:00:00. > :00:07.Guard has now called off a rescue operation. Those are our main
:00:08. > :00:15.headlines. Now on BBC News, all the latest business news live from
:00:16. > :00:18.Singapore. China evacuate thousands of its citizens from Vietnam, as
:00:19. > :00:28.rising territorial tensions sparked protest. And Thailand's economy is
:00:29. > :00:37.being hurt by the political instability, with some warning it
:00:38. > :00:44.may fall into recession. Hello and welcome to Asia Business Report. We
:00:45. > :00:51.start with Vietnam this morning, where a wave of anti`Chinese
:00:52. > :00:55.protests are straining ties. China is sending five ships to pull out
:00:56. > :01:00.more than 3000 of its citizens, after rising tensions over the South
:01:01. > :01:04.China Sea sparked violent demonstrations. Two Chinese
:01:05. > :01:06.nationals were killed and more than 100 injured, after Vietnamese mobs
:01:07. > :01:14.looted and torched businesses. We have been speaking to our
:01:15. > :01:25.correspondent. Tensions have calmed down. It is a precautionary measure
:01:26. > :01:28.now. So I have talked to many locals in the city and generally, people
:01:29. > :01:34.are going about their business as usual. There are just some sporadic
:01:35. > :01:39.cases where there is possible discrimination. We know that the
:01:40. > :01:42.government of Vietnam have been urging protesters to calm down, but
:01:43. > :01:45.what are they doing in terms of reaching out and talking to their
:01:46. > :01:51.Chinese counterparts, and how much could something like this impact
:01:52. > :01:57.business relations in the long`term? Vietnam has to maintain a careful
:01:58. > :02:00.balance. So it is certainly reaching out to China and reassuring them
:02:01. > :02:04.that they are keeping things under control here, but at the same time
:02:05. > :02:07.on the day are also demanding that China removes its oil rig from the
:02:08. > :02:10.South China Sea, and in terms of business, it is important for
:02:11. > :02:13.Vietnam to reassure China that it is OK to reinvest here, and they are
:02:14. > :02:31.considering tax`free loans for the businesses that have been damaged.
:02:32. > :02:36.Because China, is, as you said its biggest trading partner `` trading
:02:37. > :02:46.partner. They are trading partners in the multibillion`dollar range.
:02:47. > :02:49.Good political unrest in Thailand see its economy shrank for the first
:02:50. > :02:55.time in a year? That is what people are watching for, as growth numbers
:02:56. > :02:58.are set to show how big of an impact the ongoing crisis is having on
:02:59. > :03:05.business and investment. Forecasters expect the GDP to shrink by 1.6%.
:03:06. > :03:09.Compared with the previous three months, and on an annual basis this
:03:10. > :03:12.could be the weakest growth since the devastating floods of 2011. I
:03:13. > :03:14.was speaking to an expert about this, asking whether investors
:03:15. > :03:31.should worry about Thailand's history of unrest. Over the last 72
:03:32. > :03:37.years, we have had 11 military coups in the last few years, with the last
:03:38. > :03:44.one being in 2006. So we are long overdue for one now, and that is one
:03:45. > :03:49.way of looking at it. The military, the army, has already said that if
:03:50. > :03:54.there is no stability in the country, the military will step in
:03:55. > :03:58.and take over. Ultimately what you need to remember is that in order
:03:59. > :04:00.for a country to function properly, you must have stability, and that
:04:01. > :04:03.has not been provided by the government. Having a caretaker
:04:04. > :04:08.government is not going to get it done. What they need to do is put
:04:09. > :04:11.the army into place to provide political stability, if it does not
:04:12. > :04:14.come from within, and then people will be able to spend money,
:04:15. > :04:18.companies will be able to invest, and they will start getting the
:04:19. > :04:21.country going again. So you are saying that a military coup could
:04:22. > :04:25.help the country get going again? It has to. If people cannot go to work
:04:26. > :04:27.because they are too worried about what is happening in the streets,
:04:28. > :04:38.then companies won't invest, and political stability will not be
:04:39. > :04:41.provided. And who is going to provide it? In most developing
:04:42. > :04:44.economies, that stability is provided by the people themselves,
:04:45. > :04:47.but with this conflict going on between the two sides, it is
:04:48. > :04:50.insurmountable, and so the Army may have to come in and rewrite the
:04:51. > :04:59.rules, and put in an interim government and have elections again.
:05:00. > :05:09.And then Thailand will be able to grow for the next few years. In
:05:10. > :05:15.other news, making headlines, Japan's machinery orders, a key
:05:16. > :05:22.indicator of business spending, surged to the highest in a decade.
