:00:00. > :00:00.have now called off a rescue operation. Now on BBC News all the
:00:00. > :00:17.latest business news live from Singapore. China evacuate thousands
:00:18. > :00:23.of its citizens from Vietnam as rising territorial tensions sparked
:00:24. > :00:26.protest. Talks are set to continue in Singapore on the ambitious
:00:27. > :00:41.transpacific partnership trade deal. Hello and welcome to Asia
:00:42. > :00:48.Business Report. We start with Vietnam this morning where a wave of
:00:49. > :00:55.anti` Chinese protests are straining ties. Rising tensions after China
:00:56. > :01:06.moved to drill in the South China seas in contested areas. Vietnamese
:01:07. > :01:13.mobs looted and torched parts. We have been speaking to our
:01:14. > :01:18.correspondent. Tensions have calmed down. It is a precautionary measure
:01:19. > :01:25.now. I have talked to many in the city and generally, people are going
:01:26. > :01:34.about their business as usual. There are sporadic cases where there is
:01:35. > :01:38.possible discrimination. We know that the government of Vietnam has
:01:39. > :01:43.been urging protesters to calm down but what are they doing in terms of
:01:44. > :01:46.reaching out and talking to their Chinese counterparts and how much
:01:47. > :01:52.could something like this impact business relations in the
:01:53. > :01:57.long`term? Vietnam has to maintain a careful balance. It is certainly
:01:58. > :02:00.reaching out to China and reassuring them that they are keeping things
:02:01. > :02:07.under control here but at the same time on the day are also demanding
:02:08. > :02:14.that China removes its oil rig from the South China Sea and in terms of
:02:15. > :02:20.business omni` it is important for Vietnam to reassure China that it is
:02:21. > :02:24.OK to reinvest here and they are considering tax`free loans for the
:02:25. > :02:33.businesses that have been damaged. They are trading partners in the
:02:34. > :02:41.multibillion dollar range. Thank you. Acute political unrest in
:02:42. > :02:46.Thailand has seen its economy shrank for the first time in a year. Its
:02:47. > :02:49.growth numbers are set to show how big of an impact the ongoing crisis
:02:50. > :03:02.is having on business and investment. Were casters expect the
:03:03. > :03:06.GDP to shrink by 1.6% `` forecasters. On an annual basis this
:03:07. > :03:16.could be the weakest growth since the devastating floods of 2011. I
:03:17. > :03:23.was speaking to an expert about this, asking whether investors
:03:24. > :03:33.should worry about Thailand's history of unrest. We have had 11
:03:34. > :03:38.military coups in the last few years with the last one being in 2006. We
:03:39. > :03:44.are long overdue for one now and that is one way of looking at it. If
:03:45. > :03:51.there is no stability in the country, the military will step in
:03:52. > :03:55.and take over. In order for a country to function properly, you
:03:56. > :03:59.must have stability and that has not been provided by the government.
