Indias Finance Minister tells the bbc his decision to pull large banknotes from his nation was justified. And we find out more about a 7 billion refinery being built in malaysia. Good morning, asia. Hello, world. Thank you for investing your time in Asia Business report. Its a tuesday. I am sharanjit leyl. Report. Its a tuesday. I am shara njit leyl. India report. Its a tuesday. I am sharanjit leyl. India will release its Fourth Quarter gdp figures in just a few hours. And those will give us a very good indication of what impact the governments the Monetisation Drive has had. They banned five types of notes last year to crack down on illegal cash holding and counterfeit notes. But It Hit Agriculture and industry hard. We report. Three months ago, these tomatoes were ripe and ready to be harvested. This field would have produced about 30,000 kilos of them. But this farmer simply had to let them go after the government withdrew most of indias Currency Notes in november last year. People we re notes in november last year. People were suddenly short of money and am willing to spend. That drove down the prices of many consumer good, including vegetables. He was left with no choice but to abandon his crop. Translation i would have to pay for workers and transport to harvest it and sell it. At low market rates, i would lose money rather than make it. For us, one season gone rather than make it. For us, one season gone is a big deal. I lost nearly 1000. Now, even though prices are going up again, i cannot produce more vegetable. This is another big field where the farmer could not harvest it. When agriculture is hit, it is bad news for the country. More than two thirds of the country lives in rural areas. When they have the ability to spend and purchase things, the economy grows faster. Motorcycles, scooters, these are among the big purchases that People Living in rural india make. Sales of these two wheelers fell sharply over november and december. Translation on average, every month i used to sell about 75 80 motorcycles. After the ban of the notes, i only sold about 42 in ban of the notes, i only sold about 42ina ban of the notes, i only sold about 42 in a month. People do not have money to service their vehicles. There is just no cash flow. Now, things are slowly beginning to improve. Cache is a lifeline in rural india. As it comes back into circulation, people are beginning to recover. circulation, people are beginning to recover. Cash. But getting back to normal might take a little longer. Bbc news. As you saw, reversing monetisation has been controversial in india. The Finance Minister, arun jaitley, controversial in india. The Finance Minister, arunjaitley, told the bbc the move was necessary. He was speaking to us. There is no other way it could be done. For the reason that one of the fundamental problems within the economy is that from a taxation point of view, it was hugely non compliant, the economy. The ratio of nondenominational currency was very high. And you saw tax evasion and corruption and crime like issues. All of this came up. And therefore, rather than give an opportunity to the evaders to manage, it had to be done abruptly, so that money could lose its anonymity and go back into the banking system. Do you worry that moving away from monetisation will slow the economy . It was extremely fast. I believe that there would be some transient impact only in the short run. However, in the medium and long run, there would be the informal and formal economy. Therefore, indias gdp could become even bigger. That was the Finance Minister of india. Form all on those growth figures, we are joined by our correspondent in mumbai. For more. You heard about the justification from the Finance Minister. But what impact will we see on the economy, particularly in these Fourth Quarter figures . See on the economy, particularly in these fourthquarter figures . Well, these fourthquarter figures . Well, the figures that will be released later today will actually give us a clear indication as to what has been the impact of this exercise, because these figures are for the months of 0ctober these figures are for the months of october to december, 2016. And the government took this decision in early november. So this is going to give the first big picture of how it really hit businesses, consumers, and earnings across the country. Most economists say that the rate should fall somewhere between ex 6. 3 . 66. 3 . Should fall somewhere between ex 6. 3 . 6 6. 3 . Some say below 6 . It could mean india would lose the tag of the Fastest Growing economy, which it was for the last two quarters. It had surpassed diner, which had been witnessing a slowdown. China. It had gone ahead of that. We heard from the report that businesses are being hit ha rd report that businesses are being hit hard and Consumer Spending has been hit hard. We really saw the impact during this. We will get a clear indication in a few hours. We will watch those numbers. Thank you for joining us. Well, 7 billion to be thatis joining us. Well, 7 billion to be that is how much saudi arabias State Oil Firm is that is how much saudi arabias state oilfirm is investing into and oil refinery set up by petronas. It comes as the saudi king arrived in kuala lumpur law to kick off a and at kicking off deals. Multination tour. Let us not forget, one month ago this was off the table. This was ago this was off the table. This was a massive reversal and a big save. For the saudis, this puts another crown jewel in their for the saudis, this puts another crownjewel in their or for the saudis, this puts another crown jewel in their or for you. The saudis will also get the right to supply up to 50 of the 300,000 barrel a day refining capacity. This is an outlet for some of their oil, for the saudis. For malaysia, joining an investor of this magnitude, after, this was a month ago that it was ended, it is a great save to buy it obviously, both sides see some benefit. But is one side benefiting more than the other . It will be hard to say. But when you see a deal go off and then a deal go on, i expect renegotiation and more favourable terms. Who needed this deal more. Look at the saudis, china andjapan, deal more. Look at the saudis, china and japan, they will be stopping in indonesia where they are investing. They have a downstream empire in asia. They have been a big investor adhere. This adds to the portfolio. But i think the terms are ugly probably improved, which is why it is back one. The airline has 40 of the Domestic Market and is keen to expand. Earlier, i spoke to a co nsulta nt to expand. Earlier, i spoke to a consultant for the Company Looking to do business there. Consultant for the Company Looking to do Business Therelj consultant for the Company Looking to do business there. I asked if the airline will face stiff competition. Some of their growth will be stealing from the Domestic Market. 