0:00:00 > 0:00:01The latest figures show that the number of people who went
0:00:01 > 0:00:05to their GP with suspected flu in England rose by 40% in the past
0:00:05 > 0:00:05week.
0:00:05 > 0:00:18Now on BBC News all the latest business news live from Singapore.
0:00:19 > 0:00:23Uber and SoftBank finally reach a deal. The Japanese firm is then
0:00:23 > 0:00:27largest stakeholder in the firm now. And is President Trump following
0:00:27 > 0:00:32through on his promise to bring jobs back to the US as he wraps up his
0:00:32 > 0:00:44first year in office? Welcome to Asia Business Report. The deal is
0:00:44 > 0:00:48finally sealed. A group of investors led by the Japanese firm SoftBank is
0:00:48 > 0:00:54taking a large stake in Uber. The arrangement will make the
0:00:54 > 0:01:01ridesharing company's co-founder and CEO of very rich man. Earlier I
0:01:01 > 0:01:05asked our North American technology reporter why it had taken so long to
0:01:05 > 0:01:10get a deal.There were a number of moving parts. On the one hand we had
0:01:10 > 0:01:15Uber's continuing controversies about information breaches, sexism
0:01:15 > 0:01:19and various lawsuits they were involved in and there was a lot to
0:01:19 > 0:01:23work through when it came to the nature of the deal. For example,
0:01:23 > 0:01:27SoftBank Group and the investors in the deal or the shares from existing
0:01:27 > 0:01:34employees and investors at Uber and also as part of the deal they
0:01:34 > 0:01:39negotiated two board seats, which will be taken by SoftBank. The
0:01:39 > 0:01:42process of getting all of those things are blind to the point where
0:01:42 > 0:01:49this was agreed to a long time. It was finally announced today. Now
0:01:49 > 0:01:53this huge deal, which pumps a lot of cash into Uber, has finally been
0:01:53 > 0:02:00completed.When President Trump took office one year ago his big promise
0:02:00 > 0:02:04was to bring more jobs to the United States. One of the biggest deals to
0:02:04 > 0:02:09be announced since he took charge was a $10 billion investment by a
0:02:09 > 0:02:13Taiwanese company. But the government is giving the firm
0:02:13 > 0:02:17billions of dollars in tax breaks and many are wondering if it will
0:02:17 > 0:02:24all pay off. Our correspondent reports.
0:02:24 > 0:02:29The last winter for these fields of corn. By next year, farms and homes
0:02:29 > 0:02:34here will make way for a bustling fact it churning out digital
0:02:34 > 0:02:37displays. If all goes to plan thousands of jobs will be created.
0:02:37 > 0:02:46In exchange for hefty tax breaks. It is a big deal for a small community.
0:02:46 > 0:02:52The top story in the local newspaper. Everyone has an opinion
0:02:52 > 0:02:56force.I'm generally for it. I think it will be positive for the area for
0:02:56 > 0:03:00operating the lot of general contractors and industries in the
0:03:00 > 0:03:04area will benefit.But on the flipside we are spending too much
0:03:04 > 0:03:07money in a quick amount of time.I feel like we've spent more than
0:03:07 > 0:03:12seems reasonable. We've stepped out of bounds and kind of got pulled
0:03:12 > 0:03:19into doing this. Let's give them anything we want.The Taiwanese firm
0:03:19 > 0:03:24Foxconn says 13,000 jobs will be created in Wisconsin and it will
0:03:24 > 0:03:29invest at least $10 billion. But the company will get $3 billion in tax
0:03:29 > 0:03:34credits. And overall it could cost the government has much as $4.5
0:03:34 > 0:03:41billion. The deal was announced in July last year by President Trump in
0:03:41 > 0:03:45the White House. The biggest since he took office.If I didn't get
0:03:45 > 0:03:50elected he definitely would not be spending $10 billion.The money
0:03:50 > 0:03:59could transform lives in the two counties. It is people from
0:03:59 > 0:04:02blue-collar communities and small towns like this that Donald Trump
0:04:02 > 0:04:06managed to convince the vote for him and while the past has seen a fair
0:04:06 > 0:04:09amount of announcements from big business, promising to increase
0:04:09 > 0:04:13investment and create jobs in America, it is unclear yet as to
0:04:13 > 0:04:17whether they will deliver and what it will cost the country. So what
0:04:17 > 0:04:23happens if Foxconn's plans for through I ask a local official.It
0:04:23 > 0:04:27is pay-as-you-go and Foxconn's terms are based on the number of jobs, or
0:04:27 > 0:04:32if they don't meet that they don't get the incentive.Foxconn didn't
0:04:32 > 0:04:35respond to certain questions but says it is committed to creating
0:04:35 > 0:04:4013,000 jobs in Wisconsin. State that swung in President Trump's favour is
0:04:40 > 0:04:46hoping it made the right choice. -- the state.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49Indian officials are cutting the tax rates on some products and services
0:04:49 > 0:04:57under the new woods and services tax, or GST. Federal and state
0:04:57 > 0:05:00finance ministers have agreed to put the lower rates in place starting
0:05:00 > 0:05:04the 25th of January. This move comes after many businesses raised
0:05:04 > 0:05:09concerns about high rates and a complicated filing system. We can
0:05:09 > 0:05:13now cross live over to Mumbai. Our Indian business reporter joins us.
