0:00:00 > 0:00:00of Saturday morning, which killed six people.
0:00:00 > 0:00:10One other man is critically ill in hospital.
0:00:10 > 0:00:14Lure for me later, at but first convert here is Asia Business
0:00:14 > 0:00:18Report.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21-- but first here is.
0:00:26 > 0:00:32China's plugging away at developing its one belt, one road initiative.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35Will the world's second-biggest economy continue down the same path
0:00:35 > 0:00:37in 2018?
0:00:42 > 0:00:44Welcome to Asia Business Report.
0:00:44 > 0:00:47I'm Sharanjit Leyl.
0:00:47 > 0:00:53Bitcoin has begun trading on the CME, that is the world's largest
0:00:53 > 0:00:57derivatives exchange operator, the move is seen as a major validation
0:00:57 > 0:01:00of the online currency which has been named as a fraud and in a
0:01:00 > 0:01:05bubble by some of its critics. Alicia centre rally is with us now,
0:01:05 > 0:01:16we know that this is the second move in a week, disease mean it is
0:01:16 > 0:01:25gaining some legitimacy?Investment has been cautious by investors,
0:01:25 > 0:01:29especially given this is a brand-new investment class. It is a premium to
0:01:29 > 0:01:33what it is currently trading on the stock market, depending on which
0:01:33 > 0:01:37exchange you look at, of course. As we mentioned, this is a milestone
0:01:37 > 0:01:43for the currency given previously, institutional investors could not
0:01:43 > 0:01:48cash in on this because they are not allowed to buy from these regulated
0:01:48 > 0:01:51exchanges, and so now, they have this avenue in which they can
0:01:51 > 0:01:59actually bet on a cryptocurrency and interestingly, with the launch of
0:01:59 > 0:02:04these, we are also going to see ways for investors to bet against it, so
0:02:04 > 0:02:08hedge funds can now try and short queen if they are sceptical about
0:02:08 > 0:02:13its future.Always, but nonetheless, we know that it has been called all
0:02:13 > 0:02:19sorts of things by detractors, JP Morgan has called it a fraud. Will
0:02:19 > 0:02:24we see potentially a painful crash? That is definitely a possibility and
0:02:24 > 0:02:29a very valid concern, at the start of the year, Bitcoin was trading at
0:02:29 > 0:02:39$1000, now it has risen by 200% and is trading at $20,000. We spoke to a
0:02:39 > 0:02:44critic who had this warning for investors.If you want to invest in
0:02:44 > 0:02:48Bitcoin, be prepared to lose all your money.That was the case
0:02:48 > 0:02:53financial regulator, but for every sceptic, there is a proponent of the
0:02:53 > 0:02:57digital currency. We saw Christine Lagarde, the head of the
0:02:57 > 0:03:01International Monetary Fund, saying it would not be wise to dismiss
0:03:01 > 0:03:06cryptocurrency, and that we could see a rise of them in developing
0:03:06 > 0:03:10countries, where they have unstable currencies, for example Venezuela,
0:03:10 > 0:03:19where we see the central bank or government backed currency losing
0:03:19 > 0:03:31its value. He says he is not opposed the idea of and is still interested
0:03:31 > 0:03:36in it. It is based in blotch and technology, which has a lot of
0:03:36 > 0:03:39potential applications for the real world.All right, it is something
0:03:39 > 0:03:45that should not be criticised at all, as you say. We'll be watching
0:03:45 > 0:03:50that trade very closely. Volatility of course, is a word that we have
0:03:50 > 0:03:56used a lot, and that is something you've had a lot about in 2017. It
0:03:56 > 0:04:01has kept investors on their toes as the rules they use to guide their
0:04:01 > 0:04:06decisions seem to have all changed. For example, North Korea's threats
0:04:06 > 0:04:10have put the US and its neighbours on high alert and President Trump
0:04:10 > 0:04:13was sworn into office and promised widespread changes to financial and
0:04:13 > 0:04:20economic policies. President Xi Jinping has taken on the role of
0:04:20 > 0:04:22global sales statesman, calling for a cleaner environment and global
0:04:22 > 0:04:31trade. And finally, remember WannaCry and the data breach? Well,
0:04:31 > 0:04:36they have become an unavoidable threat that affected all of our
0:04:36 > 0:04:49lives. Well, I asked why the markets kept reaching such unstable highs in
0:04:49 > 0:04:52recent times.It is a bit of mystery, actually. You would
0:04:52 > 0:04:55essentially think that with everything that is happening in the
0:04:55 > 0:04:59markets in the world, the oil-price would be going up and down, it is
0:04:59 > 0:05:05just not the case. I guess there is so much cheaper money in the system,
0:05:05 > 0:05:08interest rates remain low, and that is what is fuelling economic growth.
