:00:00. > :00:00.Those are the latest headlines from BBC World News.
:00:00. > :00:00.Now for the latest financial news with Sally Bundock
:00:00. > :00:20.It is deadline day for two Chinese firms looking to take over Ausgrid,
:00:21. > :00:23.but will Australia give the green light to the sale
:00:24. > :00:31.The UK Government launches its plan to combat childhood obesity,
:00:32. > :00:44.but will a 20% sugar tax make a difference?
:00:45. > :00:56.Also in the programme we will be seeing how the strong yen has
:00:57. > :01:00.affected Japan's exports, with a sharp decline in exports in the last
:01:01. > :01:01.month. We will look at the numbers in just a moment.
:01:02. > :01:04.Companies from China and Hong Kong have until today to convince
:01:05. > :01:06.Australia to sell them its largest electricity network,
:01:07. > :01:12.In a preliminary decision last week the Australian government blocked
:01:13. > :01:16.China's State Grid corporation and Cheung Kong Infrastructure
:01:17. > :01:18.of Hong Kong are after a controlling stake.
:01:19. > :01:19.China is the world's third-biggest international investor,
:01:20. > :01:21.having spent $123 billion overseas in 2014.
:01:22. > :01:24.That number is set to rise, and while projects need funding,
:01:25. > :01:25.some Chinese practices have proven unwelcome.
:01:26. > :01:27.In the last month, the British Government decided
:01:28. > :01:30.to postpone final approval of a nuclear power station
:01:31. > :01:31.at Hinkley Point over concerns about Chinese
:01:32. > :01:36.And, across the pond, similar concerns led technology firm
:01:37. > :01:39.Fairchild Semiconductors to reject a $2.5 billion bid from a Chinese
:01:40. > :01:42.firm, in lieu of a lesser offer from an American company.
:01:43. > :01:44.Fairchild said it was worried about getting congressional approval
:01:45. > :02:20.So back to Australia where Phil Mercer is standing by.
:02:21. > :02:27.Just explain in a bit more detail what is going on here. It seems
:02:28. > :02:36.there is a bitter tug-of-war between Beijing and Australia. It is pretty
:02:37. > :02:40.confusing. Back in March these two companies, one from China and one
:02:41. > :02:44.from Hong Kong, seemed to be in the running to buy a Ausgrid,
:02:45. > :02:47.Australia's biggest electricity network. Yet a week ago the
:02:48. > :02:53.Australian government put a temporary block on any sale to those
:02:54. > :02:57.bidders, citing national security concerns. Now, during a press
:02:58. > :03:01.conference the Australian Prime Minister, Malcolm Turnbull, said
:03:02. > :03:05.that those reasons were very, very sound, he said that he couldn't
:03:06. > :03:09.explain exactly what they were due to their security sensitivities. It
:03:10. > :03:16.may well be that Australia is trying to really gauge the extent of the
:03:17. > :03:19.Chinese government's involvement in these two Enterprises, but at the
:03:20. > :03:24.moment we simply don't know the specific reasons why Australia has
:03:25. > :03:29.blocked the sale, and those two bidders have until today to convince
:03:30. > :03:34.Australia to change its mind, and to allow them to buy Ausgrid,
:03:35. > :03:38.Australia's premier electricity network. And it is an interesting
:03:39. > :03:42.development, China's commerce Ministry saying Chinese firms are
:03:43. > :03:46.not being treated fairly, this is protectionist measures on the part
:03:47. > :03:50.of Australia and yet for Australia at the Chinese economy is so
:03:51. > :03:54.important in terms of that relationship. Well, China is
:03:55. > :03:58.Australia's biggest trading partner and demand from China in recent
:03:59. > :04:02.years, especially for iron ore and coal, really did insulate Australia
:04:03. > :04:07.and the worst of the global financial crisis. Now, Australia's
:04:08. > :04:11.National resources boom is coming to an end so future prosperity will
:04:12. > :04:15.rely on other markets taking advantage of demand from China. So
:04:16. > :04:19.clearly Australia needs China's money. Whether this decision from
:04:20. > :04:24.Australia is political... Remember, in the upper house of the Australian
:04:25. > :04:28.Parliament there are protectionist and right-wing parties who will be
:04:29. > :04:32.very important for the government in its attempt to pass legislation. Is
:04:33. > :04:35.this an attempt by the government to placate those right wing and
:04:36. > :04:39.protectionist party 's? The government says not but at the
:04:40. > :04:43.moment we simply don't know. There is a feeling among some experts that
:04:44. > :04:50.taps Australia's decision is driven in some part by xenophobia -- that
:04:51. > :04:54.perhaps. If that is true there could be troubled waters ahead in the
:04:55. > :04:59.relationships between Australia and it's very powerful and rich partner,
:05:00. > :05:01.China. Thank you for filling us in, we will keep an eye on how that
:05:02. > :05:02.develops later. The UK Government is today
:05:03. > :05:05.launching a far-reaching plan The programme is targeting a 20%
:05:06. > :05:09.reduction in the amount of sugar used in products popular
:05:10. > :05:11.with children, over five years, A consultation is to examine
:05:12. > :05:16.using a tax on sugary drinks to fund The level of the tax
:05:17. > :05:20.is yet to be determined, but some health campaigners suggest
:05:21. > :05:23.this should be as much as 20% Dr John Lee, head of policy
:05:24. > :05:55.at the Scottish Grocers Federation. Good to meet you, John. Good
:05:56. > :05:59.morning. Now, just give us the sense of how the sort of food and
:06:00. > :06:04.beverages industry is reacting to this. Because of course this was
:06:05. > :06:09.announced a while ago. Today the plan will be put forward in its
:06:10. > :06:13.entirety. What does it mean for food and drinks organisation 's? Well,
:06:14. > :06:17.when the former Chancellor announced the original plan there was no
:06:18. > :06:20.consultation. There was no consultation with manufacturers.
