:00:00. > 3:59:59BBC World News. Now for the latest financial news with Sally Bundock
:00:00. > :00:18.and World Business Report. The costs pile up at Air France as
:00:19. > :00:21.the pilots strikes enters its tenth day and pilots are starting to sense
:00:22. > :00:25.that victory could be within their grasp.
:00:26. > :00:29.Plus China builds massive eco cities to house the millions expected to
:00:30. > :00:30.move from the villages ` we visit one to find out why it's still
:00:31. > :00:44.empty. Welcome to World Business Report.
:00:45. > :00:47.I'm Sally Bundock. Also in the programme Starbucks is expanding in
:00:48. > :01:00.Japan. Rico Hizon in Singapore will have the details. But first...
:01:01. > :01:02.The strike by Air France pilots is now into its tenth day. And
:01:03. > :01:07.following the street demonstrations seen in Paris on Tuesday, it seems
:01:08. > :01:10.an end is still not in sight. The French Prime Minister Manuel Valls
:01:11. > :01:13.has already warned that with losses of up to $20 million a day, if a
:01:14. > :01:18.solution isn't found soon, then Air France's very future is in question.
:01:19. > :01:20.Air France management has now said it will suspend its European
:01:21. > :01:23.low`cost venture, which is the main point of contention, but the pilots
:01:24. > :01:31.say they want it definitely scrapped. Hugh Schofield reports
:01:32. > :01:40.from Paris. A friend of, you don't have to be
:01:41. > :01:52.low paid to put on a good fight. Asked Mac `` in France. Shame, said
:01:53. > :01:57.this woman. Pilots believe their case is strong. They stayed
:01:58. > :02:04.suspending the low`cost venture is not enough. Suspending Transavia is
:02:05. > :02:09.not enough. We don't want it. We want the off shoring of our jobs
:02:10. > :02:16.withdrawn and never to be seen again. Transavia Europe is the idea
:02:17. > :02:26.of Air France for scaling back the low`cost European market that it has
:02:27. > :02:31.lost two other low`cost airlines. Pilate saith means worse conditions
:02:32. > :02:37.for those who stay. On Monday, management agreed to suspend
:02:38. > :02:41.Transavia Europe. The CEO said he could see no reason why pilots would
:02:42. > :02:51.want to extend the strike. They had most of what they wanted, so he
:02:52. > :02:57.asked, why go one? `` on? The pilots sensed weakness. The strike is
:02:58. > :03:01.costing 20 million euros every day and the accumulation of losses means
:03:02. > :03:06.there is growing pressure on both Air France and the French government
:03:07. > :03:10.to bring it to a close. The unions know that and feel if they can hold
:03:11. > :03:21.out for a few more days, whatever the inconvenience to passengers,
:03:22. > :03:26.they will get all they want. If you are waking up in Europe or the UK,
:03:27. > :03:30.you may be needing coffee. Your provider could be this one. US
:03:31. > :03:34.coffee chain Starbucks is buying out its Japanese partner in a deal worth
:03:35. > :03:37.$914m. The joint venture has been one of Starbuck's most profitable.
:03:38. > :03:45.Rico Hizon is in our Asia Business hub in Singapore. Is it copy time
:03:46. > :03:51.where you are? All day every day here in the newsroom. The Japanese
:03:52. > :03:57.have had this relationship with Starbucks for almost 20 years now.
:03:58. > :04:04.The first Starbucks store opened outside of North America in Tokyo
:04:05. > :04:08.and since then, the coffee chain has opened over 1000 cafes in the
:04:09. > :04:10.country and their profit margins are among the highest in the world
:04:11. > :04:18.despite the sluggish Japanese economy. Japan is their second
:04:19. > :04:24.biggest market in terms of sales and has some of their most profitable
:04:25. > :04:31.cafes and Starbucks and her partner have been together since 1995.
:04:32. > :04:34.Starbucks in the US will be buying the stake of the Japanese unit that
:04:35. > :04:41.it does not get own. Taking full ownership will allow them other
:04:42. > :04:57.outlets and they hope to complete the buyout by the end of the year ``
:04:58. > :05:00.does not yet own. One hundred million Chinese are
:05:01. > :05:02.expected to move to the cities by 2020, and that means building
:05:03. > :05:06.sustainable urban centres is essential. And so ` six years ago `
:05:07. > :05:09.the country teamed up with Singapore to build what's tipped to be the
:05:10. > :05:11.world's largest Eco City. Barren wasteland has been turned into
:05:12. > :05:14.apartment blocks. But with China's property downturn threatening to
:05:15. > :05:17.take the broader economy with it, is it another case of building homes
:05:18. > :05:20.for thousands, but with no`one to live in them?Ali Moore went to the
:05:21. > :05:26.Eco City near the port city of Tianjin, to take a look.
