business news live from singapore. 20 years since hong kong's hand over to china — is its economy better or worse off? and it has been two decades since the asian financial crisis — we look at the philippines and why it did better than its regional neighbours in riding out the turmoil. good morning, asia. hello, world. thank you forjoining me for this friday edition of asia business report. i'm rico hizon. as we told you on newsday this weekend marks 20 years since hong kong saw the end of british colonial will. chris patten was the last governor of hong kong, which is one of the major financial hubs of asia. my of the major financial hubs of asia. my colleague asked him if he is concerned about the future of the economy under china's growing influence. my biggest worry about hong kong wasn't that the tanks would roll in from the north but that hong kong would simply become the richest city in china. i don't think that is going to happen so long as hong kong can hold onto the rule of law, independentjudiciary and all of those things. they are crucial for business. and all of those things. they are crucialfor business. even and all of those things. they are crucial for business. even some chinese businesses feel they have to go to hong kong to sign contracts with one another because that way they can be properlyjust —— justiciable. it is the rule of all which makes hong kong special and will mean it has advantages over shanghai or other chinese cities. now to india, less than a year after the high—value currency notes were removed from circulation, another ambitious reform initiative — the goods and services tax, gst. the country's 1.5 billion people live goods and services tax, gst. the country's1.5 billion people live in 29 separate states and each of those states has its own tax arrangements. as of tomorrow, the gst replaces the complex web of taxes. what does this mean for india? our india business tea m mean for india? our india business team makes it down. —— breaks it down. the goods and services tax, the gst, will unify india into a single market. businesses will pay one tax rather than several state and federal taxes that they pay at the moment. there are four basic rates, five, 12, 18 and 20 8%. most goods and services were signed a tax rate. there are some exceptions like milk and vegetables. —— 28%. india's finance minister says gst could lift growth as much as 2% by streamlining tax collections, so the government can make more money. businesses are worried that they are not ready for the tax overhaul. it has been a good six months for asian share prices despite concerns over rising interest rates in the us. stock markets across the region have rallied. looking at the regents have rallied. looking at the regent's biggest markets — hong kong and south korea are some of the top performers up nearly 20% since the beginning of the year. japan is up 6% and stocks in china have inched higher by nearly 3%. i asked an independent strategist, andrew solomon, why the difference in performance between hong kong and china. this year is strange for china. this year is strange for china with the party conference at the end of the year. people are very much expecting the markets will trudge along ahead of that. they don't expect upside because the government doesn't want bubbles in any sector. equally, we don't expect to see downside because the government will want to support the market and maintain confidence. it is range bound. the concern is that the yuan will weaken another policy of the government post the party conference will be towards tightening, people are concerned about the property market. in hong kong, we have seen more growth. largely it has come from tech names, like has done so well, and banks continue to do well —— like ten cent, which is done well. because there is no dollar risk, it has helped hong kong as well. the latest buzzword in the mobile technology is 56 and smart phone makers have teamed up with telcos to show what the technology could bring ina show what the technology could bring in a couple of years' time. mobile phones have come a long way since motorola produced the first model in 1973. check out this picture, martin cooper, the inventor, with the first device. in 2020 they are on target to bea device. in 2020 they are on target to be a $50 billion industry. we asked jake saunders about the race to be first with 56 phones. 56 won't start properly until 2020. in 2018 just next year, in korea they have the winter olympics. samsung and lg will do a number of 5g demos. samsung says it will have a 5g handset and it will have a 5g coverage running. in 2019 in the us at&t and verizon are keen to get 5g up at&t and verizon are keen to get 5g up and running just four mobile services. what is intriguing is it has the opportunity to provide coverage in rural communities and perhaps small towns and villages. in ourfinal report perhaps small towns and villages. in our final report this week, 20 yea rs on in our final report this week, 20 years on from the asian financial crisis we look at the philippines which at the time was seen as the sick man of asia but the economy did not suffer as much as its neighbours in the region. i went to my hometown of manila to hear from in the region. i went to my hometown of manila to hearfrom one in the region. i went to my hometown of manila to hear from one survivor of manila to hear from one survivor of the crisis and find out why the philippines is now one of the fastest—growing economies in the region. manila, the capital city of one of the most dynamic economies in south east asia. when the asian financial crisis devastated the region, the philippines managed to pull through better than its neighbours. so, how did it happen? 0ne better than its neighbours. so, how did it happen? one of the crucial factors was its remittance economy — everyday hundreds if not thousands of people queue up here to try to get the permits to work overseas. the money they send back helps to drive consumption and keep the economy buoyant. 