0:00:00 > 0:00:01She says the UK is close to a deal to move on to trade talks.
0:00:01 > 0:00:03Labour said the government's approach to Brexit was
0:00:03 > 0:00:06now an embarrassment.
0:00:06 > 0:00:17Now on BBC News all the latest business news live from Singapore.
0:00:17 > 0:00:22Canada tries to salvage free-trade talks with the Chinese before the
0:00:22 > 0:00:25Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, wraps up this trip to the mainland.
0:00:25 > 0:00:33And the chief of Air France launches an airline catering to Minelli and
0:00:33 > 0:00:42-- millennials. Will be ID take off? -- idea. Good morning. Hello, world.
0:00:42 > 0:00:47It is Wednesday. Glad you could join us for another action packed edition
0:00:47 > 0:00:52of Asia Business Report. I'm Rico Hizon. We start of Canada and the
0:00:52 > 0:00:56Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, has left Beijing for the industrial city
0:00:56 > 0:01:00of Gwangju on his men they too. He met the country's leader Xi Jinping
0:01:00 > 0:01:07on Tuesday for a state dinner. China is currently Canada's second-largest
0:01:07 > 0:01:12trading partner with annual bilateral trade worth around 70
0:01:12 > 0:01:17billion US dollars. The two sides had expected to launch formal
0:01:17 > 0:01:21negotiations for a free-trade pact during Mr Trudeau's visit, but
0:01:21 > 0:01:29progress is proving to be slow. China has had similar agreements
0:01:29 > 0:01:43with New Zealand and Australia. Earlier, I spoke rolling.He has
0:01:43 > 0:01:48taken a principled approach to free trade. I think I has been stable and
0:01:48 > 0:01:52fixed in his approach that any trade deal to become rancid, progressive,
0:01:52 > 0:01:58and ultimately to the benefit of Canadians.Is it to principles? He
0:01:58 > 0:02:05wants to achieve trade deals involving Labour, gender, and
0:02:05 > 0:02:08governance issues. I think the Prime Minister will be empowered by the
0:02:08 > 0:02:12fact the DPP is called the comprehensive and progressive
0:02:12 > 0:02:15Trans-Pacific Partnership. And I think he wants to show to Canadians
0:02:15 > 0:02:19that the electorate back home, that he is focused on these ideas and
0:02:19 > 0:02:25that he is not going to sell the shock to the Chinese. But he is now
0:02:25 > 0:02:31in China. Everyone thought that the negotiations would start. He is
0:02:31 > 0:02:38towards the end of his Milan 2-up. Can it still be salvaged?Something
0:02:38 > 0:02:43can still be salvaged. This government is very good at guessing
0:02:43 > 0:02:51solutions and outcomes and announcing them in a way that
0:02:51 > 0:02:56announces all stakeholders.Economic growth in Australia has just come
0:02:56 > 0:03:04in. Just shy of Amla' expectations at 0.6% for the third quarter --
0:03:04 > 0:03:07analysts deposit occasions. Australia has extended its record
0:03:07 > 0:03:11straight doubling 100 five quarters without a recession. But are there
0:03:11 > 0:03:18some clouds on the horizon? I joined by Timothy McDonald. More than 25
0:03:18 > 0:03:23years without a recession. This is a record.It is a record. Are you
0:03:23 > 0:03:28familiar with the name Steven Bradbury? Who is he? He was
0:03:28 > 0:03:32Australia's first Winter Olympics gold-medallist, this set -- skater.
0:03:32 > 0:03:37He won because literally everyone else in the race fell over on the
0:03:37 > 0:03:40ice will stop I do not think that will happen in the next Winter
0:03:40 > 0:03:49Games. In some ways I -- Australia seems like the Steven Bradbury
0:03:49 > 0:03:54economy. It just plods along. The growth does not tend to be
0:03:54 > 0:03:58spectacular, but somehow it never seems to fall over. It just keeps
0:03:58 > 0:04:04going. Much like Steven Bradbury, some of it has been locked. On the
0:04:04 > 0:04:08other hand, standing up is part of the job if you are a speed skater
0:04:08 > 0:04:12and for an economy as well. Of course, governments on both sides of
0:04:12 > 0:04:20the aisle have claimed credit for this record streak of going about a
0:04:20 > 0:04:23recession, but that Esky was something is in the economy and in
0:04:23 > 0:04:32some ways it is a bit of an academic figure. Australia has had some
0:04:32 > 0:04:36period of fairly slow growth. Right now there are some concerns. There
0:04:36 > 0:04:40is something of a housing bubble, prices are very high, affordability
0:04:40 > 0:04:44is low. When you couple that with slow wage growth, the RBA has
0:04:44 > 0:04:53expressed some concern about that. Then again, good retail sales
0:04:53 > 0:04:58figures came out yesterday. The reserve bank is forecasting about 3%
0:04:58 > 0:05:02growth for next year. A fairly respectable number for a developed
0:05:02 > 0:05:06economy. In some ways things are looking good for Australia. So long
0:05:06 > 0:05:10as it does not slip on the ice.The Bottom Line, the streak continues.
