:00:00. > :00:13.Now on BBC News all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:14. > :00:22.Another downgrade, the IMF cuts global growth forecasts again with
:00:23. > :00:28.warns of risks ahead. Give a man a fish and he will eat it. But fish
:00:29. > :00:40.farmers in Myanmar are hoping to it for a lifetime. -- hoping to eat
:00:41. > :00:46.it. Good morning, Asia, hello, world, glad you can join us. We
:00:47. > :00:52.start with the IMF and the Washington -based group has given a
:00:53. > :01:00.pessimistic assessment of the global economy, cutting the growth forecast
:01:01. > :01:05.for the second time in three months, with global expansion this year at
:01:06. > :01:10.3.2%, down from 3.4%, which was forecast in January. Chinese
:01:11. > :01:14.slowdown and weak commodity prices are being blamed but the IMF sees
:01:15. > :01:25.financial risks and geopolitical shocks ahead. Maurice is the chief
:01:26. > :01:28.economist of the IMF. We have seen a loss of momentum in advanced
:01:29. > :01:32.economies in the second half of last year, particularly Japan, but also
:01:33. > :01:37.the United States, the eurozone continues to move along at a subdued
:01:38. > :01:39.pace. We've also seen continuing headwinds in emerging markets,
:01:40. > :01:47.including some fairly large emerging markets. Despite China's growth
:01:48. > :01:50.being a major factor in slowing economic expansion the world is the
:01:51. > :01:53.second largest economy was also an unexpected bright spot in the
:01:54. > :01:58.report. Its growth forecast was upgraded slightly. Earlier, our
:01:59. > :02:04.correspondent joined us in New York. The IMF revised the Chinese growth
:02:05. > :02:08.forecast to 6.5% for the year, citing policy measures, stimulus
:02:09. > :02:12.measures, that were announced previously as the reason for that.
:02:13. > :02:17.The fund also said it is reducing growth forecasting for China
:02:18. > :02:22.long-term. It also said Chinese efforts to shift away from too much
:02:23. > :02:26.focus on trade and investment to consumer spending at home, while
:02:27. > :02:32.that has been rather painful for the rest of the world, because China
:02:33. > :02:39.being a global trade player, it will be beneficial for the Chinese
:02:40. > :02:43.economy long-term. On Wednesday, US time, the IMF will also release
:02:44. > :02:49.another report, the global financial stability report, and in it we are
:02:50. > :02:52.expecting to hear more about China because, obviously, no one needs to
:02:53. > :02:57.tell us how volatile the stock market has been over the last six
:02:58. > :03:01.months and the major part of it was the volatility in the Chinese stock
:03:02. > :03:08.market. So, we are expecting to hear more from the IMF about China. Not
:03:09. > :03:13.good news for the third largest economy in the world, Japan, with
:03:14. > :03:19.the IMF expecting a contraction next year. Indeed. Japan is the only
:03:20. > :03:25.event economy to be still expected to be shrinking in 2017. That is
:03:26. > :03:30.according to the IMF. The reason behind that is the expected hike in
:03:31. > :03:37.the sales tax, or the VAT, which at the moment stands at 8%, which is
:03:38. > :03:41.low can head to the rest of the world, but it was 5% two years ago
:03:42. > :03:45.and that is still having a knock-on effect on consumer spending --
:03:46. > :03:49.compared. There are have been a lot of debate among politicians in Japan
:03:50. > :03:54.whether the planned hike to 10% next year should be delayed, but for now
:03:55. > :03:58.the Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is sticking to the original plan and
:03:59. > :04:04.that is the reason that the IMF has cited as possible shrinking in the
:04:05. > :04:09.Japanese economy next year. Marico Oi in New York. Moving to social
:04:10. > :04:15.media and Facebook has plans to shake things up again, this time
:04:16. > :04:19.with artificial intelligence, and mounting a service allowing
:04:20. > :04:23.companies to create so-called bots which interact with customers over
:04:24. > :04:27.Facebook's messenger service. Here is our
:04:28. > :04:32.Facebook's messenger service. Here is how Mark Zuckerberg explains. No
:04:33. > :04:39.one wants a new app for every service a business needs to interact
:04:40. > :04:45.with. We think you should be able to message a business in the way you
:04:46. > :04:49.message is -- a friend. It should not take your full attention and you
:04:50. > :04:55.should not have to install a new app. So, today we are launching a
:04:56. > :04:59.messenger platform, so you can build bots for messenger. It is a simple
:05:00. > :05:02.platform powered by a artificial intelligence. You can build natural
:05:03. > :05:07.language services to communicate directly with people. So, what could
:05:08. > :05:16.artificial intelligence services mean for the likes of you and me?
:05:17. > :05:37.Well, let's ask a robot. So, what is a chat bot? Why are they popular
:05:38. > :05:43.now? A robot can appeal against parking tickets on your behalf. It
:05:44. > :05:47.is due to be launched soon in New York. What does the future look
:05:48. > :05:52.like? A chat bot can be your personal assistant. They can tell
:05:53. > :05:58.you what the weather is like, order a taxi, ether or even set up a
:05:59. > :06:10.holiday. You won't eventually take over? Ummm.... Thank you very much.
:06:11. > :06:18.Moving onto the Chinese on online retail giant Alibaba moving into
:06:19. > :06:23.Southeast Asia, taking a controlling stake in the online retailer Lazada
:06:24. > :06:30.for $1 billion US to expand the e-commerce business. The headquarter
:06:31. > :06:32.is here in Singapore, and operates in Philippines, Thailand and
:06:33. > :06:38.Vietnam, mostly the south-east Asian markets. Moving on to oil prices and
:06:39. > :06:43.they have rallied to a four-month high following a report that Russia
:06:44. > :06:46.and Saudi Arabia have agreed to freeze output, fuelling speculation
:06:47. > :06:52.among investors that prices might reach the so-called golden cross,
:06:53. > :06:55.which happens when the 200 day average falls below the 50 day
:06:56. > :07:00.average. This indicates a major shift in trading momentum. Prices
:07:01. > :07:09.haven't reached the golden cross since 2014. Myanmar is a country
:07:10. > :07:11.rich in water resources and yet fish farming is an underdeveloped
:07:12. > :07:18.industry. It means Paul ruled households are missing out on fish
:07:19. > :07:23.as a source of nutrition as well as income -- poor rural. So, World Fish
:07:24. > :07:28.set up a trade programme for small-scale fishfarming in the hope
:07:29. > :07:36.of improving livelihoods. We have this report now from Myanmar Delta.
:07:37. > :07:44.TRANSLATION: I started a fish farm two years ago. I was inspired by
:07:45. > :07:53.those rich people who grow fish. I have five children. I used to grow
:07:54. > :08:00.rice and some plants too. But seeing others doing fishfarming, I sold my
:08:01. > :08:07.land and bought a small pond. I prefer to grow fish because it is
:08:08. > :08:13.easier to manage. Right now there are different types of fish in my
:08:14. > :08:24.pond and they are always small fish. I only harvest once a year, usually
:08:25. > :08:27.in October or November. Fish is very important for nutrition, for food
:08:28. > :08:30.security and also for generating incomes. My name is Gareth Johnston
:08:31. > :08:37.and I am the country manager for World Fish. We are in the delta.
:08:38. > :08:42.This water has a lot of water resources and people are used to
:08:43. > :08:50.fishing but not necessarily doing it in Homestead Poms. Good morning. --
:08:51. > :08:55.Homestead ponds. We start off with the very basics in terms of a
:08:56. > :08:59.selection of a site for a pond which could be in their garden. Then we
:09:00. > :09:02.talk about the fish species, the quality of the water. So, we teach
:09:03. > :09:06.them the whole process, from beginning to the end. The government
:09:07. > :09:13.encourage people to grow rice. It doesn't allow users for growing
:09:14. > :09:17.other agricultural projects, particular fish, so converting your
:09:18. > :09:22.field into a fish pond is not a simple procedure and we hope the new
:09:23. > :09:28.government will relax those laws and make it easier for farmers to make
:09:29. > :09:32.those choices. Rice is certainly an important food source and it is a
:09:33. > :09:39.stable but in itself it cannot provide all the nutrients. Fish is a
:09:40. > :09:46.very important protein. In fact, Myanmar, as a number one animal
:09:47. > :09:54.protein, is fish. They keep some fish to eat but sell the rest.
:09:55. > :09:57.TRANSLATION: La season I made $250 US from selling fish. This year I
:09:58. > :10:04.want to earn more, hopefully over $300 US. -- last season. I want to
:10:05. > :10:13.do more but I don't have money and I don't have land. My ambition is to
:10:14. > :10:17.expand my pond but I do need help. And quickly, before we go, this is
:10:18. > :10:22.where Asian markets stand this hour, positive territory after gains
:10:23. > :10:27.in US stocks and rising oil prices. Japan and Sydney gaining 1.7%
:10:28. > :10:32.apiece. Thank you so much for investing your time with us. I am
:10:33. > :10:33.Rico Hizon. Have a productive Wednesday. Goodbye for