:00:00. > 3:59:59apartment near London. Now on BBC News all the latest
:00:00. > :00:20.business news live from Singapore. As European growth stalls with its
:00:21. > :00:26.major trading partners in Asia, people are starting to feel the
:00:27. > :00:37.fallout. And a sport is now finding its mark in Asia.
:00:38. > :00:41.Welcome to Asia Business Report. Hong Kong and Malaysia and Taiwan
:00:42. > :00:48.are all due to unveil their fresh economic numbers later today. As we
:00:49. > :00:51.wait for those numbers, there are concerns for investors that the
:00:52. > :00:55.world economy is heading for a major slowdown following week growth
:00:56. > :01:03.figures from Japan and the Eurozone this week. However, stocks shrugged
:01:04. > :01:11.off the bad news. Asian stocks are trading slightly higher, with the
:01:12. > :01:18.exception of Japan. The Dow Jones ended higher overnight. In Europe,
:01:19. > :01:23.markets gained despite learning via Roseann's recovery ground to a halt
:01:24. > :01:30.in the second quarter. `` the Eurozone's. What is causing this? I
:01:31. > :01:36.spoke to a chief economist at the bank of Singapore. One of the things
:01:37. > :01:39.supporting the markets is the week growth increases the chance that
:01:40. > :01:46.this loose monetary policy will extend in the future. It is those
:01:47. > :01:49.loose monetary conditions and low interest rates that have been
:01:50. > :01:54.supporting the demand for the stock market. But you do not have those
:01:55. > :02:04.policies for the likes of New Zealand, Indonesia, India and the
:02:05. > :02:07.Philippines. Even in the case of Australia and New Zealand, the
:02:08. > :02:12.expectations that interest rates would be going up a lot have faded.
:02:13. > :02:21.Australia are even talking about reductions. This could also hamper
:02:22. > :02:29.corporate earnings going forward. From the mindset of many investors,
:02:30. > :02:32.they are lowering forecasts. The recession would be good for nobody
:02:33. > :02:38.if there was a proper decline in growth. We are not talking about
:02:39. > :02:42.that. Corporate earnings coming out of America have been relatively
:02:43. > :02:46.strong. News from Japan has been pretty good as well. We are any part
:02:47. > :02:53.of the economy where growth is not so worried about. It is not so weak
:02:54. > :03:00.that you are worrying about a fall in profits. People are looking for
:03:01. > :03:06.investment opportunities and finding growth in the stock market. We have
:03:07. > :03:11.some numbers coming out of Malaysia, Taiwan and Hong Kong.
:03:12. > :03:14.These countries rely on China. Numbers coming from the mainland are
:03:15. > :03:21.rather mixed. What do we expect to see? What might happen is the credit
:03:22. > :03:27.bubble unravelling. The growth in China in the second quarter was
:03:28. > :03:36.quite good. They have some various stimulus measures. It does look as
:03:37. > :03:41.if the growth in Taiwan will be 4%, Malaysia 5%, Hong Kong 3%. The
:03:42. > :03:50.problem is what happens if China slows down Hydro. Places like Taiwan
:03:51. > :03:58.will be affected. `` slows down harder. In other business News
:03:59. > :04:02.making headlines, a 70% stake is being purchased in monster beverage
:04:03. > :04:09.for more than $2 billion. It drove up shares of the 2%.
:04:10. > :04:21.Coca`Cola has been shrunk to offset slowing sales by buying popular
:04:22. > :04:27.alternative drinks. Club Med's offer has been withdrawn.
:04:28. > :04:33.The stock market regulator approved a rival bid made by an Italian
:04:34. > :04:39.businessmen. He offered to pay 790 million euros for the holiday
:04:40. > :04:46.chain, which was 22% higher than the previous bid. Whether you use them
:04:47. > :04:50.for sending e`mails, playing games or taking pictures, smartphones are
:04:51. > :04:53.big business in many parts of the globe.
:04:54. > :04:57.While India has the second`highest number of mobile phone subscribers
:04:58. > :05:02.in the world, about 930 million, the latest figures show that only one in
:05:03. > :05:10.eight of them are smartphones. But that is changing.
