:00:00. > 3:59:59co-ordinated attacks and had been reduced to carrying out suicide
:00:00. > :00:18.bombings. Hello and welcome, glad you could
:00:19. > :00:23.join us for this special edition of World Business Report. In this
:00:24. > :00:27.programme we will look at stories from around Asia that are having an
:00:28. > :00:33.impact on business conditions worldwide. 2015 has been mostly
:00:34. > :00:42.about China, we look at the trickle effect of a slowdown in the world's
:00:43. > :00:51.second largest economy. And, could this be the year women take more of
:00:52. > :00:57.the world's top jobs? China dominated the headlines this year.
:00:58. > :01:00.At one point, Shanghai stocks tumbled by more than 30% in a few
:01:01. > :01:11.weeks. And the government intervened. Some estimate they
:01:12. > :01:16.eventually spent over $200 billion. A challenging year for the mainland
:01:17. > :01:22.economy, but what is our outlook for 2016? You are absolutely right, 2015
:01:23. > :01:26.was a very challenging year for China's economy. And the year I
:01:27. > :01:31.think that the Chinese economy really accepted the fact that slower
:01:32. > :01:36.growth is in store for the world's second largest economy. Let's just
:01:37. > :01:41.pull out some of the forecasts we are expecting for China's growth in
:01:42. > :01:46.2016, as you can see the numbers that are coming up now, pretty much
:01:47. > :01:54.everyone is saying that growth will be below 7%. Don't forget, 7% is the
:01:55. > :02:00.figure that China said it needed to grow at in order to keep jobs, wages
:02:01. > :02:05.and inflation stable. But they did expect in October that 6.5% is good
:02:06. > :02:08.enough of a growth target, and we are seeing some estimates coming a
:02:09. > :02:15.little bit below that at some coming in higher. Interest rate cuts,
:02:16. > :02:18.stabilisation initiatives, the Chinese government and the central
:02:19. > :02:24.bank did whatever they could to stabilise the economy. Yes, they
:02:25. > :02:32.did. And they were criticised, at least the state bank was criticised
:02:33. > :02:36.for trying to manipulate the market. We saw in the aftermath of the huge
:02:37. > :02:39.stock market crashes that you alluded to earlier in the programme.
:02:40. > :02:43.The Chinese government did try pretty much everything. Let's take a
:02:44. > :02:48.look at some of the watchword for the future. How will they try to
:02:49. > :02:55.push growth in the future? They are going to focus on innovation and
:02:56. > :03:02.entrepreneurship. And it is the same story we have heard, moving from
:03:03. > :03:10.investment based to consumption and services -based economy. Will lead
:03:11. > :03:14.the interest rate cuts? They did cut interest rates six times over the
:03:15. > :03:18.course of last year, but here is something our viewers might find
:03:19. > :03:23.interesting, there will be some cuts on duties of luxury items and select
:03:24. > :03:26.electronics to try to boost consumption and spending in China
:03:27. > :03:30.this year. Thank you for joining us.
:03:31. > :03:35.While there have been genuine worries about China's economy, it is
:03:36. > :03:40.still an enormous market, which businesses craved to catch. This
:03:41. > :03:45.year, China signed a free-trade agreement with Australia. Quality
:03:46. > :03:53.food and other natural products are in high demand from the mainland's
:03:54. > :03:59.growing middle class, and Australia wants to be first in line to supply
:04:00. > :04:06.them. Olive groves as far as the eye can
:04:07. > :04:14.see. This oil is produced primarily to make soap. And it is China bound.
