19/03/2018 Asia Business Report

Commuters are being warned to expect

difficult conditions,

especially in the

south-west of England.

Now on BBC News, all the latest

business news live from Singapore.

Finance ministers from the world's

20 largest economies meet in Buenos

Aires with US turrets and a

potential US war high among their

concerns. And for trade ties against

a backdrop of growing protectionism,

while India achieve much from

hosting a meeting of select trade

ministers? Quite you could join us

for Asia-Pacific -- glad you could

join us. We begin with a meeting of

the G20 due to kick off in Buenos

Aires in Argentina. Concerns over a

potential US- China trade rift and

President Trump's steel and annually

on tariffs look still to dominate,

one finance minister will be absent

from the meeting, Japan's ambassador

not attending due to political

issues at home. Himself in the Prime

Minister are under pressure after it

was revealed that official documents

were altered by the Finance bureau

relating to a sale of state plans to

school operator which has ties to

the Prime Minister's why. Both men

say they were not aware about it

until this month. But apologised.

What did this mean for the Prime

Minister and the economy?

It is not

likely that the scandal is making

the Prime Minister resign so far but

the election is coming in September

so if the supporting ratio the Prime

Minister is declining, it may be a

problem. Slim chance that the Prime

Minister may be resigning and

another candidate may be the leader.

If it happens, we will have the more

worries for Japanese politics and

our policies may be slowing down. It

isn't likely again but we should

think about it. I think overall,

monetary easing will continue.

Consumer prices are improving in

Japan, you have capital expenditure,

we have not seen the Japanese

economy expand for each consecutive

quarters for many years. Are we

likely to see a nice consecutive

quarter of expansion in the January

- March quarter?

Right? We expect

growing Japan for some or quarters

and by the end of 2018 growth is

firm and 2019 Booval have a

consumption tax hike from 8% to 10%

which is a risk scenario to stop

consumers activity.

And we have some

important trade figures coming out

of Japan as well, exports rising

1.8% in February compared to year

ago levels, that figure is much

lower from the previous month in

January, outbound ship in gaining

top .2%. The slowdown is due to

fight reactivities stalling across

Asia during the lunar New Year

holiday. Imports gaining 16.5% in

the year to February. Making

headlines Facebook has announced a

comprehensive internal and external

review to determine whether the

personal data 50 million users has

been compromised after reports that

misuse by political consultancy

group Cambridge analytic. The firm's

chief executive Alexander Nix has

been called back before a committee

in the UK, Facebook will be asked to

testify. Both companies have denied

wrongdoing. As protectionism rears

its head in America many trade

partners have been racing a trade

war, India said it will engage in

Washington over recent decisions

related to it exports in this week

it plays host to several members of

the World Trade Organization. A

business reporter joins us. How

influential is India do you think in

terms of free trade in the global

landscape?

India is important as we

rise, if you look at the last few

years, looking at some of the

meetings taking place at the WTO

including discussions of

controversial issues like food

stockpiling and providing subsidies

for illegal fishing, India has been

an important voice along with China

so with that in mind this meeting is

important, it is the first meeting

after the 11th ministerial meeting

that took place in Argentina in

December which failed to reach any

sort of consensus on critical

issues. Given the rising

protectionism, especially two weeks

back or a few days back, Donald

Trump's announcement raising import

tariffs on steel and aluminium, the

issue was going to dominate the

discussions, there are 40 countries

dissipating including some trade

ministers in that sense it an

important meeting.

India export

steel and aluminium and how will

this impact the economy if it rises

to 10% and 25%?

Luckily the India it

isn't a big exporter to the USA that

it is going to impact its mid-size

and some of the large companies and

demand has fallen over the last few

years, steel demand, and it has been

relying on exports to Europe and the

USA to really increase profitability

of the company 's win that sense it

is important for India.

Thank you so

much. Hong Kong's richest man

announced his retirement on Friday.

He has been vague about plans to

retire in the past but as it turns

90, it is apparently the right time.

His net worth is around $34 billion.

It is for companies of all listed on

the Hong Kong stock exchange and

reported earnings numbers on Friday.

If this is as cover ports, retail,

energy, he will stay on in an

advisory role but now control has

been passed on to his son, Victor.

Victor is 53 and has been deputy

chairman since 2000 15. Moving to

the future of work, one is driving

global demand the robots in the

workplace, it is by far the biggest

marketplace for industrial robots

but while its big push to develop a

high, the world's was popular

country could also be the place

where machines you cannot see it and

buy software takeover swathes of

jobs currently being done by people?

Our China correspondent has the

details.

I think the impact the people is

psychologically, they were felt

threatened. But they will feel.

Robots and artificial intelligence

are not new but their combined power

and potential is revolutionising the

workplace.

There are types of

routine jobs that will be totally

replaced so assembly lines,

inspection, customer service,

representative, telemarketing, it

will be a total replacement.

I have

to admit I am not feeling that

comfortable but this is how a visit

to the dentist could look in the

future. No human hands delving in,

no hot breath on your cheek.

Instead, this, a robot, doing all

the hard work including of course...

This robot dentist has been for

years in the making at a military

hospital in China, it is operated on

a human for the first time last

September.

Movement has been a challenge

though, as it is with most robots.

Moving patients, flinching in pain,

are problem.

AI is an enabler, not an arms race,

so I think we should think about it

as doing great things to every

country and how can we worked

together to benefit from it and to

solve the challenges that it brings

about?

The future of work. China is

expected to announce that US

education economies will become the

country's new central bank governor.

He has served as deputy governor of

the People's Bank of China since

2008 and is set to replace the

current leader, who has held the

role the 15 years. This is a look at

what else we can expect on the

business calendar. The US central

bank kicks off its two-day meeting.

High expectations Jerome Powell hike

the cost of borrowing at its first

meeting as the Federal reserve

chief. On Thursday, full-year

numbers from China Mobile, the world

's largest telecommunications

company. And also, Nikkei will be

posting its third-quarter numbers --

Nike. Currently it is a down day for

the Asian stock market. The Nikkei

to 25, -- to 25 is down.

Thank you so