:00:00. > :00:00.that unbranded packets would help cut smoking rates and make
:00:00. > :00:00.cigarettes less attractive to children. Now it is time for Asia
:00:00. > :00:19.Business Report. Feeding the nation. China's recent
:00:20. > :00:22.moves to secure food supplies. Can we expect better times ahead for the
:00:23. > :00:35.global shipping industry? Welcome to Asia Business Report. We
:00:36. > :00:39.start with China's admission to provide a secure food supply for its
:00:40. > :00:45.booming population. That has led to some huge business deals. This week
:00:46. > :00:50.China's largest grain trader seals its biggest global deal to date with
:00:51. > :00:56.the purchase of a majority stake in Singapore 's Noble Group. They are
:00:57. > :01:04.making an initial payment of $1.5 billion. Weeks ago they also bought
:01:05. > :01:09.a big stake in a Dutch agricultural trader. Depositions will help China
:01:10. > :01:21.shore up support supplies of animal feed. I asked Aloe specialist what
:01:22. > :01:25.implications this will have? What is clear is that China has prioritised
:01:26. > :01:36.stockpiling agricultural commodities within its national policy. One is a
:01:37. > :01:41.way of guaranteeing lower incomes `` incomes, but also as a way of
:01:42. > :01:44.keeping food inflation in check. It is on this mainly by securing
:01:45. > :01:55.supplies domestically. There has been a subtle shift in policy
:01:56. > :02:03.recently. What that means is that they are looking outside China for a
:02:04. > :02:08.supply which can help improve supplies for agricultural
:02:09. > :02:13.commodities domestically. Therefore, we see more consolidation in the
:02:14. > :02:19.industry as China looks through the supply chain and tries to acquire
:02:20. > :02:24.capability where it has seen deficits. China is doing this for a
:02:25. > :02:28.number of reasons, as you say. Insufficient funding resources they
:02:29. > :02:33.have to meet their food and is one. Will this have implications
:02:34. > :02:36.internationally? Will prices rise? There are other factors like bad
:02:37. > :02:45.weather and political tensions and so on. Absolutely. Obviously, China
:02:46. > :02:53.is an important importer of a number of key commodities, particularly
:02:54. > :02:57.feed meal like soy beans. When China goes into the market, prices move
:02:58. > :03:03.up. Apart from China, there are other issues. Very dry weather in
:03:04. > :03:09.Brazil recently and parts of India which undermines key agricultural
:03:10. > :03:16.commodity yields. In addition to that, you have got geopolitical
:03:17. > :03:21.tensions in Ukraine which is a grey trading hub for seeds and wheat and
:03:22. > :03:27.that is adding to the momentum. Earlier this week we mentioned how
:03:28. > :03:34.China will embark on a stimulus passage `` package to boost growth.
:03:35. > :03:38.What is interesting about this latest development is the way China
:03:39. > :03:44.plans to paper that stimulus. Our chief business correspondence
:03:45. > :03:49.explains. If China was not worried about
:03:50. > :03:52.hitting its growth target of 7.5%, then it would not be trying to boost
:03:53. > :03:56.growth through government spending on railways and infrastructure. What
:03:57. > :04:00.is different this time, as compared to the masses in this package after
:04:01. > :04:04.the 2008 global financial crisis is that the Chinese government is
:04:05. > :04:08.borrowing from bond markets to finance it. In the past, they relied
:04:09. > :04:12.on local governments borrowing from state`owned banks to pay for the
:04:13. > :04:18.stimulus which led to concerns about a buildup of debt. Some of the
:04:19. > :04:24.government spending is just pushing forward infrastructure projects.
