0:00:10 > 0:00:12I'm Babita Sharma with BBC News.
0:00:12 > 0:00:13Our top story:
0:00:13 > 0:00:16Donald Trump's overhaul of the US tax system is set
0:00:16 > 0:00:19to be approved by both houses of Congress.
0:00:19 > 0:00:22It managed to get approval in the House of Representatives
0:00:22 > 0:00:25and a vote in the Senate is expected in the next few hours.
0:00:25 > 0:00:27Final approval will have to wait until Wednesday.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31China has called on the US to abandon its cold war mentality
0:00:31 > 0:00:33after Donald Trump's speech on national security accused Beijing
0:00:33 > 0:00:38of trying to erode American security.
0:00:38 > 0:00:40And this story is trending on BBC.com.
0:00:41 > 0:00:44A coffee shop in London's Oxford Street claims to be able to make
0:00:44 > 0:00:47the world's first selfie drink by printing a chocolate powder
0:00:47 > 0:00:49portrait from a photo on top of your drink.
0:00:49 > 0:00:51They're calling it a selfi-cino.
0:00:53 > 0:00:55That's all from me now.
0:00:55 > 0:00:56Stay with BBC World News.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06And the top story here in the UK:
0:01:06 > 0:01:09Police say they've taken action to foil an alleged Islamist terror
0:01:09 > 0:01:11plot that could have been carried out this Christmas.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15Four men were arrested in counter terrorism raids.
0:01:15 > 0:01:19Now on BBC News, all the latest business news live from Singapore.
0:01:35 > 0:01:42Will it continue to sizzle or start to fizzle? We look at what's been
0:01:42 > 0:01:46driving the trend is for Bitcoin and other crypto currencies.
0:01:46 > 0:01:49The US is getting closer to reforming its tax structure for the
0:01:49 > 0:01:53first time in 30 years but what could this mean for multinationals
0:01:53 > 0:01:55in Asia?
0:02:01 > 0:02:06Good morning, Asia, hello, world, glad you could join us for this
0:02:06 > 0:02:10midweek addition of Asia Business Report, I'm Rico Hizon. The price of
0:02:10 > 0:02:16Bitcoin has plunged more than 10% to below $16,000 on some crypto
0:02:16 > 0:02:20currency exchanges, from $20,000 earlier this week.
0:02:20 > 0:02:24A couple of reasons, the US securities exchange commission has
0:02:24 > 0:02:29suspended trading of a popular Bitcoin related stock that has
0:02:29 > 0:02:32soared in recent weeks, citing concerns about market manipulation.
0:02:32 > 0:02:41Their share price had risen an eye watering 1700% between the end of
0:02:41 > 0:02:45September and Monday evening before the SEC intervened. Analysts are
0:02:45 > 0:02:48citing profit-taking ahead of the holiday period as another reason for
0:02:48 > 0:02:55the price. Bitcoin has captured the attention of the world this year and
0:02:55 > 0:02:59Asia has been at the forefront of the crypto currency craze with
0:02:59 > 0:03:03investors in Japan, China and South Korea driving up the price of the
0:03:03 > 0:03:07Bitcoin and other digital currencies. But pared to traditional
0:03:07 > 0:03:12investments and the use of cash, crypto is are still fairly niche --
0:03:12 > 0:03:18but compared. Investors world urged to use caution and some Asian
0:03:18 > 0:03:23countries have banned some institutions from using it. But the
0:03:23 > 0:03:26hype around crypto currencies has more Asians are looking at them
0:03:26 > 0:03:33despite the risks. Karishma Vaswani has more.
0:03:33 > 0:03:37Cash... It is still king in so much of Asia these days. In fact, a
0:03:37 > 0:03:42recent survey shows more than half of us preferred this to any other
0:03:42 > 0:03:47form of digital payment. But there's a small but growing number of Asians
0:03:47 > 0:03:51who are keen on digital currencies, all crypto currencies as they're
0:03:51 > 0:03:58known, both to spend and to invest in. This Bitcoin ATM was set up in
0:03:58 > 0:04:01Singapore two years ago but it's only since the digital currency's
0:04:01 > 0:04:04value has shot up that more people are buying.
