:00:00. > :00:13.never been broadcast before. Now on BBC News, all the latest business
:00:14. > :00:19.news live from Singapore. China signs a $400 billion gas deal with
:00:20. > :00:22.Russia, after a decade of talks. Singapore is ranked the world's best
:00:23. > :00:38.place to do business for its sixth year. Thank you for joining us. I'm
:00:39. > :00:41.Rico Hizon. The Russian President Vladimir Putin was in Shanghai to
:00:42. > :00:44.witness a landmark deal that will see Russia supply China with natural
:00:45. > :00:46.gas for 30 years. It marks a political triumph for Vladimir
:00:47. > :00:51.Putin, who faces economic isolation in the West because of his actions
:00:52. > :00:54.in Ukraine. But what exactly brought about this last`minute deal? Earlier
:00:55. > :01:03.I posed that question to an energy expert from the University of
:01:04. > :01:06.Singapore. For one thing, Russia has gas to sell, and it needs those
:01:07. > :01:13.dollars. China needs gas. Both sides have won overall. But until we know
:01:14. > :01:16.the price and how much China has to pay upfront, we cannot say who was
:01:17. > :01:20.the winner. As of yesterday, when you were on the programme, there was
:01:21. > :01:22.no certainty as to whether a deal would be sealed, and it was only
:01:23. > :01:33.signed and delivered early evening Asia time. So could the deal have
:01:34. > :01:36.been, let's sign now, discuss the price later? It looks that way,
:01:37. > :01:46.pricing is not something you can finalise in two or three hours. So
:01:47. > :01:49.either they just did agree a price at the last minute, regardless of
:01:50. > :01:53.President stood in and said, we have President stood in and said, we have
:01:54. > :01:59.a deal, sort out the details later. And certainly at the moment, no`one
:02:00. > :02:06.knows. What does this agreement mean for the Chinese? Well it gives the
:02:07. > :02:09.Chinese in five years' time an additional supply of gas which, at
:02:10. > :02:17.that time, will account for maybe 20% of their total consumption. So
:02:18. > :02:19.this is good for them, and helps their energy consumption and will
:02:20. > :02:24.tackle the serious pollution problem. For the Russians? For the
:02:25. > :02:26.Russians, it gives them the money to develop the far`eastern gas fields,
:02:27. > :02:29.which will support local developments, and means they have
:02:30. > :02:36.new customers for their gas which, if Europe starts to turn away from
:02:37. > :02:39.Russia, works. So with these closer relations between the Chinese and
:02:40. > :02:43.the Russians, what does it mean for the geopolitical system going on in
:02:44. > :02:47.Asia now? I would not read too much into that. There has been an oil
:02:48. > :02:56.pipeline for nearly ten years running between both countries. So I
:02:57. > :03:05.think it is still a fairly pragmatic relationship, although they do share
:03:06. > :03:12.certain strategic concerns. Phillip Andrew speed from the National
:03:13. > :03:20.University of Singapore. Bright foods has bought a stake in a rival.
:03:21. > :03:25.It has signed a preliminary agreement to buy 56% of the company.
:03:26. > :03:35.The price was not disclosed but Israel media reports value the
:03:36. > :03:39.company highly. China's factory sector posting its best performance
:03:40. > :03:47.in five month according to a private survey. The PMI rose to 49.7 in May
:03:48. > :03:53.from 48 .1 in April. However, that figure indicates that manufacturing
:03:54. > :03:58.shrank overall as china's economic slowdown dampened demand. The US
:03:59. > :04:05.central bank has started discussing ways to exit the massive stimulus
:04:06. > :04:08.policy, to save it from a record low. According to the April meeting
:04:09. > :04:11.minutes, they are exploring tools they could use to return the policy
:04:12. > :04:14.to normal by next year. The Fed has spent more than $4 billion on
:04:15. > :04:24.purchases over the last five years to support the economy. `` $4
:04:25. > :04:27.trillion. EBay is asking its users to change its passwords after the
:04:28. > :04:29.company was hit by a cyber`attack. The e`commerce giant said that the
:04:30. > :04:32.database containing personal information was compromised. It says
:04:33. > :04:55.no credit card information or financial information was stolen.
:04:56. > :04:58.The Chinese eat, so `` The Chinese e`commerce site JD.com has raised
:04:59. > :05:01.billions of dollars. The demand exceeded expectations, with shares
:05:02. > :05:04.being priced at $19 per share at its debut on the technology`heavy index.
:05:05. > :05:08.Shares have risen after the firm posted a 29% jump in profits.
