♪ >> stocks about to start trading with the company's defective head behind bars on allegations of bribery and embezzlement. off of friday. a stronger yen and fullback in the s&p. three heights for this year -- trump berates the media and denies chaos and its administration as he talks up his first four weeks in the white house.

this is the second hour of ."aybreak asia just after 7:00 p.m. here in new york. we have breaking news on singapore. the final gdp numbers for the fourth quarter coming in much better than what was prior 12.3% quarter on quarter have also much better than what was initially reported. resulting in an annual gdp rate of 2%. there is a lot of concern about this export-oriented economy, what trump's policies might mean for singapore in the future. >> trade is definitely one sector. still faster than the third quarter but it seems like the construction sector shrank.

manufacturing grew by 11.5% year on year. once singapore starts trading in we will also get exports at the bottom of the hour. a lot of news happening. first off let's get the market open. asian shares looking to follow up the drop on wall street. asia-pacific gauge is at its highest since july, 2015. we have china futures pointing to a higher open. we might not be done yet. take a look at the markets that are open. australia continuing to fall after a two day climb. health care the biggest drag. focussts are very much in

extending its drop. up 10.5%. down .5%. samsung earlier dropping as much as 3%. after the arrest of the -- source-anticipated open and some, down 7/10 of a percent. saw after the climb we thursday. given the early morning arrest we saw, we will see how the performance tracks. hynix on the rise. hyundai unchanged. >> thank you. leader is in detention, arrested on allegations of bribery, perjury and embezzlement.

the company issued a statement saying able to its best to ensure the truth comes out. you are in seoul during the first proceedings. how significant is it? >> is quite significant when you take into the account the weighting of samsung. the top five make up about half the index. i was looking at the top 10, behold 27% of all business in sale -- in south korea. samsung at the top. if fulton to question all kinds of risks. he was the defective leader -- the fact oh -- de facto leader. when i was there in january when the court ruled rejecting the special prosecutor's request for an arrest warrant they said

there was not enough evidence. it would have been unprecedented had he been brought into custody before formal charges and what is expected to be a trial. now the special prosecutors have come with more evidence and the district court has ruled in their favor on allegations of bribery, perjury, embezzlement. -- revelationsns came forward. allegedly concealing profits gained illegally. hiding assets overseas. it is a very convoluted story. it is unprecedented. why was he remanded to prison before formal charges? that is what makes it unprecedented. a court sportsperson out this morning said there was a chance he could destroy evidence and he was a flight risk. >> what about the connection? tell us about the connection to the imprisonment -- impeachment

of the president. >> we have known and documented for years the cozy relationship they have with government over the years. this goes to the heart as well. it is part of the broader investigation into the president, who was impeached and had her powers strips temporarily. -- stripped temporarily. this alleges bribes to consolidate his power as he was being groomed to take over his father who is in failing health. two included the merging of groups that needed the blessing from the fund. his brides were allegedly paid to a close confidant to the president to help a be way -- to help pave the way. one of the bribes was a horse. we will certainly follow the

story all morning long. no let's get to the first word news with courtney collins. president trump has claimed what he calls incredible progress in his first four weeks. he also took the opportunity to lash out that the media. a newssident opened conference by pointing to stockmarket records as evidence of his early compliments. he said he sees new stories of chaos and his administration when in fact it is the exact opposite. this administration is running like a fine-tuned machine. despite the fact i cannot get my cabinet approved, and they are outstanding people. the u.s. secretary of state says north korea's violations of human revolution -- resolutions will bring an even stronger international response. rex tillerson made a statement in germany along with foreign ministers of japan and south korea. they condemned in the strongest

terms north korea's ballistic missile tests last sunday. brokerages are lining up for japan's second share offering in a little over a year. several big names including j.p. morgan stanley are said to have applied. those forward global coordinators -- the country's biggest privatization deal in almost 30 years. mitsubishi has rolled out a rescue of toshiba's struggling nuclear reactor business. said the technology used by mitsubishi is completely different and any change would violate its relationships with other countries. they have asked to continue temporary conversation -- compensation cuts in 2017 as an emergency measure. toshiba shares are down for a

fourth straight day. global news 24 hours a day, powered by more than 2600 journalists and analysts in more than 120 countries. i'm courtney collins, this is bloomberg. seenill ahead, the woman as a next chief executive val is to avoid moves that could revive anti-china protests. sews confusion over the israeli-palestinian conflict because someone close to the president -- ♪

