:00:00. > :00:12.Now on BBC News all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:13. > :00:19.With India still reeling from the government's demonetisation drive,
:00:20. > :00:24.Prime Minister Narendra Modi has plans for a new India. And slowing
:00:25. > :00:31.the flow, as cuts take effect in production, we ask if it will take
:00:32. > :00:39.oil prices out of the year-long slump. Good morning, and Happy New
:00:40. > :00:45.Year. Welcome to Asia Business Report live from Singapore. In a New
:00:46. > :00:48.Year is addressed to the nation the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi
:00:49. > :00:54.announced measures to help those hardest hit by the cash ban he
:00:55. > :00:58.imposed a month ago. It is his first televised address since he announced
:00:59. > :01:03.the controversial decision. The move caused panic across India and many
:01:04. > :01:09.ATMs and banks are still short of new cash.
:01:10. > :01:13.More than 50 days after the government withdrew 86% of currency
:01:14. > :01:17.notes in circulation, India is still reeling under the impact of that
:01:18. > :01:22.decision. New notes had been introduced but the pace at which
:01:23. > :01:27.they are coming to the system is low and the shortage is affecting the
:01:28. > :01:33.informal sector which generates 80% of employment in India. And so job
:01:34. > :01:38.losses have been mounting, farmers have been finding it difficult to
:01:39. > :01:42.access money to pay for seeds and labourers and so in an attempt to
:01:43. > :01:47.soften the blow and help those worst affected, the Prime Minister
:01:48. > :01:52.announced a number of measures in a televised speech in New Year's Eve,
:01:53. > :01:58.offering discounts on interest rates for small home loans, incentives for
:01:59. > :02:02.small businesses, waivers for farmers who took loans to sow crops
:02:03. > :02:06.and incentives for pregnant women and the elderly, and measures to
:02:07. > :02:11.encourage people to make digital payments rather than use cash. He
:02:12. > :02:14.defended the government decision to withdraw currency notes and said it
:02:15. > :02:19.would root out corruption and illegal cash holdings called black
:02:20. > :02:24.money in India. In his speech there were no details of how much black
:02:25. > :02:27.money has been unearthed so far. Analysts have been asking how the
:02:28. > :02:32.government wants to pay for the handouts. This year India has
:02:33. > :02:36.committed to narrowing the gap between how much it spends and how
:02:37. > :02:40.much it earns. In less than a month from now the national budget will be
:02:41. > :02:45.announced and maybe they will have some idea of how the government is
:02:46. > :02:51.managing India's finances. Well, the rupee may have stolen the
:02:52. > :02:55.spotlight at the end of 2016 but through the year almost all major
:02:56. > :03:00.currencies were on a rollercoaster ride of their own. Our correspondent
:03:01. > :03:05.looks at where they will be starting off in 2017.
:03:06. > :03:10.At the start of 2016 it was all about the Japanese yen. The hardest
:03:11. > :03:15.working central banker in Asia did everything to weaken the yen but
:03:16. > :03:20.nothing, not even negative interest rates, worked. 2016 everyone said
:03:21. > :03:27.would be tough for the yen and as it was going on the Chinese one was
:03:28. > :03:30.falling. As the economy became uncertain Chinese companies and rich
:03:31. > :03:36.individuals sent more cash overseas. Then came the first big shock, the
:03:37. > :03:40.vote for Brexit. The Sterling slumped against the US dollar after
:03:41. > :03:46.the UK and expected leave voted to leave the EU in June. It has lost
:03:47. > :03:50.about 15% of its value. All that uncertainty led to more money
:03:51. > :03:56.flowing into the safe haven Japanese yen which kept rising and all he
:03:57. > :04:01.could do was wring his hands. All this while the Chinese yuan kept
:04:02. > :04:06.falling. And then trumped inflation hit, winning the White House, so the
:04:07. > :04:10.US dollar soared, which was good for the US dollar but bad for emerging
:04:11. > :04:15.market currencies like the Malaysian ringgit which hit lowest level since
:04:16. > :04:19.1998's financial crisis. Through it all the Chinese yuan kept falling
:04:20. > :04:26.even as the government pumped cash to prop it up. So, where are we at
:04:27. > :04:29.the beginning of 2017? Well, the US dollar is that it strongest level in
:04:30. > :04:33.years and looks set to stay that way. The British pound has lost a
:04:34. > :04:38.fifth of the value since Brexit, which might be a new normal, and the
:04:39. > :04:45.Japanese yen, what negative interest rates couldn't do Mr Trump did and
:04:46. > :04:49.finally the yen is weakening. What about the Chinese yuan? It is
:04:50. > :04:53.continuing a slow march downwards against the US dollar, for now at
:04:54. > :04:57.least. Because of the falling yuan, China
:04:58. > :05:03.has increased scrutiny of people buying foreign money. The foreign
:05:04. > :05:07.exchange regulator said as of one January people converting yuan into
:05:08. > :05:12.foreign currencies will have to provide more information on why they
:05:13. > :05:16.are doing so. Currently people can exchange the equivalent of $50,000 a
:05:17. > :05:20.year. Authorities are stepping up punishment for any illegal money
:05:21. > :05:26.outflows. The New Year also marks the start of
:05:27. > :05:32.production cuts by the world's biggest oil producers in an unusual
:05:33. > :05:35.move. Members of OPEC and other oil producing countries are slashing
:05:36. > :05:40.crude oil output by nearly 1.8 million barrels per day. Will the
:05:41. > :05:45.agreement stick, and what impact will it have on oil prices? I put
:05:46. > :05:49.that question to a resource analyst from Sydney.