:05:09. > :05:11.Singapore is the best place in the world to do business, that's
:05:12. > :05:13.according to the latest survey by the Economic Intelligence Unit. It
:05:14. > :05:16.sees the city retain its number one spot as an investor`friendly
:05:17. > :05:18.location. It looks at a number of indicators, including political
:05:19. > :05:21.stability and corporate tax rates. The cost of living and practical
:05:22. > :05:24.costs make Singapore attractive as a place for foreign companies to
:05:25. > :05:34.invest. However, it is not only about costs. When you think of the
:05:35. > :05:38.business environment, it is also about how easy it is to do business,
:05:39. > :05:42.and what the quality of the business environment is. When we measure
:05:43. > :05:44.this, we look at ten different aspects of the business environment,
:05:45. > :05:47.ranging from political stability, through commercial laws and
:05:48. > :05:51.competition policy, all the way to the labour market and infrastructure
:05:52. > :06:02.and taxation. With Singapore, the cost is a constraint, but in other
:06:03. > :06:09.areas, it performs. It has excellent infrastructure, and also labour
:06:10. > :06:14.policies, which in the last decade has seen the number of foreign
:06:15. > :06:18.workers here as well. There are challenges as well. The same
:06:19. > :06:23.organisation that ranks it as the top pace to do business also says it
:06:24. > :06:26.is the world's most expensive city. Singapore's high cost of living,
:06:27. > :06:35.strong currency, the soaring price of utilities as well is the cost of
:06:36. > :06:40.running a car, meant it topped 131 other cities in the survey. If that
:06:41. > :06:43.doesn't put you off wanting to live here, there are other challenges.
:06:44. > :06:46.Such as limits to public expression and personal freedom. Some
:06:47. > :06:50.restrictions on the local gas, which critics say help foster a more
:06:51. > :06:54.business friendly environment. One of its many dealers, its open
:06:55. > :06:59.immigration policy, has actually up set many local residents, who feel
:07:00. > :07:02.as if they are discriminated against in their own country. But Singapore
:07:03. > :07:05.will keep topping these global lists, much to the chagrin of other
:07:06. > :07:11.Asian financial centres such as Hong Kong. Here in Hong Kong, the city
:07:12. > :07:16.prides itself on a long history of being opened to entrepreneurs and
:07:17. > :07:21.investors. On a number of different indicators, from the quality of its
:07:22. > :07:25.workforce to government policy, to infrastructure, Hong Kong and
:07:26. > :07:29.Singapore fair and equally well. But where Hong Kong lags is in so`called
:07:30. > :07:37.future market opportunities. You see, this city does not set its own
:07:38. > :07:40.monetary policy. Instead, Hong Kong follows a American monetary policy.
:07:41. > :07:45.It has done so for 13 years. Investors and officials have liked
:07:46. > :07:51.the stability which it brings. But US interest rates are expected to
:07:52. > :07:57.rise sharply in the next few years, that means the cost of money in Hong
:07:58. > :08:00.Kong is likely to jump as well. That may result in a fall in property
:08:01. > :08:09.prices as well as in consumer spending. That makes this a less
:08:10. > :08:11.welcoming environment for investors. Just over six months after
:08:12. > :08:14.experiencing one of the world's worst`ever typhoons, the Philippines
:08:15. > :08:17.continues to expand at a fast pace. Growth rates in 2012 and 2013 are
:08:18. > :08:21.the quickest since the 1950s, how can that be after it was struck by
:08:22. > :08:27.such a devastating natural disasters so recently? Our correspondent
:08:28. > :08:30.explains. Six months ago, the Philippines was struck by one of the
:08:31. > :08:40.worst national disasters to hit land. Typhoon Haiyan caused a
:08:41. > :08:43.massive loss of life, and had a huge impact on the economy. It is
:08:44. > :08:48.estimated to cut the economic growth of the entire country by a huge one
:08:49. > :08:51.percentage point. But, the Philippines is still forecast to
:08:52. > :08:58.grow at 6.5%, which would be the fastest in Asia except for China.
:08:59. > :09:01.How can that be? This outcome is due to reconstruction, rebuilding homes,
:09:02. > :09:11.and could add 3.5% GDP, that is only from what the government spends. The
:09:12. > :09:20.damage from the typhoon will be felt, especially towards the front
:09:21. > :09:23.of the year. But, with the offset from the government driving
:09:24. > :09:26.reconstruction, the economy as a whole is expected to recover by the
:09:27. > :09:35.end of the year. Headline GDP figures will reassure businesses
:09:36. > :09:38.that the economy will be all right. But for those who have lost their
:09:39. > :09:41.homes and their livelihoods, rebuilding will not be easy, when
:09:42. > :09:45.they do not have private insurance. For them, it does not matter what
:09:46. > :09:48.the big headline figures are, but rather how quickly the growth can
:09:49. > :10:03.translate into means with which they can reconstruct their lives. For
:10:04. > :10:07.more stories from the Philippines, make sure you log on to the BBC
:10:08. > :10:17.website, where we have a page dedicated to its people, and
:10:18. > :10:21.culture. Before we go, the is a quick look at the Asian markets.
:10:22. > :10:26.They are all in positive territory after US equities bounced back
:10:27. > :10:32.overnight after the previous day's fell off. That is after the meeting
:10:33. > :10:35.which suggested that the US will keep reducing its stimulus plan.
:10:36. > :10:40.Thank you for investing your time with us. I'm Mike Embley. The
:10:41. > :10:41.headlines: