:00:00. > :00:00.They've been named locally as Elizabeth Edwards
:00:00. > :00:15.Now on BBC News all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:16. > :00:22.The world's top oil producers fail to freeze production despite lower
:00:23. > :00:31.prices. Even with the biggest stars of the game is their money to be
:00:32. > :00:39.made from rugby in Asia? -- there. Welcome to this Monday edition of
:00:40. > :00:43.Asia Business Report. Leading oil producers have failed to come up
:00:44. > :00:48.with an agreement to cap production to stabilise prices. They met in
:00:49. > :00:55.Doha on the weekend to thrash out a deal. In the end they conceded they
:00:56. > :01:02.needed more time. Earlier I asked an oil analyst what the failure to
:01:03. > :01:07.reach a deal meant for the industry. The market will be looking for signs
:01:08. > :01:14.of support. At the moment we have news of an important strike in
:01:15. > :01:18.Kuwait, capping production about 1.6 5 million barrels per day. In
:01:19. > :01:26.context, this is the total production from the area -- Libya
:01:27. > :01:32.before the war -- 1.54 million. This might help drop prices and support
:01:33. > :01:39.the market. This massive strike helped the market rebalanced in
:01:40. > :01:46.2002, 2003, when Venezuela had a strike of this size, which could
:01:47. > :01:48.support prices. The failure of agreement is a big disappointment
:01:49. > :01:54.overall to those who have been buying into this rally. Indeed. If
:01:55. > :01:59.we watch the outcome from the meeting, Saudi Arabia trying to get
:02:00. > :02:06.Iran on-board, encouraging them to cut production as well. What are the
:02:07. > :02:11.odds of it happening? At the moment, Iran is not comfortable about any
:02:12. > :02:15.output freeze or reduction output. As we go forward we have seen they
:02:16. > :02:19.have added 600,000 barrels per day of additional exports. Whenever they
:02:20. > :02:25.are close to the level where they are comfortable, and within the
:02:26. > :02:30.realm of OPEC, we may see agreement to reduce production. Let's look at
:02:31. > :02:33.the Saudis. Sceptics say this is what they want exactly. They want
:02:34. > :02:40.prices low and they want production up so they can hang onto the
:02:41. > :02:48.monopoly. And so it OPEC can hang on. Prices are at $40 per barrel,
:02:49. > :02:56.which makes it US jail production relatively economical in areas,
:02:57. > :03:02.which could stabilise US jail production -- US shale production.
:03:03. > :03:07.-- US shale production. That is equivalent to the output in Iran in
:03:08. > :03:13.three months. It is a race against time. Eventually it's going to be
:03:14. > :03:22.impossible to stop the growth in shale oil production. In other news,
:03:23. > :03:25.as rescue efforts continue in southern Japan after recent
:03:26. > :03:30.earthquakes, factories having impacted. Toyota has suspended
:03:31. > :03:39.production across the country with a shortage of parts from suppliers,
:03:40. > :03:43.and Honda has suspended work at a motorcycle plant. Sony has halted
:03:44. > :03:48.operations at an image sensor plant in the city. Since India has
:03:49. > :03:53.overtaken China as the fastest growing economy in the world, there
:03:54. > :04:00.has been a focus on Delhi's drive aimed at in -- boosting investment.
:04:01. > :04:07.Despite gloomy predictions for the global outlook. India's Finance
:04:08. > :04:12.Minister told us about future growth. Within the present
:04:13. > :04:15.limitation of the world economy going slowly, volatility,
:04:16. > :04:23.unpredictability, commodity prices being low, I think, if we have a
:04:24. > :04:29.good monsoon, if we can address several domestic reforms, including
:04:30. > :04:36.strengthening the Indian banking system, which is what we are trying
:04:37. > :04:40.to do, for us to grow over 7.5% we have reached is reasonably possible.
:04:41. > :04:47.That is the Indian Finance Minister. The Indonesian President
:04:48. > :04:52.is set to freeze permits for palm oil and mining operations. Indonesia
:04:53. > :04:57.has faced international criticism for using fires to clear land for
:04:58. > :05:06.palm oil production. Toxic smoke also billows across the ocean to
:05:07. > :05:15.neighbouring Thailand and Singapore. Earlier I asked our correspondent
:05:16. > :05:18.what it means. Making the announcement at a conservation
:05:19. > :05:22.island at the same time as releasing turtles into the sea, it is an
:05:23. > :05:27.environmental statement. He is making efforts in Indonesia to try
:05:28. > :05:31.to stop the annual haze as you mentioned. Those forest fires are
:05:32. > :05:37.often blamed and caused by the opening of land, peat land
:05:38. > :05:40.particularly for palm oil. At the same time members in the government
:05:41. > :05:47.have told me that they want to become smarter in the way palm
:05:48. > :05:51.oil's industry is running in Indonesia, the largest exporter of
:05:52. > :05:55.palm oil. At the moment they are producing too much, flooding the
:05:56. > :05:58.market. They want to intensify production on land they do have.
