:00:00. > :00:07.This is Business Live from BBC News with Sally Bundock
:00:08. > :00:13.Companies from China and Hong Kong have until today
:00:14. > :00:16.to convince Australia to sell them its largest electricity
:00:17. > :00:25.But will the Australian government continue to block the deal?
:00:26. > :00:27.Live from London, that's our top story
:00:28. > :00:45.The clock is ticking as the business day is nearly over in Australia -
:00:46. > :00:48.so why has the government there now got cold feet on a deal
:00:49. > :00:51.to sell its main electricity network to investors in China or Hong Kong?
:00:52. > :00:59.Also in the programme, Olympic bonuses for medal winners
:01:00. > :01:01.at the Rio Olympics, some countries are paying
:01:02. > :01:09.But in the US, the tax man takes a cut.
:01:10. > :01:11.And financial markets are unsure where to go today
:01:12. > :01:17.thanks to a less than clear report from the US Federal Reserve.
:01:18. > :01:22.As ever we'll talk you through the movers and shakers.
:01:23. > :01:26.And we'll find out how one organisation is helping women
:01:27. > :01:28.in Africa to rise the ranks in the boardroom -
:01:29. > :01:33.The co-founder of She Leads Africa will discuss the group's
:01:34. > :01:41.And on that cash bonus for medals story -
:01:42. > :01:45.If you win a gold for Singapore - they'll
:01:46. > :01:50.pay you three quarters of a million bucks.
:01:51. > :01:52.Should countries be incentivising their athletes with bonuses
:01:53. > :01:55.for winning medals at the Rio Games - or should it be
:01:56. > :02:13.Companies from China and Hong Kong have until today to convince
:02:14. > :02:18.Australia to sell them its largest electricity network - Ausgrid.
:02:19. > :02:21.In a preliminary decision last week, the Australian government blocked
:02:22. > :02:30.China's State Grid corporation and Cheung Kong Infrastructure
:02:31. > :02:37.of Hong Kong are after a controlling stake.
:02:38. > :02:40.China is the world's third biggest international investor -
:02:41. > :02:49.having spent $123 billion overseas in 2014.
:02:50. > :02:51.That number is set to rise - and while projects need funding,
:02:52. > :03:01.some Chinese practices have proven unwelcome.
:03:02. > :03:03.In the last month, the British government decided
:03:04. > :03:09.to postpone final approval of a nuclear power station
:03:10. > :03:12.at Hinkley Point - reportedly over concerns
:03:13. > :03:15.about Chinese investment and involvement.
:03:16. > :03:21.And across the pond, similar concerns led technology firm
:03:22. > :03:23.Fairchild Semiconductors to reject a $2.5 billion bid
:03:24. > :03:26.from a Chinese firm - in lieu of a lesser offer
:03:27. > :03:30.Fairchild said it was worried about getting congressional approval
:03:31. > :03:55.Thanks for coming in. Australia said the clock is ticking, the Australia
:03:56. > :04:02.is on deciding, whether they will or won't. But this is not just China
:04:03. > :04:08.and Australia, China has been on a buying spree of power around the
:04:09. > :04:11.world, not just Australia. Yes. Chinese overseas investment
:04:12. > :04:15.initially was for raw materials. All the things China needs to keep its
:04:16. > :04:20.economy going, it is very resource poor and people rich. That has
:04:21. > :04:26.changed and Chinese companies are increasingly buying into foreign
:04:27. > :04:32.utilities, partly because prices are controlled at home in China but
:04:33. > :04:38.often the inputs, coal, for instance is going up, and they can make
:04:39. > :04:42.better margins by buying elsewhere. So they are getting better returns
:04:43. > :04:47.around the world for buying these power things. To countries like
:04:48. > :04:54.Australia... China is Australia's biggest trading partner. Countries
:04:55. > :04:58.like Australia, the UK here with Brexit, possibly leaving the EU in a