0:05:08 > 0:05:13I guess if there is one thing we could put a finger on, it is now
0:05:13 > 0:05:18that the US is self-sufficient. Moving away from that, let's take a
0:05:18 > 0:05:21look at the North Korean crisis because that is something that is
0:05:21 > 0:05:27creating a lot of headlines in this region, especially because it is a
0:05:27 > 0:05:31rogue nation that does not seem to want to get back into line. How do
0:05:31 > 0:05:35you see that resolving it at all, in 2018?It will be hard to find a
0:05:35 > 0:05:40resolution because it will involve both sides stepping down, not much
0:05:40 > 0:05:45sign of that happening as 2017 comes to an end. North Korea appears to be
0:05:45 > 0:05:50going to stick to its strategy, which means putting nuclear
0:05:50 > 0:05:54capability to the point that the US and China take it seriously enough,
0:05:54 > 0:05:58in its view, to enter into negotiations. There is no indication
0:05:58 > 0:06:03that the US is going to do that and no indication that China is going to
0:06:03 > 0:06:07be able to pull a rabbit out of a hat and find some solution that can
0:06:07 > 0:06:10accommodate both what North Korea wants to get, what China itself
0:06:10 > 0:06:14wants out of this, and indeed will satisfy the US.And very quickly, of
0:06:14 > 0:06:18course, the concern around the cyber hacks. What you have to say about
0:06:18 > 0:06:23that?They are going to be coming thick and fast, I would like to be
0:06:23 > 0:06:27able to say otherwise but I am afraid they are a significant
0:06:27 > 0:06:30feature of corporate life.And that was the global chief of control
0:06:30 > 0:06:36risk. As the year draws to a close, we are of course looking at some of
0:06:36 > 0:06:40the year's biggest business topics, and China is almost always at the
0:06:40 > 0:06:44top of that list. Growth appears to have slowed down over the long-term
0:06:44 > 0:06:47as the economy much yours, expansion was slightly stronger this year than
0:06:47 > 0:06:57last. The most recent figure for GDP growth is about 6.8%. China also
0:06:57 > 0:07:04attempting to expand their influence overseas, through massive assistance
0:07:04 > 0:07:10in a programme known as one belt, one road. The government has
0:07:10 > 0:07:13censored many Web services, while Western Internet giants continue
0:07:13 > 0:07:19looking at ways to enter the Chinese Internet market. What could all this
0:07:19 > 0:07:28mean for next year? Well, the annual central economic conference, which
0:07:28 > 0:07:32begins today, could be a good indication of what is to come.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35Usually, this is the forum at which the economic elites will set the
0:07:35 > 0:07:39agenda for next year, including pretty detailed economic policies.
0:07:39 > 0:07:44We expect them to make a decision on the GDP growth target for next year,
0:07:44 > 0:07:48if they want to signal they are ready to reform, they are ready to
0:07:48 > 0:07:53tighten, they could set a lower GDP target, but I think the overall aim
0:07:53 > 0:08:02is still to double the 2010 GDP by 2020, and that would require the
0:08:02 > 0:08:07growth averaged over the next two years to be leased 6%.Are we
0:08:07 > 0:08:11expecting any shocks when it comes to the world's 's second-largest
0:08:11 > 0:08:17economy and its growth target? Or will it be, as you say, slow and
0:08:17 > 0:08:21steady?No, we don't expect any dramatic shocks or changes at all,
0:08:21 > 0:08:26China, the leadership's preference is always sort of stability above
0:08:26 > 0:08:32anything else. I think any changes to the policies or reforms will be
0:08:32 > 0:08:37happening in a moderate fashion. Something we have heard a lot about
0:08:37 > 0:08:43in 2017, it is really China's attempt to gain influence in the
0:08:43 > 0:08:49region with soft power, are we going to see that continue in 2018?Yes,
0:08:49 > 0:08:53absolutely, this is one of Xi Jinping's signature policies. He
0:08:53 > 0:08:57will come out of the Party Congress and definitely want to push ahead
0:08:57 > 0:09:00with that, but this is definitely not something that he alone can
0:09:00 > 0:09:06push. There are more than 160 countries participating, and there
0:09:06 > 0:09:14are a number of financial issues to consider. I think next year, it will
0:09:14 > 0:09:17be basically saying we will see progress but also setbacks in some
0:09:17 > 0:09:22areas.All right, very briefly, the Internet. We know you have huge
0:09:22 > 0:09:37Chinese firms like Ellie Butler, for instance, what do you see happening?
0:09:37 > 0:09:44-- Alibaba.China will try to continue to support large online
0:09:44 > 0:09:51companies like Alibaba, and try to restrict access to foreigners.We at
0:09:51 > 0:09:55only a few days away from the end of the year, in case you have not
0:09:55 > 0:09:59noticed, here is what is due out this week. Delivery giant FedEx will
0:09:59 > 0:10:11be reporting quarterly results. Yes, they do still make products under
0:10:11 > 0:10:16licensing with the Chinese government. And Nike is due to give
0:10:16 > 0:10:21us a financial update. On the agent financial side, Japan is going to be
0:10:21 > 0:10:26holding a monetary meeting as well. We'll be looking out for all about,
0:10:26 > 0:10:29that is it for this week's Asia Business Report. Hanky