:00:00. > :00:00.possible Commons defeat after Sunday trading in England and Wales after
:00:00. > :00:00.the SNP decided to inTory remembers who wanted to block the move. First
:00:00. > :00:16.here is Rico with Asia Business Report.
:00:17. > :00:23.A total eclipse for hotel bookings in Indonesia as tourists flak there
:00:24. > :00:27.to witness this rare celestial event. Trouble in the waters for the
:00:28. > :00:37.shipping industry. We find out why this year could be its worst ever.
:00:38. > :00:46.Good morning Asia, hello world! Glad you could join us for this edition
:00:47. > :00:49.of Wednesday's Asia Business Report. I am Rico Hizon in Singapore. We
:00:50. > :00:52.have been witnessing a rare occurrence this morning of the moon
:00:53. > :00:59.elbowing its way in front of the sun. Look at that! A solar eclipse.
:01:00. > :01:04.Visible only in parts of Indonesia. Authorities have been promoting this
:01:05. > :01:09.total eclipse as a tourist event since 2014. Total eclipses draw
:01:10. > :01:14.scientists and sky gazers from around the world and hotels are
:01:15. > :01:20.booked out and some overseas agencies have even chartered ships.
:01:21. > :01:26.Our correspondent has more. The sleepy town in India is having
:01:27. > :01:31.its moment in the sun or rather out of it. It has been the prime viewing
:01:32. > :01:35.position for a rare solar eclipse taking place in Asia and the
:01:36. > :01:39.Pacific. Day turned tonight for a few minutes, as the moon passed
:01:40. > :01:44.directly in front of the sun. Thousands of people have flocked to
:01:45. > :01:48.Indonesia especially for this event, bringing in some much-needed
:01:49. > :01:51.business. TRANSLATION: March is low season,
:01:52. > :01:55.but now it has become high season, as we reported more than 100%
:01:56. > :02:04.increase in comparison with last year. More than 100 hotels in the
:02:05. > :02:09.Sumatran city of Palembang filled up weeks ago and extra space on boats
:02:10. > :02:14.even had to be hired out for the influx of tourists. Parties and
:02:15. > :02:17.tribal rituals and even a musical festival was organised. Given
:02:18. > :02:21.India's economy has been growing at its slowest pace in six years, the
:02:22. > :02:24.extra tourist dollars are very welcome.
:02:25. > :02:28.TRANSLATION: In March we are usually booked for government activities,
:02:29. > :02:32.but some of them are cancelled, so we are accommodating tourists who
:02:33. > :02:35.want to see the eclipse here. We don't have any special targets but
:02:36. > :02:43.we will accommodate them as far as our capacity fits. For the multitude
:02:44. > :02:47.of skygazers, there were fears of cloudy weather, but for these
:02:48. > :02:53.tourists, scientists and astronomers, it looks like their
:02:54. > :02:57.trips that paid off. But on a hazy day in Indonesia of course the
:02:58. > :03:03.eclipse might be quite difficult to see. The Western Province of Rio has
:03:04. > :03:09.declared a state of emergency over fires policing on the island of
:03:10. > :03:16.Sumatra. Last year fires raged uncontrollably across several
:03:17. > :03:21.provinces, costing an estimated US $15.7 billion according to the Royal
:03:22. > :03:24.Ban -- World Bank. What does the amount of soy beans tell us about
:03:25. > :03:27.the state of the world economy? It is actually one of the best
:03:28. > :03:32.indicators of global supply and demand. It is call Dry Bulk Shipping
:03:33. > :03:35.and the index which measures it has fallen dramatically over the last
:03:36. > :03:41.eight years, hitting a low last month. Now it is being forecast that
:03:42. > :04:28.this year could be the worst ever. So, should we be worried?
:04:29. > :04:35.Very poor numbers, indeed. Earlier I spoke with our Asia-Pacific
:04:36. > :04:40.correspondent and I asked her if global trade is falling off the
:04:41. > :04:45.cliff. Actually, I think what we need to understand or sort of
:04:46. > :04:49.reflect on is that global trade has been far lower than the levels we
:04:50. > :04:54.saw before the global financial crisis for some time now. So, in a
:04:55. > :05:01.sense, this is to be expected. It is mart of the ongoing narrative.