0:04:04 > 0:04:10They see it as digital gold, a form of savings. It dovetails into the
0:04:10 > 0:04:16saving idea of being a saving Asian, that's what we're hearing from
0:04:16 > 0:04:21customers.But you don't need to go to an ATM to buy a Bitcoin, you can
0:04:21 > 0:04:24also mine one. Dexter set up this bit, crypto
0:04:24 > 0:04:29currency mining workshop a year ago, he makes and sells computers that
0:04:29 > 0:04:38solve complex mathematical problems. Bitcoin has gone higher and higher,
0:04:38 > 0:04:44previously we could only sell two or three a week, now we can sell 15 to
0:04:44 > 0:04:48anything in the hundreds now and if more countries like Japan fully
0:04:48 > 0:04:54legalised Bitcoin and crypto currency... More people feel they
0:04:54 > 0:04:59can invest in crypto currencies. Bitcoin has soared more than 1000%
0:04:59 > 0:05:04since the beginning of the year, a lot of that demand has come from
0:05:04 > 0:05:08Japan, China and Korea but recently Beijing and other Asian nations have
0:05:08 > 0:05:12cracked down on crypto currencies, increasing volatility in the market.
0:05:12 > 0:05:16A lot of the easy money has already been made, if anyone wants to get
0:05:16 > 0:05:22exposure now you have to be able to stomach massive downside volatility,
0:05:22 > 0:05:2850%, 70%, maybe even more. Still, that's not stopping some
0:05:28 > 0:05:32businesses from cashing in on the crypto craze. At this bar in
0:05:32 > 0:05:35Singapore, customers campaign for their drinks using another popular
0:05:35 > 0:05:47and increasingly expensive digital currency. Then the payment is made!
0:05:47 > 0:05:52For now it makes up only 2% of transactions, but club owners expect
0:05:52 > 0:05:57that to grow. Don't pop open the champagne yet, though, crypto is
0:05:57 > 0:06:03maybe worth less than a cocktail in the future. Karishma Vaswani, BBC
0:06:03 > 0:06:07News, Singapore. Crypto currencies gave investors a
0:06:07 > 0:06:11wild ride in 2017 but since it has no intrinsic value some analysts
0:06:11 > 0:06:14have called it an extremely risky investment.
0:06:14 > 0:06:18America's biggest tax overhaul in 30 years is inching slowly to being
0:06:18 > 0:06:23real, but there was another roadblock as a bill makes its way to
0:06:23 > 0:06:28Donald Trump's desk for a signature. One of the biggest changes the plan
0:06:28 > 0:06:34offers is cutting the corporate tax rate to 21%. At the moment it's at
0:06:34 > 0:06:3935%, the highest in the developed world. The big winners will be
0:06:39 > 0:06:43multinationals Stoppila Sunzu did I explain where the heads next.
