apple makes a comeback in china, as sales of its iphones rebound in april. sri lanka is set to hike wages of workers in the tea industry next month — but not everyone is happy about that. hello, and welcome to business today. i'm steve lai. to our top story today — as the world's biggest smartphone makers are battling it out for market share in china, apple has cause to celebrate. the bbc�*s north america business correspondent erin delmore tells us why. china is the world's biggest smartphone market, and apple is one of the world's biggest smartphone makers. but apple hasn't been doing so well in china. iphone sales fell by 37% during the first two months this year. see, competition is heating up in the region. home—grown rival huawei is increasing its market share, opening more stores, and selling more phones.

it overtook apple as the second—most popular smartphone maker in china during the first quarter of the year. but now, apple has reason to celebrate. the company's chinese iphone sales rose 52%, compared to a year ago. that's according to data from a research company affiliated with the chinese government. that entity doesn't track apple specifically. instead, it measures the increase in foreign—branded shipments. but in the foreign—branded game, apple is the main player. and apple could see more gains from may — it's been discounting select models which could lead to more sales. staying with technology — nvidia's momentum continues, with its stockjumping 7% to hit another record high on tuesday. the chip—maker and leader in the artificial intelligence space is now valued at $2.8 trillion. it is currently wall street's third—most valuable company, behind microsoft and apple. this year alone nvidia has

seen its share price double. tuesday's jump also helped propel the tech—heavy nasdaq to a fresh high. in other news, shareholders of american oil company hess have approved its $53 billion merger with rival chevron. the deal still has to gain regulatory approval from the us federal trade commission, which could come next month. but a more serious stumbling block is hess�* dispute with exxon mobil over its lucrative guyana assets, which both companies have a stake in. under a joint operating agreement, exxon has a right to refuse the sale of hess�* guyana assets — which is one of the world's fastest growing oil reserves. chevron has said they would pull out of the deal if hess�* guyana stake was not included. we�*re watching merger talks between mining giants bhp and the uk�*s anglo american. so far, both companies have failed to make progress on terms for $49 billion deal.

but the clock is ticking, as the deadline for negotiations will expire at 5pm london time on wednesday. that�*s midnight for us here in singapore. let�*s turn to sri lanka now — the government has ordered the nation�*s tea industry to raise workers�* wages by next month. companies that refuse to do so could be taken over by the government. tea producers are warning that the 70% increase in pay for tea workers, to around $5.50 a day, would hurt their business. sri lankan tea is one of the country�*s biggest exports. the industry is worth at least $1.3 billion and brings in much needed foreign currency into the country. ganeshan wignaraja, a visiting seniorfellow at think tank odi, explained why the government was mandating such a move now. the administration in sri lanka announced this wage hike for plantation workers in response to the political cycle the president is facing elections in september to october period. in the wage hike to about $1.78

us a month is seen to hit 600,000 plantation workers. this is reactionary from the plantation workers and companies, saying the economy may become uncompetitive. it�*s may become uncompetitive. it's a 70% increase they are looking for, it�*s $5.50 a day for the workers. give us a sense of the circumstances or situations they are working under. the plantation — they are working under. tue: plantation workers they are working under. tte: plantation workers are mostly female and from the tamil minority community, and they have a high degree of poverty amongst them — they are probably the worst affected people in sri lanka. so at that level, this wage hike seems to make social sense. on the other hand,it make social sense. on the other hand, it could translate into a wage price cycle in an economy that�*s recovering from a crippling debt crisis, and also could put at some risk the

economy the tea industry has produced a significant export earning of $1.3 billion. it�*s a dilemma — what sri lanka really needsis dilemma — what sri lanka really needs is a strategy for this industry to make it much more competitive, going from mass—market exports to more niche products, especially organic tea. and for that, it really needs proper branding and marketing, as well as raises productivity measures which are important as well. sounds like you see quite a bit of opportunity for growth in sri lanka�*s tea industry. give us a sense of how it all stacks up us a sense of how it all stacks up when it comes to sri lanka�*s overall economy, how much of a contributor is it? tt overall economy, how much of a contributor is it?— contributor is it? it is time terribly important - contributor is it? it is time terribly important in - contributor is it? it is time terribly important in the l terribly important in the context of a economy that�*s trying to recover from a debt crisis. 1.6% growth a year, it needs all the export earnings it can, including tv, which is the second important import

