08/02/2016 BBC Business Live

Hello. This is Business Live from BBC News with Ben Thompson and Sally

Bundle. Powering ahead, or is it? India's growth figures are expected

to show it's one of the fastest growing economies in the world,

but do the official figures reflect India's growth figures are expected

to show it's one of the fastest growing economies in the world,

but do the official figures reflect Live from London, that's our top

story on Monday, 8th February. India is poised to show it's

the world's most dynamic economy amidst a sluggish global picture

but who is really benefiting Also in the programme:

Lunar New Year celebrations look to the monkey for good fortune,

but there's mischief in the air as China sees its massive foreign

exchange reserves shrink. And a brand new trading

week is under way - in Europe with little guidance

from Asia as most of the main markets there are closed

for the new year holidays. We'll get the inside track

on what it takes to make it big The founder of one of the industry's

biggest players will join us And as Valentine's Day

approaches - are you a fan Or are you an old romantic

and prefer the traditional methods? It is the killer combination of love

and money. More on that in a few minutes. First, let's focus on the

Indian economy. They today we will find out how it grew in the final

three months of last year. Analysts will be looking

to see if the country which imports 80% of its oil

will have benefited from the collapse in the price

of the black stuff. The World Bank predicts that India

will grow by 7.8% this year, that's the fastest rate for any

major global economy. If we look at the trend from 2013

through to the projected growth we can see that India is predicted

to not only be ahead of the US but also the other global

growth giant, China. China is in the red and the US is

the blue line. One of the key advantages India has

is the age of its population, half the country is under the age

of 25 and that provides a strong However it's not all good news,

the country needs to create an average of 8.4 million jobs

a year just to keep up growth and maintain

their unemployment rate. And that's quite

hard to do in a country that's ranked 130th out of 189 countries

when it comes to the ease That's behind Nicaragua,

Uganda and even Iran. Our Mumbai Correspondent Yogita

Limaye joins me now from India. We expected those figures to be

good, putting India in one of the top spots for economic growth.

That's already there are questions about whether it reflects the

reality on the ground. What are you hearing now? It would definitely be

fair to say there is scepticism about the figures. The Government

revised the way they calculate GDP data in January last year, and that

was when we saw the 5% growth in previous years suddenly becoming 7%

and more than that. What nobody disputes, even if they wonder if it

should have the title of the fastest-growing economy in the

world, nobody disputes that Indian growth is picking up that we have

seen that on the ground over the past year. We have seen industrial

output picking up, mining picking up. And the people of India have

been helped by oil prices being low. Inflation has not gone up. If you

went out today on the streets, and we have been out over the past year

asking people if they see any effect on their lives, and people are very

likely to say that compared to previous years, they are having

better lives today. But the problem that Sally talked about, job

creation, I am not sure that is being sorted. One thing that has not

been happening throughout 2015 is private investment. The Government

really needs private players, big manufacturing companies to set up

new factories to create lots of new jobs that that is not happening yet.

As far as the view on the ground is concerned, two big challenges remain

the bureaucracy in India so businesses can get things done and

infrastructure, whether the necessary infrastructure is in place

to allow businesses to grow at the rate that they could be growing at

if they did not face those problems. That is right. Later this week, on

Saturday, the Government is launching a huge summit in Mumbai

called the Naked India week. They are hoping to make it easier to do

business in India and invite manufacturers from around the world

and domestic players to set up factories that plants, open

companies. Has it become easier to do business? The Government has been

trying to pass a particular tax law that would really simplify tax

procedures in India and they have not been able to do that. They were

hoping to prevent it in April 2016 but it has not cleared Parliament

yet so the struggles remain. Thank you. Some other stories now.

Nearly 150 oil platforms in the UK's North Sea could be scrapped over

the next decade, according to analysts.

