of up to £5,000. now on bbc news, all the latest business news live from singapore. the american food giant kraft heinz walks away from its proposed merger deal with unilever. and a nose for talent. india's perfume industry on the unique hiring push. welcome to asia business report. now, the biggest potential merger deal in corporate history is now not happening, and that is after the american food giant kraft heinz said it was dropping its bid to buy rival unilever. the anglo dutch company which makes marmite, lipton tea and dove soap rejected a bid from kraft heinz on friday. kraft heinz has said it has amicably agreed to scrap the plan. for more, here is our business reporter. i calculate that within 55 hours of the bid being submitted it has been withdrawn entirely and this will have brought together some major global brands that you and i know in our households such as philadelphia and kraft heinz beings. it would have brought together coleman ‘s mustard and magnum ice cream. it would have made unilever a huge player but it is no more. and what has happened is basically it has become very clear that it was never going to work, and that it was never going to work, and that kraft heinz would have to launch a hostile takeover bid for unilever, which would have cost it an awful lot more money than it was prepared to pay, and it would not have made the deal worthwhile. also it wouldn't have been a friendly and amicable divorce which we read about today, because there are thousands of people working for unilever at the moment who are breathing a sigh of relief because kraft heinz is controlled by a brazilian outfits called sg, controlled by a brazilian outfits called 36, and they have a deserved history for cost cutting, taking sides to factories and jobs at the companies they take over. —— taking a scythe. they would have decided that many areas had to go. in other business news, samsung's group chief jy lee was questioned by prosecutors for two days in a row over the weekend after being arrested on bribery charges in connection with an investigation into south korea's president park. the questioning focused on allegations jy lee gave $36 million worth of rights to a friend of the president, in exchange for backing a restructure at samsung companies. samsung has denied all the allegations. chinese coal futures are rising after the nation stopped coal imports from north korea. it is a move which effectively cuts the secretive regime's exports in half. the ban will remain in place until the end of the year, in a bid to ramp up the pressure onjohn of the year, in a bid to ramp up the pressure on john yang of the year, in a bid to ramp up the pressure onjohn yang after its missiles test last weekend. —— pyongyang. it rejected a shipment of north korean coal, the country's biggest export. and a loan from the international monetary fund is aimed at bailing out the commodity reliant economy which has been vulnerable to highly variable prices, helping mongolia avoid missing a $580 million debt repayment due next month. once a national icon, it is now up for sale. the bidding process is under way for malaysia's automaker proton. the chinese company could emerge as the top suitorfor company could emerge as the top suitor for 51% stake. proton was established 1983 but by the late 19905 it established 1983 but by the late 1990s it was losing market share at home and abroad due to poor production quality. i asked an audit a nalyst production quality. i asked an audit analyst if the takeover would be a good one. as the chinese domestic market slows down we are going from 6% growth in 2016 to probably around 296 6% growth in 2016 to probably around 2% growth, chinese automakers are looking abroad for growth, and southeast asia, which is still a very fast growing market, the asean ten countries are a fast—growing market and companies like this are interested in trying to figure out how to enter that market. an acquisition which is being contemplated could be that route. some reports suggesting that the peugeot parent psa might make a benefit, it is one of several contenders looking at trying to acquire proton. how do you compare these various potential marriage is? they are quite different. geely is a much smaller and one could say much nimbler automaker or competitor, and they are very aggressive in terms of coming up with an innovative way to enter markets. take their acquisition of volvo as an example. this was a big surprise in 2010, when they purchased that european automaker, in order to gain technologies. their strategy here could be to use proton as a platform for export growth to other south—east asian countries. for export growth to other south-east asian countries. very quickly, geely was famous for having bought out volvo's car business, so how long will this integration take if indeed this marriage does happen? proton doesn't really produce very many cars today, fewer than 100,000, so many cars today, fewer than 100,000, soi many cars today, fewer than 100,000, so i think it might take two to three years for geely the digests, and to build a platform for growth in proton malaysia as well as other parts of southeast asia. it is a brand—new trading week, but there will be a lack of direction somewhat early this week due to a market holiday over in the us. here in asia, all eyes will be on a number of earnings due from global corporate giants such as mining firm bhp billiton and hsbc. a market strategist, michael mccarthy, explained how the earnings reports could affect regional markets. both very important bellwethers for the market, focusing on bhp we know there has been a big improvement in there has been a big improvement in the underlying commodity prices, copper, oil, coal, iron ore, all doing better in comparison to the big sell—off we saw at the beginning of 2016. we have seen production reports and we know the realised prices so the numbers themselves are pretty straightforward. we think bhp will report 62 cents per share but the key will be what they will do with the money that is flowing into their accounts from those improved commodity prices. and shareholders in particular will be looking for announcements