0:00:00 > 0:00:00of New Year's Day in unrelated incidents.
0:00:00 > 0:00:03Police have made five arrests.
0:00:03 > 0:00:16Now on BBC News, all the latest business news live from Singapore.
0:00:16 > 0:00:23All that rubbish - China bans the import of waste. So where will all
0:00:23 > 0:00:26of the garbage go and what businesses are most affected? And we
0:00:26 > 0:00:33look at how China will plans to shake up the oil futures market, but
0:00:33 > 0:00:41will foreign traders buy it? Happy New Year, and welcome to Asia
0:00:41 > 0:00:49Business Report live from Singapore. Did you know that China has been the
0:00:49 > 0:00:53biggest importer of foreign rubbish? Everything from paper waste,
0:00:53 > 0:00:57textiles to used plastic is sent to China for recycling. But not any
0:00:57 > 0:01:02more. These imports are now banned because Beijing is trying to clean
0:01:02 > 0:01:06up the country's environment and improve public health. But the ban
0:01:06 > 0:01:13will disrupt billions of dollars in trade. In 2016, China imported $18
0:01:13 > 0:01:17billion in waste. From Hong Kong, Danny Vincent reports.
0:01:17 > 0:01:27Recycling in Hong Kong - this is where plastic waste ends up. Used
0:01:27 > 0:01:32plastic near and far. Recyclers must change the way waste is processed.
0:01:32 > 0:01:39China's has introduced a ban on recycling products. Hong Kong has a
0:01:39 > 0:01:42challenge when it comes to dealing with plastic waste. Right now the
0:01:42 > 0:01:46majority of the West Coast to mainland China. But that could be
0:01:46 > 0:01:50set to change. The change also represents an opportunity for
0:01:50 > 0:01:55recyclers. Waste management is big business. Some companies in Hong
0:01:55 > 0:02:00Kong want to recycle the plastic rubbish themselves. The man in the
0:02:00 > 0:02:05driving seat is Mr Lam. The CEO of one of Hong Kong's largest
0:02:05 > 0:02:09recyclers. He has invested close to $1 million to upgrade his equipment,
0:02:09 > 0:02:17ready for the ban. TRANSLATION:The recycling industry in Hong Kong
0:02:17 > 0:02:20faces many obstacles that these days. The Chinese government has put
0:02:20 > 0:02:25in place certain restrictions on importing waste plastic. Because of
0:02:25 > 0:02:29this, the industry has to look at how to deal with the imminent demand
0:02:29 > 0:02:36of how we process it.Hong Kong has a relatively underdeveloped
0:02:36 > 0:02:40recycling sector. Activists hope the Chinese ban will encourage Hong Kong
0:02:40 > 0:02:46companies to do more to develop the industry. Andy Lee is the founder of
0:02:46 > 0:02:53a community-based recycling programme.If the Chinese policy is
0:02:53 > 0:03:00changed, I think they don't want to accept waste from the other
0:03:00 > 0:03:04countries. They want good quality items, good-quality recyclable
0:03:04 > 0:03:10materials.For years Hong Kong companies are dependent on Chinese
0:03:10 > 0:03:14appetite for waste product. Now that many plastics are no longer
0:03:14 > 0:03:17welcomed, these Hong Kong companies will have to process the rubbish
0:03:17 > 0:03:23themselves. That is if they wish to make a profit.
