacuated. India is in the
0:00:28 > 0:00:32spotlight this week as we wait and see if a GST is bed of -- benefiting
0:00:32 > 0:00:42the economy. Hello and welcome to Asia is in this report. We begin the
0:00:42 > 0:00:46programme with a focus on the Indonesian island of Bali where a
0:00:46 > 0:00:52volcano has been dodging huge plumes of smoke. The Indonesian national
0:00:52 > 0:00:55disaster management agency has placed the alert level on a tired --
0:00:55 > 0:01:03Pies. The main airport has been closed and flight diverted. The
0:01:03 > 0:01:07volcano was moving towards a full-scale corruption and people are
0:01:07 > 0:01:14being told to keep out of a 12 kilometre radius evacuation area.
0:01:14 > 0:01:17Cyber Monday has kicked off, giving consumers around the world to take
0:01:17 > 0:01:23advantage of special deals to lock in a gift or pick up a gadget and
0:01:23 > 0:01:26would either have wanted all here. This cyber Monday looks bigger than
0:01:26 > 0:01:33ever. Our business reporter joins us now. Matt, I suppose you have been
0:01:33 > 0:01:38shopping and if not, can you crunch the numbers?I have been crunching
0:01:38 > 0:01:46numbers not just -- yet shopping. Cyber Monday started in 2005 when
0:01:46 > 0:01:51the National retail Federation in the United States noticed people
0:01:51 > 0:01:55returning from the long Thanksgiving weekend. They are a work, they have
0:01:55 > 0:01:59Wi-Fi, they do shopping. Retailers noticed and offered one-time diva --
0:01:59 > 0:02:05deals. If we look at the projections for this year we can see how much
0:02:05 > 0:02:09people are purchasing. They expect about $6.6 billion in sales this
0:02:09 > 0:02:14year alone. That is about 16.5% more than last year which was already a
0:02:14 > 0:02:19record. Brick and mortar versus online, Black Friday versus cyber
0:02:19 > 0:02:24Monday, it gets fuzzy because Black Friday also has online sales. $5
0:02:24 > 0:02:28billion worth. The line between the two is getting thinner every year
0:02:28 > 0:02:34but Mobile is the driving factor here. Experts say the holiday season
0:02:34 > 0:02:37is about people shopping on their smart phone. One third of Black
0:02:37 > 0:02:41Friday shoppers use their phones to make the purchase. This will be big
0:02:41 > 0:02:45here in Asia where we know people are used -- comfortable using their
0:02:45 > 0:02:50phones to make purchases. And what are people buying? It is all about
0:02:50 > 0:02:57big electronics. Things you need big shopping carts. Cyber Monday is more
0:02:57 > 0:03:02about the smaller items that you can be -- have delivered to if you need
0:03:02 > 0:03:07shoes for example, today is a good day to do shopping.Now, briefly, we
0:03:07 > 0:03:10know this is a reflection of the potentially relative health of the
0:03:10 > 0:03:17US economy.Absolutely. The latest survey says that consumers
0:03:17 > 0:03:21confidence is at a 17 year high. They seem primed at the pump to do
0:03:21 > 0:03:28the shopping. With prices at record highs and unemployment relatively
0:03:28 > 0:03:33low we could see some amazing received this holiday season.And
0:03:33 > 0:03:36well, cybershopping is beckoning right now. What is on the horizon as
0:03:36 > 0:03:41we reach the end of November? Here is a calendar for the week ahead.
0:03:41 > 0:03:45Cyber Monday is today, a day when online retailers dish out the best
0:03:45 > 0:03:49deals as the holiday season draws near. Jumping ahead to Thursday
0:03:49 > 0:03:53there is a bunch of key dates to take note of including growth
0:03:53 > 0:03:57figures in the third quarter from India and also on Thursday the bank
0:03:57 > 0:04:01of Korea holds its monetary policy meeting with talk of a possible rate
0:04:01 > 0:04:08hike. Another event we keep an eye on on the same day, crucial for the
0:04:08 > 0:04:12energy market, OPEC and non- OPEC will meet in Vienna to discuss the
0:04:12 > 0:04:21extension of production restrictions that is India's economic growth
0:04:21 > 0:04:26picking up momentum?Or pick up of growth in the third quarter given
0:04:26 > 0:04:31that industrial output has recovered and business sentiment has
0:04:31 > 0:04:35strengthened so definitely they are on the mend from the low point of
0:04:35 > 0:04:39July when the GST was implemented. That was disrupted for both
0:04:39 > 0:04:44processors did it I think the economy is recovering now.We saw
0:04:44 > 0:04:48stocks as well doing quite well so it does not seem to reflect what is
0:04:48 > 0:04:55going on in terms of growth.Overall the economy is doing well and global
0:04:55 > 0:05:00trade is strengthening. Of course it is not that significant to the
0:05:00 > 0:05:05Indian economy, it is more a domestically all into the economy.
