0:00:00 > 0:00:01the deadlock over the Irish border in Brexit negotiations.
0:00:01 > 0:00:03Now on BBC News, all the latest business news live from Singapore.
0:00:16 > 0:00:22Find out how Japan is considering rewarding businesses with a tax cut.
0:00:22 > 0:00:27And China releases trade data for the month of November. We find out
0:00:27 > 0:00:35what we can expect. Hello and welcome to this Friday
0:00:35 > 0:00:38edition of Asia Business Report, I'm Sharanjit Leyl.
0:00:38 > 0:00:43We've been talking a lot lately about Donald Trump's tax bill but
0:00:43 > 0:00:47the Japanese government is also considering some new rules to boost
0:00:47 > 0:00:51the economy. The package will go to prime ministers Shinzo Abe's Cabinet
0:00:51 > 0:00:57today, where it is expected to be approved. The package rewards
0:00:57 > 0:01:00businesses that increase wages and investing productivity growth by
0:01:00 > 0:01:04offering tax cuts. For more we are joined by our business report of
0:01:04 > 0:01:12Carrico I. -- reporter Mariko Oi. The tax rate in the pan has been
0:01:12 > 0:01:16coming down significantly under the current Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe
0:01:16 > 0:01:22-- in Japan. When he came to power in 2012 the tax rate was almost as
0:01:22 > 0:01:27high as the US, at 38%. But for the upcoming fiscal year, starting in
0:01:27 > 0:01:33April, it is expected to go below 30%. And if this new package gets
0:01:33 > 0:01:38the green light it could go down as low as 20%, but there's a catch. It
0:01:38 > 0:01:43only applies to companies which reward their employees with a pay
0:01:43 > 0:01:49rise of at least 3% and invest in productivity. Basically it's a
0:01:49 > 0:01:54measure to stop companies hoarding higher profits.Do we now how Japan
0:01:54 > 0:01:58compares to the rest of the world, especially countries in this region
0:01:58 > 0:02:04that do we know.If it goes down to 20% that's fairly low, even lower
0:02:04 > 0:02:09than the Asian average, just over 21% -- do we know. It isn't low as
0:02:09 > 0:02:15Hong Kong, for example, which is at 16.5%, the lowest among developed
0:02:15 > 0:02:22economies, or Singapore at 17%. But it becomes on a par with China at
0:02:22 > 0:02:2720%. Of course, Japan isn't the only country considering cutting the
0:02:27 > 0:02:31corporate tax rate. The United States, as we've been talking about,
0:02:31 > 0:02:36the corporate tax rate combining the national and state taxes roughly
0:02:36 > 0:02:39about 40%, but Donald Trump is really trying to push through his
0:02:39 > 0:02:44tax reform bill to cut that rate down significantly. The Japanese
0:02:44 > 0:02:49package is expected to get approved by the Cabinet today and it will go
0:02:49 > 0:02:52to Parliament.We will be watching that very closely.
0:02:52 > 0:02:57Thanks for that. Staying with Japan, the country's
0:02:57 > 0:03:02economy expanded at an annualised rate of 2.5% between July and
0:03:02 > 0:03:07December according to the latest government data, revised up from a
0:03:07 > 0:03:11preliminary estimate of 1.4%. The revised figure came in well ahead of
0:03:11 > 0:03:15analyst expectations. The US government has averted a
0:03:15 > 0:03:19possible shutdown but only temporarily. The house and the
0:03:19 > 0:03:23Senate have now passed a stopgap measure to avert the shutdown,
0:03:23 > 0:03:26leaving fights over budget priorities and a range of other
0:03:26 > 0:03:31controversial issues for the coming weeks.
0:03:31 > 0:03:35And another day, another record. Bitcoin has rocketed to a lifetime
0:03:35 > 0:03:43high of just shy of $16,000, that's a 60% gain for the week. It's
0:03:43 > 0:03:47intensified the debate about whether the crypto currency is in a bubble
0:03:47 > 0:03:55that is about to burst. The JP Morgan Chase it the called Bitcoin a
0:03:55 > 0:03:59fraud in September. China is due to release new trade data for the month
0:03:59 > 0:04:04of November in the next few hours. In recent years the government has
0:04:04 > 0:04:07intensified its crackdown on polluting industries and financial
0:04:07 > 0:04:10risk but economists believe those measures have put pressure on
0:04:10 > 0:04:17China's economic growth. Earlier I spoke to a senior China our nest at
0:04:17 > 0:04:21a frontier strategy group and I asked how the economy would handle
0:04:21 > 0:04:26the government's new direction -- analyst.China are walking a fine
0:04:26 > 0:04:30line with trying to initiate another slow down to the risk the financial
0:04:30 > 0:04:35system but on the other hand not doing too much to cause a domino
0:04:35 > 0:04:39slowdown effect that could hurt China -- de-risk.To some extent we
0:04:39 > 0:04:45have seen the economy do well in other parts, retail sales, you had
0:04:45 > 0:04:49the big Bonanza Singles Day then, to what extent are those bits of the
0:04:49 > 0:04:53economy of setting the elements that are slowing down?Unfortunately
0:04:53 > 0:04:59consumption is still such a part of the economy -- offsetting. I think
0:04:59 > 0:05:03the slowdown will continue regardless even if consumption is a
0:05:03 > 0:05:06relatively positive story.We know the Chinese relationship with its
0:05:06 > 0:05:10trade partners hasn't always been good, they've always had a massive
0:05:10 > 0:05:16surplus, particularly with the US, but we've seen Donald Trump's trip
0:05:16 > 0:05:21to China where they came away with $250 billion of trade deals. The
0:05:21 > 0:05:25trade surplus actually narrowed somewhat recently as well, so our we
0:05:25 > 0:05:28seeing China's trade relationship with its major partners going
0:05:28 > 0:05:35forward?Look at the US, we will see trade tensions picking up against.