:05:02. > :05:04.Before 2008 when the financial crisis struck, countries were
:05:05. > :05:08.trading with one another double what global GDP was. You could see that
:05:09. > :05:11.people were buying and selling to one another and shipping lanes
:05:12. > :05:16.across the region, in our part of the world certainly, were filled
:05:17. > :05:21.with ships transporting goods like coal, iron and steel, two huge
:05:22. > :05:24.economies like China and India. But since then growth has slowed in some
:05:25. > :05:29.of these major economies. China, for example. We saw import data just
:05:30. > :05:34.yesterday coming out and confirming this ongoing story of slower growth,
:05:35. > :05:40.slowdemand there. So we have seen global trade consistently fall since
:05:41. > :05:44.the 2008 financial crisis. That has been reflected in the global - in
:05:45. > :05:48.the dry bulk's trading index. That is the story of trade in this part
:05:49. > :05:52.of the world. But, if you take a look at the numbers, trade volumes
:05:53. > :05:55.around the world still increasing, but more slowly than in the recent
:05:56. > :06:01.past and of course shipping companies are not just sticking to
:06:02. > :06:07.the ships that they have right now. They still have to record. Since
:06:08. > :06:12.2012, 2013 despite nushl indications that growth was starting to slow
:06:13. > :06:14.down in places like China and countries around the region,
:06:15. > :06:18.shipping companies continued to order massive amounts on their
:06:19. > :06:19.books. Now, remember it takes a while to build a ship, Rico.
:06:20. > :06:25.LAUGHS . I know. When they decide they have
:06:26. > :06:28.got to put one on the order becomes, it takes a while for that to come
:06:29. > :06:32.through. In the first two quarters of 2016 in this year alone, we are
:06:33. > :06:39.expecting to see the bulk of those ship ms come through. That is going
:06:40. > :06:43.to continue to put a dampener on rates. You mentioned about rates.
:06:44. > :06:48.Has it Goan significantly lower? Quit significantly. I will give you
:06:49. > :06:53.an example. At the height of the global trade or right before the
:06:54. > :06:59.financial crisis, I should say, a ship in the dry bulk industry could
:07:00. > :07:07.demand fees of up to $185,000 a day. That was a daily fee. Today it is
:07:08. > :07:12.anywhere between $4,000-$4,000. It takes -- $4,000-6,000. You can
:07:13. > :07:17.imagine how much companies are now losing. Our Asia business
:07:18. > :07:22.correspondent there. Now, why do people visit India? Is it because of
:07:23. > :07:28.the temples or the history? How about the adventure sports in up in
:07:29. > :07:32.the north an area has turned itself into a hotspot for paragliding and
:07:33. > :07:35.it even hosted the Sports World Cup. On the book of that success, a new
:07:36. > :07:36.economy is bombing. Our correspondent went to the town to
:07:37. > :07:49.find out more. A leap of faith. Moments later, just
:07:50. > :07:54.a distant speck sparkling in the sun. Racing against each other, more
:07:55. > :08:00.than 100 paragliders from across the world. They have attracted quite the
:08:01. > :08:07.audience, too. Locals and tourists have come to enjoy the action.
:08:08. > :08:11.Jockey Sanderson, a veteran of the sport, has been training pilots for
:08:12. > :08:15.more than 2.5 decades. We have been coming to India for five years now.
:08:16. > :08:21.It is very versatile. But, for me, it is so predictable, it is perfect
:08:22. > :08:28.for training. The culture is so diverse and magnificent. Trudging up
:08:29. > :08:34.a mountain with a glider that weighs 20kg is almost a daily ritual for
:08:35. > :08:37.paragliders. I have just seen a lot of pilots take off from here and
:08:38. > :08:41.they all made it look incredibly easy. They just run down the
:08:42. > :08:44.mountain and then glide, so I have decided to try it as well. Really
:08:45. > :08:50.experienced pilot there is going to take me along with him on what is
:08:51. > :08:53.called a "tandem flight". I am really looking forward to it. I am
:08:54. > :08:59.very excited but also a tiny bit nervous. After the sudden rush of
:09:00. > :09:06.take-off, it is like sitting back in a chair, floating above the world.
:09:07. > :09:16.Your mind goes quiet, as the wind and beauty engulfs you. Over the
:09:17. > :09:22.past decade, this him mallean village has become a favourite for
:09:23. > :09:25.paragliders. It has nearly 150,000 visitors every year. So, former
:09:26. > :09:34.farmers have opened up restaurants and cafes. A part of a tea estate
:09:35. > :09:38.was converted into this - the most famous hotel The Colonel's Resort.
:09:39. > :09:42.We started out with camping. Just tents initially and then we made one
:09:43. > :09:48.quarter as an experiment. We got a good response and then we made four
:09:49. > :09:54.rooms. We got a better response. Today we have got about 15 rooms.
:09:55. > :09:58.And, with the World Cup being held here for the first time, para
:09:59. > :10:02.gliding may perhaps bring even more business for the area. The only
:10:03. > :10:13.risk, perhaps - growing too fast too soon. It looks exciting. You can
:10:14. > :10:16.watch this and other stories on the Asia-Pacific report at these times
:10:17. > :10:21.over the weekend on BBC World News. Here are the markets, currently
:10:22. > :10:25.mixed due to the fall in US equities after oil prices fell and China
:10:26. > :10:29.reported poor rate figures of Japan and Hong Kong in negative territory.
:10:30. > :10:30.Thank you for investing your time with us. I am Rico Hizon. Bye for
:10:31. > :10:36.now.