0:05:05 > 0:05:10Overall, signs of a gradual recovery. You say that global trade
0:05:10 > 0:05:15is improving and for one other export reliant economy like South
0:05:15 > 0:05:18Korea, offer interest, interest rates are coming out and
0:05:18 > 0:05:22expectations are that they may raise ratess for the first time since
0:05:22 > 0:05:272011.Will they? I think they will and that reflects the fact that
0:05:27 > 0:05:30growth has been strong so I estimate that South Korea's negative outlook
0:05:30 > 0:05:36has now fully closed which means that inflationary pressures will
0:05:36 > 0:05:40start building up from here. It is a good time to start normalising
0:05:40 > 0:05:46interest rates, gradually.And, finally, oil prices. US oil prices
0:05:46 > 0:05:50rose to their highest level in over two years on Friday alone and we
0:05:50 > 0:05:54have a big meeting of OPEC and non- OPEC members. What do we expect.We
0:05:54 > 0:05:58believe there will be an extension to the production cuts that are set
0:05:58 > 0:06:03to expire in March. That means that we will have next year, the global
0:06:03 > 0:06:10oil market will be in a mild supply deficit position which means that
0:06:10 > 0:06:16global patrol in infantry 's will start coming down. If there is no
0:06:16 > 0:06:19extension, however, then the oil market will be back on supply
0:06:19 > 0:06:22surplus and that would bring prices down. That is not what the
0:06:22 > 0:06:29oil-producing countries want.In other business news, Bitcoin sets a
0:06:29 > 0:06:33new record and jumps above the 9000 dollar mark. This comes less than a
0:06:33 > 0:06:39week after the crypto currency topped $8,000. The coin now has a
0:06:39 > 0:06:44market cap of over $150 billion to other crypto currencies have had a
0:06:44 > 0:06:48strong week with a searing and Bitcoin cache also up for the week.
0:06:48 > 0:06:52Some analysts say the prices will continue to rise as all of these
0:06:52 > 0:06:59gain greater mainstream attention despite warnings of an asset bubble.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03India is the fastest growing mobile phone market in the world and with
0:07:03 > 0:07:06one of the country's because companies that rely on, launching
0:07:06 > 0:07:15its Geo network last year, can sit -- competition has intensified. Geo
0:07:15 > 0:07:24offers cut price rates and plenty of freebies. We caught up with the
0:07:24 > 0:07:27chairman and asked if the price war is nearing an end.From a
0:07:27 > 0:07:35consolidation point of view, we have gone from 12 to three operators
0:07:35 > 0:07:39unbelievably fast consolidation. Customers now only have three
0:07:39 > 0:07:48choices to make. Hopefully they choose us. I won't say the worst is
0:07:48 > 0:07:54over because we have a very strong and powerful new entrant with a
0:07:54 > 0:08:01strong result to be a player in the marketplace.How about the flagship
0:08:01 > 0:08:04company which is under heavy debt at the moment and desperately needs
0:08:04 > 0:08:15funds?This is not... You keep on wondering when you will be safe.
0:08:15 > 0:08:20That will never be the case. There will be disruption in technology,
0:08:20 > 0:08:23new challenges that come to the marketplace. Even in the middle of
0:08:23 > 0:08:31aid price word -- war, money should be directed to the right places.
0:08:31 > 0:08:36Tomorrow if we need money, they can come from shareholders, bond markets
0:08:36 > 0:08:41in most of my dead as government debt. I do not have a lot of bank
0:08:41 > 0:08:46debt and banks are always willing to give us more money.Where is the
0:08:46 > 0:08:51growth opportunity for you in the telecom industry now?The pie is
0:08:51 > 0:08:57shrinking but our market share is growing. We are determined to stay
0:08:57 > 0:09:01at the number-1 position which we have been for 22 years.So now we
0:09:01 > 0:09:07are shifting today, will that be the new area of expansion?It is leaps
0:09:07 > 0:09:14and bounds. Al 4G expansion has been great, we have nearly 100,000 base
0:09:14 > 0:09:26stations every year. Data is where the focus is but we have 25 million
0:09:26 > 0:09:38customers, and a lot of stuff is happening.A quick look at the
0:09:38 > 0:09:43markets, we see some gains. The All Ordinaries is higher and a lot of
0:09:43 > 0:09:47the other Asian markets are also higher in trading. That is due to
0:09:47 > 0:09:52the gains we saw on Wall Street. With or near record highs for many
0:09:52 > 0:09:57shares that closed last week and part of this due to the good retail
0:09:57 > 0:10:04sales we saw amazing shopping numbers that we saw on Black Friday.
0:10:04 > 0:10:08And that is lifting a lot of spirits today. As well with salt oil prices
0:10:08 > 0:10:11higher which leads to resource stocks rising in Australia. Looking
0:10:11 > 0:10:17at currencies with the currencies gained to the euro is at a two month
0:10:17 > 0:10:20high against the US dollar, due to the that there were some strong
0:10:20 > 0:10:24German economic data. And just recapping, our main story this
0:10:24 > 0:10:28morning. We are watching developments from Mount Agung in
0:10:28 > 0:10:33Indonesia. The