0:00:00 > 0:00:08Now on BBC News, all the latest business news live from Singapore.
0:00:14 > 0:00:18Music do investor's years, streaming giant spotlight goes public in a
0:00:18 > 0:00:24billion-dollar listing. Vietnam's government is hoping its young tech
0:00:24 > 0:00:36savvy population will Jenna and generate new sources for growth.
0:00:36 > 0:00:39Good morning, welcome to Asia Business Report, live from
0:00:39 > 0:00:45Singapore. The world's biggest music streaming service, Spotify, has gone
0:00:45 > 0:00:48public on the US Stock exchange. Of the ten-year-old company's planning
0:00:48 > 0:00:53to do in a rather unique way. Spotify plans to hold a direct
0:00:53 > 0:00:58listing, selling up to $1 billion's worth of shares on the New York
0:00:58 > 0:01:03Stock Exchange. Our US business correspondent explains why they
0:01:03 > 0:01:05chose this method.Everyone is watching us closely because it is
0:01:05 > 0:01:09very unusual for a company to list in this manner. Normally, when a
0:01:09 > 0:01:14company does when it lists or goes public is there are new shares
0:01:14 > 0:01:20traded on the stock market, and there is a broker or investment bank
0:01:20 > 0:01:24in between. What is happening this time is actually, Spotify is not
0:01:24 > 0:01:28going to the markets to make money, it is not going to the markets to
0:01:28 > 0:01:32generate money. What it seems to be doing is giving current investors,
0:01:32 > 0:01:37so people who already own the shares in Spotify. It is giving those
0:01:37 > 0:01:44people an opportunity to share those -- sell their shares. It is unclear
0:01:44 > 0:01:48if it is heavily oversubscribed, what happens to the price of the
0:01:48 > 0:01:53stock. At the moment, what we know is that about $1 billion, the value
0:01:53 > 0:01:58of the stocks, will be sold at $1 million. We do not know what
0:01:58 > 0:02:02percentage of stock in the company will be traded in the market -- $1
0:02:02 > 0:02:10billion.The company is the world leader in industry, but are there
0:02:10 > 0:02:15risks in its business?One of the key risks they have pointed out his
0:02:15 > 0:02:19rivals, like Apple and Google. They say that these companies actually
0:02:19 > 0:02:23produce devices which could have their streaming service is built in.
0:02:23 > 0:02:27The other thing they pointed out quite clearly is they do not own the
0:02:27 > 0:02:30content, nor do they have any control over the providers of the
0:02:30 > 0:02:34content. The way it works is Spotify has to pay royalties to the people
0:02:34 > 0:02:38who provide the content, so that is music companies, production
0:02:38 > 0:02:44companies, artists who make the songs, and when you go public you
0:02:44 > 0:02:48must reveal what your revenues are, where your money comes from, where
0:02:48 > 0:02:53it goes, and the risk is that artists and production companies
0:02:53 > 0:02:58could then start asking for more money from Spotify.Staying with the
0:02:58 > 0:03:03US, Exxon Mobil will pull out of exploration and research joint
0:03:03 > 0:03:06ventures with the state owned Royal Dutch oil companies. Timothy
0:03:06 > 0:03:11McDonald has been following this story. Why have they made this
0:03:11 > 0:03:19decision that?Is sanctions, because there are sanctions on one of the
0:03:19 > 0:03:24major oil companies in Russia, it is half owned by the Government. The
0:03:24 > 0:03:28issue is the sanctions were imposed in 2014. At that time, the head of
0:03:28 > 0:03:34Exxon Mobil was no other than Rex Tillerson. Interestingly, he was the
0:03:34 > 0:03:39one who pushed for Exxon Mobil to get into Russia, but the stations
0:03:39 > 0:03:43have now, online and they have been there since 2014. For a very long
0:03:43 > 0:03:50time, Exxon opposed to them, they see these operations as fairly
0:03:50 > 0:03:53untenable now now the sanctions are in place. There is an entirely
0:03:53 > 0:03:57different set of sanctions, mainly on Russian individuals, but that
0:03:57 > 0:04:05does not seem to be the issue here, it is the ones that apply to the UK
0:04:05 > 0:04:08-- Ukrainian Crimea issues, as opposed to the ones from the US
0:04:08 > 0:04:12election last year. As to whether he will mean anything to Exxon,
0:04:12 > 0:04:17probably not. This is a company that makes $200 billion in revenue, and
0:04:17 > 0:04:21this is maybe a $200 million loss. Thank you. In other business is
0:04:21 > 0:04:26making headlines, India has reclaimed the title of the world's
0:04:26 > 0:04:32fastest growing economy from China. Their economy grew by 7.2% on an
0:04:32 > 0:04:37annual basis in three months to December. China's economy grew by
