:00:00. > :00:00.One belt, one road. China gears up for its first new silk Road Summit
:00:00. > :00:07.in Beijing. What will it mean for investors. Skyhigh prices for homes
:00:08. > :00:16.in Asia. Which property market gives you the best bang for your buck? It
:00:17. > :00:23.is Friday, everyone. Thank you for joining us. I am Rico Hizon. 28
:00:24. > :00:26.world leaders will gather in Beijing over the weekend to discuss China's
:00:27. > :00:33.grand plan to invest billions of dollars to improve its global trade
:00:34. > :00:37.links. What is known as the one belt one road initiatives is crucial for
:00:38. > :00:41.the Chinese president. There are concerns that it is masking other
:00:42. > :00:53.ambitions. Our correspondent has the details. By sea and by land China's
:00:54. > :00:59.president has a big idea to bring his country closer to some of you.
:01:00. > :01:03.It is called one belt, one road. An awkward and confusing name but it is
:01:04. > :01:09.about trade links. The belt refers to this, road and rail that heads
:01:10. > :01:16.west through outer China. But look at this. This is the road. Maritime
:01:17. > :01:21.that heads south and then West. China wants to take ancient silk
:01:22. > :01:24.Road trading routes and update them by ploughing hundreds of billions of
:01:25. > :01:29.dollars into infrastructure in various countries along the way. New
:01:30. > :01:37.ports, pipelines and railways. The President has made it his signature
:01:38. > :01:44.policy. China's president talks about it a lot and the figures
:01:45. > :01:48.bandied around are huge. Dozens of projects planned, ambitions to spend
:01:49. > :01:59.maybe half a trillion dollars. But, still, they need this. What appears
:02:00. > :02:05.to be a government propaganda video. This is the reality of the belt and
:02:06. > :02:11.road grand plan. As growth in the economy slows, China wants to find
:02:12. > :02:17.new markets. One of the big worries abroad is 1-way traffic. The
:02:18. > :02:21.government makes it difficult for many foreign firms to operate here,
:02:22. > :02:29.selling Spanish wine to the growing rich middle class should not be
:02:30. > :02:32.difficult but... Last, but not least, there is the suspicion that
:02:33. > :02:38.China is spending big to increase its influence, plain and simple.
:02:39. > :02:42.China trading with the rest of the world is nothing new but it is the
:02:43. > :02:46.scale that is so different. One belt one road is hugely ambitious but
:02:47. > :02:50.there is much rhetoric around it. Now it is up to this president to
:02:51. > :02:52.make sure it all comes together if it is to be more than just his pet
:02:53. > :03:00.project. So what will this huge
:03:01. > :03:06.infrastructure project means for investors? We speak to the Canadian
:03:07. > :03:11.Chamber of Commerce in China. I asked him what Canadian businesses
:03:12. > :03:13.thought of this initiative. I think Canadians another international
:03:14. > :03:17.business people are excited about the expansion of infrastructure.
:03:18. > :03:22.However we always like to see the Devil in the detail and Howard is
:03:23. > :03:26.executed over time. If we see the devil and the detail, how do you
:03:27. > :03:33.think this will benefit the Canadian business? From a basic point of
:03:34. > :03:38.view, the expansion of infrastructure, it will definitely
:03:39. > :03:43.increase trade between second-tier markets in China and second-tier
:03:44. > :03:48.markets in Canada. Likewise, around the world. However, I think the
:03:49. > :03:54.issue remains what is going back and forth between the two countries. Is
:03:55. > :03:58.that trade balance? What are you expecting and what are you looking
:03:59. > :04:03.forward to in this one belt one road summit taking place in Beijing? I
:04:04. > :04:09.think what comes out will be interesting. Much of it will be
:04:10. > :04:13.details that a prearranged in that, we all know that infrastructure is
:04:14. > :04:20.going to expand very greatly, um, we know that this will connect China to
:04:21. > :04:25.any countries in Central Asia, western Europe. However, aside from
:04:26. > :04:28.just a building a lot of infrastructure, what services come
:04:29. > :04:32.out? I think it is a mystery to everybody. A mystery and an
:04:33. > :04:38.ambitious plan from the Beijing government. If the US policy for
:04:39. > :04:44.America first pushing its allies to look to China for better global and
:04:45. > :04:51.regional leadership? On behalf of Canada, definitely. They have, the
:04:52. > :04:57.US have slapped a tariff on Canadian lumber, China is our second biggest
:04:58. > :05:06.market for our lumber. Canada has spent decades selling wood into
:05:07. > :05:09.China. The policies of the Trump administration are certainly making
:05:10. > :05:17.China far more important a trade partner than they were before. In
:05:18. > :05:21.other business news making headlines the value of that coin has set a new
:05:22. > :05:32.all-time high rising above 1800 dollars on Wednesday. Industry data
:05:33. > :05:39.shows it has settled back to 1789. It is the second time this week that
:05:40. > :05:43.new highs have been set. Market value of Bitcoin has increased
:05:44. > :05:49.significantly in four days. Owners of snack Shack are still struggling.
