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than one million people are expected to attend the entire event. Now on | :00:00. | :00:00. | |
BBC News, all the latest business news live from Singapore. Hopes | :00:00. | :00:19. | |
Ashima's farmers can open up new markets after the first export ship | :00:20. | :00:23. | |
that sells out in Singapore. And we take a look at what a key meeting in | :00:24. | :00:28. | |
an American city reveals about interest rates and the US economy. | :00:29. | :00:37. | |
Hello and welcome to this Monday edition of Asia Business Report. I | :00:38. | :00:41. | |
am Sharanjit Leyl, in Singapore. Japan has restarted exports of rice | :00:42. | :00:45. | |
grown in Fukushima for the first time since foreign sales were halted | :00:46. | :00:51. | |
in the wake of the disaster in 2011. A 300 kilograms shipment went on | :00:52. | :00:55. | |
sale this weekend in Singapore and sold out in just over 24 hours. That | :00:56. | :01:00. | |
raises hopes of opening up new export market. The rice was | :01:01. | :01:08. | |
harvested in Sukagawa city, about 60 kilometres from the Fukushima | :01:09. | :01:13. | |
nuclear plant. If this goes well, it could mark a turning point for | :01:14. | :01:17. | |
Fukushima's farmers. It is only 60 bags of rice, but it is the first | :01:18. | :01:21. | |
shipment to be exported from the region since foreign retailers | :01:22. | :01:24. | |
shunned it in the wake of the nuclear disaster in 2011. In a test | :01:25. | :01:32. | |
case, we brought in 60 bags. 300 kilograms in total. And within 24 | :01:33. | :01:36. | |
hours, half has been sold already. The proof is in the eating, that is | :01:37. | :01:40. | |
why they had decided to cook some of the rice for people to taste. Some | :01:41. | :01:45. | |
have agreed to try it. What do you think of the right, Sir? Good meal. | :01:46. | :01:52. | |
It is natural, it is normal. Would you be worried about eating rice | :01:53. | :01:57. | |
from Fukushima? No, no. I'm sure they have done enough test and stuff | :01:58. | :02:01. | |
like that to make sure it is safe for consumption. Trade officials | :02:02. | :02:06. | |
from Japan have come to Singapore to reassure potential buyers. One of | :02:07. | :02:12. | |
them explains to me how the rice is tested before it can be exported. | :02:13. | :02:16. | |
There is no hiding where this race has come from. Each bag has a | :02:17. | :02:20. | |
sticker saying it is a product of Fukushima. At what is important here | :02:21. | :02:24. | |
is this label. It says that it has been cleared for radiation testing, | :02:25. | :02:28. | |
and has been certified as being safe to eat. With that clearance, | :02:29. | :02:33. | |
Singapore was deliberately chosen as the first export market. | :02:34. | :02:39. | |
TRANSLATION: Singapore is very strict about food safety. So we hope | :02:40. | :02:43. | |
that now it has been approved here people realise it is safe. And this | :02:44. | :02:49. | |
is why there is so much at stake. The tsunami earthquake which | :02:50. | :02:54. | |
crippled the Fukushima nuclear plant years ago, spread radioactive | :02:55. | :02:59. | |
material over nearby farmland. A region once known for its | :03:00. | :03:03. | |
high`quality rice and fruit became a wasteland. Rice exports of more than | :03:04. | :03:08. | |
100 tons each year, mainly to Hong Kong and Taiwan, became zero. Back | :03:09. | :03:15. | |
here, that fate is at the front of mind of some shoppers. So that is | :03:16. | :03:23. | |
the main reason why you are doing it? To support Fukushima. | :03:24. | :03:29. | |
Fukushima's farmers may have a tough time selling to other consumers. | :03:30. | :03:33. | |
While in Singapore they seem comfortable buying the rice, there | :03:34. | :03:36. | |
is plenty of public debate about whether the rice is safe to eat. | :03:37. | :03:40. | |
Japanese authorities know they have a big challenge overcoming those | :03:41. | :03:48. | |
concerns. And in the American city of Wyoming, the annual get`together | :03:49. | :03:56. | |
hosted by Janet Yellen, the chair of the US Federal reserve. There was | :03:57. | :04:01. | |
plenty to discuss including how to manage the relationship between | :04:02. | :04:04. | |
unemployment and inflation. The big question was when will interest | :04:05. | :04:09. | |
rates go up? Acra 3`set the Fed is moving cautiously on interest rates. | :04:10. | :04:15. | |
I asked our correspondent what that will mean for Asian markets. Just to | :04:16. | :04:19. | |
explain what she means by this. She believes right now that the | :04:20. | :04:25. | |
unemployment rate of 6.5% or so, that means that people are hiring in | :04:26. | :04:29. | |
the US, but also that more people are getting back into the Labour | :04:30. | :04:34. | |
force. So she thinks that the market will go up and up it was people will | :04:35. | :04:39. | |
hire. So that is good news. The effect of that on Asian producers, I | :04:40. | :04:44. | |
think, because people, more people are getting jobs, they should | :04:45. | :04:47. | |
actually buy more products from Asia. There should be good news for | :04:48. | :04:51. | |
Asian producers. But last year we saw a massive meltdown through | :04:52. | :04:57. | |
merging markets. Many here in Asia, in May, when the Fed first signalled | :04:58. | :05:00. | |
they would start to taper, do you think Asian markets are now more | :05:01. | :05:04. | |
resilient to signal that the Fed will tighten? Definitely. That news | :05:05. | :05:11. | |
came unexpectedly to most people around the world. I don't know why | :05:12. | :05:15. | |