:05:50. > :05:54.Certainly when you look at the commercial decision that OPEC made
:05:55. > :05:57.late last year there was one difference we have seen compared to
:05:58. > :06:03.all the other decisions they have made and never followed through with
:06:04. > :06:07.and that is that they bought in outside non- OPEC members, so we
:06:08. > :06:13.think that gives this opportunity for OPEC and non- OPEC members to
:06:14. > :06:18.ensure that going forward we will see the production cuts of about 1.8
:06:19. > :06:22.million barrels stick more so than we have seen in any other time than
:06:23. > :06:27.in OPEC history. What about Russia? Some seem sceptical it will stick to
:06:28. > :06:35.the cuts, at which it hasn't agreed to in 15 years. They will pull out
:06:36. > :06:41.300,000 barrels per day. If you look at the broader production of a are
:06:42. > :06:47.significantly a big producer, in the ten millionplus arena, so 300,000
:06:48. > :06:51.barrels is fairly small. Given they have the advantage of higher prices
:06:52. > :06:55.on the massive amount of production they would still be producing, we
:06:56. > :07:01.think they will certainly cap 300,000 barrels. If you look
:07:02. > :07:07.overall, we believe the market is in a surplus of over 1 million barrels,
:07:08. > :07:13.so cutting out 1.8 will reduce the market from a surplus to a deficit,
:07:14. > :07:17.and that allows for some creeping of members either cheating or perhaps
:07:18. > :07:23.US production to increase over the course of 2017. Oil prices rose
:07:24. > :07:28.since the announcement, double of the load from a year ago. What is
:07:29. > :07:35.your outlook for the price is? If we look at 2017 we think we will see a
:07:36. > :07:47.moderate rise in oil prices probably for WTI of $65 - $75 at the end and
:07:48. > :07:51.four Brent crude, $67- $77, so we see modest increases because of tail
:07:52. > :07:58.winds and we believe some strong headwinds. The massive inventory
:07:59. > :08:02.that still hangs in the US of 480 million barrels plus will act as a
:08:03. > :08:10.headwinds and we suggest we will see US production increase in. There is
:08:11. > :08:14.no Jetson style flying cars or Star Trek style teleportation yet but
:08:15. > :08:18.this year's Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas will showcase a
:08:19. > :08:22.huge range of new innovations, one of which is a virtual reality booth
:08:23. > :08:27.for people to play videogames without having to a headset. Chris
:08:28. > :08:33.Fox has a look. I am moving forward, I have to shoot
:08:34. > :08:40.that, how can I do that? Oh, wow. This is surprisingly scary. I have
:08:41. > :08:47.walls and pins coming at me. Oh, I have to avoid the dogs now. I am
:08:48. > :08:52.really scared of dogs, so this isn't fun. Whoever designed this is very
:08:53. > :08:58.sadistic. Everyone is talking about virtual reality, why is this version
:08:59. > :09:02.better? This is totally different usage because you are free to move
:09:03. > :09:08.and you don't have any wire. You can still see your body. It means that
:09:09. > :09:13.you are not unconnected from reality. Will people pay to use our
:09:14. > :09:19.game like this at a cinema or entertainment complex when they can
:09:20. > :09:23.do virtually he on their phone? This is a very different experience
:09:24. > :09:28.because in this set up we re- the player to move, which makes
:09:29. > :09:31.something possible for sports -- require the player to move. We can
:09:32. > :09:35.measure the difference for the people playing. We use this
:09:36. > :09:41.technology where it is more relevant, you need to move, you need
:09:42. > :09:45.to play, you need a fast set up, if you have the glasses you just put
:09:46. > :09:52.them on. A centuries-old tradition of sending new years cards into
:09:53. > :09:54.Japan gets a modern twist. Let's take a look. We will be back in the
:09:55. > :09:59.next hour.