0:05:35 > 0:05:39The US is relying on China with North Korea and the expectation is
0:05:39 > 0:05:43they won't be able to. We have seen rhetoric heating up again. You have
0:05:43 > 0:05:48the trade representative investigating China's intellectual
0:05:48 > 0:05:55property practices and rules on enforced technology transfer and an
0:05:55 > 0:06:00undersecretary at the Treasury who said comprehensive economic dialogue
0:06:00 > 0:06:04has been stalled because China isn't doing enough to address the
0:06:04 > 0:06:08imbalance or to liberalise its economy, and the US is trying to
0:06:08 > 0:06:12block China from accessing market economy status at the WTO, saying
0:06:12 > 0:06:17it's just not a market economy.How can China get the right balance,
0:06:17 > 0:06:22scale back on the financial risks and polluting industries and keep
0:06:22 > 0:06:24investment and business appetite buoyant?That will be very
0:06:24 > 0:06:34difficult. They will try to present themselves as being a global leader
0:06:34 > 0:06:37and open for business, globalisation, but the reality is
0:06:37 > 0:06:39often different with foreign companies complaining about being
0:06:39 > 0:06:47discriminated against. Now, when it comes to technology and
0:06:47 > 0:06:52innovation, disrupters are very much in vogue and one of the most famous
0:06:52 > 0:06:57is will.i.am. He's the seven time Grammy Award winning musician and
0:06:57 > 0:07:05front man for the Black Eyed Peas. His company is blending fashion,
0:07:05 > 0:07:08lifestyle and culture with advanced technology in a way that really
0:07:08 > 0:07:14shakes up the status quo. He spoke with the BBC's reporter.I still
0:07:14 > 0:07:18make music. I don't want to do music for a
0:07:18 > 0:07:26business. That's not the smartest thing to do right now for me. For
0:07:26 > 0:07:31other folks, that's great, but for me I don't how we compete with
0:07:31 > 0:07:36ourselves. I don't see myself on stage at 60 years old as a business.
0:07:36 > 0:07:40The fact remains that many young people are still drawn to the
0:07:40 > 0:07:45glamour of the hip-hop music world, the entertainment industry, they
0:07:45 > 0:07:49still want to see their names in bright lights, what is your message
0:07:49 > 0:07:55to those young people who, although they may have to do music
0:07:55 > 0:07:57differently, but still want to do it?
0:07:57 > 0:08:03To all the musicians out there with big dreams, go out there and pursue
0:08:03 > 0:08:08those dreams. Like, don't let anything stand in your way. But for
0:08:08 > 0:08:18all the folks on the fence who want to do something bigger, errm,
0:08:18 > 0:08:22there's nothing bigger than Bill Gates, there's nothing bigger than
0:08:22 > 0:08:28Steve Jobs, but you too have the opportunity to, you know, try to be
0:08:28 > 0:08:33that big and if you try to be as big as Bill Gates and don't succeed, you
0:08:33 > 0:08:38will be bigger than Michael Jackson, I guarantee you that. Now that I'm
0:08:38 > 0:08:4540, I want to aim to be like, you know, the other Mike, Michael Dell.
0:08:45 > 0:08:50I want to be like the other Steve Ede, not Stevie Wonder, Steve Jobs.
0:08:50 > 0:08:57I want to change will.i.am to macro free, Bill Gates. Why not shoot and
0:08:57 > 0:09:06aim that way? There's nothing wrong with making sure your dreams have a
0:09:06 > 0:09:11great execution squad. I want to surround myself with votes that
0:09:11 > 0:09:16reflect my new dream. If I can do it, coming from the ghetto, you can
0:09:16 > 0:09:22do it too, you just have to surround yourself with engineers and
0:09:22 > 0:09:32discipline future thinkers -- disciplined. If you could live in
0:09:32 > 0:09:36the conditions you're living in an dream this way, should be a
0:09:36 > 0:09:40cakewalk. The multi- award musician will.i.am
0:09:40 > 0:09:46speaking there.Let's look at the markets now before we go. A lot of
0:09:46 > 0:09:51gains in Asia, the markets that have opened, including the Hang Seng and
0:09:51 > 0:09:54the All Ordinaries in Australia have been rising most of the morning and
0:09:54 > 0:09:58doing well because we saw Wall Street doing well, those stocks
0:09:58 > 0:10:04rising with the technology stocks like Facebook and Google parent
0:10:04 > 0:10:07Alphabet doing well. We've been reporting about the stopgap measures
0:10:07 > 0:10:13as well finally being passed through in the US am so that's also going to
0:10:13 > 0:10:17reassure a lot of investors. Looking at Australia still, looking at the
0:10:17 > 0:10:26energy stocks rising in tandem with oil prices. Woodside petroleum doing
0:10:26 > 0:10:29well and origin energy gaining 4% and at one point hitting its highest
0:10:29 > 0:10:32in two years. That's it for this edition of