:04:59. > :05:02.couple of years' time and Britain will have to rely on China in some
:05:03. > :05:08.ways I guess for trade. Do these sorts of countries have to tread
:05:09. > :05:12.carefully in rejecting certain deals by going, but we want your money and
:05:13. > :05:16.we want your trade? You want trade with China, you want Chinese
:05:17. > :05:21.investment in a world where there is a lot of liquidity around but it is
:05:22. > :05:24.sometimes difficult to get international investment into these
:05:25. > :05:30.kind of big infrastructure projects. The Chinese are keen on that. There
:05:31. > :05:34.are long-term investors as such. And they are an important trading
:05:35. > :05:38.partner. On the other hand, what has happened in the last few years, the
:05:39. > :05:45.Chinese economy has slowed down, we are no longer in turbo-charged
:05:46. > :05:50.double-digit growth, it is six or 7%. And also China is making more
:05:51. > :05:55.things itself and importing less. There are some long-term exporters
:05:56. > :06:01.to Germany, -- to China, Germany for example. But everybody else is still
:06:02. > :06:05.trying to get on the bandwagon and finding it harder and harder, and
:06:06. > :06:11.you are getting national security concerns coming up. How is this
:06:12. > :06:14.likely to play out? On the one hand the commerce Department in China
:06:15. > :06:19.says this action is protectionist, they are not treating us fairly.
:06:20. > :06:23.You've got the likes of Donald Trump who could be getting quite icky job
:06:24. > :06:31.in November, who has his views against China. Certainly Europe, I
:06:32. > :06:36.think there are 15 potential steal actions against China from the EU,
:06:37. > :06:43.plus the Hinkley point issue here in England. I think it's sentiment
:06:44. > :06:47.changes here. Three or four years ago everybody wanted to do deals
:06:48. > :06:51.with China. There was this feeling that China will dominate the world
:06:52. > :06:55.and so on. Well, it won't, and people have woken up to that. You've
:06:56. > :07:01.had internal hiccups in China, stock market fiasco last year,
:07:02. > :07:03.uncertainties about the currency, foreign companies finding it
:07:04. > :07:08.increasingly difficult to operate in China. Partly simply because the
:07:09. > :07:16.Chinese are doing things themselves that they used to buy in. And this
:07:17. > :07:19.general feeling of rising protectionism in Australia, which
:07:20. > :07:23.the Prime Minister denounced in a speech yesterday, and secondly the
:07:24. > :07:26.whole tension in East Asia which has come up over Chinese sovereignty
:07:27. > :07:31.claims and so on. Australia is on the edge of that. Great stuff, we
:07:32. > :07:36.really appreciate your time and your input, Jonathan.
:07:37. > :07:42.When we hear how it works out for Ausgrid we will update you.
:07:43. > :07:46.Two of Australia's largest lenders have been named in a US lawsuit
:07:47. > :07:48.related to the bank-bill swap rate, along with 17 other
:07:49. > :07:51.According to a report by Bloomberg, Australia
:07:52. > :07:53.New Zealand Banking Group and National Australia Bank -
:07:54. > :07:55.both confirmed in statements that they were subject
:07:56. > :08:01.The world's biggest personal computer maker, Lenovo,
:08:02. > :08:05.has reported strong earnings - with its profit rising
:08:06. > :08:09.by almost two thirds in the three months to June.
:08:10. > :08:18.Net profits grew to $173 million - far beating analysts expectations.
:08:19. > :08:33.US tech giant Cisco is slashing up to 7% of its global workforce.
:08:34. > :08:36.It's estimated the plan to cut 5,500 jobs will cost the company
:08:37. > :08:43.But the number is far less than what had been feared
:08:44. > :08:53.after reports earlier suggested 14,000 jobs would go.