they won't expecting that. But now that they have taken a hit on that, | :05:16. | :05:20. | |
most people have priced that in, and actually when the Fed tapers and | :05:21. | :05:25. | |
actually removes quantitative easing effects, we shouldn't see much of an | :05:26. | :05:29. | |
effect on the stock markets around the world, or even currencies. Now, | :05:30. | :05:35. | |
if the ten members of the Association of Southeast Asian | :05:36. | :05:41. | |
nations, or ASEAN, form a community as planned, it won't just be trade | :05:42. | :05:45. | |
that benefits. People who live in the region will be able to work | :05:46. | :05:48. | |
anywhere within ASEAN. Some experts say this could pose challenges as | :05:49. | :05:53. | |
well as opportunities I spoke to the chairman of a company of how this | :05:54. | :05:58. | |
will `` about how this will affect Asia. Southeast Asia used to be | :05:59. | :06:02. | |
classified under Asia, Asia`Pacific, far east. Nowadays it stands up as a | :06:03. | :06:08. | |
region in its own right. In the sort of organisation of global | :06:09. | :06:13. | |
businesses. And that can, I think that sort of mindset, as to how one | :06:14. | :06:22. | |
looks at this, it can only intensify. And it can only | :06:23. | :06:33. | |
escalate. That of course we'll see a lot of governmental and public | :06:34. | :06:36. | |
reforms. But I think on the private sector side, we are beginning to | :06:37. | :06:40. | |
already see increased collaboration, increased investments | :06:41. | :06:48. | |
throughout the region. Chinese carmaker BYD, backed by US | :06:49. | :06:54. | |
billionaire Warren Buffett, noted a drop in profit. It fell to 58 | :06:55. | :07:00. | |
million, dragged down by a 27% fall in vehicle sales. It is down | :07:01. | :07:03. | |
sluggish sales of gasoline cars which has offset a surge in its | :07:04. | :07:09. | |
electric car business. And Chinese oil giant has beaten forecast, it | :07:10. | :07:14. | |
forecasts with a rise in second`quarter profits. It has | :07:15. | :07:18. | |
posted a net profit of 3 billion for the three months to June period, | :07:19. | :07:24. | |
compared to 2.2 billion a month earlier. It follows improvement at | :07:25. | :07:28. | |
its refining business which offset its weakening chemicals business. A | :07:29. | :07:32. | |
dialogue between India and Pakistan has again been derailed. Talks | :07:33. | :07:37. | |
between foreign secretaries of the two countries scheduled to be held | :07:38. | :07:41. | |
today in Islamabad were called off by India after Pakistan's ambassador | :07:42. | :07:45. | |
met with Kashmiri separatist leaders. From Mumbai, our | :07:46. | :07:59. | |
correspondent reports. Your Mac ties had been improving, and the new | :08:00. | :08:05. | |
premise to Narendra Modi had invited the president Sharif, a gesture seen | :08:06. | :08:11. | |
as unprecedented. But all too quickly, over the touchy issue of | :08:12. | :08:16. | |
Kashmir, relations have once again soured. That means trade ties, which | :08:17. | :08:21. | |
are already very limited, could also suffer. Our trade is 2.6 billion. It | :08:22. | :08:29. | |
is nothing, it is illegal trade is twice as much, and so is third`party | :08:30. | :08:36. | |
trade, mostly through Dubai. This is a tax on everybody, the Pakistani | :08:37. | :08:42. | |
government, the Pakistani people, the Indian government, and the | :08:43. | :08:46. | |
Indian people. India often buys onions from Pakistan when prices | :08:47. | :08:53. | |
soar here. And Islamabad depends on Delhi for wheat exports. But the | :08:54. | :08:59. | |
potential is much higher. Period in Mumbai, India's business capital and | :09:00. | :09:04. | |
an important port on the country's West Coast, Pakistan's city Karachi | :09:05. | :09:08. | |
is only a short distance for cargo ships, and not too long for | :09:09. | :09:14. | |
passengers either. It is a link that could and if it both countries if it | :09:15. | :09:18. | |
was open to free traffic. But so far, security concerns have held | :09:19. | :09:22. | |
that back. This check post is one of the few places along the border | :09:23. | :09:25. | |
where goods are traded between the two countries. While India has no | :09:26. | :09:31. | |
restriction on imports and exports, there are more than 1200 Indian | :09:32. | :09:36. | |
products banned from Pakistan, including some garments and | :09:37. | :09:40. | |
textiles. Even in Pakistan, the restriction on trade is viewed as a | :09:41. | :09:46. | |
lost opportunity. Here in India, in his first three months in office, | :09:47. | :09:49. | |
Prime Minister Modi has made it clear he wants to strengthen ties in | :09:50. | :09:56. | |
south Asia, visiting both Nepal and elsewhere, trying to curtail | :09:57. | :10:00. | |
China's strength in the region. Despite the political conflict with | :10:01. | :10:05. | |
pukka Sun, there is a realisation that without improving that | :10:06. | :10:07. | |
relationship, this may never be possible `` Pakistan. A quick look | :10:08. | :10:13. | |
at the markets. possible `` Pakistan. A quick look | :10:14. | :10:16. | |
at the Here in Asia, the weaker yen, stronger your. `` stronger dollar. | :10:17. | :10:31. | |
Australia is a tad lower. That is it for this edition of Asia Business | :10:32. | :10:32. | |
Report. Thank you for watching. You are watching BBC News. The top | :10:33. | :10:45. | |
stories this hour: Richard Attenborough, widely regarded as one | :10:46. | :10:48. | |
of Britain's greatest actors and film directors, has died at the age | :10:49. | :10:51. | |
of 90. An American journalist kidnapped nearly two | :10:52. | :10:52. |