0:00:00 > 0:00:00mostly in junior roles.
0:00:00 > 0:00:17Now on BBC News, all the latest business news live from Singapore.
0:00:17 > 0:00:23As Chinese technology giant Alibaba eyes are possible public listing we
0:00:23 > 0:00:28take stock on how regional exchanges are competing for initial public
0:00:28 > 0:00:38offerings. -- eyes a. Microsoft suspends software updates to fix a
0:00:38 > 0:00:40security threat, after users complained the patches froze their
0:00:40 > 0:00:45machines.
0:00:45 > 0:00:49It is Wednesday, everyone! Good morning, Asia, hello, world! Glad
0:00:49 > 0:00:53you can join us for another action packed edition of Asia Business
0:00:53 > 0:00:58Report. I am Rico Hizon. We begin with Hong Kong, and the Territory is
0:00:58 > 0:01:03changing its listing rules, maybe trying to attract what Buster
0:01:03 > 0:01:09initial public offerings, such as Saudi Aramco, the world's a guest
0:01:09 > 0:01:15IPO this year. It is planning to allow companies to split their stock
0:01:15 > 0:01:20into different categories, known as dual class shares, to give owners of
0:01:20 > 0:01:24one class greater owned -- greater voting rights than the other. The
0:01:24 > 0:01:33change could interest Alibaba chairman Jack Mark -- Jack Ma, who
0:01:33 > 0:01:38may choose Hong Kong over the US to go public in 2018. Asia was the most
0:01:38 > 0:01:42active region for listings last year. Over 1600 initial public
0:01:42 > 0:01:50offerings globally, which raised under 200 billion US dollars. Asia
0:01:50 > 0:01:54saw a surge of 44% by deal numbers. According to our next guest, 2018
0:01:54 > 0:02:01might bring more big deals. Earlier, I spoke with Max Loh from Ernst &
0:02:01 > 0:02:06Young. He said investors are excited by the news that Jack Ma could list
0:02:06 > 0:02:09the company on his home turf. Alibaba is already listed in the
0:02:09 > 0:02:13United States. Bringing it back to Hong Kong is always exciting. It
0:02:13 > 0:02:18brings it closer to home. People are able to identify with the company
0:02:18 > 0:02:22and the things that they do in the market. It is always exciting.What
0:02:22 > 0:02:28will it mean for Hong Kong, the IPO market, and the rest of Asia, if
0:02:28 > 0:02:34Alibaba goes back home?I think it will give a filip to the already
0:02:34 > 0:02:37robust exchanges that exist, especially to Hong Kong, because
0:02:37 > 0:02:43when you have a big company that comes home that excites investors.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46You already have dual listings between Chinese companies who have
0:02:46 > 0:02:49listed in Hong Kong, but could this open floodgates of more American
0:02:49 > 0:02:56listed firms setting up in the big lights of Hong Kong, Tokyo, Seoul or
0:02:56 > 0:03:03China?Definitely. Right now the world is globalised. Investors can
0:03:03 > 0:03:08trade on any global exchange. Bringing it closer to home makes it
0:03:08 > 0:03:14more accessible. More investors, I think, will pile on to the stock.We
0:03:14 > 0:03:18are now globally connected, as you mention. Is there really a need for
0:03:18 > 0:03:22a dual listing if investors like lend me, based in Asia, can trade
0:03:22 > 0:03:27dual stocks -- trade US stocks? Absolutely, but right now it is
0:03:27 > 0:03:31limited to sophisticated investors. Renewed back home opens it more to
0:03:31 > 0:03:35retail and domestic investors who can now really invest directly in
0:03:35 > 0:03:39that stock. -- bringing it back home.Everybody is looking forward
0:03:39 > 0:03:44to the biggest ever IPO in history, which is Saudi Aramco. Everybody is
0:03:44 > 0:03:49eating for a share of that piece of that big pie, whether it is London,
0:03:49 > 0:03:53New York or Hong Kong. Who do you eventually think will be the big
0:03:53 > 0:03:58winner?I really don't know. Exchanges are competitive.
0:03:58 > 0:04:02Cross-border listings are the flavour of the day. Each exchange
0:04:02 > 0:04:05will put forward what they think are the competitive advantages to try to
0:04:05 > 0:04:12attract Saudi Aramco. Obviously, being such a big listing.Remember
0:04:12 > 0:04:17how we talked about the issues with chips that are being used in devices
0:04:17 > 0:04:20like computers and mobile phones? Microsoft has released patches for
0:04:20 > 0:04:28security threats, but they are freezing some machines which are
0:04:28 > 0:04:32powered via AMD chips. Shares in big technology companies are down
0:04:32 > 0:04:37following this report. Samir Hussein has the latest.What we are talking
0:04:37 > 0:04:40about, their rights and that major chip makers in the world. Intel and
0:04:40 > 0:04:48AMD. We already heard from the Intel boss who said, look, it is going to
0:04:48 > 0:04:54be fixed within the next week or so. AMD is suffering different problems.
0:04:54 > 0:04:58These chips, they had a patch and they put out that patch to try to
0:04:58 > 0:05:02fix it. Microsoft has been receiving complaints from its customers saying
0:05:02 > 0:05:06that after the fix was put in, they were getting frozen screens or the
0:05:06 > 0:05:11dreaded blue frozen screens. As a result, Microsoft has said, nope, we
0:05:11 > 0:05:15are not going to be issuing this patch any more for now. Not until
0:05:15 > 0:05:23they can figure out some sort of sex. -- fix.Virtual reality
0:05:23 > 0:05:30headsets can limit uses' mobility by connecting them to a computer, but
0:05:30 > 0:05:37one company has come up with a hands-free Shen. -- users' mobility.
