25/01/2018 Asia Business Report

I'm Babita Sharma with BBC News.

Our top story:

The former doctor for the US

gymnastics team has sentenced to 175

years in prison for sexually

assaulting young female athletes.

Larry Nassar was jailed after a week

of harrowing testimony from nearly

160 women, including

Olympic gold medal winners.

A veteran US diplomat,

Bill Richardson, has resigned

from a panel set up in Myanmar

to advise on communal tension,

and denounced the country's

leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

And this video is

trending on BBC.com.

The owners of Grumpy cat have

won more than $700,000

in a copyright lawsuit.

A US coffee company was found to be

in breach of an agreement that used

the cat's image on products other

than their Grumpuccino iced drink.

That's all from me for now.

Stay with BBC News.

And our top story here in the UK:

Downing Street says the Prime

minister is appalled by allegations

that women were sexually abused

at an all men charity

dinner in London.

The Presidents Club says it's

to close following the allegations.

Now on BBC News all the latest

business news live from Singapore.

Celebrities and chief executives are

looking for ways to solve the

plastic

looking for ways to solve the

plastic problem

looking for ways to solve the

plastic problem

looking for ways to solve the

plastic problem in the World

Economic Forum. And the Philippines

retains its titles as one of Asia's

fastest-growing economies, as the

government spends billions on

infrastructure. Good morning Asia,

hello world. It is Thursday, glad

you could join us for another

exciting edition of Asia Business

Report. We kick off the programme

with Davos and images showing the

threat of plastic to wildlife and

the food chain has touched a public

nerve and made it one of the hottest

topics at the World Economic Forum.

Coca-Cola is responsible for one

quarter of all plastic bottles made

globally and its CEO has announced

plans to recycle 100% of its plastic

bottle production by 2030. Our

business editor was there and sent

this report.

Just over those mountains

into France, Alpine water

starts its journey into this bottle.

Like billions of others,

from many companies,

those bottles and their journey

here, clogging rivers and beaches,

threatening wildlife

and the food chain.

But up on the Swiss side,

in classic Davos style,

campaigners and celebrities

are setting out their stall on how

bottles and other waste products

like clothing can be recycled,

rather than passed away.

People have begun to understand

what happens to plastic packaging,

and unless we change the way we make

it, design its coming use it,

feed it back into the system or even

change the material,

then will just get worse.

Where does fashion fit into this?

Fashion is the second most harmful

industry on the planet

of the environment and we now need

to be encouraged to be

mindful of that and pay

attention, and to consume

in a more responsible way.

So look at that, pristine,

not a plastic bottle inside.

-- in sight.

For many of the people

that is the perennial problem.

One of the criticisms of Davos

is the global elite who meet

in this rarefied air

are thousands miles away

from the problems.

Can they make a difference?

Can they really get results?

You need industry muscle.

Coca-Cola produced 127 billion

plastic bottles last year,

one of 11 companies, including

Evian, to make committments.

We made a clear

commitment that by 2030

we will recover every bottle we put

into the marketplace.

The better thing produce

fewer plastic bottles?

If we could not see a solution

to recover them and reuse them,

if we could not generate

the circular economy then

we would have the question

shall ago the cans

and more glass, but because we think

we can get there and eliminate

single use, within the utility

of plastic remains.

That reluctance to

the reducing production

is a problem for Greenpeace,

who say it is not go

far enough fast enough.

These are all positive first

steps to tackle plastic

pollution, but with a truckload

of plastic entering our oceans

every minute what we need

is bold and urgent now.

We need companies to commit

the reduction targets,

and to look into investing

in alternative delivery systems

that help promote the reuse.

We cannot recycle our way

out of this crisis.

APPLAUSE.

$1 million was awarded last

night to develop the best

new idea to keep plastic

out of the ocean.

The ultimate prize is many billions

and many years away.

Simon Jack, BBC News, Davos.

Market moving comments are now

coming out from the Davos Summit.