:05:59. > :06:05.Indonesia is far behind Malaysia when it comes to that. We know this
:06:06. > :06:11.also impacts mining as well. How will this hit Indonesia's rich
:06:12. > :06:15.resources industry and its economy? It is not mining concessions as a
:06:16. > :06:20.whole but what the Indonesian government is saying is they won't
:06:21. > :06:25.release mining permits in forested areas, areas of high conservation or
:06:26. > :06:29.highly forested areas. Now, this is something which has been said
:06:30. > :06:33.before. It is targeted at illegal mining. The actual mining industry
:06:34. > :06:39.as a whole would not be affected by this but it is targeting illegal
:06:40. > :06:43.mining, which environmentalists and the industry have said should have
:06:44. > :06:48.happened a long time ago. The President Joko Widodo is in Europe
:06:49. > :06:52.right now. What reflection is that? It is interesting, the pressure on
:06:53. > :06:56.Indonesia to create a more sustainable palm oil industry has
:06:57. > :07:00.come from Europe, so he has made this announcement just before he
:07:01. > :07:04.leaves. He is visiting countries like Germany, the UK and the
:07:05. > :07:08.Netherlands, with a lot of consumers wanting to see a sustainable palm
:07:09. > :07:12.oil product. The industry is under pressure to do that. He has made
:07:13. > :07:19.this announcement before the visit, hoping to put a greener and cleaner
:07:20. > :07:31.front on the industry. The HSBC world -- World Rugby 7s is beginning
:07:32. > :07:36.after a ten year hiatus. It is designed to boost crowd size. As we
:07:37. > :07:42.report, it is just getting popular in Asia and sponsors are following
:07:43. > :07:46.after the inclusion in the Olympics. The New Zealand All Blacks are not
:07:47. > :07:51.just a force to be reckoned with on the field, they are considered the
:07:52. > :07:55.most powerful brand in rugby. Star players like Sonny Bill Williams are
:07:56. > :08:02.playing a Sevens series, returning to Singapore after a ten year break.
:08:03. > :08:04.Buzz around the game is reaching fever pitch. There are only two
:08:05. > :08:08.Asian cities on the Sevens circuit and there are hopes that this short
:08:09. > :08:13.format will help it catch on elsewhere in the region. Football is
:08:14. > :08:17.by far the most popular sport in Asia but with rugby's inclusion in
:08:18. > :08:20.the Olympics for the first time this year there are hopes the sport will
:08:21. > :08:25.grow exponentially along with business opportunities to go with
:08:26. > :08:28.it. Rugby is the fastest growing team sport in the world. The
:08:29. > :08:33.governing body has spent $10 million in the region over the last five
:08:34. > :08:40.years. The popularity is expected to grow ahead of Japan hosting the
:08:41. > :08:44.rugby World Cup in 2019. World Rugby chairman Byrne art has been crucial
:08:45. > :08:56.to the growth of the game, believing it has been crucial to grow in Asia
:08:57. > :09:00.-- Bernard Lapaset. Rugby is not the same in Africa or Europe, South
:09:01. > :09:04.America or North America and it will be different in China and in Asia.
:09:05. > :09:09.Alibaba chairman Jack Ma is betting big on the sport as well. His
:09:10. > :09:14.company recently signed a deal to develop rugby in China over the next
:09:15. > :09:18.ten years. There has also been a rush for the broadcasting rights.
:09:19. > :09:23.Tim Martin is spending millions of dollars in this area, launching a
:09:24. > :09:27.digital platform called Rugby Pass on the expectation that numbers will
:09:28. > :09:31.spike in audience numbers. Rugby is perhaps the most exciting sport in
:09:32. > :09:40.terms of commercial development potential. Before -- but football is
:09:41. > :09:45.in the billions, which is amazing. Rugby is emerging so there is a
:09:46. > :09:48.chance to pull this together and aggregate content. Once it is done,
:09:49. > :09:55.there are opportunities that are gone. Local interest in rugby starts
:09:56. > :10:00.here in the schools. The game has been played in Asia for decades but
:10:01. > :10:04.on a competitive level it has been mostly dominated by the expatriates
:10:05. > :10:07.community, although that looks set to change with the hope that
:10:08. > :10:15.eventually these kids can play in the big leagues. Let's look at the
:10:16. > :10:22.markets before we go because oil prices continue dipping in Asian
:10:23. > :10:26.trade after no agreement in Doha are amongst OPEC producers. They were
:10:27. > :10:32.down as much as 7.6% and they are now pairing with those losses.
:10:33. > :10:35.Looking at Asian markets, the Nikkei is reacting to the earthquake over
:10:36. > :10:36.the weekend. And that is it for