25/08/2017 World Business Report

Now it's time for World Business Report.

After six months in court, a verdict is due on bribery

and corruption charges against Samsung boss Jay Y Lee.

The billionaire denies all wrongdoing.

Plus, the flying kangaroo bounces back!

Near record profits for Qantas this year despite cut-throat competition.

The boss says it shows his turnaround plan is working.

Also coming up, a boost for the economy -

We round up our series on the business of death,

with the fierce debate over inheritance tax.

We start in the South Korean capital Seoul, where we are expecting

a verdict in the corruption trial of Jay Y Lee.

He's the head of the $300 billion Samsung business empire,

He is accused of bribery, embezzlement and perjury,

and could face up to 12 years in jail.

He pleads not guilty and denies all wrongdoing.

The trial has been going on for six months, so what's it all about?

$36 million donated by Samsung to organisations linked to former

She was removed from office and is also facing corruption charges.

Back in 2015 the Samsung conglomerate was undergoing

restructuring, with a controversial merger of two of its businesses.

Prosecutors say the aim was to boost Mr Lee's personal power over

the company, which he's been running since his father became ill in 2014.

The deal needed shareholder backing from the national pension fund,

which is run by the South Korean Government.

Prosecutors argued the donations were bribes to win that vital

The affair has once again raised concerns about South Korea's

business culture, and the huge family-owned conglomerates

They've long been seen as too cosily linked to government,

and not sufficiently transparent in their dealings.

To give you an idea, sales by Samsung companies account

for around a fifth of South Korea's entire economy.

Our business reporter Yogita Limaye is outside the courthouse in Seoul.

Tell us a bit more about the details of what he is accused of, and what

he said in his defence. Well, that is the courthouse behind me, where

we expect Jay Y Lee to arrive shortly. He will be brought from a

detention centre. In about one hour, the hearing will begin. We do expect

a sentence today. There are multiple charges against him but the main one

is bribery. Prosecutors say he made donations to organisations run by

former President's Park in hay's close friend, and in exchange for

that, he got support for the controversial merger you are talking

about, which would pave the way for him to eventually become boss of the

Samsung group. His father had been running the Samsung group until 2014

when he suffered a heart attack. So Jay Y Lee has in de facto boss of

this company in that time. So, I suppose the other thing is, this

trial raises the wider questions about these chaebols and the way

that South Korea does is this? That is right. Samsung is hugely

important to South Korea. Outside, it is mostly known for Samsung's

electronics, smartphones and appliances. But it is also involved

in construction, shipbuilding, even a Samsung amusement park. It

accounts for about one of the economy. It is dominated, the

economy, by these large family run conglomerates. In the past there

have in many accusations against the bosses of these groups, but even

when they are convicted they are given a pardon by the government,

because there has been fear that there could be an economic impact.

However, now there is a new government in power. Resident Moon

Jae-in has said he will take on the conglomerates. -- president. The

government has said that it is hoping fro strong verdict today, and

they are hoping that will send a strong message to large

conglomerates, to clean up the way that they do business.

Australian airline Qantas has posted its second best annual profit

ever, despite fierce competition from its rivals.

Boss Alan Joyce is calling it a vindication of his three-year

turnaround plan, which has involved major cost cutting.

So, I suppose they and their shareholders are delighted? They are

absolutely delighted. Obviously, as you just said, those profits

skyrocketed to their second-highest level in the airline's 97 year

history. It turns just over $1 billion in pre-tax profit for the

year to the end of June. Of course, we know that the airline's highest

ever profit was delivered last year. This profit is down about 9% from

that record. The strong result was really due to cost-cutting and its

robust domestic is Mrs, which have helped to offset global competition.

-- domestic businesses. Qantas also announced phones today to sell

non-stop flights from Sydney to London and New York are 2022. --

plans. Those would be among the longest haul flights that exist, 20

hours or more. That plan would depend on the airline securing

planes from Boeing and Airbus that are capable of travelling that kind

of distance. I certainly wouldn't want to. Next year they also

confirmed they will fly directly from Perth to London, which Chief

Executive Alan Joyce says will be a huge leap forward. Not surprisingly,

Qantas shares have been rising today.

We are also rounding up our week-long series

on the business of death, looking at the financial issues

raised by aging populations around the world.

Benjamin Franklin famously said nothing is certain

In many countries inheritance tax or death taxes are

But in others, like Israel, Australia and Sweden,

Is it good for the economy, a fair way of redistributing wealth

We get the views of two UK tax experts.

I would say that yes, it is good for the economy. It puts money into the

Treasury, which obviously pays for various things, including various

necessities. But inheritance tax also has an inbuilt protection for

businesses. Good points. I don't think eventually raises much money.

That quarter to 0.5% of GDP, it is a few billion pounds. At the moment it

is a chance tax. It is only those people who do not have the knowledge

or the large enough state to pay for the accountants, lawyers and wealth

manages to hide it for them. I don't think it works. If people see that

40% of what they leave is effectively going to be taken by the

revenue, it does actually encourage them to go out, live their lives,

enjoy themselves, go and spend, and clearly that is good for the

economy. I think inheritance taxes are really marginal to business

owners. Inheritance tax does actually remove potential investment

capital from the economy. We are talking about relatively small

businesses here. If you are going to receive a few hundred thousand

pounds, that is something you could potentially invest in a business. So

there is an art and this is it removes capital that could be

invested. I don't think it takes away from businesses. I think there

are opportunities there to put it into businesses. There is a big

amount of cash and if somebody dies with the tickets are 40% inheritance

tax. If they instead invest that money in their children's Isner is,

that cash is inverted into something that isn't -- that is exempt. So the

regime can actually encourage investment into businesses. I think

inheritance tax should be abolished. I think for the amount of revenue at

raises for the Treasury, it frankly isn't worth it. I don't think it

should be abolished. I think it makes its contribution to the

Treasury and it is an awful lot better than some of the

alternatives, which is effectively paying more tax during your lifetime

when you should be enjoying your money and what you have earned.

Well, I am sure inheritance tax will continue to divide opinion.

To other business news now, and music streaming service Spotify

has signed a new licensing deal with Warner Music Group,

paving the way for an expected flotation on the New York Stock

After deals with Sony and Universal, Warner was the last of the three big

record labels to agree to renewed terms to make its catalogue

available to Spotify's 140 million users.

Artists and labels have in the past complained about minuscule revenue

from streaming sites when compared to downloads or physical sales.

Investors have been selling off shares of supermarkets in the US

after Amazon said it would complete its takeover

of the Whole Foods chain on Monday, and immediately embark

Amazon's news reignited fears for the future

of the traditional supermarket industry.

Walmart, Target and Costco all saw their shares fall.

Office space company WeWork is to get a major investment worth

$4.4 billion from Japanese tech giant Softbank.

The New York start-up was founded in 2010,

and helped pioneer the concept of shared office space.

It operates in 50 cities across 16 countries around the world,

and is planning major expansion into Asia.

Speaking of Asia, let's take a look at how the Asian markets are

looking. Asian stocks advanced on Friday,

once again shrugging off a sluggish day on Wall Street, and the dollar

strengthened as attention shifted to the central bankers'

symposium in Jackson Hole, That is the Asian markets. We will

check in on the US markets later. Don't go away.

South Wales Police missed a number of opportunities to bring convicted