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