:00:00. > :00:17.Now on BBC News, all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:18. > :00:28.Status check. The banking regulator in China wants a report card on
:00:29. > :00:34.overseas acquisitions. Kazakhstan is strapping in for what could be a
:00:35. > :00:40.fast ride on China's One Belt, One Road expansion. Good morning, Asia.
:00:41. > :00:43.Hello, world. Welcome to another edition of Asia Business Report.
:00:44. > :00:46.It's a Friday. I'm Sharanjit Leyl. China's banking regulator has
:00:47. > :00:50.ordered a group of lenders to assess the exposure to offshore
:00:51. > :01:02.acquisitions by a handful of companies on a buy spree overseas.
:01:03. > :01:08.They are some of China's largest, like HNA and Fulson. I spoke to our
:01:09. > :01:11.Shanghai correspondent asking why authorities are so worried. There
:01:12. > :01:20.are two elements to this. They see the acquisitions, a vast 235 billion
:01:21. > :01:29.US dollars last year, they see it as giving a risk to the currency. They
:01:30. > :01:32.don't want that level of capital out of there. And they are worried about
:01:33. > :01:37.big Chinese conglomerates raising money in this country. There is a
:01:38. > :01:44.big worry about debt overall in China. Wealth management products,
:01:45. > :01:50.retail vehicles, high risk, high interest-bearing, it is a concern
:01:51. > :01:54.among much of the authority base here about the risk they pose to not
:01:55. > :01:59.just the companies using them, but more widely to be financial system
:02:00. > :02:05.in China. This is not just about economics and the financial sector,
:02:06. > :02:08.it is also about politics. This is a very important year for the
:02:09. > :02:13.president of China, Xi Jinping. In October this year at the conference,
:02:14. > :02:19.he will almost definitely be chosen for another five years. At the very
:02:20. > :02:24.top, we are seeing a message out to the most influential and prominent
:02:25. > :02:28.economic leaders that they need to be risk averse and reminded of who
:02:29. > :02:37.is in charge overall. Will this put an end to the Chinese companies and
:02:38. > :02:40.their foreign buying spree, paying eye-wateringly high prices for
:02:41. > :02:47.foreign assets? The tide has turned already. For instance, Delian,
:02:48. > :02:58.controlled by the richest man in China, he owns Legendary Pictures in
:02:59. > :03:05.the US along with an attempt to get Dick Clark Productions, which did
:03:06. > :03:14.not happen in the end. The tide is turning. Much of that is trying to
:03:15. > :03:18.stem the capital outflows and it is about the pressure on the currency,
:03:19. > :03:23.the RNB, as well. And there is money flooding out to Hong Kong. We are
:03:24. > :03:29.seeing the tide turning. We are not seeing levels last year and this
:03:30. > :03:32.year repeating again. The Chief Executive of Fox Com says the
:03:33. > :03:37.company will invest more than 10 million US dollars in a display
:03:38. > :03:42.making factory in the United States. The Taiwan -based company is the
:03:43. > :03:47.largest contract electronics maker and a major supplier for Apple. He
:03:48. > :03:51.says he is optimistic about doing business in the US. TRANSLATION:
:03:52. > :03:58.This time when we go to America it is not just to build a factory, but
:03:59. > :04:05.to move the entire supply chain to one oil prices have had a volatile
:04:06. > :04:09.ride this week. We can see they are up slightly in Asian trade. They
:04:10. > :04:15.bounced back yesterday ever so slightly after hitting ten month
:04:16. > :04:19.lows. The market sentiment remains negative because oil producing
:04:20. > :04:27.countries refused deeper cuts despite a global supply glut.
