japan's will not back down. plus the rise of hands—free driving, is the technology save or is it a threat to road safety? hello and welcome to asia business report. i'm steve lai. we begin with the purchase of us steel, japan's industrial giant has defended its proposed acquisition of the united states second biggest steel producer. the deal was agreed in december, but the white house said last month that the company should remain in domestic ownership. nippon steel�*s incoming president has called for its deep roots in the united states to be recognised. here is our business reporter. he is the new president. today and on the top of a tricky assignment

from a $14 billion purchase of us steel. a deal has been agreed, but it's united these two, president biden and his predecessor, president trump. donald trump has said he will block the deal if he is reelected later this year and president biden last month noted it has been an iconic american steel company for more than it century. and he said it's vital for it to remain in american steel company that is domestically owned and operated. in common with many countries, the white house sees steel as critical to international security. their concerns about jobs in a company which employs 22,000 people, 1a,000 in the us alone and the iconic status cannot be overstated. at one time, us steel was both the biggest steel maker and the world's first billion—dollar corporation. nippon argues that the company's deep.

it is seeking to grow in the united states. they have promised to move the company to pittsburgh where you are still is. but these arguments may not hold much water. and the bank ofjapan has recently raised interest rates for the first time in 17 years. but prime minister fumio kishida says the country is only at the "half way" mark to end decades of deflation. looking at some other data point. 0n looking at some other data point. on tuesday we will find out how south korea �*s information fed in the month of march. the country's regulator promising more corporate reform to drive investment. 0n to drive investment. on thursday, we will find out how

traders go in the world's economy. china has accused the us protectionism, particularly when it comes to electric vehicles and renewable energy. 0n vehicles and renewable energy. on friday, the reserve bank of india is expected to keep interest rates on hold. the country has the highest growth rate of major economies at moment and inflation is around the 25% range. southeast asia has found itself as a key battleground in tensions between the world's two largest economies. both china and us have stepped up their investments in the region. last month gina raimondo visited the philippines and thailand, pledging over $1 billion in spending in manila and saying to deepen economic engagement in the indo—pacific. meanwhile, china's investment in the region rose by more than a third. 0ne provider measuring this is a company setting up corporations when they expand

internationally. the chief executive told us by the region is attractive to investors. we are a gullible _ is attractive to investors. - are a gullible platform but we are a gullible platform but we are across the world and have a particular strength in asia. we are starting to see an increase in demand for support for those essential business services, for new entrants and especially for new entrants and especially for clients who may have less familiarity with the region so for new locations.— familiarity with the region so for new locations. what other sectors do — for new locations. what other sectors do you _ for new locations. what other sectors do you see _ for new locations. what other sectors do you see getting . sectors do you see getting traction in this region? let's ick traction in this region? let's pick indonesia _ traction in this region? let's pick indonesia for _ traction in this region? let's pick indonesia for example. | pick indonesia for example. that is a market where there are very interesting demographics features. 70% of the 280 million strong population are considered middle—class and that is a

market that many clients will see as being a good bet going forward. and, you know, in terms of industries, indonesia, thailand for example backing investment, indonesia has seen interest from chinese investors for manufacturing and refining of nickel for example.- of nickel for example. what is our of nickel for example. what is your outlook— of nickel for example. what is your outlook for _ of nickel for example. what is your outlook for the _ of nickel for example. what is your outlook for the rest - of nickel for example. what is your outlook for the rest of i your outlook for the rest of the year in terms of corporate expansion? the year in terms of corporate mansion?— the year in terms of corporate expansion? clients are getting used to the — expansion? clients are getting used to the broader— expansion? clients are getting used to the broader macro - used to the broader macro situation. they are starting to explore that risk appetite for investment in the new context. and the regional certainty and i mention indonesia and the recent election, that has created some increased certainty in that country. that will propel and will certainly continue to push appetite for

investing up into the region. we expect that to continue for the rest of the year. the we expect that to continue for the rest of the year.— the rest of the year. the party and other— the rest of the year. the party and other oppositions - the rest of the year. the party and other oppositions in - the rest of the year. the party and other oppositions in india | and other oppositions in india held a rally accusing the government to... the bbc has the latest. the congress party calling this tax terrorism by the ruling pgp saying that authorities have reopened eight years of the party's tax returns deliberately ahead of elections. the congress party saying they will fight this legally but also taking on the fight outside the courts as well. on sunday, the congress along with other opposition parties won a rally in delhi. parties held a rally in delhi. the congress party complains that the tax agencies have already frozen $16 million of their funds saying all of this is making it hard for the party to spend on campaigning

ahead of elections. several leaders find themselves being investigated in corruption cases. some have even been arrested. including the sitting chief minister of delhi. 0pposition parties say all these cases are politically motivated. despite their allegations, the congress party has failed to get any relief from the courts or even a tax tribunal, a fact that the pgp is using to ravish all these allegations by the congress party. the pgp added that the party should fulfil its tax obligations rather than play politics ahead of elections. we were promised self driving cars, but the dream of flying —— driverless cars and robo taxi seems to be running late. it turns out it's technically harder than expected. instead we see more hands—free driving systems on our roads, and there is a difference, most major car—makers offer them,

but is it safe? our business correspondent reports. the road to the cars of the future is bumpier than we thought. one stop on thatjourney is hands—free driving. i think this is my ride. hello. are you cody? michelle, nice to meet you. i got to see gm's super cruise in action. out on the roads on new york city. we are turning on super cruise, green indication on the wheel and we can take our hands off the wheel. tech that literally takes the driving out of your hands. it's especially nice on long road trips. that was fun. seeing the system in action. but there were so many words out there at the moment like driverless, auto pilot, hands—free, and it's sowing a lot of confusion in the minds of the public. these are not self driving vehicles. these are partial driving automation systems that are intended to assist you and make some of the driving a little

more convenient. new testing by the insurance institute for highway safety found that many of the use hands—free systems don't do enough to monitor driver's behaviour. the findings were a little disappointing. out of the 1a systems we tested, 11 of those received poor ratings from us. a couple of miles uptown is the new york auto show, one of the industry's great display of its ideas for the future. none of the brands here earned a top rating. only one got an acceptable score — the lexus team—mate. growing concerns over these systems led to this exchange with the head of america's travel safety regulator. if it's only designed to be operated in a certain type of environment, it should be limited to those environments. to raise awareness, general motors has launched a public education campaign. the us car giant wants to make it clear what is and isn't allowed when driving hands—free.

we want to gain their trust, we don't want to outpace them to where they don't trust the technology. the technology is meant to support the driver and prevent car crashes and injuries, an ambition that won't be realised if the humans behind the wheel become distracted. michelle fleury, bbc news, new york. turning to china and manufacturing activity in march expanded for the first time in six months. the index rose to 50.8 from 49 point nine in the previous month. it separates growth from contraction. that's it for this edition of asia business report. see you in the next hour.

hello and welcome to sportsday. i'm jane dougall. liverpool are top of the table after a tense day in the battle to win the premier league.

arsenal lift the league trophy after a late goal against chelsea — stopping them from winning the quadruple. and he can't stop winning — jannik sinner takes the title in miami. hello and welcome to the program, where we'll start in the english premier league as liverpool have moved to the top of the table after their 2—1 victory over brighton. the visitors took the lead through danny welbeck afterjust two minutes, but goals from luis diaz and a winnerfrom mohamed salah gave manager jurgen klopp's side all three points.

in games against brighton, we were never close.