:00:00. > :00:13.Now on BBC News all the latest business news live from Singapore:
:00:14. > :00:23.Asian stock markets gained in early trade after China cuts interest
:00:24. > :00:27.rates for a fourth time this year. And from food to fuel. The village
:00:28. > :00:40.in Indonesia using waste from tofu production to power its homes. Good
:00:41. > :00:47.morning. Glad you could join us for Asia Business Report. We begin with
:00:48. > :00:51.the markets and so far they are in positive territory. Australia, Japan
:00:52. > :00:56.and South Korea are all up after China's decision to cut the cost of
:00:57. > :01:00.borrowing yet again. The fourth rate cut this year and is sixth in a year
:01:01. > :01:06.came late on Friday and was made on the eve of today's Communist Party
:01:07. > :01:10.meeting in China to set economic policy for the next four years and
:01:11. > :01:17.came after data showed the world's second-largest economy had slowed.
:01:18. > :01:21.All of this will put pressure on the US Federal Reserve to hold off on
:01:22. > :01:25.raising rates later this week. Let's cross over to our correspondent who
:01:26. > :01:31.joins us now from our Hong Kong Bureau. So far, so good. Thumbs-up
:01:32. > :01:38.from regional investors for this Chinese rate cut. That's right.
:01:39. > :01:44.Asian markets are in the black, or perhaps I should say, in the green.
:01:45. > :01:48.And what is interesting to note is that these gains mean that Asian
:01:49. > :01:53.bosses on the whole are close to recouping all the losses since
:01:54. > :02:00.August when China shocked the world by revaluing its currency. It looks
:02:01. > :02:04.like those losses are close to disappearing. Of course, you are
:02:05. > :02:10.right, thumbs-up from Asia but also in Europe and the US markets
:02:11. > :02:25.immediately following use of that rate cut over on Wall Street -- the
:02:26. > :02:28.news. Every time we talk about a rate cut from China, the initial
:02:29. > :02:33.reaction is always positive but we do have to ask about what that means
:02:34. > :02:35.about the state of the Chinese economy. It signals the fact that
:02:36. > :02:42.the Chinese economy is not going to be returning to that double-digit
:02:43. > :02:45.growth. Significant that this rate cut was implemented before a key
:02:46. > :02:49.Chinese Communist Party meeting which was set economic and social
:02:50. > :02:58.targets over the next few years. That's right. About 300 of the most
:02:59. > :03:04.senior Communist Party leaders are meeting at a hotel in Beijing. The
:03:05. > :03:09.meeting starts on Monday and ends on Thursday and what they will be doing
:03:10. > :03:13.is putting together a report that sets the agenda for social targets
:03:14. > :03:21.but very importantly, Chinese economic growth targets and other
:03:22. > :03:28.financial reforms. Ahead of that meeting, the Chinese premier has
:03:29. > :03:31.already been quoted as saying that the economic growth should not be
:03:32. > :03:38.underestimated and also that the leadership has never committed to a
:03:39. > :03:42.certain growth rate, say a 7%. So economists are watching this meeting
:03:43. > :03:49.very closely for any sign as to what the priorities would be. Economic
:03:50. > :03:55.growth or financial reform? Briefly amidst this China rate cut, you also
:03:56. > :04:02.have the mainland's largest company listing on the Hong Kong stock
:04:03. > :04:07.exchange? That's right. It debuts at the Hong Kong stock exchange and the
:04:08. > :04:13.company made about $2 billion during its listing process. It's priced
:04:14. > :04:23.near the top of its range. A lot of enthusiasm. The hope is that it will
:04:24. > :04:27.spike on the day. Thank you. Before we move onto our next story, let's
:04:28. > :04:31.have a quick look at how the markets are doing. They are all in positive
:04:32. > :04:37.territory and is not quite signed, sealed or delivered but shares in
:04:38. > :04:49.the main holding company for the state-owned giant in Japan, Japan
:04:50. > :04:54.Post it will debut next month. It has 24,000 post offices across the
:04:55. > :04:59.country and 195,000 employees. They also control the country's largest
:05:00. > :05:04.bank. Investors from Japan will be able to purchase 80% of the shares
:05:05. > :05:09.and 20% will be going to international investors. But as our
:05:10. > :05:11.correspondent explains, it has been a controversial process, started
:05:12. > :05:19.years ago by the former Prime Minister. The Prime Minister wanted
:05:20. > :05:22.this IPO to happen ten years ago and it splits his government and ended
:05:23. > :05:27.his premiership in the end because it has been highly controversial
:05:28. > :05:32.here in Japan. It is a very conservative country and Japan Post
:05:33. > :05:36.is the country's biggest bank and insurance company and there was a
:05:37. > :05:40.lot of resistance to privatizing or selling off large chunks of this
:05:41. > :05:46.very traditional, very safe, very Japanese institution. The current
:05:47. > :05:52.Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, who was the last Prime Minister's protege,
:05:53. > :06:00.is finally getting a start on this and 11% of these three companies
:06:01. > :06:06.will be sold off next month on what will probably be the biggest IPO
:06:07. > :06:11.worldwide this year. Japan has privatized former state-owned
:06:12. > :06:15.monopolies in recent decades. How confident are analysts that this
:06:16. > :06:19.Japan Post public offering will do well? It will do well because there
:06:20. > :06:22.was a lot of interest in it here in Japan from a large number of retail
:06:23. > :06:26.investors that are hoping to get between half a million and a
:06:27. > :06:32.million. They're doing that by basically underpricing the shares.