:08:54. > :09:01.I want to show you this because I liked the look on his face, Sir
:09:02. > :09:05.Philip Green, the retail mogul as they used to call him, the man
:09:06. > :09:10.behind top shop and also for our international viewers a chain store
:09:11. > :09:16.here called BHS, homewares and all that. Which unfortunately had to
:09:17. > :09:24.shut down, bankruptcy. He bought it, he siphoned off, allegedly, he sold
:09:25. > :09:28.it for ?1, now it has a big hole in its pension and 12,000 people are
:09:29. > :09:34.out of work. He was sailing down the Mediterranean on his ?100 million
:09:35. > :09:39.yacht. He was being harassed by people like us. It was Sky News
:09:40. > :09:42.actually. He said I'm going to throw your camera into the sea.
:09:43. > :09:45.Let's take a look round the world at what's business stories
:09:46. > :09:48.First, let's take at a look at Philippines, which has just
:09:49. > :09:52.Sarah Toms has been following the story.
:09:53. > :10:06.What's going on, Sarah? Good news, the economy is soaring. Growth from
:10:07. > :10:11.April to June hit 7% compared to the last time last year. This figure is
:10:12. > :10:16.much better-than-expected, the fastest growth reported in three
:10:17. > :10:20.years, and it also makes it Asia's fastest-growing economy in that
:10:21. > :10:25.period. It's doing even better in China. So what helped achieve the
:10:26. > :10:28.target? Strong domestic demand but also massive campaign spending and
:10:29. > :10:36.public and private investments in the lead up to the elections. You
:10:37. > :10:41.will note that Roderigo Giteau Tay was voted in as president. Most
:10:42. > :10:50.analysts are optimistic he will honour his pledges. But exports were
:10:51. > :10:55.slow so it might be hard to maintain a rate of growth. Really
:10:56. > :11:00.interesting. The growth seen in the Philippines. And the other big story
:11:01. > :11:05.in Asia was the massive drop-off in exports coming out of Japan in the
:11:06. > :11:10.month of July, mainly because the Japanese yen has been strengthening.
:11:11. > :11:15.Half an hour ago at dollar was buying under 100 yen. That's a huge
:11:16. > :11:22.headache for the likes of Toyota and Sony. It closed down one and a half
:11:23. > :11:28.percent, no big surprise. Elsewhere in Asia a fairly good day. You can
:11:29. > :11:31.see Wall Street, behind me. The other issue traders have been
:11:32. > :11:35.grappling with is the Federal reserve minutes. What on earth are
:11:36. > :11:40.they trying to imply when it comes to the cost of borrowing and when it
:11:41. > :11:43.will go up again? Some are saying we will not see another rate hike this
:11:44. > :11:48.year in the US and the dollar has been sliding on the news. Slight
:11:49. > :11:50.gains across the board after Europe closed down yesterday.
:11:51. > :11:52.And Samira Hussain has the details about what's ahead
:11:53. > :11:59.Walmart is the biggest employer in the US, and it accounts
:12:00. > :12:02.for 10% of all retail spending here, excluding automobiles.
:12:03. > :12:05.So Walmart is seen as a real barometer for middle
:12:06. > :12:11.So its earnings report will be closely watched
:12:12. > :12:16.Now, the uptick in consumer spending, along with Walmart's
:12:17. > :12:21.investment in wages, has led to better stocked shelves,
:12:22. > :12:26.more staffing at checkout registers, and improved customer service.
:12:27. > :12:29.Now, Walmart recently acquired the e-commerce start-up Jet.com,
:12:30. > :12:33.so investors will have questions about that.
:12:34. > :12:37.And staying with retail, Gap is reporting earnings on Thursday.
:12:38. > :12:41.Now, sales at Gap have been struggling, so it's been trying
:12:42. > :12:43.to woo back shoppers from popular fast-fashion retailers by offering
:12:44. > :12:52.But the unseasonable weather also meant that customers stayed away,
:12:53. > :13:02.which will have hurt its Banana Republic brand.
