:00:00. > :00:14.Now on BBC News, all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:15. > :00:26.All that glitters is not gold. Current global economic uncertainty
:00:27. > :00:31.also has a silver lining. And hazy legalities. Singapore takes action
:00:32. > :00:38.against Indonesian companies suspected of clearing land by
:00:39. > :00:43.burning. Hello, and welcome to Asia Business Report. I am Sharanjit
:00:44. > :00:48.Leyl. The stock markets have somehow calmed down from the surprising
:00:49. > :00:53.result of the UK's decision to leave the EU. At traditional safe havens,
:00:54. > :00:58.and we are talking about none other than what you see on screen here,
:00:59. > :01:04.that is gold but also silver, they have both surged to two year highs
:01:05. > :01:06.over concerns about political and economic stability. Let's take a
:01:07. > :01:14.look at how they are treating right now. Gold as UC to gain. Silver just
:01:15. > :01:19.$20. So really it is a lot of global concerns leading to these games,
:01:20. > :01:23.what are these concerns likely to subside any time soon all will
:01:24. > :01:27.investors continue to sink money into precious metals? I put that
:01:28. > :01:35.question to the founder of the Silver trading company Silver
:01:36. > :01:39.Bullion. As you have said, when you have things happening such as
:01:40. > :01:43.Brexit, causing uncertainty in people's mines, what you are seeing
:01:44. > :01:46.is a flight towards safe assets. And if you are looking at gold or silver
:01:47. > :01:51.it is a way for you to hedge political risk, financial risk, as
:01:52. > :01:58.well as the possibility of a currency crisis. Right. So in our
:01:59. > :02:04.case we saw a 600% increase in sales after Brexit. 600%, that is an
:02:05. > :02:07.enormous... That is a huge reaction there. Let's take a look at silver
:02:08. > :02:10.now. We know that gold has been rallying for a few months since the
:02:11. > :02:16.start of the year because of all these other global uncertainties
:02:17. > :02:19.such as this slowdown in China. So what is it about silver that is
:02:20. > :02:24.making it shown? Well, we have started seeing people sell gold and
:02:25. > :02:32.by silver around two months ago and part of the reason is a measure of
:02:33. > :02:36.how expensive silver is compared to gold, and it tends to vary between
:02:37. > :02:40.around 40 and 80. So at the beginning of the year it was around
:02:41. > :02:45.80, which means you can get 80 ounces of silver for one ounce of
:02:46. > :02:49.gold. And traditionally that tends to reach its peak. Since the
:02:50. > :02:56.beginning of the year silver has been rallying very strongly, 20%
:02:57. > :03:00.last week. And silver has come down. And do you think it is just
:03:01. > :03:04.investors looking at gold and thinking that is a bit expensive,
:03:05. > :03:10.let's put our money into silver? Exactly. And where will these prices
:03:11. > :03:14.had? Will continue to rally? I think people expect more uncertainty in
:03:15. > :03:18.the future. Brexit has just added to that and so as we look towards the
:03:19. > :03:22.future we are going to keep seeing demand for those assets. Meanwhile,
:03:23. > :03:28.the pound has hit a fresh 31 year low against the dollar. That is as
:03:29. > :03:32.markets continue to remain edgy in the wake of the Brexit vote. The
:03:33. > :03:35.Bank of England has also warned that commercial property is a key risk to
:03:36. > :03:40.the economy following the referendum. Foreign investors made
:03:41. > :03:45.up almost half of all property bought and sold since 2009. But that
:03:46. > :03:51.inflow of money to the UK is now slowing down. Of course, the fallout
:03:52. > :03:55.from Brexit goes much further. Take India's textile exports to the UK as
:03:56. > :03:59.an example. They are worth about $2 billion a year and the UK is the
:04:00. > :04:03.most important market in Europe for garment traders in India. The
:04:04. > :04:11.business is already hurt by the fall in the pound, as our correspondent
:04:12. > :04:16.reports from Mumbai. Made in India, to be sold overseas. All the clothes
:04:17. > :04:23.manufactured at this factory in Mumbai are for export. The company
:04:24. > :04:28.produces 8 million garment every month at 60% of its business comes
:04:29. > :04:34.from the UK. So, with the value of the pound falling sharply after the
:04:35. > :04:38.vote for Brexit, its earnings are being hit. If I don't get a proper
:04:39. > :04:43.pricing, we will be looking for a different market. I can go to other
:04:44. > :04:46.countries in no time, like the USA or other European markets, or
:04:47. > :04:52.Australia, or so on. And you can get the business. I can't take immediate
:04:53. > :04:56.steps, I can't think of my strategy immediately, but in the long-term,
:04:57. > :04:59.yes. If in one or two seasons I don't get the support from the UK
:05:00. > :05:06.market then I will definitely shift. More than a third of India's textile
:05:07. > :05:10.exports go to the European Union, and the UK is the biggest buyer.