:04:28. > :04:33.Peaking at $57 a barrel in February, prices are at about 20% lower. I
:04:34. > :04:36.spoke with an energy expert earlier asking which way prices will go
:04:37. > :04:45.next? There will be continued pressure on markets, with too much
:04:46. > :04:52.or little out there and too much oil from the States. And Libya and
:04:53. > :04:56.Nigeria are exempt from OPEC accords, which is putting even more
:04:57. > :05:02.pressure to be more barrels are going into it. Industries are not
:05:03. > :05:12.going down. These are the kind of things that make it challenging for
:05:13. > :05:16.this new cartel of OPEC, non-OPEC, to reach objectives. They want to
:05:17. > :05:20.reach a five-year average of global inventory is. The consensus is we
:05:21. > :05:26.will be lure for a while and market rebalancing will take a while. --
:05:27. > :05:33.lower. Where are we headed next? At the end of May, after the OPEC
:05:34. > :05:38.meeting, you asked me that same question, and I certainly will not
:05:39. > :05:42.reach 55, the US speed limit. I see a massive correction. I think we
:05:43. > :05:49.will test 40. That could be the wakeup call. Everyone is trying to
:05:50. > :05:55.call the bottom, point do we hit the threshold and bounce back? The head
:05:56. > :05:58.of the world's largest defence contractor says big-ticket products
:05:59. > :06:04.will remain relevant despite security challenges. A persistent
:06:05. > :06:07.criticism of large contractors is military hardware does not do much
:06:08. > :06:13.to addressing increasingly common low-tech threats. But they say there
:06:14. > :06:18.is plenty of demand for the products. There is a broad range of
:06:19. > :06:24.threats in the marketplace, from the low and, as you just described, to
:06:25. > :06:34.the high end. -- end. We focus on the need to high end. . -- mid to
:06:35. > :06:37.high. We just got a $600 million contract to supply to the
:06:38. > :06:48.Netherlands, to Australia, Japan, and Korea. Again, that is to address
:06:49. > :06:54.the high-end threat that they see a need for a capability to defeat.
:06:55. > :06:58.China's Belt and Road initiative is ploughing through central Asia into
:06:59. > :07:02.Europe. As part of that global initiative, China has supplied
:07:03. > :07:06.billions of dollars' worth of trade, infrastructure, and energy deals in
:07:07. > :07:14.the 6-iron. They want to bring growth and jobs to the oil-rich
:07:15. > :07:21.nation. -- Kazakhstan. They also want to help China's energy needs.
:07:22. > :07:29.We went to the economic capital of China to see the impact on the city.
:07:30. > :07:36.No, it is not Beijing or Shanghai, it is a marketplace in Kazakhstan in
:07:37. > :07:42.central Asia. This man has owned this market for 15 years. And this
:07:43. > :07:47.woman came from China to take part in an eyes skating competition, but
:07:48. > :07:52.stayed for the opportunities. -- ice skating. TRANSLATION: It has been
:07:53. > :07:59.great for business. Many people have come here and they need my products
:08:00. > :08:07.from China. Everything in this market is from China. It is not just
:08:08. > :08:16.good, upload, toys, exercise equipment, even infrastructure. The
:08:17. > :08:28.local community says it is starting to take off. This oil and gas man is
:08:29. > :08:32.also taking profit from the initiative. At the start it was just
:08:33. > :08:36.him. Now it does deals worth almost $200 million every year. He is
:08:37. > :08:42.expecting business to keep growing. Xi Jinping said the two countries
:08:43. > :08:47.have gone from friends to relatives. Kazakhstan has given the Chinese
:08:48. > :08:51.preferential policies and is trying to speed up approvals and
:08:52. > :08:58.formalities for us. But with that success has come suspicion. Last
:08:59. > :09:02.year, Kazakhstan soul protesting against a controversial land reform
:09:03. > :09:09.bill. -- saw. Many thought that China would own too much of the
:09:10. > :09:13.country. Yes. Only beautiful statements. China is our neighbour,
:09:14. > :09:21.it is our good partner, it is our future. And, umm, Kazakhstan is
:09:22. > :09:28.going to use this China economical problem and wealth for our own
:09:29. > :09:31.economical interests. But what about the ordinary people? There are many
:09:32. > :09:39.different statements about China. Traditionally, inside of our
:09:40. > :09:43.society, we have our own culture. Despite those fears, China is still
:09:44. > :09:49.an increasingly important influence here. At this Chinese language
:09:50. > :09:54.school, they see this as the language of the future. For most
:09:55. > :09:59.people in Kazakhstan, this is the new reality, the relationship with
:10:00. > :10:05.China, one that will not change any time soon. If you are interested to
:10:06. > :10:10.hear more from the minister of energy in Kazakhstan, tune into
:10:11. > :10:16.Talking Business from Astana this weekend. A quick look at the
:10:17. > :10:20.markets. The Nikkei is a little bit low. Rebounding today. The All
:10:21. > :10:23.Ordinaries Index in Australia is slightly higher and is doing well
:10:24. > :10:28.because of the energy-related stocks and resource related shares doing
:10:29. > :10:31.better with the rising oil prices. We will be telling you about that.
:10:32. > :10:32.That is it for