0bviously, their Consumer Base will be growing with the middle class set to be doubled by 2020. As vietnamese become more wealthy, they will want to go out. There will be competition. They will be wanting to go out. We know there are many challenges within vietnam, rather unusually, infrastructure not keeping up with demand. Can you tell us more keeping up with demand. Can you tell us more about that . The vietnamese are trying to add on as much infrastructure as they can. 0bviously, infrastructure as they can. Obviously, we face a lot of delays in terms of some of the big projects, like the airport which will be built in ho chi minh city. Right now there is simply not enough space for the aircrafts that are coming in. Many of the bigger cities like ho chi minh and hanoi, there is a question of how the cities will accommodate the increase in aircraft. Indeed. Last year we saw you buying airbus and boeing planes, coming up to 12 billion. Can you afford it . I think so. The model is resilient and is a low cost carrier. They will be in a good position to expand. And i think they will be fine. And that is matthew garland. The markets before we go. Most markets are up. Just slightly. They are taking cues from wall street. We saw the dow actually making its 12 record breaking day. The nikkei is gaining some, reversing the 2. 5 week low it hit yesterday. All of this is in anticipation of Donald Trumps speech to Congress Later today when he will explain more of his economic policies. And thatisit more of his economic policies. And that is it for Asia Business report. Thank you for watching. The top stories this hour. A 70 year old german sailor has been beheaded by self proclaimed islamist militants in the southern philippines. President donald trump has declared that he wants to increase us Defence Spending by 10 , but its not clear whether congress will agree. Insurance premiums are set to rise, in some cases significantly, as a result of a government ruling. A new formula for calculating payments for those who suffer long term injuries has been produced as a result of low interest rates. The average Car Insurance policy could rise by £75 a year, as our personal finance correspondent, simon gompertz, reports. Compensation is a lifeline for people like tom, awarded £1. 5 million after losing a leg in an accident at work. Tom thinks its right that victims should get more to pay for recovery and ongoing costs. I miss my leg dearly, you know. This prosthetics amazing, but its nowhere near a human leg. Prosthetics arent cheap. These legs are top of the range legs at £70,000 each. Whether its from an industrial accident or from a car accident, insurers have been able to keep down the lump sum they pay victims by saying well, they can invest it and make an income from it. Now the governments saying in these days of very low interest rates, theyll have to assume that people will make less than nothing from year to year out of their compensation, and that means insurers having to pay out much more upfront. I say they can afford it. Theyve known this was coming down the track. They failed to put the money aside and anticipate that risk, and they are now suffering the consequences of that. Instead of putting the money to one side, they paid it out in dividends, profits and salaries. Insurers gave an example of a 30 year old who needed to be looked after permanently, whod get a £3. 11 million payment now, a sum which would more than double under the new formula to £83 million. They warn to cover the cost, the typical comprehensive motor policy of £450 would rise by £75, with bigger increases for younger drivers. Liz truss said by law it has to change. Liz truss, the lord chancellor, said by law she had to make the change. The Insurers Association said it was a reckless move. This is a crazy decision by the lord chancellor, liz truss, which is likely to lead to significantly increased premiums for motorists and businesses through no fault of their own because of her use of a broken formula which needs to be updated urgently. The nhs is affected too. It will have to pay £1 billion each year more in compensation for medical negligence, billed the government has promised to cover. So, should drivers, hospitals and employers pay more so that Accident Victims are looked after . Ministers have promised a consultation before easter on whether the rules should be reformed. Simon gompertz, bbc news. Time now for all the sports news in sport today. Hi everyone. You are watching sport today, live from the bbc sport centre. Im Nick Marshall mccormack. Coming up thank you for the memories, ranieri, but it is time for the sequel. Leicester write a new script to save themselves. Not all the fans are singing leicesters praises. They have still got a soft spot for claudio. And catch us if you can. Mercedes send a warning to their rivals, as Lewis Hamilton makes the fastest lap at formula 1 testing. Hi there, wherever you are around the world. Welcome to sport today. I would love to be a Fly On The Wall at Claudio Ranieris home tonight. What must he be thinking . Leicester have started playing football again. The foxes beat liverpool 3 1, just five days after sacking claudio ranieri