:00:00. > :00:17.Now on BBC News, all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:18. > :00:22.Global leaders debate whether economic sanctions will be enough to
:00:23. > :00:33.stop Pyongyang in its tracks. And it kind takes a tumble after China
:00:34. > :00:41.cracks down on crypto currencies. It is a Tuesday, everyone -- Bitcoin
:00:42. > :00:45.takes a tumble. Glad you could join us for this edition of Asia Business
:00:46. > :00:48.Report. I'm Rico Hizon. We start off with United Nations, and the
:00:49. > :00:51.Security Council is considering tough new sanctions against North
:00:52. > :00:55.Korea, as a way to isolate the regime which continues to test
:00:56. > :00:59.nuclear weapons. This comes hours after President Trump tweeted the US
:01:00. > :01:07.may stop trading with any country doing business with North Korea.
:01:08. > :01:10.That includes India, Russia, Pakistan and especially China. Let's
:01:11. > :01:16.take a look at the trade between these two economic him it. The US
:01:17. > :01:23.and China, it is worth around 650 billion US dollars, and that 80% of
:01:24. > :01:27.North Korea's exports are to China, but will they be enough to stop
:01:28. > :01:36.Pyongyang from further missile launchers? Well, I spoke earlier to
:01:37. > :01:39.our Asian business adviser. North Korea is an ultranationalist,
:01:40. > :01:42.xenophobic regime which cannot be influenced by outside powers, so
:01:43. > :01:46.China cannot tell North Korea what to do, but it can cut North Korea
:01:47. > :01:51.off and that a collapse, which I am convinced is the only way out of it.
:01:52. > :01:54.China has showed it is not willing to get serious, so I think our only
:01:55. > :01:57.resort would be hard secondary sanctions on Chinese entities and
:01:58. > :02:07.banks enabling North Korea's weapons trade. Also, if Nikki Haley is not
:02:08. > :02:11.successful in getting an oil embargo through the UN, we should cut US
:02:12. > :02:14.dollar access to any company supplying North Korea. But there
:02:15. > :02:21.could be repercussions in terms of US- China trade and business
:02:22. > :02:25.relations, with the Chinese retaliating, and this could
:02:26. > :02:29.basically complicate global trade. Yes, that is a real concern. But
:02:30. > :02:32.again, I think China still needs us more than we need them, in terms of
:02:33. > :02:38.trade. And this is another reason that we should not have pulled out
:02:39. > :02:41.of TPP, to give the US trading companies access to China in the
:02:42. > :02:45.case of something like this happening. When it comes down to
:02:46. > :02:50.trade and national security, I think you have to go towards the latter,
:02:51. > :02:53.so it is a risk worth taking. We will have to see of that
:02:54. > :02:57.materialises. And some south-east Asian countries still do business
:02:58. > :03:03.with North Korea, at our American allies. Yes, very unfortunately. You
:03:04. > :03:07.are in Singapore, North Korea has an embassy in Singapore, of all places.
:03:08. > :03:14.It also has several trading companies. Malaysia is the same even
:03:15. > :03:19.though North Korean agents killed Kim Jong-nam in February, they
:03:20. > :03:23.operate with impunity. I hate to bring this up given your own origin
:03:24. > :03:27.but now that India has agreed to cut North Korea and trade, the
:03:28. > :03:31.Philippines stands a dubious third place in terms of trade with North
:03:32. > :03:36.Korea. So I think it is high time we lean on our friends and allies and
:03:37. > :03:41.asked them to cut it out. That was my earlier conversation with John
:03:42. > :03:48.King. The prices of Bitcoin and other crypto currencies have
:03:49. > :03:54.plummeted after China ruled that initial Bitcoin offerings are
:03:55. > :04:00.illegal. So what are these restrictions? Well, the best way to
:04:01. > :04:04.describe ISOs are a cross between crowd funding and initial public
:04:05. > :04:08.offerings for stocks. It is a way for investors to raise money. The
:04:09. > :04:12.thing about ISOs is they are considered the latest financial fad.