:04:00. > :04:07.Having a caretaker government is not going to get it done. What they need
:04:08. > :04:12.to do is put the army into place to provide political stability if it
:04:13. > :04:16.does not come from within and then people will be able to spend money,
:04:17. > :04:21.companies will be able to invest and they will start getting the country
:04:22. > :04:26.going again. So you are saying that a military coup could help the
:04:27. > :04:31.country get going again? It has to. If people cannot go to work because
:04:32. > :04:35.they are too worried about what is happening in the streets, then
:04:36. > :04:41.companies won't invest and political stability will not be provided. In
:04:42. > :04:45.most developing economies that stability is provided by the people
:04:46. > :04:50.themselves but with this the conflict going on between the two
:04:51. > :04:57.sides, it is insurmountable and so the Army make have to come in and
:04:58. > :05:00.rewrite the rules and put in an interim government and have
:05:01. > :05:08.elections again. Then Thailand will be able to grow for the next few
:05:09. > :05:13.years. In other news, a key indicator of business spending in
:05:14. > :05:19.Japan surged to its highest numbers in a number of years. It is
:05:20. > :05:32.significantly higher than it was forecasted to be. This is reportedly
:05:33. > :05:37.due to increased spending in Japan. Pfizer has engaged in its final
:05:38. > :05:42.attempt at talks to merge with AstraZeneca and are prepared to
:05:43. > :05:53.offer several billion dollars after their initial bid was rejected as
:05:54. > :06:01.not high enough. AT is spending a lot of money to increase its
:06:02. > :06:08.presence in the global television market. However, some analysts warn
:06:09. > :06:16.that they may face resistance from investors. Switzerland has
:06:17. > :06:26.established its plan for its highest minimum wage. A pole saw nearly 80%
:06:27. > :06:35.of voters turned the idea down as many small businesses had said that
:06:36. > :06:39.they could not afford it. Ministers for the transpacific partnership our
:06:40. > :06:50.meeting here in Singapore after 20 rounds of talks so far. If passed,
:06:51. > :06:59.it will cover 40% of world trade. While progress is being made on the
:07:00. > :07:08.a final agreement is a way off. What will it take for this trade deal to
:07:09. > :07:20.be completed? We will speak to our correspondent. What will it take for
:07:21. > :07:28.deals to be completed this time? In just under one hour's time, the
:07:29. > :07:34.trade ministers will be meeting for the first ministerial talks since
:07:35. > :07:37.President Obama met the Japanese Prime Minister in April. Marathon
:07:38. > :07:41.discussions were then held on the key sticking points, cars and
:07:42. > :07:45.agriculture. Some say it is not just economic concerns about political
:07:46. > :07:51.issues that are holding up the deal. It is my point of view that
:07:52. > :07:56.all it takes are complicating good progress. It has not been given the
:07:57. > :08:02.fast authority in the United States and the vulnerability of the
:08:03. > :08:06.engagement is significant. The politics in America are approaching
:08:07. > :08:12.midterm elections in November, which means that the president is going to
:08:13. > :08:18.be very sensitive to what it might mean to the voting public. By the
:08:19. > :08:22.same token, the Japanese Prime Minister needs significant political
:08:23. > :08:26.support to press forward with his programme and to try to support that
:08:27. > :08:35.programme, he may not want to take on the constituencies in agriculture
:08:36. > :08:41.and manufacturing. It is not just the United States and Japan that
:08:42. > :08:44.have outstanding issues. Malaysia is worried about the impact on
:08:45. > :08:49.pharmaceutical drugs. Vietnam is worried about its textile
:08:50. > :08:54.producers. New Zealand is worried about its dairy industry. It is hard
:08:55. > :09:00.enough negotiating a deal with one party but with 12, concessions have
:09:01. > :09:06.to be made if the deal is to be finalized by the end of the year. As
:09:07. > :09:12.you say, there are 12 in this pack but China and South Korea are
:09:13. > :09:17.excluded. They want to join. Tell us about that. That is right. South
:09:18. > :09:21.Korea is watching what is happening but they are not part of the talks.
:09:22. > :09:27.The have their own bilateral free trade agreement with the United
:09:28. > :09:33.States. China has been complaining since 2008 that it has been excluded
:09:34. > :09:36.from negotiations. The United States has recently signaled that the door
:09:37. > :09:43.may one day open to China if it is able to meet the high standards that
:09:44. > :09:47.have been set in the agreement. To give you a clue about how important
:09:48. > :09:52.this could be for both sides, an Institute in Washington has said
:09:53. > :09:59.that American exports could increase by 13% if there is some economic
:10:00. > :10:03.cooperation between them and China and that could add an extra $80
:10:04. > :10:13.billion to the American economy each year. Thank you very much. A quick
:10:14. > :10:26.look at the markets now. We are seeing Asian markets with little
:10:27. > :10:35.change at the moment. The markets are treading water as people are
:10:36. > :10:41.waiting for news this week. It is all for this edition. Full.