:13:03. > :13:12.editor with the times. Yesterday we were talking about Dudley, this
:13:13. > :13:17.permanent member, you vote on the board who makes these decisions up
:13:18. > :13:22.and down, he came out yesterday and said, September, we could get a rate
:13:23. > :13:27.rise, then we saw the minutes from the meeting overnight, it's as clear
:13:28. > :13:33.as mud. His reputation will be as sharp as Mark Carney's. They do
:13:34. > :13:36.appear to be divided. The market very much interpreted the minutes as
:13:37. > :13:41.meaning we probably aren't going to get a rate rise in September.
:13:42. > :13:45.Pricing and 18% chance now. They do appear to be divided. But they are
:13:46. > :13:50.keeping the door open and keeping everyone guessing in a way. They are
:13:51. > :13:53.not supposed to do that in this brave new world of central banks
:13:54. > :13:58.letting us know what their plans are. Let's remember that back in
:13:59. > :14:02.December 2015 when they raised rates for the first time in seven years
:14:03. > :14:07.they let us know there were going to be four rate rises this year and we
:14:08. > :14:12.are still waiting for one. Do you think Jana Given will be having a
:14:13. > :14:18.quiet word with Mr Dudley or are they allowed to say whatever? Maybe
:14:19. > :14:29.it was deliberate. Any of these policy committee members are allowed
:14:30. > :14:37.to be divided. Let's talk about oil. $50 a barrel? Nearly at $50. We are
:14:38. > :14:40.up almost 17% this month. Still cheap as chips, isn't it? It is
:14:41. > :14:45.cheap but more expensive than a couple of weeks ago. We have a
:14:46. > :14:49.meeting at the end of September when there is speculation that we could
:14:50. > :14:59.see some sort of production freeze after years of everybody flooding
:15:00. > :15:01.the market. That is an Opec meeting? They will be meeting on the fringes,
:15:02. > :15:16.it is not an official Opec meeting. We have got to move on, you are
:15:17. > :15:18.going to take us through the papers, we're going to talk about cash for
:15:19. > :15:23.medals. What do the Brits get?
:15:24. > :15:24.Zilch! helping women in Africa climb
:15:25. > :15:27.the corporate ladder - we meet the woman behind
:15:28. > :15:29.an organisation You're with Business
:15:30. > :15:31.Live from BBC News. Now, it's later and
:15:32. > :15:34.softer than expected. But the UK Government has
:15:35. > :15:37.published the details The measures include
:15:38. > :15:41.a voluntary sugar reduction Joining us from the business
:15:42. > :16:00.newsroom is our economics Andrew, the Government, Theresa May,
:16:01. > :16:05.the new Prime Minister, they kind of did a U-turn, this is a big
:16:06. > :16:08.softening, isn't it? Yes, the idea of the targets being voluntary is
:16:09. > :16:13.the kind of thing the industry would like. In fact, they would like to
:16:14. > :16:17.see an entirely voluntary approach, they have been campaigning quite
:16:18. > :16:20.vigorously against the tax on sugary soft drinks, which of course they
:16:21. > :16:28.are still going to get. They argued that it will achieve only a five
:16:29. > :16:34.calorie reduction in energy intake, and it would be that risk 4000 jobs.
:16:35. > :16:38.So certainly there is some degree of relief, I think, for the industry,
:16:39. > :16:43.for the soft drink manufacturers, the businesses involved in retailing
:16:44. > :16:46.it, sugar processors and indeed farmers who produce the raw
:16:47. > :16:51.materials, some relief for them. But I think they are still going to have
:16:52. > :16:56.to live with this tax. They live with the tax, we do not know what it
:16:57. > :17:01.will be yet, is that right, Andrew? And it is not 100% clear what will
:17:02. > :17:06.be in this plan, because Theresa May has changed it quite a bit? Sure,
:17:07. > :17:11.things are undoubtedly are moving, and in particular I think the idea
:17:12. > :17:16.that these targets should be voluntary, I think, is something
:17:17. > :17:19.that a lot of people will see as being something that reflects or may
:17:20. > :17:25.well reflect lobbying by the industry. So a lot still to be
:17:26. > :17:31.fleshed out, a lot more detail to be filled in in these proposals. Thanks
:17:32. > :17:35.for joining us, Andrew Walker from the business newsroom.
