:00:00. > :00:00.down as an MP to concentrate on his new job as editor of the London
:00:00. > :00:00.Evening Standard. Now on BBC News, let's get the latest business news
:00:07. > :00:19.live with Rico Hizon in Singapore. The US Vice President arrives in
:00:20. > :00:22.Indonesia. There might be tough conversations on trade. But what
:00:23. > :00:28.will be Indonesians want to hear from Donald Trump's deputy will stop
:00:29. > :00:40.-- deputy? And we find out how Indian businesses are handling a new
:00:41. > :00:46.roadside ban on our goal. -- on alcohol. It is a Thursday. Good
:00:47. > :00:50.morning Asia. Hello world. But you could join us for Asia Business
:00:51. > :00:53.Report. I'm Rico Hizon. The US Vice-President Mike Pence is in
:00:54. > :00:58.Indonesia as part of his first visit to the region. Security issues
:00:59. > :01:06.dominated his talks in South Korea and Japan. He will be meeting Joko
:01:07. > :01:11.Widodo and we will hear from Indonesian and Asian business
:01:12. > :01:19.leaders. What will likely be on the agenda? There are plenty of issues
:01:20. > :01:22.that Washington gripes to Indonesia about, in terms of regular tree
:01:23. > :01:25.issues. And now the opposite is happening and Jakarta is hitting
:01:26. > :01:35.back the other way, griping about some of the rhetoric coming out of
:01:36. > :01:49.the trump administration. -- regulatory. -- Trump. These disputes
:01:50. > :01:54.over particular companies, certainly that is one of the reasons why Mike
:01:55. > :02:00.Pence decided to swing by Jakarta on the way to Australia. But there are
:02:01. > :02:04.other issues on the ticket, as well. I think normalisation is one of the
:02:05. > :02:08.things that from my opinion is one of the main issues that Mike Pence
:02:09. > :02:12.is here to talk about. And that is a normalisation of relations after
:02:13. > :02:16.some eyebrows were raised here in Indonesia about the travel ban on
:02:17. > :02:22.Muslim majority countries, from Washington. As well as announcements
:02:23. > :02:26.about trade investigations, in terms of 16 countries that have a trade
:02:27. > :02:29.imbalance with the United States. Indonesia was not pleased about that
:02:30. > :02:36.announcement. I think Mike Pence is here to do a good bit of normalising
:02:37. > :02:42.after that. Rio Tinto says iron ore production in Australia fell 3% in
:02:43. > :02:46.the first three months of the year, compared to the same period a year
:02:47. > :02:53.ago. The company said that is due to logistical conditions due to wet
:02:54. > :03:02.weather and its mines. But it is says is on track to reach full-year
:03:03. > :03:07.targets. A peak in mid- February came after demand in China shrinks.
:03:08. > :03:14.Oil prices have rebounded slightly after slipping $2 a barrel on a rise
:03:15. > :03:20.in US gasoline stockpiles. This is where they are right now. Light
:03:21. > :03:28.crude is at $51.06 a barrel. Brent crude is at $53. It is the first
:03:29. > :03:33.rise in US gas stockpiles since January. It comes since their
:03:34. > :03:37.production hits the highest level since mid-2000 15. And the latest
:03:38. > :03:49.financial results have helped ease worries over a dispute with Apple
:03:50. > :03:52.for Qualcomm. Qualcomm's chief executive says the company expects
:03:53. > :03:58.to continue being an important supplier to the iPhone maker. --
:03:59. > :04:04.Radu. In January, Apple sued Qualcomm, accusing them of
:04:05. > :04:07.overcharging for its chips. And Malaysia airlines has become the
:04:08. > :04:11.first carrier to sign up to a new satellite flight tracking system. It
:04:12. > :04:15.will allow the monitoring of planes in areas where there is currently no
:04:16. > :04:20.surveillance. The development, three years after Malaysia airlines flight
:04:21. > :04:26.MH-370 disappeared with 239 people on board. Tens of thousands of
:04:27. > :04:29.shops, restaurant, and bars in India are suffering, because they have
:04:30. > :04:36.been forced to stop selling our goal. The Supreme Court banned sales
:04:37. > :04:42.within 500 metres of national and state highways, in an effort to
:04:43. > :04:46.reduce drink-driving death. -- alcohol. But some said the law is a
:04:47. > :04:48.blunt tool and not tackling the problem.
:04:49. > :05:01.We got this report. In April of last year, 32-year-old man was on his way
:05:02. > :05:04.from home -- home from work, whether seven. The Mercedes hit him,
:05:05. > :05:13.throwing and 15 feet into the air and telling. City deep two CCTV
:05:14. > :05:20.footage sparked a debate on Rosetti. -- CCTV footage. His sister thinks
:05:21. > :05:26.the man might have been drunk. She believes that the ban of our coal
:05:27. > :05:32.sales and Eyre might help. It might be a solution. -- alcohol. It
:05:33. > :05:36.doesn't matter. If you kill somebody, it is not my problem.