:04:25. > :04:29.Rail, social housing, which had been planned. The exhilaration itself as
:04:30. > :04:35.a sign of concern. It is what China did in 2009 when it injected fresh
:04:36. > :04:41.stimulus to support the economy alongside planned spending on roads
:04:42. > :04:45.and railways. At the time, it was criticised for not spending enough
:04:46. > :04:49.on social welfare that could boost consumption but investment is an
:04:50. > :04:58.easier way to grow for China. As a result, an excessive reliance on
:04:59. > :05:01.credit was another worrying legacy. This new stimulus is pushing output
:05:02. > :05:05.forward to help China meet its growth target this year. Many
:05:06. > :05:10.countries would not worry about coming in below an impressive 7.5%
:05:11. > :05:13.growth rate but, for Chinese officials, targets are not to be
:05:14. > :05:18.missed. It certainly is a sign that they are worried that financing the
:05:19. > :05:21.fiscal stimulus measures by the Central government and bond
:05:22. > :05:30.markets, rather than local governments and bank lending, it is
:05:31. > :05:35.progress. The US is urging Japan to open up
:05:36. > :05:38.its farm and auto markets to overseas condition. US trade
:05:39. > :05:41.representatives told US lawmakers that the reluctance to lower trade
:05:42. > :05:51.barriers is holding up the agreement on the ambitious 12 nation TPP. All
:05:52. > :05:56.eyes are on Japan, not just Europe but all of us. Japan needs to
:05:57. > :06:01.provide competitive access to their market, both agricultural side and
:06:02. > :06:07.other sites. We are reminded Japan what it and all TPP members agree to
:06:08. > :06:12.when they joined TPP. This is intended to be a high standard,
:06:13. > :06:15.ambitious, conference agreement. One country cannot feel entitled to take
:06:16. > :06:18.off the table and exclude vast areas of market access while other
:06:19. > :06:24.countries are putting more ambitious offers on the table. Barack Obama
:06:25. > :06:29.will press on the case for the TPP deal to go through with the Japanese
:06:30. > :06:34.prime ministers when he visits Japan later this month. Washington had
:06:35. > :06:37.hoped to complete the trade deal by the end of last year but the
:06:38. > :06:45.timetable has now moved to sometime this year. The CEO of Mozilla has
:06:46. > :06:48.stepped down. He was appointed last month but came in for heavy
:06:49. > :06:55.criticism about his views on same`sex marriage. He had made a
:06:56. > :07:06.$1000 donation in 2008 two organisations supporting an anti`gay
:07:07. > :07:09.marriage law. For more on that and other corporate headlines from
:07:10. > :07:14.around the world, you can go to our website.
:07:15. > :07:19.The shipping industry offers a good gauge of the State of the global
:07:20. > :07:23.economy as a way of tracking demand through movement of traded goods.
:07:24. > :07:30.After a downturn last year there are now some glimmers of hope will stop
:07:31. > :07:35.the fourth largest operator in the world earned a higher net profit
:07:36. > :07:46.last year in Dubai. Is there a more rosy outlook? Earlier we spoke to an
:07:47. > :07:50.expert on shipping. We expect 2014 to be a better year than 2013 in
:07:51. > :07:56.terms of the fundamental market values. Pressure will be put on the
:07:57. > :08:02.commercial market. Demand will outstrip supply and most major
:08:03. > :08:08.shipping segments will grow. We are confident of earnings that will go
:08:09. > :08:11.higher. Demand will outstrip supply but that will not be what we have
:08:12. > :08:18.seen from the major port operators, for example in Dubai and China. They
:08:19. > :08:25.have not had great results recently so this does not suggest that demand
:08:26. > :08:35.will pick up. The exports will go from Far East Asia to Europe and
:08:36. > :08:39.they will become stronger. We also heard that the Chinese Prime
:08:40. > :08:43.Minister said that he is looking at Strong exports even though China is
:08:44. > :08:50.on track for a softer landing and rebalancing of the economy. This is
:08:51. > :08:56.compared to previous years when there is more investment and public
:08:57. > :09:04.demand. You talk about this switch in the Chinese economy moving away
:09:05. > :09:15.from exports. How will China is moving away from that all the sense
:09:16. > :09:22.of growth and trajectory affect the shipping industry? Shipping demand
:09:23. > :09:27.will be negatively affected but it will come as a pricetag. The Chinese
:09:28. > :09:33.economy will be more sustainable. When you compare that to the growth
:09:34. > :09:38.now seen in the US and Europe, the counterbalancing should be positive
:09:39. > :09:46.for the global economy. When you look at the world from the widest
:09:47. > :09:52.perspective, we see it as economies are taking a smaller share of the
:09:53. > :09:59.global GDP even though more trade is generated in advanced economies. We
:10:00. > :10:06.are seeing in your normal in global trade and a slower demand growth
:10:07. > :10:08.going forward. A quick look at the markets. Most markets here in Asia
:10:09. > :10:28.are down. The US jobs report has come out ``
:10:29. > :10:32.is due out later today. That is partly why there is caution in the
:10:33. > :10:43.markets today. That's it from us at Asia Business Report.
:10:44. > :10:45.You are watching BBC News. These are our top stories. Ukraine accuses
:10:46. > :10:48.former President