20 years ago remittance is made up 6%— 8% of gdp — that nearly doubled in 2005. today it is still worth 10% of the national income. what other factors helped the philippines ride out the crisis and recover quicker than eve ryo ne crisis and recover quicker than everyone else? we were late in the game in the property sector, so we didn't have a property bubble just yet at the time. compared with thailand and indonesia, you know, they had a property bubble that was financed by dollar debts. but at the same time... it was a tough time for many. in 1997 wellington song watched his business empire all but collapsed. he is building technology company was wiped out and he spent yea rs company was wiped out and he spent years painstakingly rehabilitating the luxury car dealership he began from scratch. it came as a total surprise. we didn't know where it came from, we had no idea how it was going to affect us. and then we just realised that it was a financial holocaust — it was a corporate nightmare. every day being so fea rful of nightmare. every day being so fearful of what new problems will arise. and it was like eating broken glass for breakfast every day for 11 yea rs. glass for breakfast every day for 11 years. so, what do you think, guys, will i be warm in london? years. so, what do you think, guys, willl be warm in london? the philippines is looking forward, not back. this woman is typical of the new generation. in her early 20s, she is the average age of the population and like many filipinos she sees a future are broad and she is preparing to move to london. -- abroad. here in the philippines are don't get paid as much as i work for thejob. —— don't get paid as much as i work for the job. —— i don't get paid as much as i work for thejob. —— i don't get paid. i work 48 hours and i don't get much. the expanding philippine economy has its challenges — a slowdown in remittances, the need to improve infrastructure and tackling the poverty gap. still, anna is excited and optimistic about the future and so too is the philippines. and don't forget to tune into the special programme playing out this weekend, starting on saturday. and before we go, a bbc exclusive, the philippines central bank governor ta kes philippines central bank governor takes over this weekend. in his first interview with foreign media as head of the bsb, nestojunior tells us of his priorities on monday on asia business report. and on the market put screens, asian markets are in negative territory, the nikkei is down 216 points and the all 0rdinaries losing around 9%. thank you so much for investing your time with us, have a productive friday! i'm rico hizon, goodbye for now. hallow, you're watching bbc news. women from northern ireland will no longer have to pay for abortions provided by the nhs in england. the concession was made by ministers to avoid a conservative rebellion in votes on the queen's speech. some campaign groups in northern ireland have welcomed the decision. among them are many women who've travelled to other parts of the uk in the past, where they've had to pay for terminations. 0ur ireland correspondent chris page has more on today's reaction. we said pro—choice, they say no choice! abortion may be an intensely personal issue, but in northern ireland, it's also highly controversial. strong campaign groups push for the law to be changed, and others passionately defend the status quo. every week, women go across the irish sea to have their pregnancies terminated. four years ago, the bbc filmed sarah as she went to england to have an abortion. her baby wasn't expected to survive birth because of a genetic condition. she says today's decision will make a difference to people in her position. it's a good thing that we're now going to get it in hospitals across the water instead of a clinic. but at the same time, if it's ok for us to go over there and have it on the nhs, it should be ok for us to have it here with medicals in our own hospitals. i was lucky to have family and friends that were able to support me to go away. not everybody has that option. last year, doctors carried out 16 abortions in northern ireland for the permitted medical reasons. but 724 women travelled to have a termination in england. the government believes the new arrangement will cost around £1 million a year. but at stormont, there is no political consensus about whether new legislation is needed. so some organisations have tried to bring change through the courts. in 2015, a judge ruled that abortion law here breached the european convention on human rights. butjust today, the ruling was overturned after an appeal. pro—life campaigners have welcomed that decision, but criticised the one made by the government. absolutely disappointed, totally outraged. in some way, we would hope we can overturn this or change this down the line. we won't stop until every unborn child in northern ireland is protected. neither side in this debate expected the news from westminster today. it adds a new dimension to an emotive ethical argument in this part of the uk. chris page, bbc news, belfast. now, as always, lots more on our website and you can also get in touch with me and some of the team here on bbc news on social media, on twitter. time now for all the sports news in sport today. hello, i'm steven wyeth, and live from the bbc sport centre, this is sport today. coming up: the look of world champions. germany ease past mexico and into the confederations cup final. setting the standard, holders australia make it two wins form two with a record run chase at the cricket world cup. and double success for a pre—wimbledon favourite. johanna konta beats the french open champion and then the world number one. welcome to sport today, where it is all about the big names showing how to cope with the pressure. not least in russia, where a year out from the world cup, reigning world champions germany are into the confederations cup final. colm harrison reports on a comprehensive win over mexico in sochi. wednesday the first semi—final had gone all the way to penalties, but this one was effectively over before it had really begun. goretzka drilled home from the edge of the penalty area to put the germans in front after only six minutes, and the striker supplied another neat finish to make a 2— 02 minutes later. that goal also made him the tournament's top scorer, with

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