25/06/2014 Asia Business Report

Martin McGuinness. Now on BBC News all the latest business news live

from Singapore. Top Chinese official arrives in

Taipei in another sign of warming feelings between both sides.

And new graphic warnings on cigarette packets.

Welcome to Asia Business Report. China's top official for relations

with Taiwan touches down in Taipei today for a series of meetings. He

is not expected to eat any major agreements on this trip. He will be

getting a better understanding of how ordinary people feel about the

relationship. Will this softer approach counter political

resistance to China? I asked our Taipei correspondent. It depends. He

is coming amid major protests in Taiwan. Students occupied the

Parliament to protest a controversial trade deal that

Taiwan's government signed with China. Even though the agreement

looked like it would benefit Taiwan's as this is by allowing it

greater access to china's services sector, in many ways the public is

still suspicious of china's intentions. Several years ago, the

sides first began it living relations. `` improving. He will be

talking to ordinary people, including farmers, villagers,

students and professors. He will even visit a daycare centre. What

has been the reaction so far to this trip? You have got some newspapers,

what are they saying? It is all over the newspapers. This headline says

that he will get a true sense of how Taiwanese people feel. It is a

positive response. On the other hand, another newspaper have an

interview with Hillary Clinton, warning that Taiwan becomes too

economically dependent on China, it could influence its political

independence. This newspaper also warns that China bringing its

restrictions to Taiwan. Many of the reporters will have to have a

variety of press passes. In other business News, China is

reportedly planning to set up a global financial institution to

rival the World Bank and the Asian development bank, according to the

Financial Times. They believe that they are at too influenced by the US

and its allies. It will be known as the Asian infrastructure investment

bank. The Philippines laugh at a wider than expected trade

shortfall. `` lodged. It is a six in a row. This came after Typhoon

Haiyan struck. Japanese administrations Shinzo Abe

has unveiled an ambitious package of reforms aimed at revitalising the

economy. It is part of his so`called third arrow of structural changes.

He will be putting more women into the workforce and restarting the

country's mothballed nuclear reactors.

It is not often that ministers pay much attention to provisions of

economic statistics. But when it comes to the United States, the

world's economy, everybody sits up to take notice. Much of Asia is

dependent on trade with the US. Many will be waiting to see the third and

final reading of its first`quarter growth numbers.

This man designs and manufactures children's furniture. The start of

the year was bleak. Orders did not return after the usual dip over the

holidays. The drop in sales was very drastic. Usually it picks up again

in the middle of January. This year it took until April. The US economy

shrank in the first three months of this year, hurting businesses like

this and raising fears that the US recovery was fading. Still, some say

it is misleading to suggest the US is close to recession. It reflected

the fact that in the second half of last year we saw a very strong

pickup in growth that was driven by businesses than it was demand. That

meant you had to have some slowdown. Even if the optimists are right and

America is bouncing back, economists have been at forced to lower their

growth forecasts for the year. For many Americans, this report will

feel like they have taken one step forward, two steps back. But there

are signs the world's largest economy is making progress, not

least because of the improvement in the US labour market. Still, it is a

reminder that the path to recovery does not always follow a strict

line. Mexico is not a country you tend to

hear about in this part of the world. But it is now courting Asian

investors to help finance some major projects. The president is trying to

kickstart sluggish growth by upgrading the ports, highways and

waterworks. I spoke to the chief executive of the International

bank, Mexico's biggest infrastructure back, and I asked if

there was much interest. We have been coming to China, South Korea

and Japan. This is the first time we came to Singapore. We are going to

sign a very important memorandum of understanding. There have been a lot

of concerns about the Mexican economy. We saw the currency

dropping and investors pulling their money out. How difficult is it to

convince investors? It depends on the investors. If you look at the

performance of the Mexican economy in the short term, the numbers are

there. But if you look at the potential reforms of the Mexican

economy, we remain optimistic. Business opportunities have failed.

But we plan to invest $190 billion in energy, water, security and some

other applications that are coming into this part of the world. In Asia

itself you have a lot of frontier markets like Burma, Indochina. Why

should Asian investors go so far out of their way, to Mexico? It is about

risk and return the. The risk is low and the return is significantly

higher. You are going to be taking on the risk to a project and have a

higher return. The new regulations in Indonesia

will be putting graphic warnings on cigarette packets. We will be

finding out about them on the streets of Jakarta.

If you are a smoker in Indonesia, you can light up just about

anywhere. You can smoke on the streets, in parks and public places.

Even in some government offices. In India the `` Indonesia, more than

half the population smokes. The government has been trying to cut

them down, but they have not been successful. From this week, secret

makers need to warn smokers of just how unhealthy the habit is.

Cigarette packets will have graphic warnings that cover at least 40% of

the package. But there was little evidence of those images at stalls

in Jakarta today. The smokers has no idea about the new rules.

TRANSLATION: I do not think it will make a difference as long as people

still sell single stick cigarettes. The majority of Indonesian smokers

are from poorer backgrounds and tends to get single sticks.

TRANSLATION: I know a little bit about this new rule, but the will

not have an impact, because smoking is an addiction for me. I would

rather go hungry. If I cannot smoke, I cannot think. Cigarettes

are extremely cheap in Indonesia, because tobacco taxes are so low.

Activists say Indonesia needs to raise taxes on cigarettes. But that

is challenging because the tobacco lobby is one of the most powerful in

the country. A quick look at the markets. Asian

shearers are lowering. They are taking cues from Wall Street. The US

could ease restrictions on crude oil experts. That is it for this edition

of Asia Business Report. Thank you for watching.

Here are the headlines: In the US has begun