:05:11. > :05:14.There is no shortage of places when it comes to buying a smartphone in
:05:15. > :05:19.India. Over 20 brands to choose from in the market. All of them are
:05:20. > :05:28.trying to push performance by improving reliability and functions.
:05:29. > :05:34.But it is the price that is fuelling demand in a big way. The sales
:05:35. > :05:40.growth and population means more and more companies are launching
:05:41. > :05:47.products. A China `based company sold thousands of handsets through
:05:48. > :05:52.an online website. Partly helped by low prices, these entrants are
:05:53. > :05:57.eating into the market share of. These include local brands and
:05:58. > :06:06.global giants like Samsung and Motorola's. It has got a lot of
:06:07. > :06:11.different users. It has got people who speak different languages. It is
:06:12. > :06:15.quite different age groups, different consumer preferences. To
:06:16. > :06:19.succeed in India, any player has to be able to offer a different range
:06:20. > :06:28.of models. A small number of models will not work in India. There is a
:06:29. > :06:32.variety of demand. It is not just about the handsets. The boss of one
:06:33. > :06:38.of India's largest retailers says the rise of fast mobile Internet
:06:39. > :06:55.access will also boost sales. Countries are waiting for 4G to
:06:56. > :06:58.happen. That will be a game changer. More access to the Internet and
:06:59. > :07:05.better connectivity, the business will grow. India's competition means
:07:06. > :07:09.barely a week goes by without the launch of another smartphone. It is
:07:10. > :07:15.often accompanied by a hefty discount. The eventual winner could
:07:16. > :07:22.be the Indian consumer. Have you ever played darts? It is
:07:23. > :07:27.now considered a global sport. In Asia, one with an expanding fan
:07:28. > :07:34.base. That means it is a growing business. The first ever World
:07:35. > :07:39.Series ducks competition in the region starts in a week. `` darts.
:07:40. > :07:44.This is probably how you think of darts.
:07:45. > :07:50.In a pub. It is not commonly called a sport. We do not usually describe
:07:51. > :08:00.the people who play it as athletes. But think again. This is a serious
:08:01. > :08:15.business. Meet this five`time world champion, a Dutch man. These
:08:16. > :08:21.top`ranked players, all in Singapore this weekend to show the locals held
:08:22. > :08:25.darts are done. We want to promote the sport more and more. More and
:08:26. > :08:31.more countries will get involved. More and more companies will sponsor
:08:32. > :08:38.their best players. At the end, there is more money involved as
:08:39. > :08:45.well. Already, there is massive money in darts. Players will be
:08:46. > :08:51.fighting to win $100,000. And for the promotions, they are hoping it
:08:52. > :08:56.will eventually bring in the group turns. We are not just a one hit
:08:57. > :09:04.wonder. We will be coming back to Singapore. The potential is huge.
:09:05. > :09:12.But the game you see here is not quite the same as the one embraced
:09:13. > :09:20.by Asian players. This is soft darts. Instead of steel tips, the
:09:21. > :09:23.ends are plastic points. Instead of doing the numbers in your head, the
:09:24. > :09:37.electronic board calculates the school. `` scorer. When you hit it,
:09:38. > :09:42.you feel happy. It has been popular in Japan for years. It is now
:09:43. > :09:46.sweeping across the region. Every one of these machines Anns on
:09:47. > :09:54.average $800 per month. And that about $1 per game, the numbers are
:09:55. > :10:02.growing every day. It attracts up to 200 new players per week. There is
:10:03. > :10:05.no denying more people are adopting the game. Where there is
:10:06. > :10:12.popularity, the players and promoters are hopeful there is
:10:13. > :10:17.profit. Do you have $200,000 to spare? If
:10:18. > :10:24.so, you will be able to get one share in a US investment company.
:10:25. > :10:27.The company saw its stock price hit a record $200,000 on Thursday,
:10:28. > :10:30.making it the most expensive stock on US markets. Thank you for
:10:31. > :10:47.investing your time with us. Here are the headlines: Iraq's Prime
:10:48. > :10:50.Minister has agreed to step down. Resident Obama has said American
:10:51. > :10:53.airstrikes have freed most of the people trapped by militants on Mount
:10:54. > :10:54.Sinjar in the north of