♪ this is "daybreak asia." >> a quick check of the latest headlines. furthersachs gives a boost to metal prices. into china's oak old economy --

industrial commodities have enjoyed a rebound over the past year on improved demand from china's property and infrastructure sectors. >> record i am or output -- record iron ore output. they beat estimates. reporteed copper and nicele at at l; >> southeast asia's third base lender says profits fell in a fourth quarter after its drop and noninterest income. united overseas bank saw net earnings increased to $522 million in the three months to december. that was a slight beat estimates. president trump has defended his presidency during a wide-ranging news conference claiming incredible progress in

his first four weeks in office. our next guest is a longtime financial year and has been involved in many things, including a deep interest in israel and the middle east. he is the founder and ceo of investments. good to see you. last time you were here we were just talking about it, you are here the night before the election and he said if trump ins you are still a buyer the markets. are you still a buyer now? dan: no. i am a holder waiting for an opportunity as always to buy lower. i think we are probably going lower before he go much higher. >> because? dan: because the market has priced in a lot of positive outcomes associated with the election of president trump and the implementation of his economic agenda. i think it is going to be very challenging, even with a full

congressional mandate to accomplish everything that the president wants to accomplish. >> it has to be a perfect storm. dan: things have to work out well and it is priced in, which is a reflection of the structure of the market, which is becoming so driven by algorithms that as soon as there is a forward signal gets amplified, technically, by the algorithmic trading. in so many respects the market is ahead of itself. i'm not saying the president's agenda will not be implemented, but i do feel a lot of it is already priced in. i would not be buying much. becauseou also on hold you are watching things like today's press conference, 75 minutes the touched upon almost everything except for his economic policies. dan: my bald spot behind the camera. [laughter]

i did not watch the press conference today. >> you must assume the headlines. -- you must have seen the headlines. not know how to relate that to the market but i would only underline that what you are meant to do as an investor i think is buy at attractive prices and sell or hold at most -- i would not even hold when they are fully valued. the night before the election you asked me what i would do if president trump wins, at that time which was an upset, and i said i would do nothing. if he goes down, i will buy more. i'm not going to waste money by -- was an, which is good thing not to do. i am not buying anywhere right now. i am buying in some sectors that have been beaten down like pharma.

has some good interesting opportunities. secular stories like chip stocks, microchip stocks, software. the same stuff we have talking about for a long time. i'm still doing private venture investing and sector-specific stuff. >> you have been in the news recently, to kind of go off-topic. you have been in the news recently given your interest as a private citizen in middle east negotiations. you went to meet with the palestinian authority head. that made some news. tell me, what happened there? dan: so, i was invited to go meet with the president and the head of intelligence and security. and the chief negotiator. as, an independent

citizen, to hear what their perspective is today. what their thinking is today. , as he is goals are 81 and thinking about the future. the whole political disruption and transition in the world. so, i went as an independent citizen just to listen -- >> you were sent by the trump camp? dan: no. i went individually. i went with a palestinian-american friend of mine to listen and offer my views as to where they stood and where things stood and what the possibilities were. it turned out to be a long and very interesting conversation. >> what did you come away with? dan: i came away with a sense that there is an unusual, extraordinary opportunity right breakthroughential

between the palestinians and the israelis, as unlikely as that seems, because you have a perfect constellation of agingts in place with an and faltering leadership of the palestinian liberation organization, a bunch of complexity around israel's ,ositions, and most importantly a new american president who in his first 100 days wants to see things accomplished while for the first time in history, interests are aligned in the middle east between israel and its air of neighbors in relation to the common thread of the iras crescent, which is n-backed movements and terror. the elements are together. then he question becomes what