0:04:37 > 0:04:436.8% in the same period. The iconic motorbike manufacturer,
0:04:43 > 0:04:47Harley-Davidson, is caught in the middle of a trade spat between India
0:04:47 > 0:04:52and the United States. Makers of two vehicles have been eyeing India for
0:04:52 > 0:04:57a long time, more bikes are sold there than anywhere else in the
0:04:57 > 0:05:02world. But President Trump's latest comments threatened to hurt American
0:05:02 > 0:05:09companies hoping to wrap up sales there. At an event in Delhi,
0:05:09 > 0:05:14Harley-Davidson unveiled its latest models, new and shiny bikes for a
0:05:14 > 0:05:20very promising market. Of imported goods from manufacturing... The
0:05:20 > 0:05:25launch comes at a very different -- difficult time for Harley-Davidson
0:05:25 > 0:05:29in India. The motorcycle maker found itself at the centre of controversy
0:05:29 > 0:05:33after the US president said that the US was being taken for a ride. He
0:05:33 > 0:05:39was criticising Indian Prime Minister's recent decision to lower
0:05:39 > 0:05:44import taxes on motorbikes to 50%, half of what they used to be.I said
0:05:44 > 0:05:49OK, but so far, we are getting nothing. We get nothing, he gets 50,
0:05:49 > 0:05:53and they think they're doing us a favour? That's not a favour.Donald
0:05:53 > 0:05:57Trump may want zero import taxes for these luxury bikes, but that is not
0:05:57 > 0:06:03likely. The Indian government makes a lot of money from the luxury
0:06:03 > 0:06:05segment, and wants to continue earning high revenues from these
0:06:05 > 0:06:12taxes. And with India being the world's biggest two wheeler market,
0:06:12 > 0:06:14companies like Harley-Davidson will not want to miss out entirely
0:06:14 > 0:06:20either. The bike maker sold more than 3000 chrome and steel rides in
0:06:20 > 0:06:26India last fiscal year, and despite President Trump's comments, the
0:06:26 > 0:06:29company says it will use the lower import duties to win over more
0:06:29 > 0:06:38writers.If there is a reduction in import, we'll see a reduction in
0:06:38 > 0:06:42pricing. We welcome any reduction that allows more people to access
0:06:42 > 0:06:47this motorcycle.While it has been all smiles between President Trump
0:06:47 > 0:06:51and the Prime Minister, this is a warning sign that there could be
0:06:51 > 0:06:55more trouble ahead. President Trump has warned of it and aggressive tax
0:06:55 > 0:07:01on Indian bikes in the United States. That could affect any hopes
0:07:01 > 0:07:11of expansion between the two countries. To Vietnam, the
0:07:11 > 0:07:14Government there has been trying to bring back the Vietnamese who have
0:07:14 > 0:07:20gone overseas to study and work, and that has resulted in creating a
0:07:20 > 0:07:23vibrant tech entrepreneur scene, where many startups are focusing on
0:07:23 > 0:07:27solving everyday problems. In the country's Young and highly delete
0:07:27 > 0:07:33this highly literate young base is looking to make this city one of
0:07:33 > 0:07:37Asia's silicon valleys.
0:08:39 > 0:08:42I'm 33 years old. I studied in Canada and came back to Vietnam in
0:08:42 > 0:08:492009. One of the reasons I started my company is I went to of shows in
0:08:49 > 0:08:53Canada, so I have been able to buy tickets online, but there was no
0:08:53 > 0:09:02online ticket company Vietnam. That is why I started it. Vietnam needs
0:09:02 > 0:09:06to attract more talent to computer work. Vietnamese who used to work
0:09:06 > 0:09:11overseas coming to Vietnam can bring a lot of fresh ideas, and they
0:09:11 > 0:09:14understand how a successful overseas business works, and they can apply
0:09:14 > 0:09:20that expertise here in Vietnam.My goal is to invest in the promising
0:09:20 > 0:09:31tech start here in Vietnam. Vietnam has most of the lucky, which is
0:09:31 > 0:09:33programmers. A lot of them instead of aiming for big companies, they
0:09:33 > 0:09:39want to do startups. One of the main challenges, there are lots of
0:09:39 > 0:09:46graduates who come out of the system but are not of a global mindset yet.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50So there is a tremendous amount of training and coaching that needs to
0:09:50 > 0:09:54take place to help develop them, but I think with investment and learning
0:09:54 > 0:09:58the culture, you can really do it.
0:10:08 > 0:10:14Let's take a quick look at markets before we go. Asian shares are down
0:10:14 > 0:10:19this morning. Japan's Nikkei is down again, China has is open for trade
0:10:19 > 0:10:23as well, and it is down again after having the worst monthly fall in
0:10:23 > 0:10:26over two years. That is it for this edition of Asia Business Report,
0:10:26 > 0:10:30thank you for joining us.