:05:23. > :05:32.They rose by a record 19.1% on the month. That is significantly higher
:05:33. > :05:40.than was forecast for a 6% gain. This is due to businesses spending
:05:41. > :05:44.ahead of an increased sales tax which began on one April. Pfizer has
:05:45. > :05:46.engaged in its final attempt at talks to merge with AstraZeneca, and
:05:47. > :05:55.are prepared to offer several billion dollars after their initial
:05:56. > :06:01.bid was rejected as not high enough. If it goes through, it would be the
:06:02. > :06:05.healthcare industry's biggest ever acquisition. AT is spending a lot
:06:06. > :06:08.of money to increase its presence in the global television market.
:06:09. > :06:13.However, some analysts warn that they may face resistance from
:06:14. > :06:21.investors. Swiss voters have rejected a plan for the world's
:06:22. > :06:27.highest minimum wage. Trade unions had opposed an hourly wage of 25 US
:06:28. > :06:36.dollars or $4500 per month. However, polls or nearly 80% of Swiss voters
:06:37. > :06:40.turning it down, spurring a sigh of relief amongst businesses who said
:06:41. > :06:45.they couldn't afford it. Negotiators for the US led trade pact,
:06:46. > :06:51.transpacific partnership, are meeting here in Singapore, after 20
:06:52. > :06:54.rounds of talks so far. If passed, it will cover 40% of world trade.
:06:55. > :06:57.While progress is being made, the final agreement is still a way off.
:06:58. > :07:06.What will it take for this trade deal to be completed? It is my view
:07:07. > :07:12.that politics are beginning to complicate what had been some good
:07:13. > :07:17.progress. As you know, in the United States, the President was not given
:07:18. > :07:20.the fast track authority to push this through. And the vulnerability
:07:21. > :07:23.of the engagement is significant. The politics in America are
:07:24. > :07:25.approaching midterm elections in November, which means that the
:07:26. > :07:31.president is going to be very sensitive to what it might mean to
:07:32. > :07:33.the voting public. By the same token, the Japanese Prime Minister
:07:34. > :07:36.needs significant political support to press forward with his programme,
:07:37. > :07:39.and to try to support that programme, he may not want to take
:07:40. > :07:50.on the constituencies in agriculture and manufacturing. And those are the
:07:51. > :08:01.things I think which have prolonged the talks to this point. India goes
:08:02. > :08:06.back to work today, knowing it is the beginning of a new era. Results
:08:07. > :08:10.in the general election show that the BJP will form the next
:08:11. > :08:14.government with a healthy majority. The Prime Minister elect, Narendra
:08:15. > :08:22.Modi, has a strong mandate to revitalise the economy. Our
:08:23. > :08:26.correspondent in Mumbai looks at what that means for India. The
:08:27. > :08:35.marathon election is over, the results are out, and it is official.
:08:36. > :08:38.This man is set to become the next Prime Minister. Improving the
:08:39. > :08:41.economy was one of his main pledges during the election campaign. Not
:08:42. > :08:47.surprising considering that it is growing at its slowest pace in the
:08:48. > :08:52.last decade. So what are the key challenges which Narendra Modi faces
:08:53. > :08:56.on the economic front? More than half of India's population is under
:08:57. > :09:02.the age of 25. In fact, India needs to create more than 10 million jobs
:09:03. > :09:10.every year to employ it young workforce. One way of doing that is
:09:11. > :09:13.by giving a big push to small and medium`sized businesses along with
:09:14. > :09:19.large scale manufacturing. This can help in in creating millions of
:09:20. > :09:22.jobs. One of the biggest hurdles to the economy has been infrastructure.
:09:23. > :09:29.India needs more roads, power plants, and airports. Some of these
:09:30. > :09:32.have been partially completed but were stalled due to political
:09:33. > :09:36.wrangling and policy issues. So if the new government can cut through
:09:37. > :09:43.that read tape and get these off the ground, and at the same time create
:09:44. > :09:46.some new infrastructure projects, that will give a big boost to the
:09:47. > :09:53.economy. High food prices have been a big concern for India, along with
:09:54. > :09:58.inflation. That is one key reason why many people voted against the
:09:59. > :10:04.last government. Dealing with inflation is a contract issue. The
:10:05. > :10:07.weather lays a big part in it. Experts say that India can improve
:10:08. > :10:14.prices by improving its storage facilities. That will save a lot of
:10:15. > :10:21.food that rocks during the off`season, and in turn pushes up
:10:22. > :10:26.food prices. `` the weather plays a big part in it. There are many
:10:27. > :10:30.multinationals here. Over the last few years, many have pulled out all
:10:31. > :10:35.stayed away. They feel India does not want them. Many have clashed
:10:36. > :10:39.with the government or tax `` overtaxed or policy issues. It is
:10:40. > :10:43.considered a tough place to do business, so the new government will
:10:44. > :10:47.have to focus on improving the business environment, which will
:10:48. > :10:48.help in improving the business cycle. Looking at our top story
:10:49. > :10:50.again,