:04:15. > :04:20.There is a change in demand, they are looking for green and
:04:21. > :04:22.sustainable resources. The olive oil skincare company is one of a growing
:04:23. > :04:30.number of Australian brands targeting Chinese consumers. These
:04:31. > :04:34.businesses are capitalising on a spate of food safety scares in China
:04:35. > :04:38.and a growing Chinese market that can afford to be choosy. Today, a
:04:39. > :04:45.Chinese delegation from an online store that sells Australian product
:04:46. > :04:51.to Chinese consumers, is visiting a facility to give a first-hand look
:04:52. > :04:55.of what they will be selling online. These young women know the Chinese
:04:56. > :04:59.market well. People nowadays are more concerned about health, not
:05:00. > :05:06.necessarily cheap product. We can afford higher-priced product, and
:05:07. > :05:11.Australian made product have high-quality and people have more
:05:12. > :05:14.trust in it. At the moment, the number of Australian brands Chinese
:05:15. > :05:19.shoppers are familiar with is relatively low, but savvy marketing
:05:20. > :05:26.and the recently signed free-trade agreement could change that. It is a
:05:27. > :05:30.matter of educating the consumer, because there are enough outward
:05:31. > :05:33.looking Chinese consumers who want to get on the bandwagon, and that
:05:34. > :05:37.will spread throughout the middle-class. This is the new
:05:38. > :05:45.company hoping to spread that knowledge. The supermarket style
:05:46. > :05:51.showrooms commerce and wine tastings, will help to promote
:05:52. > :05:52.Australian brands. China is a market bursting with opportunity, the
:05:53. > :06:04.challenge will be cracking it. In South East Asia, perhaps the most
:06:05. > :06:09.significant story this year was Myanmar. A peaceful election and
:06:10. > :06:15.positive signs that the military will allow the party of Aung San Suu
:06:16. > :06:18.Kyi to take power next year. 2016 may also see female leaders in
:06:19. > :06:28.Taiwan and in the US, so what can we predict about the coming 12 months?
:06:29. > :06:39.We caught up with Daniel Franklin, editor of the World in 2016. The
:06:40. > :06:44.hope is that the transition to a new government will be a stable one, and
:06:45. > :06:51.there will be a lot of eyes on Aung San Suu Kyi, who cannot be president
:06:52. > :06:58.but he will be pulling the strings behind the presidency, and how much
:06:59. > :07:02.real power transfers as a result of this election win for her party.
:07:03. > :07:08.There is a huge interest in Myanmar has a big new market. I think it
:07:09. > :07:12.will take some time to those opportunities to really come
:07:13. > :07:17.through. Let's have a look at some of the predictions for 2016. One is
:07:18. > :07:23.that women will be at the heart of the decisions. What kind of role
:07:24. > :07:28.will women play in 2016? I think if you look at who will be at the heart
:07:29. > :07:33.of the big decisions, if you look at the US election, Hillary Clinton is
:07:34. > :07:42.the candidate to beat. In Europe, Angela Merkel is the central figure,
:07:43. > :07:47.whether in response to the refugee crisis or to Britain's demand for a
:07:48. > :07:55.new deal and Europe. Janet Yellen is a big player, we have people like
:07:56. > :08:00.Aung San Suu Kyi in Myanmar, and probably the likely winner of the
:08:01. > :08:07.Taipei election will be female president. I think it is striking in
:08:08. > :08:13.its own right. What you excited about in 2016? I think technology
:08:14. > :08:17.generally is always an area where there is a lot of excitement. Some
:08:18. > :08:22.of the surprises we will find in 2016 will come from technology.
:08:23. > :08:26.Virtual reality is something we will hear a lot about, which launches of
:08:27. > :08:36.new product is, and perhaps one company to watch is one rather
:08:37. > :08:41.secretive firm, which Google has invested heavily in. In the medical
:08:42. > :08:48.area there is a lot of work being done around the world on types of
:08:49. > :08:54.body parts, not actual body parts but things that resemble body parts,
:08:55. > :09:06.being drove Seoul grown in test tubes. All the noise -- organoids.
:09:07. > :09:12.Yes, it will be the year of organoids. That is if this edition.
:09:13. > :09:14.Thank you for watching, happy holidays and we will see you again
:09:15. > :09:18.in the New Year. In Saudi Arabia, fire investigators
:09:19. > :09:22.are examining the burnt out remains