:00:00. > :00:00.100th anniversary of the entry of Britain into the World War I. Now on
:00:00. > :00:20.BBC News, all the latest business news, live from Singapore.
:00:21. > :00:24.Checking on Indonesia's economy. We look at the job that lies ahead for
:00:25. > :00:29.the new President`elect. Shares in the world's because pork supplier
:00:30. > :00:43.begin trading today on the Hong Kong stock exchange. Indonesia has been
:00:44. > :00:47.one of Asia's best performing markets this year but its overall
:00:48. > :00:50.economic growth has been slowing and as the nation prepares to deliver
:00:51. > :00:54.its second`quarter growth numbers for the year, we find out why there
:00:55. > :00:59.are hopes its new government, led by President`elect Joko Widodo, will
:01:00. > :01:08.find a way to push through with some much`needed reforms. From furniture
:01:09. > :01:12.maker to Jakarta Governor to Indonesia's President`elect. Joko
:01:13. > :01:19.Widodo has seen his political star rise rapidly. There are hopes his
:01:20. > :01:25.business friendly attitude will help spur growth in South East Asia's
:01:26. > :01:31.largest economy. But as the euphoria wears off, Joko Widodo has a long
:01:32. > :01:35.list of challenges to address. Rampant corruption, rising prices,
:01:36. > :01:41.slowing foreign investment, poor infrastructure and a stubborn fiscal
:01:42. > :01:48.deficit. Key to fixing the finances is cutting the bill brought by fuel
:01:49. > :01:53.subsidies. They take up 16% of the government's budget. On the campaign
:01:54. > :01:54.Trail, Joko Widodo promised to do away with the subsidies within four,
:01:55. > :01:59.five years, but it is a sensitive five years, but it is a sensitive
:02:00. > :02:04.topic and previous attempts to raise the price of fuel have led to huge
:02:05. > :02:08.protests. He will also have to play tough politics. His main rival in
:02:09. > :02:13.the election is contesting the result, claiming massive fraud. His
:02:14. > :02:19.party does not have a large majority in parliament, meaning it is harder
:02:20. > :02:23.to pass laws. Combined with his relative inexperience in national
:02:24. > :02:27.politics, some experts warn that Joko Widodo's efforts to get the
:02:28. > :02:35.economy back on the fast track may be a slow slog. Earlier, I asked
:02:36. > :02:39.about Indonesia's economic prospects and what we can expect to see later
:02:40. > :02:46.in the day when the country unveils its latest GDP numbers. We expect a
:02:47. > :02:51.similar number for this quarter and it is part of a broader, cyclical
:02:52. > :02:57.slowdown that we expect to last for some time. A number similar to the
:02:58. > :03:00.first quarter. But what about the election spending of the
:03:01. > :03:06.presidential candidates? Went it has an effect on the economy? Yes,
:03:07. > :03:12.indeed, we have seen retail sales go up, which means an increase in
:03:13. > :03:16.consumption. But we have seen a fall in public spending and only a slight
:03:17. > :03:21.rise in imports. Even with higher consumption, we will see a slower
:03:22. > :03:28.number. But we are already in this third quarter. Will that be similar
:03:29. > :03:33.to the first and second ones? It is part of an adjustment process which
:03:34. > :03:37.is currently lagging. As that unfolds, we will see these numbers
:03:38. > :03:43.lower because the economy needs to fix its current deficit and fiscal
:03:44. > :03:51.budget. Joko Widodo has to fix a lot of things in the economy he takes
:03:52. > :03:59.over in the fourth quarter of the year. One of his proposals is
:04:00. > :04:03.pushing growth to 7% in two years. He has to focus on boosting
:04:04. > :04:07.investment, infrastructure spending and reforms. Structural reforms must
:04:08. > :04:10.be addressed. Some of that will come later but we first expect him to
:04:11. > :04:23.begin with infrastructure spending as well as governance issues when he
:04:24. > :04:27.takes office. LinkedIn, the professional networking site, has
:04:28. > :04:30.agreed to pay damages and wages after a court found it failed to
:04:31. > :04:35.account for all of the work done by its employees. The figure includes
:04:36. > :04:41.$3 million in unpaid wages and $2.5 million to be paid in damages to
:04:42. > :04:46.former and current employees. Much Donald says the food scare it is
:04:47. > :04:50.experiencing in China and Japan is having a significant negative impact
:04:51. > :04:57.on sales in the region. It says it might not meet its forecast for this
:04:58. > :05:03.year. McDonald's last week suspended sales of its nuggets in Hong Kong
:05:04. > :05:12.amid concerns relating to a Chinese meat supplier. Now, moving to
:05:13. > :05:16.Australia. Thank you for joining us. Looking at the trade balance in the
:05:17. > :05:19.month of May, it deteriorated sharply and there was a fall in
:05:20. > :05:26.expert earnings. What are you looking at for June? Unfortunately,
:05:27. > :05:30.we have seen that earlier number revised down even further. It looks
:05:31. > :05:36.like the deficit was more than $2 billion. And so we are looking into
:05:37. > :05:42.the June results, which has come into as a deficit of $1.7 billion.