can be done. we have but i thought was a very interesting conversation about the outlines of a framework -- >> did you report all this back to the trump camp? you might not have been sent, but did you report to them. dan: not yet because they have other priorities. but they are broadly aware. there has been some interaction informally. it is more complex than it appears, except to say that i do believe as the president stated in his press conference yesterday, that there is the potential for both a specific resolution to this issue and a much broader arrangement in the whole region that would be stabilizing in the interest of the united states, in the and in the israel,

interest of improving the lives of the palestinian people that are within the geography of israel today. again, i say this with no , 100% as al role private citizen who went there just to listen and express my own individual views. found yourself in the news. dan: not really. [laughter] >> good to talk to you. given the president's judgment on international issues when you talk about his national security adviser comedy the scandal involving his ties with russia, do you think there is a concern among benjamin netanyahu about whether president trump can honor his promises about improving ties with israel after this honeymoon is over? dan: no. and primeat israel minister netanyahu take at face ,alue, as i believe they should

that the united states, the trump administration is going to be supportive, but at the same time is going to leave the room to israel and the palestinians to resolve their own differences as opposed to impose very strong views of the united states on one side or the other as quite candidly, the obama administration did. i thought the most interesting thing that happened in the last couple days was the prime minister of israel's remarks at the prize -- at the press conference yesterday that focused very specifically on what we -- what would need to take place in order for there to be a resolution, which is very specifically that the palestinians in every respect would need to accept and acknowledge and recognize the legitimacy of the state of israel as a jewish nation, and israel would have to take responsibility, which i believe the palestinians agree is an ever was interests for the

overall defense and security of the perimeter northeast and south in israel. >> but dan, this is a president who has tweeted, picked fights with countries like china and mexico, even australia. then has resorted back and softened his stance. when seems to be confusion it comes to foreign policy and the trump administration. dan: look, i think this is a president who says what he believes. wheneard him yesterday asked about the two state solution and the one state solution, he said i have heard two-state, one state, the one i like is the one that the parties want. that is ultimately the right answer. it might not have been delivered as elegantly as we're used to, but what he is basically saying is we are going to leave it to the israelis and the palestinians. the vision i discussed with the

palestinians is the vision of two peoples with a similar history and a similar set of beliefs coming together for each other's benefit to bring light to the whole region. >> just to jump off at that hent, as she is saying, doesn't seem to be handling relations with other countries that elegantly. what makes you think he is going to have success in such a complicated situation as that? sure howdy knows for things are going to go down now. there is a great deal of change and uncertainty. but from that uncertainty there is always opportunity. son-in-lawgned his jared kushner to be intimately involved in this. jared is a very thoughtful -- >> you are close to jared? know him. he is a very thoughtful, young guy and he does a lot of listening and is gathering a lot of information. you know, we have to appreciate

afterfter a period, decades of failure the old-fashioned way, it may be a good idea to wipe the slate clean and bring new approaches and new thinking. is no longer relevant come all the old concepts are no longer relevant. this time to take a completely fresh look. >> thank you so much for stopping by. of next, a strong start for the year. a closer look at the banks earnings. this is bloomberg. ♪

♪ trading higher about 1.8% in sydney after a reported 31% surge in cash profit in the first quarter. joining us live from sydney. this looks like a good set of numbers.

under reasonably challenging conditions. >> that's right. 115 4 billion u.s. dollars. of 34%. retail and institutional arms are boosting the number as was the sale of the melbourne building. the ceo saying they're still a great deal to do to sustain this progress. of year ond days year record profit from the banks have pulled back. fellebt interest for anz several basis points. fell to $282 million. take it look at the stock responding pretty well. up one and one three quarter percent. >> paul, thank you.

up next, atlanta fed president says the fed is keeping all options president and the march meeting is live. more on that and how it compares with what stanley fischer said as well as day two and a one of janet yellen's ♪ testimony on capitol hill. this is bloomberg. ♪

