:00:00. > :00:09.regular sessions in Parliament. The idea would need the approval of the
:00:10. > :00:17.Speaker of the house to go ahead. `` House. Now, Asia Business Report. Is
:00:18. > :00:25.Latin America and the new battleground for Japan's Japan's
:00:26. > :00:37.rivalry with China? Starbucks opens shop in Hanoi. Welcome to the
:00:38. > :00:41.programme. Japan's Prime Minister has kicked off a 5`nation tour of
:00:42. > :00:46.Latin America by signing a series of oil and gas deals with Mexico. Japan
:00:47. > :00:52.has been focused on energy since the Fukushima disaster, which shut down
:00:53. > :00:56.the country's nuclear reactors. It comes hot on the heels of a trip to
:00:57. > :01:03.the region by China's premier Xi Jinping. Both China and Japan are
:01:04. > :01:09.keen to tap into Latin America's natural resources. One of the most
:01:10. > :01:14.important issues around Asia, including in Japan and China, is
:01:15. > :01:20.energy and resources. This is where Shinzo Abe is following China on
:01:21. > :01:24.many accounts. Already into Africa and now into South America. Very
:01:25. > :01:29.important deals have to be signed on oil and gas, which is so important
:01:30. > :01:35.in Japan after nuclear power was switched off. Is it a competition
:01:36. > :01:39.between the two? Is Japan looking for resources as well as other
:01:40. > :01:43.things? There might be some competition in Asia and even in
:01:44. > :01:48.Africa but not so much in South America. Everyone is after resources
:01:49. > :01:52.but for Japan, this is a very important market. When there is a
:01:53. > :01:56.deal on infrastructure or energy, Japan is much more about selling its
:01:57. > :02:01.technology, while China is just trying to connect its market to
:02:02. > :02:06.major projects. We have seen this deal with Mexico. Japan has a
:02:07. > :02:10.free`trade agreement with Mexico. Now they have signed deals in oil
:02:11. > :02:13.and gas. Is this the first of many contracts to be signed over the
:02:14. > :02:20.course of this visit by Shinzo Abe to Latin America? Yes. Mexico is
:02:21. > :02:26.very important because it is the market that connects Japan to the
:02:27. > :02:30.US. It is the energy market. In Brazil, it will be security
:02:31. > :02:35.relations but also energy. The plan was to sell its technology and major
:02:36. > :02:38.infrastructure projects. And Chile is very important because already
:02:39. > :02:47.half of Japan's copper comes out of Chile, and you so important for the
:02:48. > :02:52.electronics industry. Thank you. China's industrial profits continue
:02:53. > :03:01.to expand at a faster pace than expected, due to strong growth in
:03:02. > :03:04.June, when profits rose 18% compared to one year before. The US company
:03:05. > :03:14.that owns the meat supplier at the centre of China's latest food scare
:03:15. > :03:18.is withdrawing all products made by its subsidiary, Husi Foods. It is
:03:19. > :03:28.sending its own representative to Shanghai to investigate claims that
:03:29. > :03:34.Husi Foods sold out of date meet. India's consumption of soft drinks
:03:35. > :03:38.is well below that of China, the US and Europe, but it is growing
:03:39. > :03:53.rapidly. In the budget is a plan to add a 5% tax to show brief history
:03:54. > :03:57.drinks `` to sugary fizzy drinks. Adding some fees to the budget. The
:03:58. > :04:01.debate over soft drinks and their potential harm in large quantities
:04:02. > :04:07.has been bubbling over around the world. India's government has now
:04:08. > :04:18.weighed in, unexpectedly raising taxes on them. I also propose to
:04:19. > :04:25.levy an additional duty of excise of 5% on aerated waters containing
:04:26. > :04:28.added sugar. The extra money will not do much to balance the books but
:04:29. > :04:32.it is certainly an attempt to balance the scales. In the past few
:04:33. > :04:36.years, more and more Indians have been getting health`conscious and
:04:37. > :04:41.consulting experts for guidance on what they should eat and drink.
:04:42. > :04:45.Steering clear of too many fizzy drinks is one piece of basic advice.
:04:46. > :04:50.But there is scepticism about whether this so`called healthy tax
:04:51. > :04:54.will discourage the large majority. They want something to make any
:04:55. > :05:01.impact and to dissuade the public from using fizzy drinks. So, why
:05:02. > :05:06.don't they prohibit advertising such products? Similarly how we have a
:05:07. > :05:13.ban on tobacco and smoking and cigarettes and alcohol? India is not
:05:14. > :05:17.the first country to bring in extra taxation on these products. In
:05:18. > :05:24.fact, it is a list that has been growing and which includes nations
:05:25. > :05:28.like France, Germany and Mexico. Compared to other countries around
:05:29. > :05:37.the world, India is a relatively small consumer of fizzy drinks.