:17:36. > :17:42.Very quickly, on our web page, the world's most liveable city goes to
:17:43. > :17:47.Melbourne, I am from Sydney, I am not picking this up! I think Sydney
:17:48. > :17:53.is a better city but... You are a little bit biased!
:17:54. > :17:55.This is done by the Economist Intelligence Unit. Vancouver,
:17:56. > :18:00.Toronto. The least liveable city is Damascus,
:18:01. > :18:13.Syria, go figure! You are with business life, our top
:18:14. > :18:16.story today is that companies from China and Hong Kong are trying to
:18:17. > :18:22.convince the Australian government to sell a large stake in their
:18:23. > :18:26.electricity network, Ausgrid. The Australian government, the
:18:27. > :18:31.question is, will they continue to block the deal, what time is it now
:18:32. > :18:35.there? You should know! It is late, time is
:18:36. > :18:41.ticking away. A quick look at the markets, all
:18:42. > :18:45.headed up slightly, Germany up nearly 0.5%, London lagging behind.
:18:46. > :18:48.They all closed down on Wednesday, today given a bit of a boost because
:18:49. > :18:51.oil is higher, energy stocks are doing well.
:18:52. > :18:53.Today we are getting the inside track on some
:18:54. > :18:55.of the difficulties faced by African women in the working world.
:18:56. > :18:57.Sub-Saharan Africa has the highest rate of female
:18:58. > :19:00.entrepreneurship across the world, which is still only 27%,
:19:01. > :19:01.but these are usually one-woman businesses
:19:02. > :19:04.with no employees or growth potential.
:19:05. > :19:12.women hold 12.7% of board directorships
:19:13. > :19:16.in 307 listed companies across 12 African countries.
:19:17. > :19:20.But an organisation called She Leads Africa
:19:21. > :19:28.It hosts events, provides training and is creating a global network.
:19:29. > :19:31.In just two years, it has built a community
:19:32. > :19:40.of more than 30,000 members across Africa and the diaspora.
:19:41. > :19:44.The co-founder of She Leads Africa, Yasmin Belo-Osagie,
:19:45. > :19:47.is in London for a sort of bootcamp for entrepreneurs called SheHive,
:19:48. > :19:59.Welcome to the programme. Thank you for having me. I think this is a
:20:00. > :20:03.global problem, right, women on board? We talk about it in the UK,
:20:04. > :20:09.Australia, Europe. Asia does better than many parts of the world. So is
:20:10. > :20:15.it the same struggles, in that sense, the same hurdles that you
:20:16. > :20:28.face in Africa, women face in Africa to get on board be CEOs? Yes, I
:20:29. > :20:32.think we are focusing on getting more women into these leadership
:20:33. > :20:39.positions, we are talking about how you motivate young women to aspire
:20:40. > :20:47.to BBC Alba, the CFO, taking African companies global. -- to be the CEO.
:20:48. > :20:51.We are talking about creating really dynamic and scalable businesses, why
:20:52. > :20:55.can't the next Facebook come from a young woman in Africa? You are
:20:56. > :21:00.talking about that gap, because as we mentioned, there are many women
:21:01. > :21:05.running small businesses, often helped by micro finance projects,
:21:06. > :21:10.that kind of initiative, it is about them earning a living to enable them
:21:11. > :21:13.to, in some cases, just feed the family, enable their children to go
:21:14. > :21:17.to school. But you are trying to get them to the next level, beyond that,
:21:18. > :21:23.where they are running larger companies, employing people. It is a
:21:24. > :21:28.bigger vision. Exactly, and we don't have anything against micro finance,
:21:29. > :21:32.but the challenge is that there is not just one African female
:21:33. > :21:35.experience, right? I think there are diverse, the problems are diverse,
:21:36. > :21:40.and the solutions need to be diverse, so we just see ourselves as
:21:41. > :21:47.one other provider in the ecosystem which needs to bring African women
:21:48. > :21:54.fully into the party. SheHive boot camp. Yes... I tried British
:21:55. > :21:58.Military Fitness, that was torture! But this is why you are in London.