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♪ welcome back. breaking news. more from singapore. exports ofstic figures coming in for the month of january and it is down 8.6%. it was a mess. -- a miss. gainwere expecting a 9.6% on nonoil exports. expectations was a miss by about 1%. month on month was also a beat up 5%. numbers givent of the fact we saw it will bit of

revision upwards. >> we did, indeed. significant revisions. reviseda reminder, 2.9% from 1.8% in the fourth quarter. 12.3% from the 9.1%. these are backwards-looking numbers. is toeally is important see how these protectionist policies come out and out trump will affect economies like singapore which rely so much on exports. we will see. >> there were signs earlier of some kind of revival when it came to exporters in the asia region. let's take a look at the market reaction so far. i know you're checking the sing dollar. >> i'm looking at what is going on with that currency. we saw fall against u.s. dollar following the gdp number. as betty pointed out that is a backward-looking number following the exports prince we got this morning.

he dropped the softening. this week has been a big one for singapore. earlier we had retail sales out as well. taking a look elsewhere, we of course have singapore opening at the top of the hour. we will look at that when that happens. >> the big story today is the arrest of the head of samsung. how is that playing in the markets? >> checking in on some of the heavyweights we have some electronics dropping. about 60% over the past year compared to the gain of 10%. keeping a close eye here. hyundai falling about 1.3%. heavy all in the red. how it is faring. we have a dropping about a third of a percent. over -- otherat

movers, we have these stocks in focus. had shopping falling as much as 9.8%. that is the biggest day drop since 2008. here, i want to focus on toshiba falling for a fourth day. in addition to possibly delaying its sale. they also faced pickups. u.s. utility companies as they could seek a new contractor to build reactors if toshiba cannot finish the projects. said they ruleo saving their reactor business. >> first word news now. are littleshares changed after the arrest of the

man who led the company since 2014 on allegations of bribery, embezzlement and perjury. he is being held in a detention center in seoul after a war for his arrest. they are examining whether we -- lee -- samsung says it will ensure the truth comes out in his trial. the so-called islamic state says it carried out a suicide bombing on a shrine in southern pakistan that killed at least 75. it is the country's deadliest attack and more than two years. the sunni militant group says it had targeted a shiite gathering. the prime minister about security forces would track down the perpetrators. investors looking for signs of a big turnaround in macau might have to wait longer. set of posted a mixed earnings with mgm resorts sing

flat revenue and disappointing results in the u.s. revenue from table games fell. signaled similar weakness in middle-class gamblers but they beat estimates and nearly $1.2 billion. is hoping to capture investors despite giving shareholders less control than any other social begin company. it is offering 200 million shares priced between $14 and $60 each. close to $18.5p million. global news 24 hours a day, powered by more than 2600 journalists and analysts in more than 120 countries. i am courtney collins. this is bloomberg. >> it is an embarrassment of fed riches today on bloomberg as we saw first with the chair and then the outgoing atlantic

chair. kathleen hays with a more. he is not going to vote at the next meeting but if you were a sound like he would lean towards a hike. >> he said he could be persuaded. he talks about the economic data from the last couple days getting stronger. he does seem to see potential for a march rate hike. >> certainly the inflation report, the retail sales report that theaw tell me economy is on the path i expected or a little stronger. so if i were participating in the meeting and if i were one of the policymakers in this particular decision, i would persuadablesort of that we could have a rate increase that would be consistent with the path that i think the economy is on.

but overall, i still feel that what i saw at the beginning of the year as the path for the economy is what we are experiencing, and i promised two rate moves on that outlook. i could probably go either way at this point based on what we have seen in recent data. i would caution everyone not to overreact to one month's data. >> a lot of people seem to be reacting very strongly. she said it would be unwise for the fed to wait too long although she has said that also recently. she said the economy is growing. some people thought the most bullish testimony that yellen has given for some time. did you read it that way? thatsaw the news reports kind of labeled it as hawkish. my reading of what she had to say was that it was measured and that it really did not say a lot more than we have -- than many

of us have been saying, and that is that two dozen 17 is likely to be a year in which we see some rate moves, rate hikes. whether that is two or three remains to be seen. i think she kept all options open and she kept the march meeting live, which exactly i think is the right posture. >> isn't every meeting live? >> every meeting should be live. they tend to have been meetings in which there are press conference is scheduled. conferences scheduled. a press conference meeting versus a non-press conference meeting. but yes, every meeting should be live. >> that is where the most interesting things that he reminded us of, is that actually markets -- if we

need to we can. there is a clause. -- rate right height hike odds are around 59%. traders were thinking it would be probable. >> exactly. you also asked lockhart about inflation. can it rise while -- sees thed that he steady improvement and yes, there is a month where they flatten out. wages are moving in the right direction. it is a good sign for the labor market. here, what ite shows is the white line hourly earnings heading up, they have come down. left, that is where these wage measures were just before the great recession.

