:00:00. > :00:00.of people needing urgent medical treatment after taking the drugs.
:00:00. > :00:14.Now on BBC News, all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:15. > :00:24.How to fix the global economy. G7 leaders start meeting in Japan. And
:00:25. > :00:36.undercutting the highflyers. Why are Chinese filmmaker is getting into
:00:37. > :00:43.drones. Good morning, Asia, hello, world. Welcome to this edition of
:00:44. > :00:46.Asia Business Report. It is a Thursday, I am Rico Hizon. Leaders
:00:47. > :00:51.from the seven richest nations in the world are set to kick off a 2
:00:52. > :00:55.day meeting in Ise-Shima in Japan. They will try to tackle some of the
:00:56. > :01:00.world's most vexing global issues and at the top of their agenda is
:01:01. > :01:05.breathing life into a sluggish global economy. Earlier I spoke with
:01:06. > :01:09.the chief economist for Northern Trust, had asked for his
:01:10. > :01:13.expectations from this G7 summit. One of the things countries can do
:01:14. > :01:17.individually and collectively to improve growth, there has been a lot
:01:18. > :01:20.of talk about improving trade relationships, and there are
:01:21. > :01:24.certainly some politics around the world that suggest trade is not a
:01:25. > :01:29.good thing. How can we push aside some of the political agendas that
:01:30. > :01:33.close borders, and keep them open? How can we ensure that countries are
:01:34. > :01:37.participating fairly in trade which goes into their currency strategy
:01:38. > :01:40.and how can each country make sure that interest rates are right not
:01:41. > :01:45.just for them but for the rest of the world? So interconnected, all of
:01:46. > :01:49.these topics, from currency to interest rates to trade, but do you
:01:50. > :01:53.think that the Americans and the Japanese will be focusing on
:01:54. > :01:58.interest rate policy and the Japanese intervening to strengthen
:01:59. > :02:01.the strength of the yen? The Japanese are certainly arriving at
:02:02. > :02:08.this meeting very frustrated. They want a weaker currency have found a
:02:09. > :02:12.stronger one. A currency war is one that no one wins. It is a game where
:02:13. > :02:15.the best move is not to play. My guess is that the other six
:02:16. > :02:21.countries at the conference will encourage the Japanese not to
:02:22. > :02:26.start. Carl Tannenbaum from Northern Trust, based in Chicago. The host
:02:27. > :02:31.nation of the G7 summit, Japan, has been stuck in slow growth and low
:02:32. > :02:34.wages for CHEERING decades and is trying to boost consumption through
:02:35. > :02:39.negative interest rates. That appears to be failing. What lessons
:02:40. > :02:51.can we learn from Japan? Our correspondent said this report from
:02:52. > :02:59.Tokyo. This is an apology by a Japanese ice cream firm. The entire
:03:00. > :03:02.company turned up to make this video, because they raise the price
:03:03. > :03:10.of ice cream by just 10 yen or 9 cents. TRANSLATION: It is only ten
:03:11. > :03:15.yen. I know that doesn't sound like very much, but we thought they would
:03:16. > :03:21.be customers asking why. The ice cream is a national product. That is
:03:22. > :03:25.why we make this video. So this is the ice cream that the company
:03:26. > :03:29.apologised for raising the prices. Japanese consumers are not used
:03:30. > :03:34.seeing prices go up. They have been seen falling prices for the last two
:03:35. > :03:38.decades now. Falling prices should mean that people will be encouraged
:03:39. > :03:42.to go out and spend and you are seeing some of that in Japan on
:03:43. > :03:46.small products like cup noodles, for example, they are only about $2 a
:03:47. > :03:51.pop and they are not going to break the bank and sales have gone up by
:03:52. > :03:55.26% in the last three months alone. But here is the problem. Japanese
:03:56. > :03:59.consumers are happy to spend their money on small products like cup
:04:00. > :04:03.noodles but they are not spending their cash on big-ticket items like
:04:04. > :04:07.air-conditioners, cars and motorcycles, which means companies
:04:08. > :04:12.that make those products, remember, the lifeblood of Japan's economy,
:04:13. > :04:15.are not growing and so they are not investing, they are not creating
:04:16. > :04:19.jobs and they are not pushing wages higher. Which is why the central
:04:20. > :04:24.bank governor did something pretty crazy at the beginning of this year.
:04:25. > :04:30.He lowered interest rates to below zero to get Japanese countries
:04:31. > :04:35.spending again. That hasn't worked. Prices are going up slightly but not
:04:36. > :04:41.as quickly as he would like. He said he could lower rates even more below
:04:42. > :04:49.zero to get to his target. But if that fails, then saying sorry it may
:04:50. > :04:53.be the only thing Japan has left. From our Asia business
:04:54. > :05:00.correspondent, who is currently in Japan. In other business news making
:05:01. > :05:04.headlines, Alibaba shares slumped overnight in US trade after the
:05:05. > :05:07.e-commerce giant disclosed that the US market regulator the Securities
:05:08. > :05:12.and Exchange Commission is looking into the company's accounting
:05:13. > :05:16.practices. The regulator has requested documents and information
:05:17. > :05:21.related to the way the Chinese firm adds together earnings from its
:05:22. > :05:26.various divisions. Alibaba says it is cooperating with the
:05:27. > :05:30.investigation. A Chinese smartphone maker has entered the camera drone
:05:31. > :05:36.market. The company has tried to gain market share, but cheaper
:05:37. > :05:45.versions of other phones, so will it be able to do the same for drones?