:05:11. > :05:15.Traders here have already been finding Europe a tough market to
:05:16. > :05:19.sell to. A T-shirt that is made here, when a retailer in the EU buys
:05:20. > :05:23.it, they have to pay a certain import tax on it. Whereas if a
:05:24. > :05:28.similar T-shirt is bought in a country like say in the dash there
:05:29. > :05:36.is 0% duty. That makes Indian clothes less competitive. --
:05:37. > :05:40.Bangladesh. Now the UK has proposed to cut itself away from the EU, it
:05:41. > :05:44.is expected to do more trade with other markets in the Indian
:05:45. > :05:49.government is expecting a better deal. The benefits which were given
:05:50. > :05:53.to Bangladesh and a few other countries, they do not extend to
:05:54. > :05:56.India. And as a result of which, it is not just being lost in terms of
:05:57. > :06:02.employment generation, but also the sector which had the strength, which
:06:03. > :06:08.actually reached total market, global market, was, I would say,
:06:09. > :06:12.unfairly pushed out of its traditional markets. So that I would
:06:13. > :06:18.think gives us the advantage in a matter of a couple of years to be
:06:19. > :06:24.able to serve the UK and the European Union. Ironing out such an
:06:25. > :06:32.agreement will take time. For now, Indian factories will be looking for
:06:33. > :06:37.answers from their UK partners. In other business news, Italian tycoon
:06:38. > :06:41.and former prime minister Silvio Bernasconi is reportedly selling
:06:42. > :06:46.soccer club a seem alarmed to a Chinese consortium. He told
:06:47. > :06:51.reporters about the deal as he was leaving a Mallarme hospital. The
:06:52. > :06:54.club posted a loss last year and it needs new capital to fund its
:06:55. > :07:00.business and compete with top European clubs -- aggro two. The
:07:01. > :07:04.owner of infidelity dating website Ashley Madison is being investigated
:07:05. > :07:07.by US authorities. There is no detail about the investigation but
:07:08. > :07:12.the trade Commission is possibly looking into cases where consumers
:07:13. > :07:15.were told that information was secure but it was handled
:07:16. > :07:21.inappropriately. Last year the website sold information from its
:07:22. > :07:25.customers, which led to a shakeup. Singapore has served legal notices
:07:26. > :07:28.to six Indonesian companies suspected of clearing land by
:07:29. > :07:32.burning. The move highlights the delicate relations between the two
:07:33. > :07:38.countries over the issue of haze. Our correspondent has questioned the
:07:39. > :07:44.right to indict its citizens at Singapore's Minister told our Asia
:07:45. > :07:49.business correspondent Singapore has the legal right to go after those
:07:50. > :07:57.causing the problem. We can prosecute companies and directors
:07:58. > :08:04.who have concessions and have somehow cost us by burning.
:08:05. > :08:07.Environmentalists say that many of the companies allegedly involved in
:08:08. > :08:11.starting this forest fires in Indonesia are actually listed and
:08:12. > :08:16.headquartered in Singapore. Why are you not doing more to stop their
:08:17. > :08:20.activities? Well, these companies are well separated from their
:08:21. > :08:24.Indonesian companies. In fact, one of the companies we are pursuing
:08:25. > :08:29.over here is so well separated from them, it is really difficult to get
:08:30. > :08:36.to them, through their lawyers, through their walls of opacity, to
:08:37. > :08:40.get them on that matter. But at the National and government level we are
:08:41. > :08:46.working to stop the changes, to make sure that money is only being lent
:08:47. > :08:55.to companies which are sustainable. And our stock is already implemented
:08:56. > :09:00.in terms of comply and explain. Companies listed on the stock
:09:01. > :09:03.exchange have to show they can comply with rules and taxes and if
:09:04. > :09:11.they cannot they have to explain. Indonesia says that the quality of
:09:12. > :09:16.air in Asean is not just a local problem, it is a regional issue.
:09:17. > :09:19.Every country has the right to exploit the resources, to make sure
:09:20. > :09:26.that the people benefit from the economy, activity that they can
:09:27. > :09:31.produce there. But in doing so, they as a global, responsible citizens
:09:32. > :09:36.should ensure they protect their environment for generations to come.
:09:37. > :09:42.But more importantly, do not do anything that affects any of us.
:09:43. > :09:47.Now, international law allows every neighbour to look for ways to
:09:48. > :09:51.prevent such egregious acts from happening, from country to country
:09:52. > :09:55.level, as well as to ensure that commercially the companies that have
:09:56. > :09:59.these practices do not become viable. Has Singapore failed its
:10:00. > :10:04.citizens by not being able to solve this problem for more than two
:10:05. > :10:08.decades? Well, I think it is question of process. It is important
:10:09. > :10:13.to recognise that for many years we have been put in the right processes
:10:14. > :10:19.in place. But the processors do not always get compliance. And that was
:10:20. > :10:22.Singapore's environment and water resources Minister speaking there.
:10:23. > :10:26.Let's take a look at the markets before we go. We are seeing that
:10:27. > :10:28.this is how US markets open but let's take a look at Asian markets,
:10:29. > :10:34.because they have all opened lower amongst those that are currently
:10:35. > :10:40.open. That is it for this edition of Asia Business Report.
:10:41. > :10:44.The top stories this hour: Hillary Clinton is back