:06:33. > :06:38.They're looking at .45 of the book value of Japan Post which means
:06:39. > :06:42.you'll get a bargain and you will do well which is encouraging many
:06:43. > :06:45.people. There have been roadshows going around Japan whipping up
:06:46. > :06:50.interest at hotels and conference enters over the last few months and
:06:51. > :06:54.is why this initial public offering will be a success. Further down the
:06:55. > :07:00.road, is a post office a good thing to be investing in? That is him and
:07:01. > :07:03.to consider. More than 50 heads of state and Government from countries
:07:04. > :07:06.throughout Africa are travelling to Delhi today as part of the trade
:07:07. > :07:10.summit this week. The Indian government says it is one of the
:07:11. > :07:15.most important events it has hosted over the last three decades. So what
:07:16. > :07:21.are people hoping to see from the talks? It is the business community
:07:22. > :07:24.here that has traditionally defined India's relationship with Africa.
:07:25. > :07:27.Whether it is Punjabi farmers leasing large tracts of land for
:07:28. > :07:33.agriculture or industrialists setting up telecoms factories. But
:07:34. > :07:38.now the government wants to catch up and able do this with the huge noisy
:07:39. > :07:43.affair. There will be ceremonial dances and camels and even Narendra
:07:44. > :07:47.Modi sending his signature sleeveless jackets to every African
:07:48. > :07:52.head of state he is hosting. And there is reason for all the fuss.
:07:53. > :07:57.Annual trade between India and Africa rose to $70 billion today.
:07:58. > :08:04.But the Thais still lag far behind China's. Now many see an opportunity
:08:05. > :08:10.to narrow that gap. So India is hoping that stronger ties in trade,
:08:11. > :08:14.oil and gas will overcome its own power shortages and they are
:08:15. > :08:19.promising a warm welcome at the summit. They are keen to emphasize
:08:20. > :08:29.that they want a brotherly partnership in contrast to China's
:08:30. > :08:35.more assertive stance in Africa. Could there be something to learn
:08:36. > :08:39.from small projects in developing nations in terms of renewable
:08:40. > :08:42.energy? One village in Indonesia is using wastewater from the production
:08:43. > :08:54.of tofu to create gas to provide power for homes. Now we go to our
:08:55. > :08:59.correspondent. Tofu has been made like this for generations.
:09:00. > :09:05.Deep-fried, it is a popular dish across the archipelago but here at
:09:06. > :09:13.this factory they are not only producing food but fuel.
:09:14. > :09:18.TRANSLATION: The energy can be used in households for cooking. The main
:09:19. > :09:21.purpose is to reduce environmental pollution. He used to dump his waist
:09:22. > :09:27.in the rivers, polluting waterways and the soil. But now, thanks to a
:09:28. > :09:30.process developed by the state technology Institute, he is now
:09:31. > :09:37.filtering the wastewater from an underground sewerage system. It is
:09:38. > :09:45.then treated to produce biogas. Providing people like this one with
:09:46. > :09:48.fuel ten times cheaper than gas -- like this woman. TRANSLATION: If I'm
:09:49. > :09:53.using biogas I only need to spend about 10,000 rupiah a month. More
:09:54. > :09:57.than 2000 factories have taken part in the experiment and their
:09:58. > :10:01.producing nearly 300 times more biogas than is needed every day. The
:10:02. > :10:11.project also aims to reduce Indonesia's carbon footprint. And
:10:12. > :10:15.before we go, here's a quick look at the markets. Asia is sustaining the
:10:16. > :10:21.gains in midmorning trade after China cut interest rates for a
:10:22. > :10:28.fourth time this year and a six overall. Australia is gaining half a
:10:29. > :10:41.percent. Thank you for investing your time with us. Goodbye for now.