:00:00. > :00:00.when he met her, and the relationship hadn't affected
:00:00. > :00:15.Now on BBC News, all the latest business news live from Singapore.
:00:16. > :00:21.Europe's largest oil and gas exporter tells us how weak is coping
:00:22. > :00:28.with lower commodity prices. -- how it is. India's only a electric car
:00:29. > :00:40.maker talks about the challenges of getting motorists to embrace battery
:00:41. > :00:48.power. Good morning. It is Thursday. Thank you for joining us. I am Rico
:00:49. > :00:58.Hizon. How much you pay for your fuel may be determined bad a meeting
:00:59. > :01:04.being held in Qatar. --. 15 or producers will decide whether to
:01:05. > :01:10.freeze oil production. -- oil. Norway has been hit badly by the
:01:11. > :01:16.fall in oil prices. We caught up with the Prime Minister of Norway to
:01:17. > :01:24.ask her what she expected from the summit. I hope that the OPEC meeting
:01:25. > :01:32.is finding a deal where they will at least not increase a fall in the old
:01:33. > :01:38.price. I think we should have... I am not over optimistic. We have a
:01:39. > :01:45.surplus in the world economy. It will take time before it fixes. Will
:01:46. > :01:55.they freeze at? I hope they find an agreement. We have had a lower in of
:01:56. > :02:01.it for the last ten years. -- lowering. Our impact has become
:02:02. > :02:05.lower on the market. But gas production has become higher. That
:02:06. > :02:13.is more direct with the European market. Tax transparency has become
:02:14. > :02:17.a key issue in the world because of the Panama Papers. In Norway,
:02:18. > :02:24.everyone publishers there's. You think this will influence the UK? --
:02:25. > :02:29.theirs.. You have to give up your identity when checking. We have a
:02:30. > :02:36.model where you are open on how much tax people are paying and how much
:02:37. > :02:42.money people have and open on who is looking at your numbers. That is a
:02:43. > :02:47.good balance. You haven't been untouched by the crisis from the
:02:48. > :02:55.papers. Your country's largest bank has been found guilty of helping
:02:56. > :03:00.wealthy clients avoid their taxes. As the Prime Minister of a country
:03:01. > :03:04.that prides self on being transparent when it comes to public
:03:05. > :03:13.finances and taxes, what do you do about this? I am disappointed about
:03:14. > :03:18.it. I am surprised? No. The temptation of making money will
:03:19. > :03:23.always be there for every type of company, even if it is regional. I
:03:24. > :03:30.and disappointed because it has been clear, especially the largest bank,
:03:31. > :03:37.they should follow higher standards of ethics and deciding on what is in
:03:38. > :03:47.and out of the Lord. -- I am. They should follow effects. -- law. --
:03:48. > :03:53.ethics. China's growth figures are out tomorrow and they are expected
:03:54. > :03:54.to show the economy remaining under pressure with overcapacity and a
:03:55. > :04:03.growing number of unemployed workers. The IMF is concerned as
:04:04. > :04:10.well. In its global stability report they put China down as a key concern
:04:11. > :04:14.for the global economy. The IMF has warned that the volatility we saw in
:04:15. > :04:18.the stock market could be repeated if nothing was done to clean up the
:04:19. > :04:24.bank balance sheets, especially in China. Its transition into a more
:04:25. > :04:29.consumer driven economy instead of depending on trade and investment is
:04:30. > :04:35.having an impact on the corporate sector according to the IMF. $1.3
:04:36. > :04:41.trillion of corporate loans are owed by companies whose profits don't
:04:42. > :04:45.even cover their interest payments. The IMF estimates that this could
:04:46. > :04:52.translate into potential back losses of 7% of the country's GDP. The
:04:53. > :04:56.director of the IMF says this is manageable as long as they continue
:04:57. > :05:04.their strong economic growth. Not everyone shares the IMF's pessimism
:05:05. > :05:10.about China. Mark Mobius told us he believes worries may be overblown. I
:05:11. > :05:22.believe that a lot of the negative press about China is off the market.