he wrote about why he voted for unchanged policy. he seems to be leaning towards rate hikes and this is why. he thinks inflation is an hike in did not have the wage impetus. the fed vice chairman, when he spoke earlier he also talked about rising wages. not like they are getting out of control but they are helping push the fed towards a dual mandate of lower unemployment and higher inflation. >> thank you. our global policy and economics editor. before we go to break company show you this cool function. the interactive tv function. you can find it on tv on the bloomberg. you can watch us live. on the right side we see most of charts and securities and bloomberg functions we talk about throughout the hours here. you can also get part of the conversation by sending us

instant messages on the bottom left. this is only for bloomberg subscribers but check it out. coming up, our next guest says forget the trump bump, things are already taking out. ♪

♪ this is "daybreak asia." >> a quick check of the latest business flash headlines. will meet onltancy monday to discuss its first ever stock buyback with a cash pile of nearly $6.5 billion. some analysts are betting they may spend about $1.1 billion on repurchases. other indian software companies have bowed to pressure. they spent more than $3 billion to buy back shares. chair first woman will

saudi arabia, the largest stock exchange in the middle east. -- replaces she is expected to keep her position. the appointment is significant for saudi arabia where the female unemployment rate is more than 34% and women are not allowed to drive. say thedealers in china brand has overextended its network and they want $4 billion in compensation. elizabeth formed a lobby group claiming they had been facing lawsuits since 2014. audi reported its first sales drop in china in more than a quarter century in 2016. losing to mercedes-benz and bmw. our next guest says asia can still perform even with higher americans --

great to have you. here in asia we have brushed off these record highs we see in wall street overnight, which comes all to regularly now it seems. is there any upside we see in this region? could it be limited? >> i think there is a great opportunity in asia. the general premise is the u.s. is stronger, we're going to see higher rates, a stronger u.s. dollar. betweenook at the period --3 and 2007, we see smii similar value. asia performed well. the health ofuch the u.s. what more so china. that is what i hear. i want to look at this chart you brought, which i have not checked in a while.

if you compare to the official numbers out of china it is thanlly rising much higher what the official numbers suggest. this is the one that measures the bank running -- lending. are you focusing most of your portfolio in china? >> i think there is great opportunity in china. people forget the past. people have gone back historically and 22 electricity, etc. what we see -- --se things we think that is why we are seeing a strong performance from things like the steel sector. >> it brings a question about policy uncertainty as well. in light of that we see hong kong being resilient amidst the cessation that had been volatile -- amidst these sessions which have been volatile.

i know you are quite bullish on banks. seeing the rallies we have seen. this credita, given -- why do you think we are seeing this turnaround? is because the stocks are cheap? d.c. structural improvements? structualsee improvements? is theunderlying premise industrial sector in china was very poor and a lot of bad loans. exampleook at ppi as an , we have gone from negative to positive. profits are improving. the economy is improving which means bad debt will be less going forward. >> shadow banking is rising. the shadow banking side of things seems to be a dark corner

that people are buried of. -- are weary of. >> shadow banking is a concern. bringere is a desire to it back into the proper banking system to allow capital to be applied in regulators to stay on top of it. in markets like china, that is what we are starting to see. youook at total financing are seeing a lot of this coming back onto balance sheets which i think is positive. u.s.,nging it back to the i'm curious about the trump policy and the protectionist policy. headwind play into any in your bullish view on china? >> i think it is a really interesting question. the natural response is protectionism will be bad. from one aspect, protectionism -- the negatives but it

