:00:00. > :00:00.He will also be questioned over the attempted murder
:00:00. > :00:13.Now on BBC News, all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:14. > :00:19.From a disgraced president facing prosecutors to Chinese leader
:00:20. > :00:25.heading down under, we take a look at the week ahead and how it impacts
:00:26. > :00:30.financial markets. And while food companies are trying to offer
:00:31. > :00:40.healthier options for Indian consumers. Good morning, Asia, hello
:00:41. > :00:46.world. Glad you could join us for this Monday at edition of Asia
:00:47. > :00:50.Business Report. I am Rico Hizon. It is set to be a busy week. Looking at
:00:51. > :00:54.what is on the news and business agenda and how this could impact the
:00:55. > :00:58.financial markets. The Korean impeachment saga is set to continue
:00:59. > :01:03.this Monday with prosecutors questioning ex-president Park
:01:04. > :01:06.Geun-hye. Later on in the week, the General Council of the European
:01:07. > :01:11.Central Bank meets on Thursday with many expecting a potential rate rise
:01:12. > :01:15.and to round out the week the Chinese Premier, Li Keqiang, heads
:01:16. > :01:18.to Australia on Friday. Earlier I discussed what we can expect from
:01:19. > :01:25.some of these stories with a market watcher. Most of them are macro
:01:26. > :01:28.news, which tend to affect all the stocks in the markets when something
:01:29. > :01:33.happens. And what have seen in the risk environment has changed since
:01:34. > :01:37.the Trump election. We used to worry a lot about macro news in the past
:01:38. > :01:41.several years but since then we are worrying more about company specific
:01:42. > :01:45.news and the dispersion across the stock market has led to a much
:01:46. > :01:50.healthier risk environment which has meant we can withstand more macro
:01:51. > :01:54.bad news than we had recently. What about the European Central Bank
:01:55. > :01:57.eventually raising the cost of borrowing, following in the
:01:58. > :02:02.footsteps of the US? Will it happen? Europe is going to be a hotbed of
:02:03. > :02:04.the next 12 months, the Brexit negotiations going on in the
:02:05. > :02:08.background, elections coming in France, and we just had some good
:02:09. > :02:13.news out of Holland, so Europe is going to be... The risk premium in
:02:14. > :02:17.Europe will continue to remain high in the next 12 months because of
:02:18. > :02:21.these things. I don't think talking about raising interest rates right
:02:22. > :02:25.now is the best thing. But of course, despite all this talk of
:02:26. > :02:31.protectionist policies from President Trump, we have seen the US
:02:32. > :02:38.market is continuing to rise. But raising the cost of borrowing has
:02:39. > :02:42.kept Asian stock markets on the sidelines. Some of the markets in
:02:43. > :02:47.Asia are worried about that, because some of the markets in Asia have US
:02:48. > :02:50.denominated debt, which will get more expensive for them. But there
:02:51. > :02:54.are plenty of countries in Asia with no debt problem, no deficits, and
:02:55. > :02:58.for them it is still just trying to figure out what is Trump about and
:02:59. > :03:03.which of our companies and sectors will benefit from his policies? But
:03:04. > :03:10.our investors concerned that the Fed could get aggressive this year in
:03:11. > :03:15.terms of raising by another 25 basis points, by another 0.5%, on interest
:03:16. > :03:18.rates? I think 0.5% is properly priced into the cost of doing
:03:19. > :03:22.business, but what investors have learnt about central banks in the
:03:23. > :03:27.last eight years or so is that they can be very accommodative when they
:03:28. > :03:33.need to. In other business news making headlines, the president of
:03:34. > :03:39.Uber has resigned less than a year after joining the country, Co. He
:03:40. > :03:42.has said that the beliefs and approaches to leadership which have
:03:43. > :03:47.guided his career are inconsistent with what he has seen at Uber. They
:03:48. > :03:53.have been a number of controversies over the country's work culture.
:03:54. > :03:57.Angela Merkel and Shinzo Abe have spoken up in defence of free trade
:03:58. > :04:02.despite the increasingly protectionist stance of the US. They
:04:03. > :04:06.were opening attack fear and the statement came after the G20 meeting
:04:07. > :04:10.which dropped a long-standing mention of open trade in their final
:04:11. > :04:15.communique, a move attributed to pressure from the US. While some
:04:16. > :04:19.businesses are worried about the potential for market volatility in
:04:20. > :04:24.2017, others are embracing it, and one of them is the currency trading
:04:25. > :04:31.platform. But as the company starts to gain market share in Asia, will
:04:32. > :04:38.investors be so eager to wade into the currency markets? As part of our
:04:39. > :04:43.series, Two Minutes With, I spoke to the company's chief executive. Thank
:04:44. > :04:49.you so much for joining us. Let's start. It is a very crowded market
:04:50. > :04:55.out there. How do you survive? We are constantly seeking feedback from
:04:56. > :04:58.our clients, and there are three big reasons why we are one of the top
:04:59. > :05:01.retail foreigners exchange brokers out there. One is clients are
:05:02. > :05:05.constantly looking for a trusted broker and we have been in the
:05:06. > :05:10.market for 21 years, and no fines and no citations. You are based in
:05:11. > :05:15.New York. We are based in New York. What are your plans for Asia? Big
:05:16. > :05:19.plans for Asia, it represents 50% of our business today and we continue
:05:20. > :05:23.to invest heavily. At the Asian markets are fragmented, do you feel
:05:24. > :05:28.their are enough investors here who are financially sophisticated?
