:00:15. > :00:25.Could there be relief for Japanese consumers? PM Shinzo Abe is poised
:00:26. > :00:35.to bring another rise in the sales tax. And, we look at the business of
:00:36. > :00:42.investing in valuable linkages. -- vintages. Good morning, it is
:00:43. > :00:48.Wednesday, glad you could join us for this edition. We kick off with
:00:49. > :00:54.Japan, and it is one of the key planks of the PM's promised reforms
:00:55. > :01:06.aimed at reforming his country's ailing economy. But now a hike in
:01:07. > :02:14.the sales tax from 8-10% is possibly going to be delayed.
:02:15. > :02:24.Earlier, I spoke to achieve Japan economist, who was in a Tokyo
:02:25. > :02:30.Studios. I asked him if the increase could cause debt levels to
:02:31. > :02:34.increase. Considering the stability of Japanese government finance, it
:02:35. > :02:39.is not a good thing. If you consider the current situation in the
:02:40. > :02:44.Japanese economy, I definitely think the decision is the right thing.
:02:45. > :02:52.What could be the repercussions for Japanese economy if the sales tax
:02:53. > :03:03.hike is delayed? As full a positive reaction, the possible negative
:03:04. > :03:08.impact from the sales tax hike will be cancelled. We think about 0.3% in
:03:09. > :03:18.terms of GDP growth rate, but on the other hand we must consider that
:03:19. > :03:21.some agencies could improve credit ratings of sovereign debt. But I
:03:22. > :03:37.don't think this would lead to rising... Australia is in the midst
:03:38. > :03:43.of an election campaign and the economy as a key issue for both
:03:44. > :03:48.sides. That means there is a focus on the latest economic growth
:03:49. > :03:52.numbers, which are due soon. We were told we could see some better than
:03:53. > :04:01.expected data. A very strong result yesterday, to begin directly to GDP
:04:02. > :04:05.today. There is a 1.1% starting point, making the GDP numbers are
:04:06. > :04:10.nice chance of beating what economists have read easily
:04:11. > :04:14.predicted. And the government will definitely put the best possible
:04:15. > :04:18.spin on this GDP number. But if you break it all down, what are the
:04:19. > :04:22.reality is that you see from the economic numbers? There will be
:04:23. > :04:28.something for everybody in today's numbers. The headline number is
:04:29. > :04:33.almost certainly strong, which is good for the incumbent government.
:04:34. > :04:40.For the opposition, domestic demand numbers are likely to be soft to
:04:41. > :04:45.week, so they will be looking at those numbers and saying the export
:04:46. > :04:48.number is good, but the domestic demand number remains weak. That is
:04:49. > :05:05.a real question on these numbers. How strong is the domestic economy
:05:06. > :05:09.performing? The export industry is the automatic stabiliser, if you
:05:10. > :05:12.like. But the domestic demand question is still there. Is there
:05:13. > :05:21.enough inherent growth in the local economy to sustain us if and when
:05:22. > :05:28.the exchange rate changes. A Japanese mobile character will
:05:29. > :05:58.unload $7.9 billion in its stake in Alibaba. The deal will bring its
:05:59. > :06:07.stake down to about 20%. This is one very small part of China's huge
:06:08. > :06:08.pharmaceutical retail industry. There are generic drugs and more
:06:09. > :06:14.specialist over-the-counter treatments. The drug industry here
:06:15. > :06:19.was worth 115 billion US dollars last year, second only to the US
:06:20. > :06:23.market. The forecasts are that those figures are only going to go one
:06:24. > :06:28.way, and that is up. It is because China's population is growing, it is
:06:29. > :06:33.ageing, the people are demanding they need more drugs and better
:06:34. > :06:36.quality of drugs. The government he has two priorities. To keep costs
:06:37. > :06:40.down because it needs to be affordable for the government, but
:06:41. > :06:43.it also wants to ensure that these drugs remain affordable and
:06:44. > :06:49.accessible to everyone in the country. Over the next five months
:06:50. > :06:55.we are seeing an aggressive push. Everyone involved in the process
:06:56. > :06:58.wants to ensure that they are keeping the price of these drugs at
:06:59. > :07:09.the level they have pledged to keep it out. It is also trying to
:07:10. > :07:14.cultivate its own Chinese domestic pharmaceutical manufacturing base.
:07:15. > :07:21.It is difficult to do that if you are keeping the costs down. You have
:07:22. > :07:28.to look at some of the evidence for the end of 2015, when the drug
:07:29. > :07:32.market in China stalled. In fact, it contracted by 1%, which is not a
:07:33. > :07:37.figure that aspirin Chinese drug manufacturers want to see.
:07:38. > :07:42.Would you have a glass of good wine or a single malt Scotch on the
:07:43. > :07:48.rocks? What is better value for money as an investment. A corruption
:07:49. > :07:53.crackdown in China has caused the industry to buckle, and many areas
:07:54. > :08:02.have been wound down. Is it for drinking or investing?
:08:03. > :08:08.That is a question for Ted Hodgkinson, a lifelong lover of fine
:08:09. > :08:12.wine. It was really only about ten years ago when I saw the prices of
:08:13. > :08:18.wine going up but I thought I needed to invest, because of consumption
:08:19. > :08:23.and protecting my position, but also for the long-term gains. At his
:08:24. > :08:27.peak, he had 1000 bottles of Australian and French wines in his
:08:28. > :08:33.portfolio. In 2011 the one investment market slumped due to an
:08:34. > :08:40.anticorruption drive in China. This bottle now costs just $400, much
:08:41. > :08:49.less than its heyday five years ago. And this can be had for $725, far
:08:50. > :08:54.cheaper than at its height in 2011. TED still drinks wine, but he no
:08:55. > :09:02.longer buys it for invest in. Instead, he has just bought another
:09:03. > :09:06.tipple, single malt whiskey. It is a market even smaller than the one for
:09:07. > :09:13.investment great wine, but over the last five years, benchmark fine wine
:09:14. > :09:17.prices have fallen by a third. At the same time, rare whiskey prices
:09:18. > :09:23.have more than doubled. This man is a wine distributor, who started a
:09:24. > :09:29.$10 million whiskey fund that is now largely closed to new investors. You
:09:30. > :09:33.have witnessed first-hand the wine investment market and the bubble
:09:34. > :09:40.burst just a few years ago. Why is whiskey any different? When the
:09:41. > :09:44.world has a shortage of old and rare single malt whiskey. It has been
:09:45. > :09:50.going on for about ten years and we think will continue for at least the
:09:51. > :09:56.next five years. Analysts say it is a very liquid market. The so-called
:09:57. > :10:00.passion fund is not intended for the average investor. It is a niche
:10:01. > :10:06.sector with potential for big gains and losses.
:10:07. > :10:13.Before we go, here is a quick look at the markets. As you can see,
:10:14. > :10:27.another lacklustre day for Asian trade after US equities close down
:10:28. > :10:38.overnight. The Nikkei down 4.9%, and the All Ordinaries giving back 35.
:10:39. > :10:42.The top stories this hour: The deposed former
:10:43. > :10:46.Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra returns to the public eye