:05:50. > :05:55.They are still down in New York trade. This comes after Snap posted
:05:56. > :06:00.a big loss of over $2 billion in its first quarter since it listed on
:06:01. > :06:09.Wall Street in March. New Sun have warned that profits could fall. It
:06:10. > :06:12.expects profits to fall nearly 20%. The profit warning comes one day
:06:13. > :06:18.after Toyota predicted tough times ahead due to slowing stay sales in
:06:19. > :06:22.the United States and the strong Japanese yen. The downturn in the US
:06:23. > :06:31.retail sector shows no sign of letting up. Macy's reporting a ninth
:06:32. > :06:35.consecutive quarter of falling southward profitability down by 39%.
:06:36. > :06:40.Fears of the prospects for retail spread to rival department store
:06:41. > :06:46.chains with others falling between five to 8%. For most people, a home
:06:47. > :06:50.is the most expensive thing they will ever own. Real estate is a
:06:51. > :06:55.major investment for many people here in Asia but you should you put
:06:56. > :07:01.money into an expensive market like Hong Kong or bet on a rapidly rising
:07:02. > :07:07.real estate market like India? We spoke to the chief executive of the
:07:08. > :07:13.property firm JL L. Talk to anyone who owns property or who wants to
:07:14. > :07:17.get on the property ladder, the value of homes preoccupies the minds
:07:18. > :07:21.of most. Where to live and what to buy here in Asia is a bit of an
:07:22. > :07:31.obsession and who better to make sense of it all than the chief
:07:32. > :07:34.executive of JL? We have two minutes with you starting now so I will
:07:35. > :07:39.start by asking what the property market is like here in Singapore and
:07:40. > :07:45.the region? Singapore or at the bottom of the market at the end of
:07:46. > :07:50.last year but we saw a U-turn of 1% in the luxury sector. We feel with
:07:51. > :07:53.the easing of the measures in the residential sector, improving
:07:54. > :07:57.sentiment in the economy it is a good time to buy residential and
:07:58. > :08:04.Hong Kong. Prices are already high so there is an expectation they may
:08:05. > :08:07.ease away. Japan is a surprise, they are worth chasing and Australia has
:08:08. > :08:10.always been a favourite given the quality of life there. Looking at
:08:11. > :08:14.China, we know that there are capital controls in place right now
:08:15. > :08:19.and the Chinese were huge buyers in the region. How has that impacted
:08:20. > :08:21.the property market? In the middle point of last year, Chinese
:08:22. > :08:25.investors were very focused on Europe and the Americas, obviously
:08:26. > :08:29.what has happened with Trump and Brexit the money has come away from
:08:30. > :08:33.those markets and combined with the anti- curbing measures with the
:08:34. > :08:41.Chinese currency much more focused on investing in Asia-Pacific despite
:08:42. > :08:44.some cost-cutting measures. If China can support a wonder one Road,
:08:45. > :08:49.government approvals will come through. You are the chief executive
:08:50. > :08:53.of JL L here in the Asia-Pacific region. What are some of your chief
:08:54. > :08:56.duties? It is fantastic to be here in the Asia-Pacific. The growth
:08:57. > :09:00.driver of the world at the moment and, therefore, globally there is a
:09:01. > :09:04.lot of pressure on us to grow our business. We have been here for 50
:09:05. > :09:07.years and there is absolutely no shortage whatsoever of opportunity
:09:08. > :09:12.here. Our greatest challenge still remains a talent. We are service
:09:13. > :09:18.sector and talent is critical. As a brand we must remain relevant and we
:09:19. > :09:23.must retain the best talent in the real estate sector. As a property
:09:24. > :09:27.investor, we should I invest? You know Singapore, you feel comfortable
:09:28. > :09:32.here and I think Singapore is a safe bet. A little bit of a wild card, I
:09:33. > :09:34.would start looking at India and Japan as future will potential
:09:35. > :09:46.residential opportunities. Let's have a look now at the markets
:09:47. > :09:50.and Asian stocks are flat to negative right now after US
:09:51. > :09:55.securities fell overnight. And worse than expected sales dropped from US
:09:56. > :09:59.department stores. Fears are that consumers are not spending enough.
:10:00. > :10:03.This impacts Asian markets because many of the products being sold in
:10:04. > :10:10.the US are being purchased from Asian markets. The Japanese market
:10:11. > :10:12.is down by 40 and the All Ords down by 11. Have a productive Friday,