:05:29. > :05:31.Definitely, definitely. We see investors in Singapore where we are
:05:32. > :05:41.the market leader but also across greater China and the Asean region.
:05:42. > :05:46.And investors want more engagement with the platform, and that is where
:05:47. > :05:49.we are really investing. In education courses, helping people
:05:50. > :05:54.understand the risks in the market, and that is what it takes. People
:05:55. > :05:57.are looking for how do I get my trading strategy. That is true
:05:58. > :06:02.everywhere in the world, definitely in Asia. And isn't it difficult for
:06:03. > :06:05.Asian investors to learn online trading? They would rather talk
:06:06. > :06:11.directly to their broker, rather than go online and trade. Actually,
:06:12. > :06:17.you would find in the case of electronic trading, given 24/7
:06:18. > :06:21.market access, or 24/5 market access, the way to consume
:06:22. > :06:25.information is so easy, and you can trade on the mobile platform. With
:06:26. > :06:30.the preponderance of mobile in Asia it is very good for investors. 2017,
:06:31. > :06:34.a lot of volatility in the markets due to uncertainty in global events.
:06:35. > :06:38.Does this bode well for your business? Definitely, it bodes well
:06:39. > :06:41.for our traders and our clients, because while there is volatility in
:06:42. > :06:46.the market they don't have trading opportunities, with more volatility,
:06:47. > :06:50.they will look for more information and use that to trade and be
:06:51. > :06:55.profitable. We are out of time, thank you so much for joining us,
:06:56. > :06:59.from Oanda. India has been the standout economic growth story in
:07:00. > :07:02.the past few years but increasing prosperity has a few downsides as
:07:03. > :07:07.well. India's waistlines are expanding as quickly as its bank
:07:08. > :07:14.account. The latest figures say 21% of women and 19% of men are obese,
:07:15. > :07:21.and India's home to more than 65 million people who are diabetic. As
:07:22. > :07:25.health concerns go, consumers are looking for healthier options and
:07:26. > :07:29.manufacturers are taking note, with the world's largest food company
:07:30. > :07:34.promising to make its most popular Indian products healthier. Our
:07:35. > :07:39.correspondent has the details. Some of India's most popular food
:07:40. > :07:43.products are going on a health kick. The company behind many of them,
:07:44. > :07:50.Nestle, has vowed to cut sugar in some chocolate and dairy products
:07:51. > :07:55.but its biggest gamble is a plan to cut salt and sodium content in Maggi
:07:56. > :07:59.noodles. Indians love these noodles. Nestle's product is back to leading
:08:00. > :08:03.the market in the category with a 60% share. That is despite a ban a
:08:04. > :08:08.few years ago over claims these noodles contained dangerously high
:08:09. > :08:14.levels of lead. Indians are over that controversy now, but what do
:08:15. > :08:19.they think of Nestle's plans to make their favourite Breakfast, lunch,
:08:20. > :08:24.dinner and snack healthier? I would rather prefer to buy something that
:08:25. > :08:29.is organic, as a healthy choice, over a product like Maggi. I still
:08:30. > :08:33.buy Maggi for the fact that it is Maggi and I like to have fun. You
:08:34. > :08:37.change products and within one month you find your sodium level or sugar
:08:38. > :08:41.levels are normal? I don't think so, but in the long run it is healthy.
:08:42. > :08:45.It is going to make a difference. Nestle isn't the only global food
:08:46. > :08:51.brand changing its strategy in India. Local brands are moving into
:08:52. > :08:55.the sector as well. Spiritual gurus in particular have recognised the
:08:56. > :09:00.potential of marketing flavours organically. These gurus have had
:09:01. > :09:04.natural medicine products for years, but their expansion into food and
:09:05. > :09:08.beverage retail is new. And, with hundreds of millions of followers
:09:09. > :09:15.already, turning them into customers shouldn't be too hard. Food and
:09:16. > :09:19.drink is a $57 billion industry in India, but alarmed by rising rates
:09:20. > :09:24.of obesity and diabetes, the government is cracking down on
:09:25. > :09:28.manufacturers. It plans to introduce rules on display in fat, sugar and
:09:29. > :09:36.salt content on packaging and is considering a nationwide tax on food
:09:37. > :09:40.products high in sugar and fat. There is more food news, this time
:09:41. > :09:44.from China, where lobster imports from the United States have hit a
:09:45. > :09:50.new high. American lobster is almost unheard of in most of the mainland
:09:51. > :09:55.until 2010, when the value of imports jumped by a whopping 250%.
:09:56. > :10:01.The market continues to grow, and last year China hit a new record,
:10:02. > :10:03.importing lobsters worth more than 108 million US dollars
:10:04. > :10:13.And before we go, here is a look at the markets, and Asia is starting
:10:14. > :10:19.the new trading week a little weaker due to the decision to drop a pledge
:10:20. > :10:22.to avoid trade protectionism at the G20. The All Ordinaries is down
:10:23. > :10:33.slightly. The Hang Seng is moving sideways and South Korea is lower as
:10:34. > :10:41.well. In UK is close for -- the Nikkei is ) of the colony.
:10:42. > :10:47.The top stories this hour: President Trump has again accused
:10:48. > :10:51.North Korea of acting very badly, after Kim Jong-un claimed