The estimate from Douglas-Westwood says that the low oil prices

will result in many oil fields in UK waters,

including the North Sea, becoming uneconomic and less

Germany's financial watchdog says it has cut

down the German arm of Canada's Maple Bank.

The bank has been forbidden from taking customers' payments,

other than those made to repay debts.

In September, German prosecutors searched the bank's offices as part

of an investigation into tax evasion and money laundering.

Over 100 million people tuned in to watch the Super Bowl last

night and as always, advertisers did their best to cash

Companies paid as much as $5 million for a 30 second slot with Doritos

and Mountain Dew's adverts receiving over 300,000 tweets between them

Before the game had even kicked off this year's adverts were viewed more

Let's have a look at the Business Live page. Dangers to the world

tourism industry as a result of terrorism and the Zika virus hanging

over parts of South America. They say the industry will manage to

whether this crisis, as it is growing by 3.5% compared to last

year, so not all bad news despite the headlines. Another story on

here, Rand gold. Production is hitting a record high. The chief

executive Mark Bristow is quoted describing last year as one of the

best years in the company's mystery. Of late the price of gold has been

edging upwards actually as people's concern about the year ahead and

nervousness about the global economy has meant people are buying more

goals. That old adage that it is a safe place to put your cash in

turbulent times. China's foreign currency

reserves slumped by nearly China has been running down its vast

foreign currency reserves in an attempt to boost the value

of its own currency. Tim McDonald is in our

Asia Business Hub in Singapore This is something that the Chinese

authorities revealed on Sunday. Most people trying to digest what it

means today. That is right. $100 billion flowing out in the space of

a month seems like a lot, following a slump of 420 billion in the second

half of 2015. This flood of cash is being used to prop up the value of

the currency and it has been falling because investors are worrying about

the slowing Chinese economy and they are moving their money overseas in

search of better returns. This puts downward pressure on the currency,

so the Bank of China is using $3.23 trillion to slow the descent. This

strategy is not unique by any stretch of the imagination but there

are questions about whether they can continue to empty the cough is so

rapidly, and some analysts say it is causing more worry among investors,

so more people will move their money overseas and start the process

again. Thank you. Looking at the markets, these guys were definitely

closed on Friday, because most of the markets in Asia will be closed

all week because of the lunar New Year celebrations. China is the

exception. It is a turbulent day because when I came in today, it was

down, because Toyota shares are down for example. That is rightly's close

in the United States reflecting the jobless figures that came out on

Friday in the USA. Add all of the European market at about 0.5%. The

price of oil is higher today and energy stocks doing rather well as

well. Just to say, the jobs figures out on Friday, how many jobs have

been added to the US economy, which was disappointing. Still markets

around the world stage testing that news.

This is what Nada Tawfik had to say that since filing this report she

has had her baby! This report looks at the total

number of drilling rigs in operation and their productivity, so traders

will be interested in those figures as oil prices remain a concern along

with the supply glut. 21st Century Fox also released its results. At

quarter of the 2016 fiscal year, after the media Corporation

announced they were looking to reduce costs and staffing by $215

million in the fiscal year that begins in July. And there is a

possible merger with Mattel to create a massive toy company.

Massive congratulations to Nada Tawfik and we will let you know when

she gets back into the office. Joining us is Sue Noffke,

UK Equities Fund Manager, Let's talk about India. How closely

will the rest of the world be talking and watching India? I think

increasingly because there are questions hanging over the two

largest world economies, because that is putting greater focus on

everywhere else and Indian growth is something that is big and powerful

enough, but with some growth will it be sufficient to bail out the

weakness we are seeing in China and the slow down in the USA? Years ago

we were talking about Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa,

the bricks. They are falling. This is the only brick left in the wall

and it is interesting how it is developing as an economy. Yes, a

large and useful economy, but one where bureaucracy, which was

mentioned in your report earlier today, and other impediments to

business. When we look at India as a global economy, all that hope that

was pinned on it, and on the other bricks nations, the shine is coming

off somewhat as the slow down in the world economy goes on. Where else

should we be looking and where do we have glimmers of hope on the

horizon? Well, a lot of the world is interconnected, so the slowdowns in

other major economies of course have an impact. It is a tough ask to

expect the rest of the world's fast-growing economies to take up

the baton entirely. They will do some of that running so. Thank you.

