29/05/2014 Asia Business Report

schools in the area years ago. He... Time now for Asia Business

Report. Sharing a cross industry. Samsung calls for an open platform

for developers of wearable technology. Limiting visitors, the

potential economic fallout from Hong Kong's plan to curb tourism from

China. Hello and welcome to Asia Business Report. I'm Sharanjit Leyl

in Singapore. Samsung has extended its portfolio of wearable technology

with a prototype wristwatch and it can be fitted with third`party

sensors to gather a range of data about the wearer's health and

fitness. The tech giant unveiled its latest innovation at an event in San

Francisco where it also made a push for an open system among rival

companies. To help get products to consumers quicker. Our technology

correspondent was at the event. Samsung diving headlong into the

digital health arena. They have had a couple of forays into it in the

past. An announcement was made this morning, by the president of

Samsung. And he is here with us. The concept in simple terms, what is it?

It is not a consumer product, it is a development platform. It is a

platform that enables other centre companies to take advantage of it.

One of the issues which I thought up is that if you look at typical

wearable technology, it is a start up and many are trying to figure out

how to make a watch. We want to change the whole equation. We want

to create a development platform where they can focus on their

expertise and solving problems. They can help us know more about our

technology. You showed us some videos of people explaining how

people improved their health. They are interested for a little bit of

time but then they go, OK I will keep eating my burgers and fries and

my lifestyle will not change. I actually have several of those in my

drawer so I am a typical example. It was not because I didn't care, it is

more to do with it was not developed for what I was doing. It was not

accurate. I think we are in the early stages of a revolution of

wearable, sensory devices. As technology is getting better, they

will be more useful. How long will it be before we see products using

your platform on the market? We are hoping in 2015 there will be many

different solutions, adding to the many different markets. From

exercise and business to somewhere in between. That Samsung event takes

place one week before rival Apple hosts it is conference and

speculation is high that Apple has also been working on launching its

own wearable devices. Speaking of Apple, it is official that the

company is buying music streaming service, Beats electronics. From New

York, our correspondent takes a closer look at the acquisition.

This is the biggest acquisition yet. It is pink $3 billion ``

paying. It is the coolest thing in the digital world right now, they

have the coolest executives and a rapidly growing consumer base for

the hardware and for the digital subscription service side. Apple is

grabbing onto their coattails and try to make their own brand last.

Beats is best known for its headphones but for Apple, the real

prize is the music streaming service. For the past decade,

Apple's iTunes dominated music. That was in the download era. These days,

it is all about streaming. Even though Apple broke into streaming

last September with iTunes radio, the company missed a beat and is now

playing catch up. Apple hopes to make sweet music with Beats but did

it overpay? With $150 billion in cash, it is a risk Apple can easily

afford. The tech giant will properly argue, it can't put a price on cool.

For more on that story and other business headlines from around the

world, you can go to our website. In other news, people are spending less

in Japan after the company hiked its sales tax in April. Data this

morning shows that retail sales fell by 4.4% in April from a year

earlier. That is a fast decline since the March 2011 earthquake. A

Chinese e`commerce giant has bought up a stake in a Singapore business,

as it looks to expand its business in the Asia`Pacific region. The

company 's fate they will also look at setting up an international

e`commerce logistics business. Most countries around the world are

falling over themselves to try and attract Chinese tourists. But Hong

Kong is looking at ways to reduce the number of mainland Chinese

visitors. Last year, 40 million mainlanders visited the territory.

That is an increase of 17% from 2012, and the bulk were individuals

travelling on multiple entry permits. Currently, visitors from 49

Chinese cities can obtain these permits. If officials decide to

reduce this number, there are worries that the's economy will

suffer. Our correspondent in Hong Kong explains why the government is

contemplating a limit. The number of mainland tourists

expect `` is expected to grow to 45 million, up 11% from last year. 60%

come just for the day. These are the kind of tourist that locals are

really not liking. They come just for the day, just to shop. They do

not stay in hotels or patronise the restaurants. They tend to come and

go. They tend to also congregate in certain areas. That is why every

week, we have been seeing protests against mainland tourists. There is

speculation that this cut in tourism might be as much as 20%. What impact

will that have on Hong Kong's economy? The chief executive

confirmed that that is only one of several options that they are

looking at. It has not been confirmed that these cuts will

happen. We saw a response in terms of the shares of companies in

retail, finance, property. Some of those shares have recovered

somewhat. It is true that 200,000 people in retail in the tourism

sector rely on visitors for their jobs. An enormous cut in the number

of people coming in would affect the economy. There was one investment

bank that suggested that the retail sector could actually be down as

much as 7% from cuts. If you live in Asia, you will know all about the

king of fruits, the durian. It is loved and loathed in equal measure.

It is the smell that many people object to, others hate the taste. It

is big business as well. 23,000 tons were imported in Singapore alone

last year. They can cost as much as $30 each. Our correspondant went to

the streets of Singapore. You join me in the biggest area of

Singapore. Lots of different market stalls. This is one of the main

ones. I can tell you that the smell is incredible. It is quite hard to

describe, it is almost a mixture of ripe mangoes and garlic. Known as

the king of fruits, it provokes reactions of disgust or addiction.

Today, the durian still divides opinion. Not too bad. Thumbs up!

Tastes a bit awful. It's good. Delicious. It is an acquired taste

but I have to give it a go. Wow. That is strong. Never tasted

anything like that. Incredible. Kind of overriding garlic taste but I

have to say, there is something about it that is a little bit

Moorish. Trading with the king of fruit is serious business and in

Singapore, the industry is worth an estimated $230 million. For this

man, that is good news. His family has traded in the fruit for decades

and his business attracts customers from all over the world. My

customers are from Germany, from Australia, sometimes they think the

smell is too strong. They will immediately spit everything out. But

then some love it. They will come in three times a day or week to come

here and have durian. With demand for the fruit increasing across

Asia, for once, fans can afford to turn their noses up durian sceptics.

On that fragrant notes we will end it. That is it for Asia Business

Report. Thanks for watching. The main news stories this hour. The

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