Browse content similar to 06/03/2014. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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directive. Now on BBC News all the latest business news live from | :00:00. | :00:00. | |
Singapore. Creating jobs, China outlines its | :00:00. | :00:25. | |
most important policy goals. Dry spell. What the recent drought could | :00:26. | :00:30. | |
mean for agricultural industries in Asia. Welcome to Asia Business | :00:31. | :00:33. | |
Report, broadcasting to viewers around the world. I am Rico Hizon in | :00:34. | :00:42. | |
Singapore. We are into the second day of the leaders meeting in | :00:43. | :00:46. | |
Beijing. The Finance Minister said job creation would need the most | :00:47. | :00:49. | |
important policy going forward. Meanwhile, an official from the | :00:50. | :00:53. | |
central bank reiterated comments from other officials that recent | :00:54. | :00:58. | |
sharp movements in the currency is normal. We are joined by John. | :00:59. | :01:08. | |
Employment one of the key issues discussed at the National People's | :01:09. | :01:13. | |
Congress. Do we have any more people on which sectors will be creating | :01:14. | :01:20. | |
jobs? We heard at a press conference with the Chinese Finance Minister. | :01:21. | :01:32. | |
The target last year was 10 million new jobs and he said that was | :01:33. | :01:35. | |
surpassed. The actual figure was more like 13 million. The big | :01:36. | :01:41. | |
priority is the same this year. The whole talk, where we hear | :01:42. | :01:48. | |
policymakers, focusing on the GDP. The reason it has been set at 7.5%, | :01:49. | :01:53. | |
no change from last year, relatively high, the reason for all that is job | :01:54. | :02:00. | |
creation. China needs GDP at that level so that when people continue | :02:01. | :02:05. | |
the migration from the countryside to the city, there are jobs for them | :02:06. | :02:12. | |
to take up. Living standards rise and there is this virtual circle. | :02:13. | :02:16. | |
Leaders know that to maintain the grip on power, the legitimacy, they | :02:17. | :02:24. | |
need this to continue. Also detail on tax reform. An important area has | :02:25. | :02:30. | |
been trying to build a comprehensive tax system. We heard a little more | :02:31. | :02:37. | |
about that. They said that they will focus on continuing the shift from | :02:38. | :02:42. | |
aid is this tax to VAT, developing an environmental tax, very important | :02:43. | :02:50. | |
as China tries to cracked down on pollution. And also looking at the | :02:51. | :02:59. | |
property tax. Apart from tax reform and creating jobs, they also | :03:00. | :03:04. | |
discussed recent movements in the currency. They said this was normal | :03:05. | :03:09. | |
but last week we saw the currency fall by nearly 1% against the US | :03:10. | :03:18. | |
dollar. How should we read that? Very briefly, the currency has been | :03:19. | :03:24. | |
strengthening steadily. The market have almost got used to this as a | :03:25. | :03:28. | |
sort of 1-way bet. We saw the value tumbled by 1% last week. A lot of | :03:29. | :03:34. | |
speculation as to why that might eat. Some suggestions China was | :03:35. | :03:40. | |
giving currency speculators a rap on the knuckles, others saying paving | :03:41. | :03:50. | |
the way for a widening of the band. But China today reiterating this is | :03:51. | :03:54. | |
completely normal. I suppose it is like the small print at the bottom | :03:55. | :03:59. | |
of some contracts. Values may go up as well as down. Thank you so much | :04:00. | :04:08. | |
for your insights on China's movement of the currency and job | :04:09. | :04:14. | |
creation. Spending spree on the rise in Australia. Retail sales jumping | :04:15. | :04:21. | |
by more than 1% in January, when compared to the same period last | :04:22. | :04:24. | |
year. The government also revised up retail sales figures from December. | :04:25. | :04:27. | |
The Australian dollar is picking up following this data, and it will | :04:28. | :04:30. | |
support the case for a steady outlook on interest rates. The | :04:31. | :04:40. | |
central bank decided to keep it on hold interest rates. In target, | :04:41. | :04:50. | |
months after a data breach, 2008 resignations. They will search for a | :04:51. | :05:02. | |
new CIO. During the massive data breach late last year, hackers stole | :05:03. | :05:07. | |
credit card numbers and other personal data of millions of target | :05:08. | :05:13. | |
customers. The US central bank confirmed that severe weather | :05:14. | :05:16. | |
conditions across much of the country has taken a toll on shopping | :05:17. | :05:19. | |
and consumer spending in recent weeks. A report which gives a | :05:20. | :05:23. | |
snapshot of business conditions across the country, said that | :05:24. | :05:25. | |
consuming slowed during December and January because of severe weather | :05:26. | :05:32. | |
conditions. Mainly in New York and Philadelphia. It has been hot and | :05:33. | :05:37. | |
dry in the east. In Singapore, February was the country's driest | :05:38. | :05:43. | |