We will see you later and there is plenty more to discuss and plenty in

the newspapers as ever. Still to come: Flirting

with a fortune. We get the inside track

on the dating business and how firms are vying for the top spot

in the $2 billion industry. The boss of one top dating

firm joins us live. You're with Business

Live from BBC News. In the UK, the energy company Total

says the first gas has come ashore at its new plant in

the Shetland Isles. It's thought the site

will eventually produce almost Our Scotland Correspondent

Lorna Gordon is there. Tell us more about this announcement

that came through just a few hours ago. Oil has been coming ashore to

Shetland for about 40 years but what we are seeing now is this new gas

plant behind me operated by Total opening up. It is difficult to get

to gas fields in deep waters West of Shetland but they are considered

important reserves strategically. The Government estimates they may

contain 70% of UK's remaining gas. When this plant is fully online it

could provide enough energy for up to 2 million homes. It really is

good news for an industry that more widely is really suffering because

of the downturn in oil and gas prices and of course that is really

good news for these islands in this most northerly part of Britain. That

is what I wanted to pick up on, what it could mean for the people in and

around where you are today. What does it mean for the island?

Shetland is a really interesting part of the country, the only part

of the UK with an oil and gas fund, a sovereign wealth fund. That fund

and the council reserves are worth about half ?1 billion. In terms of

that capital, it is only second to the city of Westminster. It is an

awful lot of money. They have saved for a rainy day. Every barrel of oil

that has come onshore has given a tied to the island and the same will

happen with this plant. It has paid for amenities and gone to good

causes. The islanders are very lucky and they know it. They welcome the

gas plant coming online. HSBC, it has been a long running

saga, about whether HSBC will keep its head quarters in London. It was

debating whether it would move them to Hong Kong.

They say the bank levy makes the playing field uneven and it is

unfair and it would restrict them from being here. Perhaps we'll get a

decision later. Our top story: All eyes are on India

as the country gets set to report But, as always, there are worries

about a slowdown in Asia's third-largest economy and questions

over how accurate that official As St Valentine's Day approaches,

our next discussion is a timely one. In recent years it has grown

from a niche business venture The online dating industry is now

estimated to be worth more In fact, it's now so big the UK

Government checks on the price of subscriptions to help calculate

the headline rate of inflation. One of the industry's

market leaders is Venntro, who own a number of dating sites

including Just Singles and Smooch. As well as running their own sites

Venntro also provide the software and infrastructure to allow

25,000 other business Founded in a spare bedroom in 2003,

the business now turns over around $63 million a year and employs

people right around the globe. The founder and Chief Executive

of Venntro Group, Ross Ross nice to see you: Good morning.

First things first, 25,000 other dating sites. You have the

technology that powers those sites. I never knew there were that many,

really? It is niche dating around the world. So when you look at the

different users, you might based on where you live, what you job as a

job, interests and characteristics and sport, and when you look at that

across the English speaking territories, as well as UK, New

Zealand, Canada and the US, it comes up to 25,000. And you know, our

business is built on the white label platform. So for example, you know,

I don't know much about towns in Ohio or if you look at Miami and New

York and Boston, we have got partners that can build sites on our

platform for those territories. And you're kind of winning in every

which way because you are running some sites and you have got the

white label option which enables other people to run dating websites

through your services so you've got people who are trying to find a

partner, you're getting subscription money from them, but you're getting

businesses paying you, it is coming in all from all sources? We started

back in 2003. No external funding. So no private equity, VCs, me and my

business partner started it using half a dozen credit cards and we

have grown it to $62 million a year, revenue, still all privately owned

and it is a great success story, as well as our sites like Snaoch.com

and Just Singles, it allows newspapers and magazines to create

those sites. If you see the white label as our B to B operation, our

sites is our B to C, direct to consumer operation. It is an

industry that's been made possible, it is fair to say, by technology.

