:00:00. > :00:18.schools in the area years ago. He... Time now for Asia Business
:00:19. > :00:20.Report. Sharing a cross industry. Samsung calls for an open platform
:00:21. > :00:28.for developers of wearable technology. Limiting visitors, the
:00:29. > :00:33.potential economic fallout from Hong Kong's plan to curb tourism from
:00:34. > :00:41.China. Hello and welcome to Asia Business Report. I'm Sharanjit Leyl
:00:42. > :00:44.in Singapore. Samsung has extended its portfolio of wearable technology
:00:45. > :00:47.with a prototype wristwatch and it can be fitted with third`party
:00:48. > :00:50.sensors to gather a range of data about the wearer's health and
:00:51. > :00:54.fitness. The tech giant unveiled its latest innovation at an event in San
:00:55. > :01:01.Francisco where it also made a push for an open system among rival
:01:02. > :01:04.companies. To help get products to consumers quicker. Our technology
:01:05. > :01:14.correspondent was at the event. Samsung diving headlong into the
:01:15. > :01:17.digital health arena. They have had a couple of forays into it in the
:01:18. > :01:27.past. An announcement was made this morning, by the president of
:01:28. > :01:37.Samsung. And he is here with us. The concept in simple terms, what is it?
:01:38. > :01:39.It is not a consumer product, it is a development platform. It is a
:01:40. > :01:49.platform that enables other centre companies to take advantage of it.
:01:50. > :01:52.One of the issues which I thought up is that if you look at typical
:01:53. > :01:56.wearable technology, it is a start up and many are trying to figure out
:01:57. > :01:59.how to make a watch. We want to change the whole equation. We want
:02:00. > :02:12.to create a development platform where they can focus on their
:02:13. > :02:22.expertise and solving problems. They can help us know more about our
:02:23. > :02:24.technology. You showed us some videos of people explaining how
:02:25. > :02:28.people improved their health. They are interested for a little bit of
:02:29. > :02:31.time but then they go, OK I will keep eating my burgers and fries and
:02:32. > :02:41.my lifestyle will not change. I actually have several of those in my
:02:42. > :02:45.drawer so I am a typical example. It was not because I didn't care, it is
:02:46. > :02:49.more to do with it was not developed for what I was doing. It was not
:02:50. > :02:51.accurate. I think we are in the early stages of a revolution of
:02:52. > :02:56.wearable, sensory devices. As technology is getting better, they
:02:57. > :03:01.will be more useful. How long will it be before we see products using
:03:02. > :03:04.your platform on the market? We are hoping in 2015 there will be many
:03:05. > :03:18.different solutions, adding to the many different markets. From
:03:19. > :03:25.exercise and business to somewhere in between. That Samsung event takes
:03:26. > :03:28.place one week before rival Apple hosts it is conference and
:03:29. > :03:35.speculation is high that Apple has also been working on launching its
:03:36. > :03:38.own wearable devices. Speaking of Apple, it is official that the
:03:39. > :03:41.company is buying music streaming service, Beats electronics. From New
:03:42. > :03:48.York, our correspondent takes a closer look at the acquisition.
:03:49. > :03:58.This is the biggest acquisition yet. It is pink $3 billion ``
:03:59. > :04:02.paying. It is the coolest thing in the digital world right now, they
:04:03. > :04:05.have the coolest executives and a rapidly growing consumer base for
:04:06. > :04:15.the hardware and for the digital subscription service side. Apple is
:04:16. > :04:18.grabbing onto their coattails and try to make their own brand last.
:04:19. > :04:21.Beats is best known for its headphones but for Apple, the real
:04:22. > :04:23.prize is the music streaming service. For the past decade,
:04:24. > :04:31.Apple's iTunes dominated music. That was in the download era. These days,
:04:32. > :04:33.it is all about streaming. Even though Apple broke into streaming
:04:34. > :04:41.last September with iTunes radio, the company missed a beat and is now
:04:42. > :04:45.playing catch up. Apple hopes to make sweet music with Beats but did
:04:46. > :04:51.it overpay? With $150 billion in cash, it is a risk Apple can easily
:04:52. > :05:02.afford. The tech giant will properly argue, it can't put a price on cool.
