:00:00. > :00:14.Now on BBC News all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:15. > :00:20.As the surge of the missing Malaysia Airlines flight continues, we take a
:00:21. > :00:29.closer look at airports and airlines security measures. Pawnbroking in
:00:30. > :00:31.Asia - we find out why it is no longer seen as a last resort for a
:00:32. > :00:51.loan. Welcome to the broadcast. As the search for flight MH 370
:00:52. > :00:52.continues, analysts say that the Malaysia government and Malaysia
:00:53. > :00:57.Airlines will have to improve security. At least two people were
:00:58. > :01:01.able to board a flight using stolen passports. It is not known if the
:01:02. > :01:07.disappearance was an act of terrorism or if the stolen passports
:01:08. > :01:14.were linked, but even if they won't the event has put the spotlight on
:01:15. > :01:18.people travelling with stolen documents. I asked our guest what
:01:19. > :01:25.the effects would have on Malaysia and its airlines. It will have some
:01:26. > :01:32.effect on Malaysia Airlines which will vary if it is related to
:01:33. > :01:36.engineering or pilot fault. It will have a major effect of the
:01:37. > :01:39.credibility of Malaysia as a country to provide State transit through
:01:40. > :01:44.Kuala Lumpur and other Malaysia and ports. How should Malaysia
:01:45. > :01:52.authorities further improve airport security? They should have followed
:01:53. > :01:57.the most stringent requirements and use the Interpol list of stolen
:01:58. > :02:02.passports to check the passenger manifest provided by the carrier.
:02:03. > :02:07.They do not do that because these passports have been missing for some
:02:08. > :02:11.time when they were stolen in Thailand yet somebody can fly out of
:02:12. > :02:16.Kuala Lumpur with them. You also have five people who did not board
:02:17. > :02:18.the aircraft and we do not know whether their baggage was removed
:02:19. > :02:25.from the aircraft as is the international convention. Would it
:02:26. > :02:29.be costly for Malaysia to upgrade safety and security or is it just
:02:30. > :02:37.about improving efficiency and co-ordination? It is about doing the
:02:38. > :02:41.job properly. They have the people and equipment that may nobody has
:02:42. > :02:47.thought of a priority to do something about the stolen passports
:02:48. > :02:51.list and the computing required to run that list is not very high.
:02:52. > :02:57.Somebody has their priorities wrong in the Malaysia government. It is
:02:58. > :03:01.not only Malaysia that has to improve safety and security but also
:03:02. > :03:05.the rest of Asia. It varies from country to country. Some 40% of
:03:06. > :03:16.countries do not do this verification. In Malaysia, the
:03:17. > :03:20.country as a transit point for traffic between Europe, Australia,
:03:21. > :03:25.and the rest of Asia. People may choose not to use Kuala Lumpur or as
:03:26. > :03:32.a hub and go to SA club like Singapore so it may have a major
:03:33. > :03:41.effect on Singh of -- effect on Malaysia Airlines. In other business
:03:42. > :03:44.news, shares and some of the world 's biggest mining companies have
:03:45. > :03:49.been hit by a slump in the price of iron ore amid fears of a slowdown in
:03:50. > :03:57.China's economy. Iron ore delivered to the mainland fell 83% after
:03:58. > :04:03.Beijing reported -- eight .3% after Beijing reported a slowdown in
:04:04. > :04:15.exports. Analysts are concerned about a slowdown affecting profits
:04:16. > :04:19.in mining companies. A huge loss of Bitcoins has taken place and Mount
:04:20. > :04:31.Cox, the world 's largest Bitcoin exchange, has gone bankrupt. The
:04:32. > :04:33.bankruptcy judge in America has agreed to temporarily halt legal
:04:34. > :04:41.action against the company and protect its assets. Today is the
:04:42. > :04:45.third anniversary of the earthquake in Japan which also precipitated the
:04:46. > :04:50.Fukushima nuclear disaster. In addition to the human tragedy, has
:04:51. > :04:53.had a significant impact of the Japanese economy. The country 's
:04:54. > :04:57.nuclear power facilities remain switched off in the country now
:04:58. > :05:02.relies on imported coal, liquefied natural gas, and other fuels.