around capital initiatives and perhaps an improved dividend return. india has among the largest number of blind people in the world. more than 5 million, according to government numbers. the country has few employment opportunities for them, but now a private firm is training blind people to work in perfume and fragrance companies using their sense of smell. our correspondent reports from mumbai. this man became blind at the age of three due to a smallpox infection. like most visually impaired people in india, finding work has always been a struggle for him. one year ago, he got a job with a company that makes fragrances. his role, to ensure the aromas that go into the perfumes are pure, i smelling them. translation: i feel pure, i smelling them. translation: ifeel proud. i earn my own money, and because of that my children are progressing. i am living with dignity, and people respect me at my workplace. you can identify that note? it is in a class like this one that ravi vanniyar was trained. the course was started three years ago bya course was started three years ago by a private company which found that people who can't see at a keener sense of smell than the general population. in india there are laws that mandate that a small percentage of governmentjobs should be reserved for people with disabilities. but they are often difficult to get, and there is not enough of them. that is why, perhaps, the solution lies with the private sector, and new opportunities like this one that are being created. initially, ravi vanniyar‘s employer hired individuals like him for corporate charity but the company now said it also makes good sense. still, finding suitablejobs also makes good sense. still, finding suitable jobs for all these stu d e nts finding suitable jobs for all these students has been tough. literally we have to go door—to—door and ask the industry to kind of employ them. they wonder how they are going to be getting to work, what kind of support they need to give, what the surroundings are going to be like, how they are going to adjust to other people. ravi has a long commute to work on public transport thatis commute to work on public transport that is not very easy for him to use. but the promise of a salary at the end of each month is enough to make him go the distance. and a lot more coverage of this issue on bbc .com/ disability, and on twitter. a quick look at the markets, as i mentioned a holiday in the us, it is presidents day. in asia, markets not looking too good. injapan, shares are up 2% on a report thatjapanese companies softbank would give up control of sprint if the merger took place. and toshiba shares are rebounding somewhat today, up 3% after sharp falls on friday. that's it for this edition of asia business report. thank you for watching. the prison officers association has dismissed government plans to increase the pay of some of its members as a sticking plaster that will not fix the broken system. thousands of officers atjails in london and the south—east of england will be offered a rise of between £3,000 and £5,000. ministers say it will boost recruitment and retention, but the union says all its members face the same risks, and the policy will be divisive. here is our home affairs correspondent june kelly. this is how many officers it takes to contain one violent prisoner. every working day, staff are battling simply to keep control. the £12 million in extra pay announced today is aimed at bringing in new recruits and paying some existing staff more. here in wandsworth jail, in south london, officers will benefit. the offer is limited to prisons in the capital and the south—east, a divisive move, according to the prison officers association. we're going to welcome additional money for our members, of course we are. but we don't think this goes far enough to solving the prison crisis. we believe it needs to be a national issue. the offer is for standard, grade three prison officers, not for more senior supervisors or specialists. each will receive a pay hike of at least £3,000. for new recruits, their pay package will be increased by £5,000, the sweetener to bring people in. the panorama programme recently went undercover at northumberland jail, and it showed inmates high on drugs. staff constantly having to search for banned substances. there is no more money for officers here in today's announcement. one needed medical treatment for a seizure because he had inhaled the synthetic drug spice. the justice secretary, liz truss, has already announced plans to significantly boost officer numbers. it's not something you can sort out in weeks or months. it takes time to recruit people, it takes time to bring those people on. but i'm absolutely determined to deal with that. but prison reform campaigners, including those who have been inside, say there has to be more focus on retaining experienced hands. there is a peculiar, invisible chemistry of where a mutual respect between experienced prison officers, who know how to keep difficult prisoners under control, from inexperienced prison officers, who don't quite understand that you don't need to take out your truncheon, necessarily, to sort out a fight between two prisoners. eventually, the plan is for 2,500 extra officers in england and wales. but they won't all be in place until 2018. june kelly, bbc news. time now for all the sports news in sport today. hello, this is sport today, live from the bbc sport centre. coming up on this programme: manchester united qualify for the fa cup quarterfinals beating blackburn 2-1, as zlatan makes it 2a for the season. lionel messi's late penalty saves barcelona in a 2—1win over leganes. and jo—wilifried tsonga wins the rotterdam open beating david goffin in three sets. hello and welcome to the programme where we start with football and the last 16 of the english fa cup saw holders manchester united win 2—1 away to championship side blackburn rovers on sunday. and it was the hosts who got on the scoresheet first when a beautifully worked pass gave danny graham the chance which he thundered home past sergio romero, just minutes later the score was level when marcus rashford went round the goalkeeper