15/03/2018 Asia Business Report

This is BBC News.

Our top story - the US says it

agrees with Britain that Russia

was behind the nerve agent attack

that poisoned a former spy

and his daughter on UK soil.

Moscow's ambassador to the UN denied

Russian involvement in the attack.

Earlier, Britain announced

the expulsion of 23

Russian diplomats.

Tributes have been paid

to the world famous scientist,

Stephen Hawking, who popularised

theoretical physics

in a best-selling book,

A Brief History of Time.

He's died at the age of 76.

And video of the American student

gun protest is trending on BBC.com.

In the US, tens of thousands

of students staged a series

of classroom walkouts to demand

tighter gun safety laws.

The protests were led by survivors

of the Florida school shooting

in which 17 people were killed

by a former student.

Stay with BBC News.

And another top story

here in the UK -

Toys R Us is closing all 100

of its UK stores in the next six

weeks after administrators

failed to find a buyer.

Don't panic, don't do anything

drastic. Recognise him? He is the

new economic adviser for President

Trump. Singapore tops that economic

index for the fifth year in a row,

but which cities are the most

expensive to live in?

Good morning, age, hello, world.

Glad you could join us. We start off

with US President Donald Trump and

he has appointed his new economic

adviser, and it is a familiar face

to many of you who watch business

television. Larry Kudlow has been a

TV commentator for decades. His

predecessor resigned last week in a

disagreement over tariffs on steel

and aluminium imports. The incoming

economic adviser said China has

earned a tough response from the US.

China has not played by the rules

for a long time. I have talked about

that, intellectual property rights,

corporate technologies, other

barriers, Trans each month -- ship

was to get around things. I don't

think you should punish your friends

to try to punish your enemies in

international affairs.

They don't

necessarily see eye to eye on Sun

economic issues, so why did Donald

Trump pick him? I asked the question

to Joe Miller.

He is really good on

TV, and that counts for a lot. The

President watches a lot of

television, watches his friend on

television, and what is striking is

as you saw in that clip, Larry

Kudlow has been critical of Donald

Trump's tariffs on steel and

aluminium that he announced last

week, and that was the reason that

Larry Kudlow's red assessor left the

White House over a disagreement over

Donald Trump's tariffs, and now he

has been replaced with someone who

has been equally critical of those

tariffs. He is a very good

communicator, he is very good on TV

and he is broadly supportive of the

economic agenda and has been for

some time. It makes sense that he

has been chosen for this role.

Apart

from trade tariffs, where does Larry

Kudlow stand on other issues such as

free trade?

He is a traditional free

trade person, he is someone who

worked in the Reagan administration,

he has always been traditionally for

open markets, for low taxes, and in

that way, he is very supportive of

Donald Trump's tax policies. It is

not really a departure from the very

standard Republican agenda when it

comes to the economy, and he has

softened his stance but towards some

of Donald Trump's less free trade

and more protectionist agenda.

And

that was Joe Miller in New York. We

have add news from Toys R Us. It is

closing all of its UK and US stores.

We will find out why it from my

colleague. Doing so well here in

Asia, but in the Western countries,

it is not.

That's right. We know

Toys R Us is a very successful

chain, but in the UK and US they

have been struggling for quite

sometime. Shoppers are going to

online shopping, like Amazon, and

also children are choosing

electronic gadgets over toys, and as

parents we can attest to that. In

the UK, they are closing the

remaining 75 stores in the next six

weeks and that will result in the

job losses of about 3000. The number

is worse in the US. We understand

they are closing all of its 885

stores, and if that is true, it

could risk for two 33 thousand jobs.

They have been looking for a buyer

and it is reported that Toys R Us

will file for bankruptcy later

today.

In Q4 that update. Hong Kate

-- Hong Kong are interested to buy

the shares it doesn't own the Toys

"R" Us Asia franchise. Thank you

very much. Moving on now. To India,

which has set itself an ambitious

target. By 2022, they want to insult

renewable energy capacity and that

is four times more than the country

is currently out. The sources for

renewable energy include wind, water

and the sun. While the push of the

two business opportunities for these

industries, it is an uphill task or

solar panel produces.

It is meticulous work. 36 of these

cells need to be strung together to

make a working solar panel. With the

government mandate and rising demand

for clean energy, many will think

that means bright prospects for the

solar industry here.

But businesses

are struggling. We are making good

quality solar panels. The toughest

thing we are facing is from the low

quality imports of solar panel and

components from the neighbouring

countries, particularly in China.

China, Malaysia and Taiwan supplier

the majority of solar panels to

India, which are much cheaper to

produce an Indian units. That is

largely down to its senses the

government has offered them. Indian

producers are subject to strict

politic controls and face higher

domestic service, making it

impossible to compete with overseas

players. India is an entirely of

clean energy because of this

pollution. Delhi is one of the most

polluted cities in the world. The

last three years, Indian solar panel

manufacturers have been able to

double their production. But it is

the import from China of cheaper

solar rocks that has gone up by

600%. To try and get a foothold in

this market, now Indian solar panel

manufacturers are demanding to

impose a duty on these products. The

Indian government is considering a

70% tariff on imported panels. But

solar power installer say a tariff

would make the generation of solar

power much more expensive. The

government says the benefits of

import duties will outweigh the

costs.