:05:03. > :05:09.Analysts say it is one factor among many that is contributing to the
:05:10. > :05:12.country 's sluggish growth. Earlier I spoke to an analyst from HSBC and
:05:13. > :05:20.asked about the impact of the disaster. The biggest impact has
:05:21. > :05:27.been the rise of energy costs. Since the disaster, Japan's fuel import
:05:28. > :05:32.bill has soared. Japan has become the number one importer of liquefied
:05:33. > :05:38.natural gas and the number to import of oil. Because of the weaker yen,
:05:39. > :05:46.this has put a big dent in electricity costs as well. A lot of
:05:47. > :05:53.problems in Japan. Now you have the likes of Shinzo Abe trying to pump
:05:54. > :05:57.up the economy. Is it sufficient? There has been sluggish growth in
:05:58. > :06:03.the last quarter of 2013 and a rising current account deficit. The
:06:04. > :06:09.regime 's hope is always to generate an export led recovery but where his
:06:10. > :06:12.expectations have been defied is the fact that because global demand
:06:13. > :06:16.remains weak and because there's bits are much manufacturing that has
:06:17. > :06:22.gone offshore, Japanese exports have been sluggish over the past year.
:06:23. > :06:28.Will this continue as we approach this April first sales tax hike? We
:06:29. > :06:33.are hoping that it will certainly can transfer from a consumption led
:06:34. > :06:37.recovery to an export led recovery. Given the tone of global demand
:06:38. > :06:42.exports will remain weak in early 2014 and domestic and hope for is a
:06:43. > :06:51.gradual recovery. Will they be help from the bank of Japan? -- there be
:06:52. > :06:55.help from the Bank of Japan? At today's meeting they will keep
:06:56. > :07:03.policy on hold. Markets expect action in April but they might wait
:07:04. > :07:08.longer. Inflation is trending in line with expectations and they will
:07:09. > :07:12.not want to move prematurely. Pawnbroking is one of the world 's
:07:13. > :07:26.oldest professions but in much of Asia the industry is taking on a new
:07:27. > :07:33.shine. Lisa Key has more. This man has regularly started
:07:34. > :07:36.making trips to the pawnshop, to exchange jewellery for cash.
:07:37. > :07:43.Singapore is the world 's expensive city. In the current situation with
:07:44. > :07:53.the cost of living we do porn more jewellery. The gold price has also
:07:54. > :08:02.gone up so it is in our interest to sell our jewellery because the cash
:08:03. > :08:08.we get is higher. People can get loans against what seems like almost
:08:09. > :08:11.everything. But there are exceptions. The price offered for
:08:12. > :08:15.possessions is usually lower than the actual value and if you not pay
:08:16. > :08:23.back the loan plus interest you lose the item to the resale business in
:08:24. > :08:27.the shop. But pawn shops charge you to borrow money and that can be very
:08:28. > :08:32.high. Interest rates are a maximum of 1.5% per month in Singapore were
:08:33. > :08:41.as elsewhere they range from 5% to 7%. On an annual basis, that adds
:08:42. > :08:44.up. Why do people still come here? Pawn shops like this one are
:08:45. > :08:49.increasingly popular in Southeast Asia because it is easier to come
:08:50. > :08:54.here for a loan then to the bank. You can turn in an antique watch and
:08:55. > :09:00.get a couple of hundred dollars. A fountain pen will get you a thousand
:09:01. > :09:13.or even a gold bar for $16,000 in cash. Or perhaps as one customer did
:09:14. > :09:18.he sold 80 24 carat diamond. The weak state of the global economy has
:09:19. > :09:23.not helped. Consumer debts have been rising and for lower to middle
:09:24. > :09:28.income families with bills to pay sometimes a monthly salary cheque is
:09:29. > :09:31.not enough. That is true especially in Malaysia, Singapore, and
:09:32. > :09:41.Thailand, which have the region 's highest levels of household debt
:09:42. > :09:46.stock. At least three pawn companies have gone public in the last year.
:09:47. > :09:50.Pawn shops have not always had the best reputation and a famously known
:09:51. > :09:53.as a lender of last resort. But as traditional banks face pressure from
:09:54. > :10:03.increased regulations, pawn businesses that make it easy to
:10:04. > :10:05.borrow are set to benefit. Before we go here is a quick look at
:10:06. > :10:14.Asian markets. There is concern about the slowing
:10:15. > :10:30.Chinese economy. Thank you for investing your time
:10:31. > :10:49.with us. Sport Today is up next. The top stories this hour. The
:10:50. > :10:52.search has been widened but there's still no sign of Malaysia Airlines
:10:53. > :10:54.flight 370 - which vanished three days ago.
:10:55. > :10:58.NATO is deploying reconnaissance planes to Poland and Romania to
:10:59. > :10:59.monitor the crisis in Ukraine - as Russia strengthens its grip on