:05:23. > :05:29.Yes, the economy is slowing, but seven or 6% today in dollar terms is
:05:30. > :05:34.much more than 10% in 2010. People are looking at the actual numbers at
:05:35. > :05:38.the end of the day. Secondly, if you see the shift taking place in China
:05:39. > :05:44.from an industrial export economy to a service economy, a more consumer
:05:45. > :05:48.led economy, that is a big change that is going to provide
:05:49. > :05:53.opportunities. You say you are still investing quite a bit in China. But
:05:54. > :06:00.there are concerns about its slowing growth. It was expected to have
:06:01. > :06:13.expired 7% this year but people are saying 4%. -- shown. It was 7%! They
:06:14. > :06:23.forget that China is a plant economy. They make a plan, 7%
:06:24. > :06:25.growth, orders go out to each of the governors of the provinces and
:06:26. > :06:34.manners of the cities and they say you need this. -- mayors. So they go
:06:35. > :06:38.out and start building. Roads, bridges, apartment buildings,
:06:39. > :06:46.complexes, so forth, to achieve what they have in a signed. The growth is
:06:47. > :06:50.there. -- been. And now they have gone to the government banks and
:06:51. > :06:57.received these loans. Many projects are not viable, it may go nowhere,
:06:58. > :07:04.it may be a housing complex that is an the, but, the growth rate has
:07:05. > :07:09.been hit. -- empty. The consequences are something we have to deal with
:07:10. > :07:15.down the road. What do you think is the biggest risk in China? Any kind
:07:16. > :07:25.of political instability would be very bad. I and talking about on a
:07:26. > :07:32.national level. -- am. National strikes, changes in leadership that
:07:33. > :07:43.indicate turmoil, that would be bad news. A US Federal Reserve survey
:07:44. > :07:46.suggests there is increasing optimism about the state of the
:07:47. > :07:51.economy. It found that the economy continues to expand, from late
:07:52. > :07:58.February to early April, unemployment seems to be sparing
:07:59. > :08:03.wage growth. -- spurring. They increased in the bank districts. The
:08:04. > :08:09.report found only modest increases in consumer and capital spending.
:08:10. > :08:15.Moving to auto. Thousands of cars hit the roads in India every day.
:08:16. > :08:24.That brings pollution. By 2030, all cars told in the country could be
:08:25. > :08:28.electric vehicles. But Mahindra, the auto company, is that only electric
:08:29. > :08:35.car company. It sold only 1000 units last year. Are they ready? We spoke
:08:36. > :08:40.to the head of their electric car division. Last year, in April, the
:08:41. > :08:45.Indian government announced that scheme. Incentives on research and
:08:46. > :08:51.development projects as well and infrastructure. I have to say that
:08:52. > :08:55.in the last year the growth has been good. But having said that, Europe
:08:56. > :08:59.and China have been increasing for the last four years. What are the
:09:00. > :09:06.big challenges with India to find more buyers of electric vehicles?
:09:07. > :09:14.Electric infrastructure. We have fuel stations on every corner of the
:09:15. > :09:20.country but no charging stations. Anxiety of finding electricity is a
:09:21. > :09:26.problem for the buyer. Until that infrastructure comes in you will
:09:27. > :09:30.always have this barrier. If you go to London or Amsterdam or China
:09:31. > :09:37.there a charge points almost every half a kilometre. Do you think
:09:38. > :09:42.electric cars are ready to go mainstream? They are very mainstream
:09:43. > :09:52.when it comes to cities because to distances are not very far, the
:09:53. > :09:57.cities are very polluted, and if you find a higher rate of electrics, you
:09:58. > :10:02.will solve the congestion and pollution problems. -- your cities.
:10:03. > :10:07.The way we have the vision our vehicle, it is more designed for
:10:08. > :10:15.city driving, not long as. I don't see the big need for that yet. --
:10:16. > :10:17.long distance. But congested cities, especially in India, Electric is
:10:18. > :10:25.definitely the way to go. A quick look at the markets. In early
:10:26. > :10:30.trading day. Positive results from the financial sector. An upbeat
:10:31. > :10:35.China trade. These are the GDP numbers this week. Thank you very
:10:36. > :10:36.much for investing time with us. I am