0:00:00 > 0:00:00The UK has offered a large potential divorce bill to the EU worth up to
0:00:00 > 0:00:0550 billion euros. Asked on a trip to Iraq if the figure was agreed, the
0:00:05 > 0:00:10Prime Minister, Theresa May, said talks were continuing. Now on BBC
0:00:10 > 0:00:15News, all the latest business news live from Singapore.
0:00:15 > 0:00:23Shares of Australia's big four banks plunge after the government sets up
0:00:23 > 0:00:29a financial commission to investigate it. And will be rebound
0:00:29 > 0:00:35from last quarter's sluggish growth rates? Good morning, Asia. Hello,
0:00:35 > 0:00:38world. Welcome to another edition of Asia Business Report. I am Rico
0:00:38 > 0:00:48Hizon. It's a Thursday. We start off in Australia. The Prime Minister of
0:00:48 > 0:00:52the country announced this morning he has established a Royal
0:00:52 > 0:00:56Commission to investigate the banking industry. This comes after
0:00:56 > 0:01:01the four big banks of Australia called on the government to open the
0:01:01 > 0:01:05enquiry to restore the public's faith in the financial system. It
0:01:05 > 0:01:10caused shares in the big four banks to fall roughly 1.5% in Sydney
0:01:10 > 0:01:18trade. For news on the latest in Parliament, I am joined by a market
0:01:18 > 0:01:24strategist from a trading floor in Sydney. Thank you for joining us.
0:01:24 > 0:01:29Was it a wise move for the big four banks for an investigation?Hello.
0:01:29 > 0:01:35It was becoming inevitable. There was a push for a couple of years now
0:01:35 > 0:01:43for a Royal Commission. The Labour Party said it would hold one if they
0:01:43 > 0:01:50got in at the next election. I think the big four banks sniffed the wind
0:01:50 > 0:01:54and thought it would be better to get it over with rather than die by
0:01:54 > 0:02:021000 type. -- cuts.What could potentially be the political
0:02:02 > 0:02:08fallout, Greg, from the Royal Commission's findings?It is
0:02:08 > 0:02:17interesting. To unpack. Malcolm Turnbull has done a backflip. He
0:02:17 > 0:02:22realised they could lose a vote on the floor of Parliament.
0:02:22 > 0:02:28Politically, we have a substantially weakened Prime Minister and
0:02:28 > 0:02:32Treasury. In terms of the banks, there have been many missteps,
0:02:32 > 0:02:37especially from the Commonwealth Bank. Is the Royal Commission goes
0:02:37 > 0:02:45after them, we could have even stronger regulations. -- APR. The
0:02:45 > 0:02:50banking regulator has put in place many over the past two years. That
0:02:50 > 0:02:54could impact the economy.How long do you think this probe could last
0:02:54 > 0:03:02and when will the royal commission released the findings?-- Royal
0:03:02 > 0:03:07Commission release. The government has given them a year. That is
0:03:07 > 0:03:12plenty of time. We will know in 12 months what the recommendations are
0:03:12 > 0:03:16it is going to make. It will all trickle out over the course of that
0:03:16 > 0:03:22period. Anytime the banks try to rally too far there will be another
0:03:22 > 0:03:28news story to put them back.365 days for the enquiry. This could
0:03:28 > 0:03:34hurt the share price and valuations of the banks. Could this at the
0:03:34 > 0:03:39Australian economy?Yeah, confidence is important in any economy.
0:03:39 > 0:03:44Confidence has been undermined in the banks through their scandals in
0:03:44 > 0:03:49the past two years. The owners of the banks will hope this draws a
0:03:49 > 0:03:53line under the lack of confidence that was starting to build. To that
0:03:53 > 0:03:57extent, yes, it could hurt the economy. But when we look at things,
0:03:57 > 0:04:01the global economy and our economy is doing well, so on balance, I
0:04:01 > 0:04:05don't think it will.Thank you for your thoughts on the latest
0:04:05 > 0:04:11development on the banking sector in Australia. Staying with the
0:04:11 > 0:04:15financial industry, in the last hour, the bank of Korea has raised
0:04:15 > 0:04:19the cost of borrowing for the first time in six years. They increased it
0:04:19 > 0:04:24a quarter of a percent, bringing to an end a five-year cycle of low
0:04:24 > 0:04:28rates for the fourth largest Asian economy. South Korea has been riding
0:04:28 > 0:04:38an economic boom thanks to its demand for its electronic service
0:04:38 > 0:04:47is. This is the biggest jump in seven years. Bitcoin went past
0:04:47 > 0:04:5211,000 just one day after breaking $10,000. In fact, there was so much
0:04:52 > 0:04:57activity that the major Bitcoin exchange crashed at one point. An
0:04:57 > 0:05:04astonishing climb from its debut value of 6 cents. It has fallen back
0:05:04 > 0:05:11to earth at around $9,000 already. In India, we will find out later
0:05:11 > 0:05:17today how much the economy has grown when the latest GDP figures are
