surprise announcement last month when fumio kishida announced that he was stepping down.the bbc�*s mariko oir look at who might replace him. it isa it is a crowded race of nine contenders all vying to be the next leader of the party and the government. rank and file members will cast their votes. based on economic growth, which is listed above 6.7%, by all forecasts. businesses are hoping consumers will open their pockets, and the central bank could support with an interest rate cut next month now that inflation is slowing. they say they have fingers crossed. over to japan, where the ruling party is set to choose its new prime minister, with the winning candidate taking office next week. it follows a surprise announcement last month when fumio kishida announced that he was stepping down.the bbc�*s mariko oi takes a closer look at who might replace him. it isa it is a crowded race of nine contenders all vying to be the next leader of the party and the government. rank and file members will cast their votes. based on a defence minister. general and a defence minister. this is also the fifth ti

thank you, mariko oi.summit of the forum on china—africa cooperation. china has been working to cement its influence in africa over the past decade, providing billions of dollars in loans to african nations to help build major infrastructure projects, and in the process, being criticised for saddling developing nations with huge debts. in return, china has tapped the continent's vast mineral resources. terence hove is senior financial market strategist at exness based in johannesburg, south africa. good to have you on the programme. some it is now under way. we have seen leaders arrive in beijing and they are talking about a global south of china and africa as important forces. talk us through why this summit is important. yes, iood this summit is important. yes, good morning. _ this summit is important. yes, good morning, sally. - this summit is important. yes, good morning, sally. i- this summit is important. yes, good morning, sally. ithink. good morning, sally. ithink that since inception, it has reall

i asked our asia business reporter mariko oi, who's been following the story.ld say the impact on nippon steel will be far less compared to the impact on us steel, which as you have heard, has warned ofjob losses as well as possible factory closure. the japanese but he has been looking to go overseas because it faces a slowdown in demand at home. this deal would give a large foothold in the us where infrastructure spending is rising. also, nippon steel is rising. also, nippon steel is currently the world's fourth biggest deal—maker and by buying us steel it is hoping to become the world number two and compete against the biggest, which is a chinese steel maker. the $15 billion that it has offered is about double of the previous offer that us steel had from its american rival, and way more than the market when the deal was announced last december. the deal has already received all regulatory approvals from outside the us and a green light from its shareholders as well. but, as we have been saying, the timing is tricky with the us presidential elections looming a

mariko oi has been following the story for us from our asia business hub.re can you tell us about ishiba's economic manifesto? well, his economic policies are still rather unclear. he has been criticised during the election campaign for lacking a clear economic vision. one thing we do know is that he was quite critical of the shinzo abe, who implemented investor friendly policies. during the press conference he held this evening he talked about how investors may have benefited, but not ordinary consumers, so we may see some changes there. the value of the japanese yen, it jumped the value of the japanese yen, itjumped because shigeru it jumped because shigeru ishiba itjumped because shigeru ishiba supported the independence of the central bank, as opposed to his opposition,. they again started to weaken when people thought she was going to win. each the opposition was seen as a protege of shinzo abe. hurricane —— when shigeru ishiba was elected, the young strengthened again. i'm not sure there will be a massive reaction on monday, but we will see. reaction

surprise announcement last month when fumio kishida announced that he was stepping down.the bbc�*s mariko oi a closer look at the candidates that may replace him. it isa it is a crowded race of nine contenders all vying to be the next leader of the party in government. members of the liberal democratic party will cast their vote for a new leader. if no contenders receive more than half the vote there will be a run—off between there will be a run—off between the top two candidates. based on polls, these three are the top contenders. fumio kishida. if his name sounds familiar thatis if his name sounds familiar that is because his father was the foremost —— former prime minister. he would become the youngest leader if elected. critics say he lacks experience. his call for labour reforms to make it easy for companies to fire workers. a protege of shinzo abi is another candidate. if elected she would become the country because my first ever female prime minister. the economic policies are expected to be investor friendly just like a mentor. she is also known as one of the most conservative lawmak

more now from mariko oi in our asia business hub. she has been on this for us throughout the week.he next episode then. nippon, has it reacted to this latest development?- reacted to this latest development? reacted to this latest develoment? , , ., development? yes, they have. they have _ development? yes, they have. they have released _ development? yes, they have. | they have released statements even though it is still based on thoughts they are planning to block the deal. both companies said they haven't received any formal update but they did stay that they didn't believe the acquisition both national security lists and according to the white house a panel reviewing the proposed merger for national security reasons has not sent its formal recommendation to the president. if the report is true, mr biden would be blocking the deal despite what we discussed yesterday, which is nippon steel shoring that the senior leadership and will be operated by its us unit based in new york. us steel repeated that japan is one of the closest allies while nippon steel also said it strongly beli

our asia business reporter mariko oi is following this closely.n on markets, isn't it? indeed, it is not a _ markets, isn't it? indeed, it is not a great _ markets, isn't it? indeed, it is not a great start - markets, isn't it? indeed, it is not a great start for- markets, isn't it? indeed, it is not a great start for the i is not a great start for the next prime minister. they knew this might happen because the futures were down ever since friday as soon as he was declared the winner of the leadership race. it is because investors don't like his support for things like higher taxes on companies and investment income. we also saw quite a bigjump investment income. we also saw quite a big jump in the value of the japanese yen, which of course is affecting exporter shares today as well, because during the election campaign, he said he supports bank of japan to normalise monetary policy, meaning is not probably opposed to them raising interest rates, unlike his rival, but over the weekend he has been speaking to local media where he appears to have s

mariko oi is looking at this for us. in the chinese capital but the summit is taking place after china released more disappointing economic data over the weekend. for example factories have been less busy, four months in a row while sales of new homes continue to fall as the sector struggles to deal with its massive debt crisis. it has been a lot of concern about the recovery of the world �*s second biggest economy, so the african leaders will want to hear how china plans to meet and fulfil pledges from the previous summit in 2021 two x 300 billion dollars worth summit in 2021 two x 300 billion dolla the orth summit in 2021 two x 300 billion dolla the end �*the policy since the end of the civil war in 1947. they have supported several african liberation movements over the years. they now feel compelled ijy years. they now feel compelled by loyalty to continue bilateral relations with them. it is interesting to note since 1950, there has not been a year where a chinese foreign minister by one hasn't visited an african cou