industry to eventually pay off crippling foreign debt, some $50 billion sri lanka has acute related. employment and working conditions are also important, so sri lanka has this trilemma of trying to deal with all these things at once, and a strategy is needed for sure after the presidential elections in september and october this year, including raising productivity, ensuring better working conditions, and operating the industry from a mass—market t2 and much more niche product over time. so mass-market t2 and much more niche product over time.- niche product over time. so are there concerns _ niche product over time. so are there concerns that _ niche product over time. so are there concerns that this - niche product over time. so are there concerns that this wage l there concerns that this wage hike mandate could impact sri lanka�*s economy? tt hike mandate could impact sri lanka's economy?— lanka's economy? it could affect the _ lanka's economy? it could affect the economy - lanka's economy? it could affect the economy in - lanka's economy? it could affect the economy in the | lanka's economy? it could - affect the economy in the short term, at least. and i think we need to look at this across the economy because it could translate into other industries as well wanting wage hikes. mainly because people have suffered through the crisis, some 5 million sri lankans have been pushed into poverty since

the crises we faced since 2002. people are hurting in sri lanka and this is one of the moves the government is doing to get political support amongst the tamil community to get the present reelected, and this is that kind of move. over in china — authorities in shanghai are making it easier for home—buyers to purchase property. they are reducing the down payments that buyers need to make to a minimum of 20% forfirst—time buyers, and 30% for those purchasing a second—home. the minimum level for mortgage rates was also lowered. analysts say other top—tier chinese cities are likely to follow shanghai�*s lead. these measures come after the central government announced a massive rescue package earlier this month to help end the property crisis. chinese officials are hoping to restore confidence among home—buyers, which has been rattled by falling prices, unfinished apartments and job insecurity. let�*s get you the latest on the heatwave in india. capital city, delhi, recorded an all—time maximum temperature of 49.9 celsius. several cities in the north are also grappling with severe heat. the bbc�*s arunoday mukharji has

the latest on what it means for business operations across the country. in fact, in one city in northern india, temperatures touched 50 celsius. so it�*s been a harsh few weeks, and it�*s likely to remain that way for a while. just imagine, india has been conducting an entire election in this heat. experts say increased concretisation of cities and the lack of green colour is to blame for soaring temperatures every year. —— lack of green cover. apart from obvious health implications, an extended heat wave has the potential to have a huge economic impact, as well. there are risks of decreased workforce productivity, especially for construction workers, delivering agents, and farmers most importantly. they are particularly prone to heat related illnesses because they are outdoors most of the time. there are worries that an intense heat wave could impact agriculture, and also in turn affect inflation. nearly half of india�*s population is involved or employed in agriculture, and about 90% of india�*s

workforce works in the unorganised sector — so most of the jobs are outdoors, and it�*s this segment that�*s to be impacted the most in the event of any extended heat wave. whether officials say these conditions are likely to prevail for the next few days at least. former wework boss adam neumann is moving on after trying to buy the bankrupt company that specialises in shared office spaces. mr neumann had revealed his interest in buying the firm earlier this year, reportedly making an offer of about $500 million. wework recently submitted a plan to emerge from bankruptcy, which it said would help reduce its rent burden by billions of dollars. in a statement on tuesday, mr neumann, criticised his former company�*s plans saying, "for several months, we tried to work constructively with wework to create a strategy that would allow it to thrive. instead, the company looks to be emerging from bankruptcy with a plan that appears unrealistic and unlikely to succeed."

wework has so far declined to comment on the issue. we�*re watching merger talks between mining giants in other ftx executives has been sent to— in other ftx executives has been sent to , been sent to prison. prison. he led been sent to prison. prison. he pled guilty _ been sent to prison. prison. he pled guilty in — been sent to prison. prison. he pled guilty in 2023 _ been sent to prison. prison. he pled guilty in 2023 to _ been sent to prison. prison. he pled guilty in 2023 to money i pled guilty in 2023 to money laundering charges. he will serve a 7.5 year sentence followed by three years of supervised release. before ftx collapsed, he was a key figure at the exchange and overseeing its subsidiary in the bahamas for the company was based. he�*s the first of sam bankman—fried�*s team to be sentenced since he filed for bankruptcy in 2022. and that�*s it for this edition of business today. thanks for watching.

hello, i�*m marc edwards, welcome to sportsday. here�*s what we�*ve got coming up on the show. djok and roll — the world number one

opens his french open title defense with a solid win over home hope pierre—hugues herbert. a date with destiny as dortmund dare to dream ahead of the champions league final. we hearfrom their manager edin terzic. time to say goodbye for lexi thompson. with multiple lpga tour event wins and a major under her belt, she�*ll call time on her career at the end of the season. hello, and thanks for joining us on sportsday. we start in paris — where novak djokovic has begun his french open title defence with a solid straight sets victory over france�*s pierre—hugues herbert. having not yet reached a final in 2024, there have been

question marks around his form.