0:05:17 > 0:05:20released. It slipped to a three-year low in the previous quarter,
0:05:20 > 0:05:24prompting the government to look at ways to restart the economy. One
0:05:24 > 0:05:28area of concern is the banking system. There are now plans to
0:05:28 > 0:05:33inject $32 billion over the next two years into India's banks. Why is
0:05:33 > 0:05:41this necessary? Let's find out! This is the amount of money that is owed
0:05:41 > 0:05:48to the banks of India. But how did things get so bad? For years, large
0:05:48 > 0:05:55corporate sober pay back loans. This is one of them. He is famous for
0:05:55 > 0:06:03making beer. Is debt rose to $2 billion. This is causing India big
0:06:03 > 0:06:07problems. The debt is eating into bank profits, choking off new
0:06:07 > 0:06:15lending to smaller firms which boost growth. What do you do with this
0:06:15 > 0:06:21much debt? The government has a plan. 70% of the bad loans are owned
0:06:21 > 0:06:26to government run banks. It wants to inject funds into those banks. They
0:06:26 > 0:06:31want to release the money in three ways. Most will come from selling
0:06:31 > 0:06:37bonds. Indian banks are flush with cash after a ban on almost 90% of
0:06:37 > 0:06:42cash last year. They want to buy bonds using that money and then it
0:06:42 > 0:06:47will put cash back into the banks. This will improve their balance
0:06:47 > 0:06:51sheets, allowing them to lend more money and make profit. The rest of
0:06:51 > 0:06:55the money will come from selling stakes in the banks and the
0:06:55 > 0:06:59Treasury. But many say instead of a bailout would really need to be done
0:06:59 > 0:07:03is to reform the banks to make them more efficient in things like
0:07:03 > 0:07:07lending. If that is not done, the government may have to dive into its
0:07:07 > 0:07:12savings once more to rescue the banks again. India's banking sector
0:07:12 > 0:07:16is going through a turbulent time with rising bad loans and pressure
0:07:16 > 0:07:22to cut costs. Private banks are adopting processes which have led to
0:07:22 > 0:07:26job losses. We caught up with the CEO of one of the largest banks in
0:07:26 > 0:07:37India and ask about the 1000 job losses in ICICI.Digital channels is
0:07:37 > 0:07:45where we are doing most of our transactions. And we have a lot of
0:07:45 > 0:07:50artificial learning. To some extent, some of the jobs are probably
0:07:50 > 0:07:55irrelevant due to new technology. But if you reskill those people you
0:07:55 > 0:08:00can use them in the other jobs that technology creates.Let's talk about
0:08:00 > 0:08:05what the challenges are four of the Indian banking sector.We have the
0:08:05 > 0:08:10issue of stretched large corporate assets. There are multiple reasons
0:08:10 > 0:08:16why that happened. I think they are focusing on the resolution, though.
0:08:16 > 0:08:25We have not seen growth in micro credits are small loans, in India.
0:08:25 > 0:08:32-- in. Will private enterprises get into that?It is a huge sector. The
0:08:32 > 0:08:40economy is getting more and more formalised through demonetisation.
0:08:40 > 0:08:48Money is coming into the economy. It is becoming more inclusive. That
0:08:48 > 0:08:51allows banks to offer loans to people who were otherwise not
0:08:51 > 0:08:56capable of getting loans because they were not part of the formal
0:08:56 > 0:09:01economy.You are at the helm of one of India's largest private banks.
0:09:01 > 0:09:07What advice do you have for working women about balancing home and work?
0:09:07 > 0:09:12The first thing is, you know, you have to realise both are important.
0:09:12 > 0:09:20Once you decide that, you should do it if you'd desire to do it! -- you
0:09:20 > 0:09:24desire. If you think it is just expected of you, it will never
0:09:24 > 0:09:28happen. You should say you are doing it because you want a career for
0:09:28 > 0:09:34yourself and you desire to see your family nurtured in a way you feel
0:09:34 > 0:09:38proud about. It is about you making up your mind. Make sure you are
0:09:38 > 0:09:43working hard enough. I still sleep with a list of things to do in the
0:09:43 > 0:09:49night next to me even in this digital age. There are two columns.
0:09:49 > 0:09:54One is everything I have to finish the next day at work, but there is
0:09:54 > 0:09:58one column of what I have to organise at home. But I like to do
0:09:58 > 0:10:02it. I put it next to my bed, and when I wake up in the morning, the
0:10:02 > 0:10:06day starts with that and there is not a minute to waste.Let's have a
0:10:06 > 0:10:10look at the markets. The Asian markets, most are in negative
0:10:10 > 0:10:14territory after a technology sector sell-off on Wall Street and on
0:10:14 > 0:10:21stocks globally. The Dow Jones had another record high, though. It
0:10:21 > 0:10:30surged by more than 100 points, to a new