:05:37. > :05:40.India's rows are considered to be among the deadliest in the world.
:05:41. > :05:48.There have been nearly half a million accidents in 2015 a lone.
:05:49. > :05:54.One life was lost every four minutes. Most of these road traffic
:05:55. > :05:58.deaths happen on state and national highways. -- alone. The Supreme
:05:59. > :06:04.Court ruling is mainly aimed at alcohol shops like this that are on
:06:05. > :06:08.the highway and cater to truckers. But as you can see, many are still
:06:09. > :06:14.working. When we spoke to them, they said they would not shut down unless
:06:15. > :06:18.forced to. But over the thousands of Cordozo highways, owners are
:06:19. > :06:23.prepared to do anything to protect their business. In India, our goal
:06:24. > :06:28.is a virgin a billion-dollar market. And the band has hit other big
:06:29. > :06:33.businesses too. -- Radu. This is just outside of Delhi. It is just
:06:34. > :06:41.metres away from a major highway. Before the ban, they sold to 400 or
:06:42. > :06:46.500 customers per night. 85% of its business came from alcohol sales. We
:06:47. > :06:51.spent a lot of money to create a concept and to do the interiors, all
:06:52. > :06:58.about. That is useless business for us. As usual loss of employment.
:06:59. > :07:03.State Goverment 's are unhappy too. They are set to lose tens of
:07:04. > :07:07.billions of dollars two. And with more than 1 million jobs at risk of
:07:08. > :07:15.business owners and state officials are asking if this ban is the only
:07:16. > :07:20.solution. -- too. Froese goes to the polls as we can for the first round
:07:21. > :07:24.of eight closely contested presidential election. It is a key
:07:25. > :07:27.vote. Marine Le Pen has suggested that France should leave the
:07:28. > :07:38.European Union. Much of the support for her and Melenchon appears to
:07:39. > :07:45.come from rural areas. We got this report from the south of France.
:07:46. > :07:50.Glittering under the sun of Provence, Rice has been grown in the
:07:51. > :07:55.region for centuries. But now, the industry faces a difficult future.
:07:56. > :07:59.Competition from overboard and a big reduction in subsidies have taken a
:08:00. > :08:06.heavy toll on production. TRANSLATION:
:08:07. > :08:13.Growers say this needs to change. TRANSLATION: Politician should be
:08:14. > :08:17.focusing on rural issues in France. There are 15 million people living
:08:18. > :08:21.in rural areas. About one quarter of the population. Politics must become
:08:22. > :08:25.rural again. The rice business has its own particular concerns, of
:08:26. > :08:29.course. But you will be much the of thing if you talk to farmers up and
:08:30. > :08:32.down this country. They are worried that their problems simply not not
:08:33. > :08:37.being taken seriously enough by politicians in towns and cities. In
:08:38. > :08:40.this small village, farmers have gathered for the weekly market. They
:08:41. > :08:45.have little time for mainstream politics.
:08:46. > :08:50.TRANSLATION: Rural issues are taboo. It is only large towns and their
:08:51. > :08:52.inhabitants that politicians care about. Country people are being
:08:53. > :08:56.forgotten. TRANSLATION: I think it is a
:08:57. > :08:59.candidates on the far right and left the people here vote for. The
:09:00. > :09:04.extremes. TRANSLATION: I will vote Marine Le
:09:05. > :09:08.Pen, because she is a woman, and we have never had a female president in
:09:09. > :09:16.France. She could bring something new that male leaders have not in
:09:17. > :09:21.the past. Opinion polls suggest that dissolution in country areas has
:09:22. > :09:26.provided support for fringe candidates. They have a strong sense
:09:27. > :09:32.of abandonment from the mainstream political parties. You know, there
:09:33. > :09:41.used to be a large portion of the population, but now they are a small
:09:42. > :09:49.portion. -- dei. -- Menadue. They more and more turning to the Front
:09:50. > :09:53.National, which looks like the only alternative for them. The
:09:54. > :09:59.countryside is home to millions of voters. In such a close fought race,
:10:00. > :10:02.at their voices might become important indeed.
:10:03. > :10:11.Let's have a look at the markets. As you can see, the Nikkei is a third a
:10:12. > :10:15.percent, due to the weakness of the Japanese yen against the US dollar.
:10:16. > :10:24.The dollar is strong in New York and Asian trade. In the All Ordinaries,
:10:25. > :10:28.they got .3 of a percent, that is 16 .5 points. Thank you for investing
:10:29. > :10:38.your time with us. Sport Today is coming up next.
:10:39. > :10:45.You are watching BBC News. Let's get more on George Osborne's
:10:46. > :10:46.announcement that he