0:05:13 > 0:05:18Urging the bleak businesses are happy about this decision. What are
0:05:18 > 0:05:25they saying?Well, this is good news for many businesses that have
0:05:25 > 0:05:30complained about the high rate of taxation and the complicated filing
0:05:30 > 0:05:34system for the GST is the unified single tax that replaced multiple
0:05:34 > 0:05:38state taxes. It is especially useful for products that cross the number
0:05:38 > 0:05:45of state orders, but the process is very complicated. For example, it is
0:05:45 > 0:05:49online and many businesses in India don't even have a computer. But this
0:05:49 > 0:05:54decision to change the tax is on 29 products and 50 services is as much
0:05:54 > 0:05:58for businesses as the government. The government is very worried about
0:05:58 > 0:06:03compliance. It inks many businesses are evading tax and so by lowering
0:06:03 > 0:06:07these taxes it hopes many people will get into this system and the
0:06:07 > 0:06:11part of the tax system. The government is under a lot of
0:06:11 > 0:06:15pressure to meet its fiscal deficit this financial year. Every since GST
0:06:15 > 0:06:20came in last July, the tax revenues have really gone down. Growth has
0:06:20 > 0:06:27also slowed, the government really wants GST to try and boost growth.
0:06:27 > 0:06:32But this is a 25th meeting of the GST council and this is one of
0:06:32 > 0:06:35several changes that have happened since last July, so there's likely
0:06:35 > 0:06:40to be a lot more ups and downs for India's businesses in the months and
0:06:40 > 0:06:46years to come.Thank you so much for bringing us up with that story.
0:06:46 > 0:06:51Nearly three centuries after some Scots men hit pebbles with sticks,
0:06:51 > 0:06:58golf has grown into a nearly $70 billion industry. Asia has being
0:06:58 > 0:07:02seen as a promising market, but is that still the case? Golf tournament
0:07:02 > 0:07:08have struggled to find sponsorship and prize money has also shrunk. Our
0:07:08 > 0:07:13business reporter Mariko Oi is at a very different change of scene, at
0:07:13 > 0:07:18the Singapore open. We must all of the action!
0:07:18 > 0:07:22That's right. The second day of the tournament is well under way and
0:07:22 > 0:07:26some of the worldtop golfers are here at the Singapore Open,
0:07:26 > 0:07:33sponsored by Japan's SNBC. The banks just announced it would extend
0:07:33 > 0:07:36sponsorship another three years, which is great news for the
0:07:36 > 0:07:42organisers because when Barclays pulled out in 2012 the event had to
0:07:42 > 0:07:46be put on hold. I joined by the promoter. And the joining us. Read
0:07:46 > 0:07:51news about the extension of the sponsorship, but tell me what is in
0:07:51 > 0:07:55it for the big corporations to sponsor sporting events like this?I
0:07:55 > 0:08:01think looking at SNBC, they were looking at an asset they could align
0:08:01 > 0:08:04their brand with. With their Asia-Pacific head waters here in
0:08:04 > 0:08:09Singapore, this was the ideal location and they saw the Singapore
0:08:09 > 0:08:13Open as a very premier sporting event, not just the Premier golf
0:08:13 > 0:08:18event, what a sporting event, and it ticks a lot of boxes for them
0:08:18 > 0:08:22because of the location, the venue, the ability to promote themselves in
0:08:22 > 0:08:26the region and globally.But the prizemoney used to be some $6
0:08:26 > 0:08:31million with Barclays and it is now down to $1 million. Is the money
0:08:31 > 0:08:35drying up in the industry?I don't think so. We are still seeing
0:08:35 > 0:08:41corporations investing in golf. The prizemoney isn't really a reflection
0:08:41 > 0:08:45of the quality of the tournament. That's what we feel. It's really
0:08:45 > 0:08:49about the delivery of the event, the spectator experience, the sponsor
0:08:49 > 0:08:53experience, the amount of exposure it get and obviously we have the top
0:08:53 > 0:08:58layer is still coming and playing, so they recognise the event as a
0:08:58 > 0:09:04premium golf tournament and that's what it is about, not the
0:09:04 > 0:09:06prizemoney.Would you say there has been pressure on these banks
0:09:06 > 0:09:10especially when they were going to the financial crisis and so on, that
0:09:10 > 0:09:14they shouldn't be throwing these big bucks at sporting events?I think
0:09:14 > 0:09:18there's always pressure and I think they need to be very careful as to
0:09:18 > 0:09:21what they select, what sort of sporting properties or any property,
0:09:21 > 0:09:26whether it is entertainment or lifestyle and so on. Do they have to
0:09:26 > 0:09:29have very compelling reasons. I'm sure they go through a very lengthy
0:09:29 > 0:09:32internal process to make sure it's not going to compromise their
0:09:32 > 0:09:36reputation in any way.What about the number of golfers? We saw a
0:09:36 > 0:09:40sharp decline in the US and the UK and Japan. At about the rest of
0:09:40 > 0:09:45Asia?I think golf is in a relatively healthy position in Asia,
0:09:45 > 0:09:49especially in Southeast Asia. We are seeing steady growth in the
0:09:49 > 0:09:54countries that have traditionally had good participation, places like
0:09:54 > 0:09:58Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia is picking up, Malaysia, even
0:09:58 > 0:10:02Singapore, despite the lack of facilities, it has been well
0:10:02 > 0:10:06documented. And I think it's good to see the younger kids taking an
0:10:06 > 0:10:10interest and I think a lot of that has to do with the players that are
0:10:10 > 0:10:16at the top of the pile these days. Thank you so much. And of course
0:10:16 > 0:10:20golf is now part of the Olympics, so that must be a boost as well.
0:10:20 > 0:10:25Thank you. That rings as to the end of this edition of Asia Business
0:10:25 > 0:10:30Report. Thanks for watching.