0:05:37 > 0:05:41Dave Lee got his hands and head on it at the international consumer
0:05:41 > 0:05:49electronics show in Las Vegas. The original HTC was as -- was
0:05:49 > 0:05:55extremely well received upon launch in 2016. This, the Vive Pro, is a
0:05:55 > 0:05:59big upgrade. The resolution on this version is 78% better than the
0:05:59 > 0:06:04previous one. Looking around here, that extra resolution does make a
0:06:04 > 0:06:10big difference.It has an upgraded lens, displays, upgraded audio and
0:06:10 > 0:06:12had strapped. It is a whole different product for another
0:06:12 > 0:06:13consumer.
0:06:26 > 0:06:34Now, previously with the HTC Vibe you have had to connect it to the
0:06:34 > 0:06:37computer with a big cable, which often got in the way. They think
0:06:37 > 0:06:41they have solved it now with this adaptor, so now I can take the
0:06:41 > 0:06:46battery pack and put it in my back pocket. And I can just put this over
0:06:46 > 0:06:50my head and I am free to move however please, and I do not need to
0:06:50 > 0:06:55worry about tripping over that cable.I think it brings up the
0:06:55 > 0:07:00immersion level for you, and it can actually perform as well as a
0:07:00 > 0:07:03tether. You just have a seamless experience. It is lots easier.
0:07:03 > 0:07:08Really enjoyable for people.Some people say the reason high end of
0:07:08 > 0:07:11the art has not been as widely adopted as it perhaps could have
0:07:11 > 0:07:15been is because there isn't enough staff. -- high end VR. There are not
0:07:15 > 0:07:22enough things to do with VR. What are you doing to solve out?There is
0:07:22 > 0:07:26more content and people know what to do without this point. The content
0:07:26 > 0:07:29quality is getting better. Other things holding it back with things
0:07:29 > 0:07:32like the tether. It will make it easier for people to get into this
0:07:32 > 0:07:36experience. Virtual reality with Dave Lee. As we
0:07:36 > 0:07:40speak, South Korean President Moon Jae-in is speaking to the country.
0:07:40 > 0:07:47This is after Seoul held its first talks with its northern neighbour in
0:07:47 > 0:07:50two years. North Korea said they would send a delegation to the
0:07:50 > 0:07:56Winter Olympics next month. Joining us now for more is my colleague
0:07:56 > 0:08:00Mariko Oi, and the big question is, they are talking about sports, they
0:08:00 > 0:08:03are talking about the nuclear missile programme, but what about
0:08:03 > 0:08:09business. -- business? Will this dialogue give more business
0:08:09 > 0:08:14relations between the two countries? It is quite possible. The North
0:08:14 > 0:08:18Korean economy, guess what, is struggling. It has been affected by
0:08:18 > 0:08:21the sanctions imposed after its latest nuclear tests by the United
0:08:21 > 0:08:25States and the international community. Some analysts have called
0:08:25 > 0:08:34it one of the very few successes of President Trump. North Korea needs
0:08:34 > 0:08:40that cash to keep its elite happy with luxury goods, but also to keep
0:08:40 > 0:08:43funding its nuclear programme. Tourism has always been the biggest
0:08:43 > 0:08:47moneyspinner but that has fallen off the cliff after the death of a US
0:08:47 > 0:08:51national in North Korea. One way that they can make money is by
0:08:51 > 0:08:55reopening the joint north and South Korean caisson industrial complex.
0:08:55 > 0:09:02-- Kaesong. That was launched back in 2004, and was seen as a major
0:09:02 > 0:09:06symbol of cooperation between the two sides. The factory park is a
0:09:06 > 0:09:09combination of 124 South Korean companies employing 54,000 North
0:09:09 > 0:09:13Korean workers. When it was opened it used to generate about $100
0:09:13 > 0:09:20million in revenue every year. It was shut in February 2016 following
0:09:20 > 0:09:27North Korea's fourth nuclear and long-range missile test. As Rico
0:09:27 > 0:09:33mentioned, President no-one is currently speaking. We are hoping to
0:09:33 > 0:09:36find out whether North Korea and South Korea plans to reopen this
0:09:36 > 0:09:39context. We have not heard anything about that yet but it is a
0:09:39 > 0:09:47possibility.Thank you for that update. Moving to other news, Toyota
0:09:47 > 0:09:52and most are expected to announce they are building a new $1.6 billion
0:09:52 > 0:09:57auto factory in the US state of Alabama. -- Toyota and Mazda. It is
0:09:57 > 0:10:00a victory for President Trump, who promised to bring back Manufacturing
0:10:00 > 0:10:03jobs to the United States, and threatened tariffs on foreign
0:10:03 > 0:10:08reduction. Sources have told media outlets that the plant will employ
0:10:08 > 0:10:134000 workers and build three had a thousand vehicles a year. --
0:10:13 > 0:10:18300,000. A quick look at the markets:
0:10:27 > 0:10:31Thank you for investing your time with us. I am Rico Hizon. Sport
0:10:31 > 0:10:46Today is coming up.