:06:21. > :06:23.From our point of view very importantly there was no
:06:24. > :06:26.consultation with the 5600 convenience store retailers in
:06:27. > :06:34.Scotland and the case for this tax has simply not been made. For
:06:35. > :06:37.example it -- in Scotland, there is no clarity around how it will be
:06:38. > :06:42.used. The government itself is very much in the dark so we welcome some
:06:43. > :06:44.consultation on it but we think this will be an ineffective policy which
:06:45. > :06:49.will really just put jobs and investment at risk. Well, you seem
:06:50. > :06:52.to have the ear of Theresa May, the newly appointed Prime Minister, she
:06:53. > :06:56.is actually expected to overrule some of the elements that were going
:06:57. > :06:59.to be in the original plan. For example restrictions on advertising
:07:00. > :07:04.and promotional deals with junk foods. That is likely to be removed
:07:05. > :07:11.from this plan. Now, campaigners are saying that is a really bad idea
:07:12. > :07:13.because that will water down the proposals, and therefore they will
:07:14. > :07:16.be less effective. Now she is arguing we need to protect jobs in
:07:17. > :07:19.the food industry. Well, the original proposal very much ignored
:07:20. > :07:24.the already considerable steps of the industry had taken in this area.
:07:25. > :07:29.Between 2010 and 2014, the purchase of regular soft drinks declined by
:07:30. > :07:33.more than 30%. So I think consumers are already moving in the right
:07:34. > :07:37.direction with this. And this type of intervention is really very
:07:38. > :07:42.unlikely to have a significant calorie reduction, but could really
:07:43. > :07:47.put jobs and investment at risk in what is already a very challenging
:07:48. > :07:54.economic times for retail, and a very uncertain economic times in the
:07:55. > :07:59.wake of Brexit. Thank you for joining us. We are running out of
:08:00. > :08:01.time unfortunately but it is a story we will revisit in time.
:08:02. > :08:03.Japan's exports suffered their sharpest monthly fall in seven
:08:04. > :08:06.years in July, as a surging yen hurts the country's trade,
:08:07. > :08:08.shipments of cars, ships and steel all tumbling.
:08:09. > :08:15.Mariko Oi is in our Asia Business Hub in Singapore.
:08:16. > :08:25.Lovely to see you. Just fill us in. Not good news from Japan. No, not at
:08:26. > :08:30.all. It is the curse of being a safe haven currency. Investors love to
:08:31. > :08:34.buy in Japan when things get risky and there are reasons why things
:08:35. > :08:38.have been getting nervous, including Brexit. The Japanese yen has
:08:39. > :08:41.strengthened the low 100 yen against the US dollar twice this week and
:08:42. > :08:46.shortly after the EU referendum in the UK, and that is all hitting the
:08:47. > :08:53.export sector, exports down some 14%. That is the biggest fall in
:08:54. > :08:56.seven years. At thanks to low oil prices imports were also down so
:08:57. > :09:00.Japan is still in a trade surplus which is good news. Art, while the
:09:01. > :09:05.government continues to pump billions of dollars into the
:09:06. > :09:09.economy, trying to jumpstart the economy, this news is definitely not
:09:10. > :09:14.good news. Let's have a look at how the yen is trading right now so you
:09:15. > :09:16.can have a sense of how it is going. The dollar has weakened
:09:17. > :09:20.significantly following the Federal Reserve's units from the US central
:09:21. > :09:26.bank, which dampens prospect of an increase in rates this year. So the
:09:27. > :09:30.dollar has weakened quite a bit. The yen is strengthening. You can see
:09:31. > :09:34.the main market in Japan is down by 1%. Contrast that with Hong Kong and
:09:35. > :09:39.other markets in Asia which are doing better. Rent crude has really
:09:40. > :09:44.improved on where we were earlier at the end of last week. That is how
:09:45. > :09:56.things ended on Wall Street. I will see you soon.
:09:57. > :09:58.Thousands of students receive their A-level results
:09:59. > :10:00.in England, Wales and Northern Ireland today.
:10:01. > :10:04.Results are expected to be broadly similar to last year,