0:06:43 > 0:06:48It cleared the vote in the house, Rico, now it's going to the Senate
0:06:48 > 0:06:52and we expect voting later today but we're hearing there are minor
0:06:52 > 0:06:56elements of the draft of the bill cleared by the house that might be
0:06:56 > 0:07:00in violation of Senate rules, which means even if the Senate clears that
0:07:00 > 0:07:03draft without those elements, what will essentially happen is it will
0:07:03 > 0:07:07need to go back to the house for approval tomorrow, which means just
0:07:07 > 0:07:11one more step in this long drawnout process for the Republicans to get
0:07:11 > 0:07:15this tax reform passed and they're all trying to get it done before
0:07:15 > 0:07:19Christmas. If and when it happens it will be Donald Trump's first big
0:07:19 > 0:07:24legislative victory since taking office. He promised to make America
0:07:24 > 0:07:29great again to get this economy growing, and to bring jobs to this
0:07:29 > 0:07:32country, and the Republicans certainly think this is one way of
0:07:32 > 0:07:36doing it. Their pitch is that if companies are making these savings,
0:07:36 > 0:07:4114% less corporate tax they have to pay, if they're making these
0:07:41 > 0:07:45savings, Republicans say they will reinvest that money here and that in
0:07:45 > 0:07:51turn will create jobs. YouTube has signed a second global
0:07:51 > 0:07:55multi-year agreement with a major music label, universal, which
0:07:55 > 0:07:59represents artists like Taylor Swift and Jay Z, they say the deal will
0:07:59 > 0:08:04provide performers with more flexibility and paid. It made you to
0:08:04 > 0:08:10sign a deal with Warner Music -- in May YouTube signed. Christmas comes
0:08:10 > 0:08:16early for you?Absolutely. It has had tough negotiations with
0:08:16 > 0:08:20the music labels to come to this deal with Universal Music group as
0:08:20 > 0:08:24well as Warner and according to reports they have a third label
0:08:24 > 0:08:29under their belt, giving them the license of Sony music. Essentially
0:08:29 > 0:08:34YouTube is looking to pave the way for a music service as early as
0:08:34 > 0:08:38March next year so they'll be taking on the likes of Spotify and Apple
0:08:38 > 0:08:42Music, because YouTube is being seen as behind the curve on the trend of
0:08:42 > 0:08:46people listening to music online through certain streams. What
0:08:46 > 0:08:51they've agreed to with Sony and universal music is to protect
0:08:51 > 0:08:55copyright, to police it more strongly as well as to give them a
0:08:55 > 0:09:00cut of the royalties when it comes up. YouTube is popular with millions
0:09:00 > 0:09:04of subscribers so the next logical step is for them to set up another
0:09:04 > 0:09:08tier for people to pay for certain streams of music they want to
0:09:08 > 0:09:14subscribe to.Are you into music streaming?I am, I have a Spotify
0:09:14 > 0:09:22account and I watch YouTube all the time.I still have my CDs and my
0:09:22 > 0:09:25vinyls! I don't know what will happen to them! Thanks very much! A
0:09:25 > 0:09:29South Korean start-up has unveiled a huge robot designed to make humans
0:09:29 > 0:09:34stronger and more mobile. The machine is the work of Rainbow
0:09:34 > 0:09:40Robotics, a spin-off from South Korea's advanced Institute of
0:09:40 > 0:09:45science and technology's Robotics lab.
0:10:05 > 0:10:13This robot can be used for carrying a person from A two B without his or
0:10:13 > 0:10:19her physical effort, that means it can help a disabled person and also
0:10:19 > 0:10:27his arm is very powerful and it can be used for carrying heavy trays.
0:10:27 > 0:10:31There are many possible applications in the future.
0:10:46 > 0:10:51This kind of robot is not ready to be used in very critical areas yet.
0:10:51 > 0:10:56Instead it can be used for more entertaining purposes. It can be
0:10:56 > 0:11:02used for some kind of amusement Park or events.
0:11:09 > 0:11:15Technology and innovation, Star Wars is here! Let's have a quick look at
0:11:15 > 0:11:16the markets.
0:11:18 > 0:11:18You
0:11:18 > 0:11:22You can see, Asia is moving sideways. At the moment the Nikkei
0:11:22 > 0:11:30225 up by 13 points and the Hang Seng opening lower by 55 points and
0:11:30 > 0:11:36the All Ordinaries an inch higher at 6165. This is after US equities
0:11:36 > 0:11:40slipped overnight as selling crept into the market as most traders see
0:11:40 > 0:11:44the positive impact of the tax-cut bill already being priced in.
0:11:45 > 0:11:49With that we end this edition of Asia Business Report. Thank you so
0:11:49 > 0:11:53much for investing your time