You would not be able to do what you do without technology, whether it is

smartphones or the websites. People can do it on the move and it will

match based on location and we have seen a growth in the Tinder and IPO

and the valuation that's put on these firms. It strikes me that

there is so much competition for what is a very basic service. It is

matching person A with person B, how do you stand out? Ultimately, we

have seen consolation in the market. Tinder is owned by Match Group

valued at $1 billion. Match Group own Plenty of Fish and OK Coop I had

and they are the UK and Venntro is the UK equivalent. If you are

looking for a relationship, a marred ableg we have this portfolio and

that's the approach we're taking. Just briefly, because we are being

told to end the interview at this moment, I'm being naughty. It is the

Year of the Monkey, I feel I can get away with it today. In terms of

safety, how do you guarantee that, that must be a big part of your big,

guaranteeing that? We have 140 staff and 50 people based in Windsor

moderating 24/7. 4am Christmas Day, I had people checking every profile,

photo, everything. That's a huge part of what we do, and it is one of

the reasons why people are paying for dating subscriptions on our

plait #230r78. Tform. -- our platform.

Today it's the turn of Perfumer Jo Malone.

Here's the business advice she wishes she'd been given

Never make a life changing decision on a bad day. How many times I have

done that and made a really big decision when I felt emotional and

has been the wrong decision. So make that life changing decision always

when you're on the up and you feel more balanced.

When you're building a business, it can be really tough and you need

that kind of a business muscle. When your feet leave the ground and you

have the celebration moment, enjoy it and celebrate it with the team

and the family that have helped you get there.

Jo Malone who was one of our guests on Business Live.

Some top tips there. We have got more in that series and we will

bring them to you. Let's take a quick look

at the stories making business Those reserves at $100 million pale

into insignificance compared to what China's reserves are. They are the

highest for 17 years, we have been building them up and the question is

why do we need them? There is the Brexit vote coming later this year,

likely. And a Brexit would put pressure on the pound and why is

that important? Well, we actually import more than we export. So we

have got a deficit, a current account deficit and we need to fund

that. We need to have investors confidence in the stability of the

UK economy and the value of the pound in order to do that. There is

some scary projections out there, aren't there? If the UK were to come

out of the European Union because it is an unprecedented thing. It is

such an unknown that the pound would fall like a stone in the initial

reaction? So Goldman Sachs, I think, have put out a forecast and said

that it could fall 20%. Now, of course, the foreign exchange

reserves are constantly moving and trying to take account of lots of

these potential events. And we have seen some weakness in sterling in

recent months against the dollar and against the euro from quite high

levels during last year. So some that is getting priced in. Google is

back in the spotlight. Google Island staff -- Ireland staff paid less

than our London colleagues. The controversial about Ireland they

book the majority of their sales in Ireland for tax purposes. A big

difference? Yes, that's right. London wages and salaries tend to be

higher. There is the London waiting? There is. This is a large

differential. So how do they explain that? Given that the majority of

their business is in and through Ireland? I think they are likely to

have to answer to MPs later. It is not the first time. I think it is

people trying to hold these large new companies where the tax profiles

are different, hold them to account. It is interesting because Amazon is

in the headlines. Doubling the amount of money it spends on

lobbining politicians in the US. I found this astounding. Briefly, Sue?

A lot of companies will want to get representatives of their views

through the law courts and Amazon is joining the likes of Microsoft. So

up there with the big boys in terms of its lobbying spend. Sue, as

always, thank you very much. Really nice to see you.

Good morning. The working week is not getting off to the best of

starts weather wise because of our ninth named storm of the season.