:21:59. > :22:05.One of the initiatives that we came up with was this boot camp, which we
:22:06. > :22:08.have called SheHive. They are inspired by fiance, we try to make
:22:09. > :22:17.everything we do be young and engaging. -- by Beyonce. We post
:22:18. > :22:33.them on the continent, in the Dyas broke, we have done Abu Dua, like --
:22:34. > :22:38.diaspora, Abuja, Lagos. Lot of the content is general discussions, but
:22:39. > :22:42.people want to learn about marketing, about distribution, these
:22:43. > :22:48.core skills. Do you have to pay? It is easy, you get your ticket, you
:22:49. > :22:51.show up, we have a group of interesting speakers, really
:22:52. > :22:55.focusing on people build tangible business kills. But also help them
:22:56. > :22:59.build a network of other young women. We found that a lot of the
:23:00. > :23:02.times when young women were coming together, it was around
:23:03. > :23:06.entertainment or passion, but not many opportunities to talk about
:23:07. > :23:10.your ambition and be not ashamed about the fact that you want to
:23:11. > :23:14.build a $1 million company and have people working around you that are
:23:15. > :23:18.in line with that, supporting what you are doing. Wow! It is
:23:19. > :23:26.fascinating, thank you for coming in, good-looking fit. Thank you so
:23:27. > :23:44.much. -- good luck with it. The Business Live pages where you
:23:45. > :23:47.can stay with all of the day's breaking business use and keep you
:23:48. > :23:51.up to date with all the latest details, with insight and analysis
:23:52. > :23:55.from the BBC's team of editors right across the world. And we want to
:23:56. > :24:03.hear from you, get involved on the BBC web page. We are also on
:24:04. > :24:11.Twitter, and you can find us on Facebook. Business Live on TV and
:24:12. > :24:15.online, whenever you need to know. Richard is back, we do not have a
:24:16. > :24:20.lot of time, straight into it, the US taxman, if you win a medal, he
:24:21. > :24:25.will take some money back, they get a cash bonus! And they are not the
:24:26. > :24:31.only ones, the Australians get $15,000. What do the Brits get?
:24:32. > :24:38.Zilch! It is all about taking part! If you win a gold medal for
:24:39. > :24:42.Singapore, it is $750,000! It is hardly the greatest argument for
:24:43. > :24:47.performance related pay, because the Brits, who you will admit, we are
:24:48. > :24:58.doing quite well... My hat is off, you guys are on fire this year! My
:24:59. > :25:01.wife is British, come on! Viewers have been sending in their
:25:02. > :25:05.comments, David said, with all the problems leading up to the Olympics,
:25:06. > :25:12.it is only fair that athletes are paid for their time and effort.
:25:13. > :25:19.Caleb said, if they are rewarded, they will compete well. But in the
:25:20. > :25:23.US, you get taxed on a bronze medal, it is $4. It is based on the value
:25:24. > :25:34.of the metal. Incidentally, this story is in Money Subscriber, we
:25:35. > :25:42.found it on their website. What does Italy give? Cashrich Italy(!)
:25:43. > :25:47.$185,000! Do you think it is right or wrong? It is wrong, it is the
:25:48. > :25:55.taking part! Says the Brits, good on you!
:25:56. > :25:56.That is Business Live for another day, we appreciate your company, see
:25:57. > :26:12.you tomorrow, bye! Good morning, a bigger change in the
:26:13. > :26:13.way, expect wind and