0:05:10 > 0:05:18It does.Thank you so much the update on the Australian economy and
0:05:18 > 0:05:21for this Winter Olympics gold medal winner, comparing him to the
0:05:21 > 0:05:25Australian economy. My college there, thank you so much for joining
0:05:25 > 0:05:31us, Timothy McDonald. India's central bank is scheduled Maka
0:05:31 > 0:05:34monetary policy decision in the next several hours. Is expected to keep
0:05:34 > 0:05:38its rate on hold. Recent figures believe that the economy is on the
0:05:38 > 0:05:43rebound. But consumers have been dealing with rising costs, a new
0:05:43 > 0:05:52national taxes, and the fallout from a sharp Giemont translation. This is
0:05:52 > 0:05:56what we expect the central bank to do moving forward.I think the only
0:05:56 > 0:06:01expectation that there is is that they might ease again. Nobody is
0:06:01 > 0:06:07looking for them to hide. Given how inflation is panning out, we have
0:06:07 > 0:06:12had growth above 6%, I do not see how the central bank can justify
0:06:12 > 0:06:15easing rates again.What is the biggest challenge right now facing
0:06:15 > 0:06:21the economy? Is it rising inflation, the impact from Demontre Hurst, or
0:06:21 > 0:06:31the GST?I would not say that rising inflation is the biggest threat
0:06:31 > 0:06:31the GST?I would not say that rising inflation is the biggest threat. For
0:06:31 > 0:06:35next year, definitely I think inflation is coming back on the
0:06:35 > 0:06:39radar. For now, the economy has to take into account that there are
0:06:39 > 0:06:44lingering GST related outcomes. Apart from these three factors, what
0:06:44 > 0:06:51could potentially hurt the economy going forward.The focus pretty much
0:06:51 > 0:07:00remains on many's reforms agenda, campaign, we see 2017 being a year
0:07:00 > 0:07:04of two halves -- Modi's. The focus has been much focus to reform
0:07:04 > 0:07:09speaking up. Elections are coming up. I do not see the momentum
0:07:09 > 0:07:15sustaining 2018.The lead Asia economies -- won a start Oxford
0:07:15 > 0:07:19economics will stop in aviation, Air France is hoping to stand out from
0:07:19 > 0:07:25an increasingly crowded market by launching a new low-cost character.
0:07:25 > 0:07:29It is a play on the French word for Young. It is the airline's second
0:07:29 > 0:07:34attempt at courting -- cutting costs. They want to attract
0:07:34 > 0:07:38millennials were trending items such as organic salad and juices. But is
0:07:38 > 0:07:44that enough to boost earnings? That is a question we asked Frank Turner,
0:07:44 > 0:07:48the chief executive at Air France. It is the answer to several
0:07:48 > 0:07:54objectives. The first one is to operate a lower cost airline. I'm
0:07:54 > 0:07:59not saying a low-cost airline. I am saying a low-cost airline. The
0:07:59 > 0:08:06second is to project a very light company being able to test and AMSA
0:08:06 > 0:08:15new ways of travelling. New entertainments. We will have new
0:08:15 > 0:08:24mills. It is about ways of travelling -- menials.Low-cost
0:08:24 > 0:08:28carriers are still quite a dominant force in Europe. Do you think by
0:08:28 > 0:08:35launching an airline like this it will help you take on the low-cost
0:08:35 > 0:08:38characters Joon is not specifically targeted to compete with low-cost
0:08:38 > 0:08:45carriers.If we do that we have the answer, we have low-cost carriers.
0:08:45 > 0:08:55The main threat and the main target we have is to compete with the
0:08:55 > 0:09:03carriers not on the low-cost segment of but in the next segment. Not into
0:09:03 > 0:09:09leisure or business.Will it improve your margins, because Air France
0:09:09 > 0:09:15margins have always been...The idea is to boost our margin. It is also
0:09:15 > 0:09:21to relieve the pressure on some routes in order to commit to Air
0:09:21 > 0:09:26France mainline as well as Joon to Joe, using batterers resources.You
0:09:26 > 0:09:29have announced a new partnership with Jet Airways in India. How will
0:09:29 > 0:09:36this help Air France?You consider that India is a very big market. We
0:09:36 > 0:09:40are under representing this market. Our aim is to increase the presence.
0:09:40 > 0:09:44The best way to do this is offering the biggest opportunity possible to
0:09:44 > 0:09:50the customers in Europe and in India. The market between India and
0:09:50 > 0:09:55the United States is very active. Growing double digits. As you know,
0:09:55 > 0:10:03we a very strong partnership as we create this new opportunity and this
0:10:03 > 0:10:07joint venture. What we will bring to the Indian market is a seamless
0:10:07 > 0:10:12experience between India and the US market.Frank Turner of Air France.
0:10:12 > 0:10:16Letters have a quick look at the markets. Currently mixed and
0:10:16 > 0:10:20lacklustre. This is after US stocks closed in negative territory
0:10:20 > 0:10:28overnight. Thank you so much for investing your time with us. I am
0:10:28 > 0:10:34Rico Hizon. Sport Today is up next.