:05:27. > :05:31.As you drive across the bridge, there is a definite sense of
:05:32. > :05:34.entering a different place. It is not so much the broad boulevards and
:05:35. > :05:37.tree`lined sidewalks or the reminders that 20% of the city's
:05:38. > :05:46.power will one day come from renewable energy. What is noticeable
:05:47. > :05:49.is what is missing. The overwhelming question as you walk around this
:05:50. > :05:55.city in the afternoon heat is where is everybody? The developers say
:05:56. > :06:00.they are coming and there are 12,000 residents already here, just two
:06:01. > :06:03.years ago there were virtually none. But that is a fraction of the
:06:04. > :06:11.350,000 the Eco`City will eventually support. In the local market, there
:06:12. > :06:14.is none of the usual bustle of food shopping and that the community
:06:15. > :06:23.centre, there is no lineup to play pool. But for locals like this woman
:06:24. > :06:29.and her friends, the environment is a big attraction. TRANSLATION: I
:06:30. > :06:38.used to live in a city and the air quality was not great. Here it is
:06:39. > :06:40.great. In a country notorious for polluted cities, this project is a
:06:41. > :06:46.commitment by China to build a sustainable urban centre. The sheer
:06:47. > :06:58.scale of the place makes it hard to replicate. 30 km?. It was planned to
:06:59. > :07:03.be highly workable. This man is in charge of everything from water
:07:04. > :07:13.quality to waste disposal. He injures everything is up to a green
:07:14. > :07:16.standard `` ensures. One of the biggest challenges is balancing
:07:17. > :07:18.everything. Do we go for the highest environmental targets or what the
:07:19. > :07:22.market can support? Only what you can sell at the moment? That's
:07:23. > :07:27.right. 60 `70% of the homes here are sold. On the commercial streets,
:07:28. > :07:31.this woman has sold wine for the last two years and says more people
:07:32. > :07:39.are moving in and it gets busier every year. The Eco`City is trying
:07:40. > :07:42.to attract new residents just as China's property sector slows down
:07:43. > :07:52.but the hope is that the promise of cleaner and greener acts as a buffer
:07:53. > :07:57.against the headwinds. In other news. And prosecutors in
:07:58. > :07:59.South Korea are investigating the Tesco`owned supermarket, Homeplus,
:08:00. > :08:05.over allegations that its managers sold customers' private information
:08:06. > :08:08.to insurance firms. Tesco, which has operations across Asia, said it was
:08:09. > :08:13.co`operating with the probe into Homeplus, its biggest non`UK brand.
:08:14. > :08:16.In a separate case, the retailing giant is under fire in the UK after
:08:17. > :08:21.over`stating its half`year profit guidance.
:08:22. > :08:23.India's Mars Orbiter Mission has successfully entered orbit around
:08:24. > :08:27.the Red Planet on in its first attempt. Prime Minister Narendra
:08:28. > :08:30.Modi was in the Indian Space Research Organisation's mission
:08:31. > :08:32.control in south India, and proudly declared: "India has successfully
:08:33. > :08:46.reached Mars. Congratulations to all, to the entire country...
:08:47. > :08:50.History has been created today." Here are the markets to give you a
:08:51. > :08:57.sense of how things are going. It is a mixed picture in Japan where we
:08:58. > :09:09.are down half a percent. The dollar is all right. Something which came
:09:10. > :09:15.across short `` not long ago is that Japanese ministers are consulting
:09:16. > :09:22.with economists before their next insurance increase next month. ``
:09:23. > :09:33.sales tax increase. There is concern about that that they are getting
:09:34. > :09:36.advice `` but they are. The Labour leader, Ed Miliband, has
:09:37. > :09:38.been mocked by his opponents after forgetting to mention the deficit or
:09:39. > :09:42.immigration in his conference speech in Manchester yesterday. Mr Miliband
:09:43. > :09:45.delivered the address mainly from memory, rather than with the help of
:09:46. > :09:47.an auto`cue. Our political correspondent