04/04/2014 Asia Business Report

that unbranded packets would help cut smoking rates and make

cigarettes less attractive to children. Now it is time for Asia

Business Report. Feeding the nation. China's recent

moves to secure food supplies. Can we expect better times ahead for the

global shipping industry? Welcome to Asia Business Report. We

start with China's admission to provide a secure food supply for its

booming population. That has led to some huge business deals. This week

China's largest grain trader seals its biggest global deal to date with

the purchase of a majority stake in Singapore 's Noble Group. They are

making an initial payment of $1.5 billion. Weeks ago they also bought

a big stake in a Dutch agricultural trader. Depositions will help China

shore up support supplies of animal feed. I asked Aloe specialist what

implications this will have? What is clear is that China has prioritised

stockpiling agricultural commodities within its national policy. One is a

way of guaranteeing lower incomes `` incomes, but also as a way of

keeping food inflation in check. It is on this mainly by securing

supplies domestically. There has been a subtle shift in policy

recently. What that means is that they are looking outside China for a

supply which can help improve supplies for agricultural

commodities domestically. Therefore, we see more consolidation in the

industry as China looks through the supply chain and tries to acquire

capability where it has seen deficits. China is doing this for a

number of reasons, as you say. Insufficient funding resources they

have to meet their food and is one. Will this have implications

internationally? Will prices rise? There are other factors like bad

weather and political tensions and so on. Absolutely. Obviously, China

is an important importer of a number of key commodities, particularly

feed meal like soy beans. When China goes into the market, prices move

up. Apart from China, there are other issues. Very dry weather in

Brazil recently and parts of India which undermines key agricultural

commodity yields. In addition to that, you have got geopolitical

tensions in Ukraine which is a grey trading hub for seeds and wheat and

that is adding to the momentum. Earlier this week we mentioned how

China will embark on a stimulus passage `` package to boost growth.

What is interesting about this latest development is the way China

plans to paper that stimulus. Our chief business correspondence

explains. If China was not worried about

hitting its growth target of 7.5%, then it would not be trying to boost

growth through government spending on railways and infrastructure. What

is different this time, as compared to the masses in this package after

the 2008 global financial crisis is that the Chinese government is

borrowing from bond markets to finance it. In the past, they relied

on local governments borrowing from state`owned banks to pay for the

stimulus which led to concerns about a buildup of debt. Some of the

government spending is just pushing forward infrastructure projects.

Rail, social housing, which had been planned. The exhilaration itself as

a sign of concern. It is what China did in 2009 when it injected fresh

stimulus to support the economy alongside planned spending on roads

and railways. At the time, it was criticised for not spending enough

on social welfare that could boost consumption but investment is an

easier way to grow for China. As a result, an excessive reliance on

credit was another worrying legacy. This new stimulus is pushing output

forward to help China meet its growth target this year. Many

countries would not worry about coming in below an impressive 7.5%

growth rate but, for Chinese officials, targets are not to be

missed. It certainly is a sign that they are worried that financing the

fiscal stimulus measures by the Central government and bond

markets, rather than local governments and bank lending, it is

progress. The US is urging Japan to open up

its farm and auto markets to overseas condition. US trade

representatives told US lawmakers that the reluctance to lower trade

barriers is holding up the agreement on the ambitious 12 nation TPP. All

eyes are on Japan, not just Europe but all of us. Japan needs to

provide competitive access to their market, both agricultural side and

other sites. We are reminded Japan what it and all TPP members agree to

when they joined TPP. This is intended to be a high standard,

ambitious, conference agreement. One country cannot feel entitled to take

off the table and exclude vast areas of market access while other

countries are putting more ambitious offers on the table. Barack Obama

will press on the case for the TPP deal to go through with the Japanese

prime ministers when he visits Japan later this month. Washington had

hoped to complete the trade deal by the end of last year but the

timetable has now moved to sometime this year. The CEO of Mozilla has

stepped down. He was appointed last month but came in for heavy

criticism about his views on same`sex marriage. He had made a

$1000 donation in 2008 two organisations supporting an anti`gay

marriage law. For more on that and other corporate headlines from

around the world, you can go to our website.

The shipping industry offers a good gauge of the State of the global

economy as a way of tracking demand through movement of traded goods.

After a downturn last year there are now some glimmers of hope will stop

the fourth largest operator in the world earned a higher net profit

last year in Dubai. Is there a more rosy outlook? Earlier we spoke to an

expert on shipping. We expect 2014 to be a better year than 2013 in

terms of the fundamental market values. Pressure will be put on the

commercial market. Demand will outstrip supply and most major

shipping segments will grow. We are confident of earnings that will go

higher. Demand will outstrip supply but that will not be what we have

seen from the major port operators, for example in Dubai and China. They

have not had great results recently so this does not suggest that demand

will pick up. The exports will go from Far East Asia to Europe and

they will become stronger. We also heard that the Chinese Prime

Minister said that he is looking at Strong exports even though China is

on track for a softer landing and rebalancing of the economy. This is

compared to previous years when there is more investment and public

demand. You talk about this switch in the Chinese economy moving away

from exports. How will China is moving away from that all the sense

of growth and trajectory affect the shipping industry? Shipping demand

will be negatively affected but it will come as a pricetag. The Chinese

economy will be more sustainable. When you compare that to the growth

now seen in the US and Europe, the counterbalancing should be positive

for the global economy. When you look at the world from the widest

perspective, we see it as economies are taking a smaller share of the

global GDP even though more trade is generated in advanced economies. We

are seeing in your normal in global trade and a slower demand growth

going forward. A quick look at the markets. Most markets here in Asia

are down. The US jobs report has come out ``

is due out later today. That is partly why there is caution in the

markets today. That's it from us at Asia Business Report.

You are watching BBC News. These are our top stories. Ukraine accuses

former President