:05:03. > :05:08.For more on that story and other business headlines from around the
:05:09. > :05:11.world, you can go to our website. In other news, people are spending less
:05:12. > :05:16.in Japan after the company hiked its sales tax in April. Data this
:05:17. > :05:21.morning shows that retail sales fell by 4.4% in April from a year
:05:22. > :05:29.earlier. That is a fast decline since the March 2011 earthquake. A
:05:30. > :05:36.Chinese e`commerce giant has bought up a stake in a Singapore business,
:05:37. > :05:40.as it looks to expand its business in the Asia`Pacific region. The
:05:41. > :05:46.company 's fate they will also look at setting up an international
:05:47. > :05:49.e`commerce logistics business. Most countries around the world are
:05:50. > :05:56.falling over themselves to try and attract Chinese tourists. But Hong
:05:57. > :05:58.Kong is looking at ways to reduce the number of mainland Chinese
:05:59. > :06:04.visitors. Last year, 40 million mainlanders visited the territory.
:06:05. > :06:06.That is an increase of 17% from 2012, and the bulk were individuals
:06:07. > :06:09.travelling on multiple entry permits. Currently, visitors from 49
:06:10. > :06:11.Chinese cities can obtain these permits. If officials decide to
:06:12. > :06:14.reduce this number, there are worries that the's economy will
:06:15. > :06:23.suffer. Our correspondent in Hong Kong explains why the government is
:06:24. > :06:34.contemplating a limit. The number of mainland tourists
:06:35. > :06:43.expect `` is expected to grow to 45 million, up 11% from last year. 60%
:06:44. > :06:46.come just for the day. These are the kind of tourist that locals are
:06:47. > :06:50.really not liking. They come just for the day, just to shop. They do
:06:51. > :06:53.not stay in hotels or patronise the restaurants. They tend to come and
:06:54. > :06:56.go. They tend to also congregate in certain areas. That is why every
:06:57. > :06:58.week, we have been seeing protests against mainland tourists. There is
:06:59. > :07:03.speculation that this cut in tourism might be as much as 20%. What impact
:07:04. > :07:13.will that have on Hong Kong's economy? The chief executive
:07:14. > :07:16.confirmed that that is only one of several options that they are
:07:17. > :07:19.looking at. It has not been confirmed that these cuts will
:07:20. > :07:21.happen. We saw a response in terms of the shares of companies in
:07:22. > :07:24.retail, finance, property. Some of those shares have recovered
:07:25. > :07:27.somewhat. It is true that 200,000 people in retail in the tourism
:07:28. > :07:36.sector rely on visitors for their jobs. An enormous cut in the number
:07:37. > :07:40.of people coming in would affect the economy. There was one investment
:07:41. > :07:49.bank that suggested that the retail sector could actually be down as
:07:50. > :07:54.much as 7% from cuts. If you live in Asia, you will know all about the
:07:55. > :07:59.king of fruits, the durian. It is loved and loathed in equal measure.
:08:00. > :08:09.It is the smell that many people object to, others hate the taste. It
:08:10. > :08:12.is big business as well. 23,000 tons were imported in Singapore alone
:08:13. > :08:15.last year. They can cost as much as $30 each. Our correspondant went to
:08:16. > :08:19.the streets of Singapore. You join me in the biggest area of
:08:20. > :08:26.Singapore. Lots of different market stalls. This is one of the main
:08:27. > :08:30.ones. I can tell you that the smell is incredible. It is quite hard to
:08:31. > :08:39.describe, it is almost a mixture of ripe mangoes and garlic. Known as
:08:40. > :08:43.the king of fruits, it provokes reactions of disgust or addiction.
:08:44. > :09:05.Today, the durian still divides opinion. Not too bad. Thumbs up!
:09:06. > :09:16.Tastes a bit awful. It's good. Delicious. It is an acquired taste
:09:17. > :09:33.but I have to give it a go. Wow. That is strong. Never tasted
:09:34. > :09:36.anything like that. Incredible. Kind of overriding garlic taste but I
:09:37. > :09:39.have to say, there is something about it that is a little bit
:09:40. > :09:42.Moorish. Trading with the king of fruit is serious business and in
:09:43. > :09:45.Singapore, the industry is worth an estimated $230 million. For this
:09:46. > :09:48.man, that is good news. His family has traded in the fruit for decades
:09:49. > :09:51.and his business attracts customers from all over the world. My
:09:52. > :10:00.customers are from Germany, from Australia, sometimes they think the
:10:01. > :10:08.smell is too strong. They will immediately spit everything out. But
:10:09. > :10:13.then some love it. They will come in three times a day or week to come
:10:14. > :10:16.here and have durian. With demand for the fruit increasing across
:10:17. > :10:27.Asia, for once, fans can afford to turn their noses up durian sceptics.
:10:28. > :10:34.On that fragrant notes we will end it. That is it for Asia Business
:10:35. > :10:40.Report. Thanks for watching. The main news stories this hour. The
:10:41. > :10:44.American network NBC aired an interview with Edward Snowden in
:10:45. > :10:45.which he claimed that he was trained as a spy and not