0:03:23 > 0:03:31In other news, Airbus begins the year with a record number of
0:03:31 > 0:03:34deliveries in 2017. The aircraft maker is expected to be its target
0:03:34 > 0:03:39of 700 deliveries with staff having to work through the holidays to make
0:03:39 > 0:03:43up for earlier delays. There is still no word on a crucial $15
0:03:43 > 0:03:54billion deal with Emirates. South Korea's Hyundai has a dim outlook of
0:03:54 > 0:04:005 million cars for 2018. They lost 9 million cars last year over labour
0:04:00 > 0:04:05strikes affecting sales in its big market. Saudi Arabia has raised
0:04:05 > 0:04:10local gas prices in the kingdom. The initiative is aimed at more
0:04:10 > 0:04:14efficient energy use and is part of a programme to gradually eliminate
0:04:14 > 0:04:18fuel subsidies as the Kingdom seeks to overhaul the economy and balance
0:04:18 > 0:04:22the budget. Now, in the oil sector still, China
0:04:22 > 0:04:28is edging closer to opening a domestic market to trade oil futures
0:04:28 > 0:04:31contracts, which means Chinese buyers will be able to lock in oil
0:04:31 > 0:04:36prices and pay in local currency. Foreign traders will also be allowed
0:04:36 > 0:04:42to invest - a first for Chinese commodity markets. Oil prices saw a
0:04:42 > 0:04:48fair bit of volatility last year - this is the benchmark of crude last
0:04:48 > 0:04:52year and earlier I spoke with an energy expert, John Driscoll, about
0:04:52 > 0:04:56the outlook for oil, and he said he is sceptical about Chinese plans for
0:04:56 > 0:05:00an oil futures market.This time there appears to be more conviction
0:05:00 > 0:05:06but the real question is are if a Chinese energy futures contract can
0:05:06 > 0:05:12ascend to the same kind of level as the CME in the States, or the
0:05:12 > 0:05:18intercontinental futures exchange in London, which are the main benchmark
0:05:18 > 0:05:25futures exchanges for crude oil and products globally. It has to also
0:05:25 > 0:05:28gain acceptance from the industry at large. You can look at some
0:05:28 > 0:05:31commodity contracts in China and see that there are large volumes traded,
0:05:31 > 0:05:39but they are more speculative. It seems almost like a casino for yield
0:05:39 > 0:05:44seeking punters, large interests, and long forward trade. The other
0:05:44 > 0:05:47question will be the role this Chinese central government will
0:05:47 > 0:05:51play. If you are a foreign trade and want to enter the Chinese market,
0:05:51 > 0:05:57would you be willing to take on the yuan denominated exposure, versus
0:05:57 > 0:06:02the US dollar? Will there be deliverability on the contract? Can
0:06:02 > 0:06:07you access the domestic market? Generally the central government of
0:06:07 > 0:06:11China is hands-on in all phases of the economy.Is it fair to say this
0:06:11 > 0:06:16is part of Beijing's effort to try to replace or challenge the US
0:06:16 > 0:06:19dollar's dominance in the oil market?You might take a cynical
0:06:19 > 0:06:23type of you and say that this is consistent with a pattern we have
0:06:23 > 0:06:28seen going back a couple of years, the establishment of the Asian
0:06:28 > 0:06:34infrastructure bank, the rollout of the belt and road initiative, this
0:06:34 > 0:06:39is China ascending as an economic, global superpower, challenging the
0:06:39 > 0:06:44dominance of the west, in particular the US, their roles in the economy
0:06:44 > 0:06:49and leadership in Asia. You could take that view, but there is no
0:06:49 > 0:06:55doubt that China, as the world's fastest growing energy consumer, the
0:06:55 > 0:06:58biggest year-on-year growth in imports, they feel that they deserve
0:06:58 > 0:07:01a seat at the table and their currency should be a basis for
0:07:01 > 0:07:05settlement.We saw some volatility in oil prices. What is your outlook
0:07:05 > 0:07:11for this?We are going to test $70 but I see that as kind of a ceiling
0:07:11 > 0:07:14that is going to be difficult to breach because as the price of oil
0:07:14 > 0:07:19goes up it affects the demand and it makes it difficult for OPEC and non-
0:07:19 > 0:07:24OPEC to withhold control output, but if oil prices go up you are tempted
0:07:24 > 0:07:28to overproduce more and break ranks and that is what I would watch for
0:07:28 > 0:07:31in the coming year. If you thought oil prices were
0:07:31 > 0:07:34volatile it is nothing compared to the wild ride that Bitcoin took in
0:07:34 > 0:07:432017 and the digital currency is tumbling and trading at around
0:07:43 > 0:07:48$13,800, well below the record of $19,000 in mid-December.
0:07:48 > 0:07:53Now, to the special series, Disrupters. Gene editing is
0:07:53 > 0:07:58something you hear about in movies, but one biotech firm is developing
0:07:58 > 0:08:04technology to do that. They say they have the potential to treat and
0:08:04 > 0:08:07possibly even eradicate genetic diseases, but it is not without
0:08:07 > 0:08:08controversy. Let's have
0:08:08 > 0:08:11diseases, but it is not without controversy. Let's have a look.
0:08:29 > 0:08:35It provides us with the ability we hope to go in, modify your DNA at
0:08:35 > 0:08:41the point that it is driving the disease and allow us to repair the
0:08:41 > 0:08:54DNA typo, repair it and fix it in a single or handful of treatments.
0:09:20 > 0:09:24This technology has the potential to revolutionise healthcare as we know
0:09:24 > 0:09:28it today.
0:09:41 > 0:09:47The speed at which we have moved forward from discovering it in 2012
0:09:47 > 0:09:55and testing in animal systems in 2017, I think, is unprecedented.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20It is the first trading day for many of the global markets. Let's show
0:10:20 > 0:10:26you how Asia is trading now. Hong Kong Hang Seng index opening higher,
0:10:26 > 0:10:31flirting with the import and 30,000 mark. Australia is down. Japan is
0:10:31 > 0:10:33shut.