:04:13. > :04:16.There have been more than 100 so far this year. You even have socialites
:04:17. > :04:21.like Paris Hilton and Floyd Mayweather promoting them. It has
:04:22. > :04:25.become popular but it remains unregulated, which is why China has
:04:26. > :04:33.taken a very strong step of banning them. And other countries going to
:04:34. > :04:39.follow the lead of China, by banning these ISOs? That is possible. The US
:04:40. > :04:43.authority, the SEC, has said they are looking closely at the sector,
:04:44. > :04:48.they might label digital tokens or coins as securities. A lot of this
:04:49. > :04:51.has to do with valuations. The entire cryptocurrency space is
:04:52. > :04:57.estimated to be worth nearly $200 billion. Bitcoin, which makes up
:04:58. > :05:01.most of that, cross the $5,000 mark for the first time over the weekend.
:05:02. > :05:05.Now, these are things that didn't exist ten years ago, and
:05:06. > :05:10.cryptocurrencies are not regulated by any financial Central Bank, so
:05:11. > :05:13.the concern is that these are a threat to financial stability. That
:05:14. > :05:18.is why China is taking such a strong move to do this. Another concern has
:05:19. > :05:20.to do with criminal activity. People worry that criminals will use
:05:21. > :05:26.cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin to launder money and fund terrorist
:05:27. > :05:30.activities, and so forth. Well, when something is regulated, there are
:05:31. > :05:34.indeed a lot of problems. Thank you so much for that update on these
:05:35. > :05:39.ISOs. Borrowing and lending money without going through the official
:05:40. > :05:43.banking channel, also known as peer-to-peer lending, is a
:05:44. > :05:49.multibillion dollar industry. China had one of the first such companies
:05:50. > :05:55.to launch in the world, back in 2006, and today it is one of China's
:05:56. > :05:58.largest financial service platforms, having issued $30 billion in loans
:05:59. > :06:04.to mainland customers. My colleague caught up with the company's chief
:06:05. > :06:10.executive, and asked how business has evolved. They invented China's
:06:11. > :06:16.peer-to-peer marketplace 11 years ago, in 2006, without knowing that
:06:17. > :06:21.the model was also in the UK and in the US at that time. Basically it is
:06:22. > :06:29.helping small businesses, micro- entrepreneurs, and consumers. It is
:06:30. > :06:32.helping them have better access to financing, not only from
:06:33. > :06:37.institutions, but also from individuals. But many peer-to-peer
:06:38. > :06:42.companies like yours have failed. So how do you make it work? It has
:06:43. > :06:47.become an industry, both in China and in the US. It is now a pillar of
:06:48. > :06:52.global financial technology innovation. It is $1 trillion market
:06:53. > :07:01.opportunity in China. I think the first risk is integrity. Whether the
:07:02. > :07:07.platform is legit. And the regulations have come to China, and
:07:08. > :07:13.going forward, the next decade, we expect that the market will become
:07:14. > :07:16.more stable, more clean. Now, you say stable and clean, but
:07:17. > :07:20.nonetheless the Chinese government has been cracking down on
:07:21. > :07:29.peer-to-peer companies like yours. How has that affected the industry
:07:30. > :07:34.as a whole? Industry like us, Credit Ease, and our subsidiary company,
:07:35. > :07:41.will be the biggest beneficiaries as the market becomes more clean. Well,
:07:42. > :07:49.moving out to Thailand, where beer sales totalled $2 billion last year.
:07:50. > :07:53.Because of the country's alcohol law dating back to 1950, two brewing
:07:54. > :07:56.giants dominate 90% of the market but beer lovers in Thailand are
:07:57. > :08:05.looking for something different than the usual choices of Singha and
:08:06. > :08:13.Chang. Our correspondent is looking for an alternative, brewing across
:08:14. > :10:13.the border in an iMac Cambodia. -- in Cambodia.
:10:14. > :10:21.Cheers. Craft beer made in Cambodia. Before we go, a quick look at the
:10:22. > :10:25.markets, with US financial markets closed overnight due to the Labour
:10:26. > :10:33.Day holiday. Not a lot of liquidity in the Asian markets, the Nikkei and
:10:34. > :10:36.the All Ordinaries index are flat. Goodbye for now.
:10:37. > :10:40.The top stories this hour: The US has accused North Korea of begging
:10:41. > :10:43.for war, after its latest nuclear test, urging the world to respond
:10:44. > :10:44.with the strongest possible measures.
:10:45. > :10:48.Myanmar is under pressure to end its military crackdown