u.s. wants to make things that are barred from overseas it needs to build the capacity. i think it is a double-edged sword. it is not always what people are actually thinking about. people automatically look at china. if we say look at the software sector in india, quite expensive , a lab people are bullish on those prospects. those are areas where we think our greater risks. the reason it is much more likely a software job in india could be potentially relocated to the u.s. than a very low and manufacturing job in china were to be brutally honest i'm not sure too many americans would take that job. >> that is a fair point. before we go, they say in the u.s. because of trump and some of his more populist policies, in many ways is this wave of

populism going to be bullish for these markets? going to behis is what really determines the outcome over the next couple years. the debt issue has not gone away and that will need to be reckoned with. if we are seeing a wave of populism driving people to become more optimistic about the outlook, be more willing to spend, seeing stocks pick up, the net will drive markets further. but that is not just about the u.s. and i think this is an issue with things are changing. the strength is starting to spread. if you look at ppi around the world come inflation numbers, that strength is starting to spread around the world. i think that is why we look around the safe haven assets, negative yielding bonds, that is starting to look for other opportunities. that is where markets like asia is starting to improve because

it is cyclical. >> thank you so much. still ahead, treading carefully. hong kong's next chief executive says she will avoid moves which would trigger fresh unrest on the streets. this is bloomberg. ♪

♪ ." this is "daybreak asia

>> time for a look at what is coming up over the next few hours on bloomberg. i know you're watching samsung and this developing story. >> remarkable turn of events in south korea with the fugitive arrested in a detention center on charges of bribery, embezzlement and other forms of corruption. what is next for the company? we will talk about that in about eight or nine minutes. looking further along, donald trump's 77 minute long news conference grabbing a lot of headlines. on president calling candidate trump to rescue himself and -- having a look at this company as it looks certain to be liquidated today.

>> talk to you soon. the candidate seen as beijing's choice for chief executive says she wants all options on the table when it comes to the city's soaring property prices. there needs to be a rational debate about lance applied that involves community consultation. hong kong remains the world's most expensive housing market demand outstripping supply since 2011. >> i want to put all the options for land supply on the table. we will analyze for each of these options the pros and cons and likely yield from each and every option so that the community hopefully through rational debate comes to a consensus. >> i want to bring in bryan curtis who interviewed gary lamb for us. great to see you. -- carrie lam for us. how did she see herself different from her rival?

>> long experience in government. she has been in government for 30 years or so. not really running for election. i called her out on that because she bristled a bit when i said you do not have much political experience. she said i do, i have been in the civil service. i said yes, but you have not run for election. she said yes that is true, but i have a lot of experience, i know how to make of decisions. she thinks she is making the transition from government official to being hong kong's leader. she also said she wants to spend. she talked about how hong kong has been kind of stingy with his finances. she said that they have been in surplus all the way back to 2003 and 2004. she said she wants to spend, spend, spend. >> could be almost like an indirect blow against her rival. i want to talk about her views when it comes to electoral

reform as well as national security legislation. >> that was interesting because at one point it sounded like she just but the mood was not right. she thought it was going to push back for a considerable period. she said we need to develop mutual trust and she did not want to see protests. so then we said, does that mean it would not happen in the first term, then she rolled it back and said i think that is going too far. we have to see whether we can build mutual trust. she seems to suggest that she can really bridge the gap between herself as leader of hong kong and the public. but we know that is a very difficult thing to do here in hong kong because once you are seen as beijing's choice, then the opposition is going to fight you all the way. >> in a recent poll she trailed her main rival. beinge say how she felt considered the front runner even

though her popular support was waning? >> this is funny. she delivered a line which i think get repeated a lot. she said i think i do not know i've done wrong in the past few weeks. much has been made about the fact she has been anointed by beijing. we know that from links -- leaks through the hong kong press. she is seen as the front runner but she does not have the popular support that her main rival does. >> thank you so much for bringing the interview with us. that is it from us. plenty more still to come. watching samsung and the stock and those developers. ♪

rishaad: hello, it is 9:00 in singapore, midday in sydney, 8:00 on a thursday evening in new york city. i am rishaad somali, from bloomberg's asia headquarters in hong kong. this is "bloomberg markets: asia ." ♪ rishaad: samsung head jay y. lee arrested on embezzlement allegations. we look at the company and its affiliates. president trump claims credit for wall street's records while blasting apart the chaos at the white house.