When people buy, they look at

who offers the low prices, so they

be the Chinese, the militias, the

Taiwanese. But we do want to look at

that.

Local manufacture, we have

gone on policy. India recently

hosted the first official meeting of

the International solar Alliance in

Delhi, a treaty to promote the use

of solar energy. Taking the lead

there signals in the's ambition to

take pole position in a switch to

clean energy. At a dispute over

tariffs at home could derail Prime

Minister goals.

Singapore has been topping the cost

of living index for some time and it

is still the most expensive city for

expats. It has topped the list for a

fixed consecutive year. For example,

the goods and services or 16% more

inner-city public stake in PT New

York. Paris has jumped to second

place due to a stronger euro. As for

Hong Kong, it has slipped to number

four slot. Tel Aviv is now in the

top ten due to higher transportation

cost and so too has Sydney. The

strong Aussie dollar raises the cost

of living into other cities,

Brisbane and Adelaide. The study

takes into account price of 160

products and services including

rent, utility bills, private schools

as well as household supplies.

Earlier I spoke to Simon Baptist

from the EI you and he explained why

Singapore remains at the top of the

list.

Singapore is about 4% more

expensive than Paris, which is in

second place, and Singapore does

come up as very high at cost concern

categories. The biggest one is

owning and running a vehicle. It is

the most expensive thing about

living in Singapore. Also, alcohol

and cigarettes are also quite

expensive.

It will get more

expensive here in Singapore because

over the next three to four years,

the government will raise the goods

and services tax.

There might be

some tax increases here, although I

am not sure they will be faster than

elsewhere. It might not affect the

ranking. Singapore is actually more

in line with the Asian business city

average in some other categories. It

is a cheap place to buy food, and it

is also a fairly cheap place to get

domestic help and also for personal

services.

How critical are changes

in currency valuations of the cost

of living?

Currencies are one of the

most important that it is. If you

are an international company, moving

people around the world, looking at

how much you are an international

company, moving people around the

world, looking at how much it will

pay to hire or for allowances of

people travelling, then the currency

is one major driver. Other big

drivers are taxation and

regulations, as you brought up, and

demand and supply.

Singapore might top the list for the

world for the most expensive cities,

but unfortunately, for those of us

here, it has not taken the number

one spot as the world's happiest

nation. That title goes to Finland.

The annual report has been released

ranking 156 countries buy happiness

levels, taking into account such

factors such as income and life

expectancy. Australia, and Canada

made the top ten. The US came in at

number 18. Singapore was in 30

Fourth Place. Let's have a quick

look at their markets and currently

as you can see on the Asian market

boards they are all in negative

territory due to a fall in the Dow

and the NASDAQ. To pounds, Hong Kong

and Australia in the red in

mid-morning trade. Thank you for

investing your time with us. Sport

Today is coming up next.

The top stories this hour -

the US says it agrees with Britain

that Russia was behind the nerve

agent attack that poisoned a former

spy and his daughter on UK soil.

Russia has dismissed the allegation.

The world has paid tribute

to Professor Stephen Hawking,

the world famous

physicist and author,

who's died

at the age of 76.

Almost 800,000 people

who live here in the UK

speak little or no English.

Now, the government is planning

to spend 50 million pounds

to try to change that

and to encourage social integration.

Five councils in England have been

selected for special help -

Bradford, Blackburn,

Peterborough, Walsall

and Waltham Forest in London.

Judith Mortiz sent this

report from Bradford.

What about this one?

What sound does that give?

One sound at a time,

these women are learning English.

Whilst their children are at school,

they're studying too,

wanting to improve their language

for lots of reasons.

It would be easier

for me and my husband

to establish our own business.

I've got four children.

Need to help with the children.

You want to help your children?

Yeah.

To do homework.

I'm really clever and I'm good

at my work and I can do anything.

I'm creative.

But I can't be my 100% if I don't

have my skill of English.

Empowering marginalised women

and boosting language skills

are amongst new government plans

to tackle segregation.

Bradford is one of five areas

which have been selected.

We've got florists, we've got

artists, we've got tailors,

we've got women with a plethora

of experiences that they come

with, but unfortunately,

they can't engage

in the local society

because of the lack of the language.

Now, if the language is there,

just open one barrier,

we'll open a whole field full

of opportunities for these women.

Bradford was at its lowest ebb

in 2001 when race riots erupted

and segregated communities were

shown to be leading parallel lives.

17 years on, tackling segregation

here is still a work in progress.

But what Bradford has achieved

has now earned it extra funding

and a chance to show

other areas how to improve.

Two years ago, a report warned

that segregation and social

exclusion were at

worrying levels in Britain.

Its author has long been calling

on the government to take action.

Some of these communities

that we're worried about,

these very isolated communities,

have abject poverty

and that will take money.

I'm not sure that 50 million

over two years will be enough.

The government says its plans

are designed to get more people

to mix together, live

together and play together.

Judith Moritz, BBC News, Bradford.

Toys R Us is closing all 100

of its UK stores in the next six

weeks after administrators

failed to find a buyer.

3,000 jobs will be lost as a result.

Some 25 stores have either

already closed in recent days

or are due to close by tomorrow.

Jim Molan best known as the

presenter of the game-show Bullseye

has died at the age of 80. He was

inspired to try stand-up comedy

after seeing Ken