month in 144 years. It only ran for seven days last month. The drought | :05:44. | :05:50. | |
is hitting hard. In Malaysia, residents in the capital are | :05:51. | :05:53. | |
rationing water after a two-month dry spell. Forest fires have broken | :05:54. | :05:59. | |
out in Indonesia. We have also heard this week about the effects of the | :06:00. | :06:02. | |
drought in the outback of Australia, and in the north-west of Sri Lanka. | :06:03. | :06:09. | |
So, what is the effect of this unusually dry season in this part of | :06:10. | :06:16. | |
the world? Earlier, I spoke with John Baker, a food and agricultural | :06:17. | :06:19. | |
expert, asking him how the current weather conditions will impact food | :06:20. | :06:24. | |
prices. I think Indonesia is the focus. Indonesia is a significant | :06:25. | :06:28. | |
producer of palm oil, rubber, cocoa and coffee. They are the top four | :06:29. | :06:35. | |
ranked of all those commodities. We have already seen palm oil rise | :06:36. | :06:37. | |
significantly, and the expectations for prices to rise above 300 in the | :06:38. | :06:48. | |
next few months. -- 3000. Inevitably, the lag will be | :06:49. | :06:51. | |
significant, so there won't be an instant impact from the weather | :06:52. | :06:54. | |
event, but it will take place over the next few years. The market is | :06:55. | :07:00. | |
factoring in that already. We are seeing rising prices for some | :07:01. | :07:03. | |
commodities, but the opposite trend in Australia was much? The industry | :07:04. | :07:10. | |
is affected mainly in the livestock industry. When it is dry, farmers | :07:11. | :07:14. | |
are forced to sell their stock at the same time, so the price is | :07:15. | :07:26. | |
dampened. It is the reverse effect we are having in the plantation | :07:27. | :07:29. | |
crops in Indonesia. Generally, talking about Indonesia or | :07:30. | :07:31. | |
Australia, the farmers on the ground are the most affected by the | :07:32. | :07:34. | |
drought, and businesses, such as the retail sector, are the ones who | :07:35. | :07:39. | |
benefit? I think that is a plausible argument. When we look at drought, | :07:40. | :07:45. | |
the first order in practice on the farmer. In my home country, there | :07:46. | :07:49. | |
are many farmers going through significant social distress at the | :07:50. | :07:54. | |
moment. We need to be mindful of that. As for the market, we are more | :07:55. | :07:58. | |
interconnected than ever, and production will find a way to a | :07:59. | :08:08. | |
market. It will be a price mechanism that governs that. Your company | :08:09. | :08:12. | |
invests in food and agriculture. Not a good time to put your money into | :08:13. | :08:16. | |
it? Agribusiness is a long-term investment proposition, and it works | :08:17. | :08:20. | |
in cycles. Weather cycles and also commodity cycles. You have to pick | :08:21. | :08:24. | |
your time to enter the market, and I think now is quite an interesting | :08:25. | :08:27. | |
time to be investing in the sector, given where evaluations lie | :08:28. | :08:36. | |
generally. On agricultural land and even some processing access as well. | :08:37. | :08:46. | |
India has set a date for a general election. It is a big task. Many are | :08:47. | :08:53. | |
hoping that these elections will be a turnaround for the languishing | :08:54. | :09:01. | |
economy. I am in the industrial heart of the north-western state. It | :09:02. | :09:04. | |
is in the spotlight because it is home to one of the main contenders | :09:05. | :09:09. | |
for the prime ministerial posts. Besides them and other Major Noel | :09:10. | :09:16. | |
parties, scores of other regional parties will have an important role | :09:17. | :09:21. | |
to play. Organising this election is a mammoth task. 800 million people | :09:22. | :09:25. | |
will come out to vote between five weeks. It is likely to cost around | :09:26. | :09:31. | |
half $1 billion and that is not counting what individual political | :09:32. | :09:48. | |
parties will spend. This could be a boost to business as well. It is | :09:49. | :09:54. | |
likely to be a very busy Indian summer. But there is a bigger | :09:55. | :09:59. | |
picture. In the past two years, growth has slowed down sharply and | :10:00. | :10:02. | |
most of the people we have in speaking to say they feel things are | :10:03. | :10:08. | |
at a standstill waiting for the results of this election. The | :10:09. | :10:15. | |
research that if a strong and elliptically stable government comes | :10:16. | :10:19. | |
to power, they will be willing to take hard decisions for Econ in | :10:20. | :10:26. | |
which could trigger growth. -- for the economy. All the colour | :10:27. | :10:32. | |
associated with what is often called the world 's guest elections to | :10:33. | :10:38. | |
come. Thank you for in investing your time with ours. Bye for now. | :10:39. | :10:48. | |
The top stories this hour. Tension in eastern Ukraine where pro-Russian | :10:49. | :10:52. | |
activists clash with supporters of the new authorities - as diplomatic | :10:53. | :10:55. | |
meetings in Paris fail to produce a decisive breakthrough. Venezuela | :10:56. | :10:58. | |
cuts of | :10:59. | :10:59. |