:05:38. > :05:44.These so`called healthy taxes have been effective in other parts of the
:05:45. > :05:49.region. It has been shown by sudden researchers that a 10% rise in price
:05:50. > :05:52.creates a 4% drop in consumption. Monetary changes, increasing
:05:53. > :05:55.monetary prices, tend to be more effective than the other ways of
:05:56. > :05:59.trying to prevent somebody will discourage somebody on drinking or
:06:00. > :06:03.consuming something that would cause future health problems. Those
:06:04. > :06:08.figures, are they specifically for alcohol or more broadly? We have
:06:09. > :06:14.seen taxation on fizzy drinks in other jurisdictions. From what I
:06:15. > :06:19.have seen for alcohol... There is some for tobacco as well. It does
:06:20. > :06:22.show that in general, price changes tend to be more effective than
:06:23. > :06:27.things like education, advertisements and so on. What does
:06:28. > :06:31.this mean for the business bottom line? If it does cut consumption,
:06:32. > :06:38.does it move that consumption to other products? Businesses will find
:06:39. > :06:44.a fall in consumption affecting their business, so they will start
:06:45. > :06:50.producing more healthy things like fruit juices. With alcohol
:06:51. > :06:55.consumption, the interesting thing is that with heavy drinkers, the
:06:56. > :06:59.monetary change does not change consumer behaviour. The same with
:07:00. > :07:02.heavy users of tobacco. Do you see these tax changes is becoming more
:07:03. > :07:06.common in Asia as governments become more aware of their health budgets?
:07:07. > :07:11.What we have just seen, this monetary change does affect
:07:12. > :07:16.consumption. If that reduction in health issues in the future offsets
:07:17. > :07:22.the dropping consumption, that is something that they want to do but
:07:23. > :07:26.unfortunately, how much savings will you actually get in the future? Is
:07:27. > :07:31.too far the future to see and it is too cause. So far, it is an excuse
:07:32. > :07:42.for them to raise taxes more than really to reduce health issues for
:07:43. > :07:50.the future. Now, coffee. How does a global chain target a marker that
:07:51. > :07:55.already has a top products? Coffee is huge in Vietnam. The south`east
:07:56. > :08:02.Asian nation is the world's second largest exporter of coffee. There
:08:03. > :08:07.are more coffee shops crammed into Hanoi than probably anywhere on
:08:08. > :08:12.earth, so opening a cafe in Vietnam's capital could be a bit of
:08:13. > :08:18.a gamble. But this month, Starbucks is making an aggressive push,
:08:19. > :08:23.opening three branches in this bustling city, possibly one of its
:08:24. > :08:27.most challenging markets yet. It is unique and special in that there is
:08:28. > :08:36.a long and deep coffee history and heritage in Hanoi and many things in
:08:37. > :08:43.Hanoi happen over coffee. The US copy chain already has 11 outlets in
:08:44. > :08:48.two other Vietnamese cities but France's coffee legacy is most
:08:49. > :08:51.visible in the capital. Most city streets overflow with coffee shops
:08:52. > :08:58.that sell one cup for as little as 50 cents. Black coffee in Starbucks
:08:59. > :09:04.costs about $2, about half the average daily wage. TRANSLATION: I'm
:09:05. > :09:09.not concerned about the competition because we have a number of regular
:09:10. > :09:15.customers. Some have been drinking coffee here for the last 61 years.
:09:16. > :09:18.Hanoi's first Starbucks drew the crowd on opening day but the
:09:19. > :09:22.question is if it can keep up the momentum, as many Vietnamese people
:09:23. > :09:27.feel financially squeezed. The country is mired in debt, hit by
:09:28. > :09:32.bankruptcies and last year suffered its slowest growth in four years.
:09:33. > :09:38.Not everybody has the money to spare. TRANSLATION: I think all
:09:39. > :09:43.types of coffee... It certainly makes things seem more interesting.
:09:44. > :09:46.But for me, I prefer Vietnamese traditional coffee. The streetside
:09:47. > :09:54.coffee is more down`to`earth and it suits my wallet. Starbucks hopes to
:09:55. > :10:02.brew up profits in Hanoi but the coffee giant might just find that it
:10:03. > :10:07.is not everybody's cup of tea. Now, a quick check of the markets.
:10:08. > :10:09.Australia has opened slightly weaker but Japan, after opening weaker, has
:10:10. > :10:23.turned around. That is it for this edition of Asia
:10:24. > :10:25.Business Report. We are on Twitter, don't forget to follow us there.
:10:26. > :10:40.Thank you for watching. This is BBC News. The headlines:
:10:41. > :10:42.Israel and Hamas have carried out more attacks, with both sides
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