:05:46. > :05:47.This drone here is made by the Chinese company DJI who have quite a
:05:48. > :05:54.dominant market edition when it comes to camera drones. The Chinese
:05:55. > :05:57.mobile manufacturer Xiaomi is hoping the rain on their parade a little
:05:58. > :06:01.bit, taking a similar product but one that is just a little bit
:06:02. > :06:04.cheaper. I am here with Alvin who runs the drone shop here in
:06:05. > :06:11.Singapore. What can you tell me about these two drones? How will
:06:12. > :06:15.they can pack? We are looking at details of the Xiaomi drone, to see
:06:16. > :06:19.what comes out, and if it is of a good quality and a good standard
:06:20. > :06:23.then perhaps we will start looking into it. Quality is really important
:06:24. > :06:28.for us, especially when you are looking at products that are flying.
:06:29. > :06:31.Drones of course are not very cheap. Is there a space in the
:06:32. > :06:36.market for something that is a little bit cheaper? I think there
:06:37. > :06:40.are a lot of folks out there who are wanting to experience drones for the
:06:41. > :06:45.first time, and there might be some space where people want to try out
:06:46. > :06:49.the drones as well so there would be people who just don't want to spend
:06:50. > :06:54.so much money upfront, to have a go at their first road. And for lack of
:06:55. > :06:59.a better term, DJI has done quite a bit of idiot proofing to make it
:07:00. > :07:03.more difficult to crash. Are those the kind of things that you would
:07:04. > :07:11.need in order to get people to use them? Maybe, for example obstacle
:07:12. > :07:14.avoidance is really a first that DJI has introduced the market. If they
:07:15. > :07:18.can come up with something immediately, write off the bat and
:07:19. > :07:24.it working well, then that is something that could help them make
:07:25. > :07:28.some headway. But again, it depends on the price point. And people might
:07:29. > :07:32.be willing to pay less for something that might not have so many
:07:33. > :07:35.features. Thank you. The big question for Xiaomi now is whether
:07:36. > :07:41.or not is new drone business will take off or whether it will crash.
:07:42. > :07:47.It is hoping for more space in the market and more space in the skies.
:07:48. > :07:52.Stock markets that resemble a rollercoaster ride, or government
:07:53. > :07:58.bonds that yield little, unless you are an expert it is not very easy
:07:59. > :08:02.making money these days but there is an alternative class of investments
:08:03. > :08:06.which are not as volatile. The childhood hobby of stamp collecting,
:08:07. > :08:12.for some, is a very grown-up investment choice. Stamps, we have
:08:13. > :08:18.different colours, different shapes, that makes the stamp row. Richard
:08:19. > :08:21.and his brothers used to dig through rubbish bins as children looking for
:08:22. > :08:26.foreign stamps. Decades later he owns a prize-winning collection
:08:27. > :08:35.worth millions of dollars. There is investment, yes. Because our passion
:08:36. > :08:40.for something which I didn't expect to hit the field, and it has
:08:41. > :08:45.accumulated compared with shares and bonds and other collectables as
:08:46. > :08:49.well. This is the most prominent printing error from the reign of
:08:50. > :08:55.Queen Elizabeth. Most of the world's 60 million red stamp
:08:56. > :08:57.collectors are based in Asia and an increasing number of traditional
:08:58. > :09:03.investors are looking at the area as well. 12 years ago a portfolio would
:09:04. > :09:08.consist of bonds, property and maybe some deposits. Nowadays, because of
:09:09. > :09:12.volatility, people are more and more looking for alternatives like
:09:13. > :09:16.classic cars, watches, antiques and coins and stamps really fit within
:09:17. > :09:22.that profile. The beauty of rare stamps and coins is their complete
:09:23. > :09:27.lack of market correlation. A lot of money has been changing hands. This
:09:28. > :09:32.19th-century postage stamp, for example, is so rare it has been
:09:33. > :09:37.nicknamed the Mona Lisa. It sold for a record ?5.6 million at auction.
:09:38. > :09:42.That is out of reach for most collectors. So what is more readily
:09:43. > :09:45.available? I have been looking at the Penny Black, which is the
:09:46. > :09:50.world's first postage stamp entered in 1840 during the reign of Queen
:09:51. > :09:55.Victoria. It is considered the Holy Grail for stamp collectors and one
:09:56. > :10:00.of these in mint condition can sell for around ?10,000. A Singapore
:10:01. > :10:07.collector paid nearly ?500,000 for a set of them. Like any investment
:10:08. > :10:14.items like stamps come with risks. Aside from being expensive, many are
:10:15. > :10:19.highly ill-equipped, which means they don't generate any income. If
:10:20. > :10:20.they are not stored properly the stamps can be damaged, meaning
:10:21. > :10:22.ultimately their value can stamps can be damaged, meaning
:10:23. > :10:27.ultimately their value can be as worthless as a piece of paper. Asian
:10:28. > :10:31.stock markets continued to climb after US equities rose as investors
:10:32. > :10:36.continued to recover confidence in the health of the global economy.
:10:37. > :10:41.Thank you for joining us, I am Rico Hizon, goodbye for now.
:10:42. > :10:44.The top stories this hour: Leaders of the G7 countries kick
:10:45. > :10:48.off their summit in Japan shortly, with the global economy, terrorism,