The US dollar has hit a three-year

low after the US Treasury Secretary

said he would welcome a weaker

currency and that is having a

knock-on effect. Let's cross over to

my colleague. Why these statements?

What he actually said is that he

welcomes a week dollar for the trade

but longer term, the strong dollar

is good news for the economy. But

because of what he said, some

traders and investors interpret it

as a possible departure from the US

traditional strong dollar policy and

that meant that the dollar fell

rather sharply from hitting the

lowest level in about three years

major currencies. -- against. It has

recovered somewhat at the moment,

trading at around 109 yen. Japan

opened a short while ago, falling

sharply. Exporters being affected

because a strong yen makes their

product less competitive abroad.

Thank you so much for that update.

Well, in other business news, South

Korean company LG Electronics says

it will raise the prices of most of

its washing machines sold in the

United State. This move comes two

days after the Trump Administration

announced plans to slap tariffs on

imported washing machines which are

mostly made in South Korea and

China. In order to protect their

domestic producers. LG did not

disclose how big the price hikes

would be. The Philippine economy is

still one of Asia's best performers,

darter revealed shows it expanded by

6% and % last year, marking 70 six

quarters of uninterrupted growth.

This is attributed to the

President's recent tax reforms and

multi billion dollar infrastructure

spending plans. This can mean higher

disposable income for many but not

everybody stands to benefit.

Help me

build a better tomorrow.

President

due to take was campaigned on the

promise that during economic

development poverty would be tackled

in the Philippines. That appeal to

the 71-year-old supporter. She makes

around $4 per day sifting through

rubbish for plastic bottles and is

one of 10 million Filipinos whose

income falls beyond the poverty

line. TRANSLATION:

I hope he will

help us poor. He is our last hope.

Other presidents did not fulfil

anything, I hope you'll do like he

fulfils his promises, that is my

prayer.

The

-- it is people like her that the

President says he is tried to help

under the recent tax reforms.

Starting in January this year,

anybody earning under $5,000 will be

exempt from income tax and

businesses with total annual sales

up to $60,000 will no longer have to

pay value added tax. To balance the

books, the government is increasing

so-called sin taxes, for products

harmful to people 's help, health

and environment. Cigarettes are up

and sugary drinks.

I think that

these are unhealthy drinks including

for the poor. If you change

behaviour it helps that efforts our

taxes.

The government says that

those certifying its tax system can

generate more revenue to pump into

massive infrastructure projects and

chief among them are plans for a

Metro system in the capital, known

for its appalling traffic.

We lose

anywhere between $50 million a day

in traffic. This create a lot of

economic losses and so if we want to

reach out GDP growth for the next

few years and defeat poverty,

infrastructure will play a key role.

High hopes for the structure

spendings but for many of informal

workers who have never played taxes

in the first place, the rising

duties could lead to an

uncomfortable squeeze on budget. --

paid. And the Philippine President

will be in India along with other

leaders, they will be attending a

summit focus to promote maritime

security in the region dominated by

China. For more, it is cross over to

our business reporter. -- lets.

Closer relations between India and

South East Asia.

That is right. If

you look at India over the last of

the five years, they have been

trying to maintain a close

relationship with Asian countries

and the Prime Minister went down

there for the summit last year. The

reason why they have assembled

together today is for India's

Republic a function which will take

based on the 26th of January. On

this day India has a huge parade in

New Delhi and all of these leaders

will be chief guest at this

function. Later today, the Prime

Minister will be holding a summit in

which all if Asian leaders will be

participating and discussing

maritime security. A lot of Asian

countries want India to play an

active role, given what is happening

on the South China Sea where China's

dominance in this region, a lot

feeling that India could up their

game and that could help maintain

peace. Whether they will sign any

concrete deals or any kind of

statement is unknown but they will

be discussing that during the

summit.

Thank you for that update.

Thank you so much for investing your

time. Sport Today is coming up next.