:05:43. > :05:46.Imports fell, possibly due to be maintained higher level of the
:05:47. > :05:52.Australian dollar. But it is the commodity mix of exports that the
:05:53. > :05:59.market is really focusing on. Last month, the weakness was in coal and
:06:00. > :06:05.metals. Will that continue? Yes. Iron ore is the main issue. Volumes
:06:06. > :06:08.have increased but lower prices. It is the value of those exports that
:06:09. > :06:13.have driven this better than expected result as well as the
:06:14. > :06:19.pickup in natural gas exports. Apart from the trade numbers coming out
:06:20. > :06:23.today, you also have the attention of the markets firmly on the Reserve
:06:24. > :06:28.Bank of Australia with their policy decision. Will interest rates remain
:06:29. > :06:34.steady at 2.5%? Will there be a move? Very unlikely we will see a
:06:35. > :06:39.move. The Reserve Bank of Australia has clearly flagged its markets. We
:06:40. > :06:44.are looking at a sustained period of interest rate stability. It would be
:06:45. > :06:47.very surprising if we saw a move. It is almost universal consensus that
:06:48. > :07:06.there will be no change. The market is looking very carefully at the
:07:07. > :07:09.status of the currency. Thank you. Shares in the world's biggest pork
:07:10. > :07:18.supplier, WH Group Ltd, have begun trading in Hong Kong. It is $6.80
:07:19. > :07:22.per share. It raised more than $2 billion in one of the biggest
:07:23. > :07:27.initial public offerings in Asia this year. That is much less than
:07:28. > :07:36.the $5 billion the company had hoped to raise. A steaming wok full of
:07:37. > :07:42.freshly cooked pork and vegetables. It is by far China's favourite meat.
:07:43. > :07:49.Every region has its own special recipes. Here in Hong Kong, in south
:07:50. > :07:57.China, besides fragrant stirfries, there is also roast pork and juicy
:07:58. > :08:02.barbecue pork buns. This country consumes half of the world's pork
:08:03. > :08:07.and is expected to account for 75% of growth in consumption over the
:08:08. > :08:14.next five years. That is why an initial public offering by China's
:08:15. > :08:18.WH Group Ltd, the biggest supplier of pork on the planet, is attracting
:08:19. > :08:23.so much attention from investors. The company made headlines last year
:08:24. > :08:27.when it purchased America's largest pork producer, Smithfield foods. It
:08:28. > :08:33.was the biggest deal of its kind and left the company deeply in debt. To
:08:34. > :08:37.pay that back, WH Group Ltd turned to the Hong Kong stock market,
:08:38. > :08:42.trying to raise $5 billion in April. After a few weeks, it had to
:08:43. > :08:48.cancel the listing when investors decided it was much too expensive.
:08:49. > :08:53.The stockbroker said it was wise for the company to return several months
:08:54. > :09:02.later with a much more modest deal. They lowered the price, essentially,
:09:03. > :09:11.and it is a better... And they cut the amount of raised money by 50%,
:09:12. > :09:16.so it is much easier to digest. Others agree. This my beliefs have
:09:17. > :09:23.the shares trade over the next few months will affect the entire
:09:24. > :09:34.industry. This is big and eye`catching and how it trades and
:09:35. > :09:40.if significant trading volumes develop will have a bearing on
:09:41. > :09:44.decisions in August, September and October. It was supposed to be the
:09:45. > :09:48.biggest listing of the year in Hong Kong. It did not happen. But this
:09:49. > :09:56.resurrected deal may still help drive investor appetite for major
:09:57. > :10:03.offerings. Before we go, here is a quick look at the Asian markets. It
:10:04. > :10:13.is quite mixed despite a US equities rally overnight. Investors had some
:10:14. > :10:19.good news reports. Hong Kong is in positive territory. However, Japan
:10:20. > :10:25.and Australia are in negative territory. We are now seeing a shift
:10:26. > :10:37.in sentiment. Japan is up by more than four points. Basically flat to
:10:38. > :10:42.hire. Thank you for joining us. `` flat to higher. Thank you for
:10:43. > :10:48.joining us. This is BBC News. The headlines: Israel and Hamas have
:10:49. > :10:52.agreed on a new three`day ceasefire in Gaza. There have been more
:10:53. > :10:53.civilian casualties. Israel is