0:00:04 > 0:00:07This is Business Live from BBC News with Jamie Robertson
0:00:07 > 0:00:09and Sally Bundock.
0:00:09 > 0:00:11Is the world's trading system in crisis?
0:00:11 > 0:00:13As China hits back at US plans for more import tariffs,
0:00:13 > 0:00:17a high-level UN meeting looks for a way forward.
0:00:17 > 0:00:27Live from London, that's our top story on Monday 19th February.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37President Trump says his America First policy is aimed
0:00:37 > 0:00:41at protecting US jobs and businesses - but he could be on a collision
0:00:41 > 0:00:45course with the Chinese.
0:00:45 > 0:00:52Also in the programme...
0:00:52 > 0:00:55Tackling the ageing population. Singapore's Finance minister is
0:00:55 > 0:00:58delivering a Budget expected to raise taxes which will help pay for
0:00:58 > 0:01:04health and social care of on the markets, all fairly mixed, the FTSE
0:01:04 > 0:01:08is down but European markets looking fairly perky at the moment,
0:01:08 > 0:01:11particularly in Spain, up two thirds of a percent.
0:01:11 > 0:01:13Planning a trip to Europe?
0:01:13 > 0:01:15We'll meet the man says he can streamline the experience,
0:01:15 > 0:01:22courtesy of an app on your phone!
0:01:22 > 0:01:25And as the Minister for Finance in Singapore delivers his Budget, we
0:01:25 > 0:01:30are asking, what is the best way to pay for an ageing population? Do you
0:01:30 > 0:01:36believe raising taxes is a good idea? Get in touch.
0:01:36 > 0:01:41Just use the hashtag #BBCBizLive.
0:01:41 > 0:01:44Hello and welcome to Business Live.
0:01:44 > 0:01:46Is the world's trading system in crisis?
0:01:46 > 0:01:48Since President Trump entered the Oval Office
0:01:48 > 0:01:51the world's biggest economy, the United States, has been
0:01:51 > 0:01:54reshaping its trading relationship with the rest of the world.
0:01:54 > 0:01:57Over the weekend, China threatened to retaliate if the US went ahead
0:01:57 > 0:02:05with proposed tariffs on steel and aluminium imports.
0:02:05 > 0:02:09So a high level UN-led meeting in Geneva is looking at the way ahead.
0:02:09 > 0:02:11In many parts of the world the importance of multilateral trade
0:02:11 > 0:02:14deals can be seen in the number of people they've
0:02:14 > 0:02:17lifted out of poverty.
0:02:17 > 0:02:20The World Bank says the number of people living in extreme poverty
0:02:20 > 0:02:24has halved since 1990 because of free trade.
0:02:24 > 0:02:31But President Trump has been ringing the changes.
0:02:31 > 0:02:34He pulled out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which would have
0:02:34 > 0:02:36covered about 40% of the world economy, and is seeking major
0:02:36 > 0:02:45changes to the Nafta free deal between Mexico,
0:02:45 > 0:02:49the US and Canada, which is worth more than a trillion dollars a year.
0:02:49 > 0:02:51Whilst President Trump says he's trying to secure American jobs,
0:02:51 > 0:02:54the US Chamber of Commerce says 41 million of them depend
0:02:54 > 0:02:57on international trade.
0:02:57 > 0:03:04But the relationships behind it are showing signs of strain.
0:03:04 > 0:03:07As I said, China is warning it won't take US tariffs lying down.
0:03:07 > 0:03:15Our correspondent Robin Brant is in Shanghai.
0:03:15 > 0:03:21Can you give us an idea of the kind of reaction in China to these deals?
0:03:21 > 0:03:24How serious are the statements that they might retaliate by putting
0:03:24 > 0:03:28their own tariffs on US imports? Well, the reaction was quick and
0:03:28 > 0:03:34sharp, they believe the analysis carried out by the Department of, or
0:03:34 > 0:03:38is and the conclusions reached are groundless -- by the Department of
0:03:38 > 0:03:42commerce. China is saying it reserves the right to use the
0:03:42 > 0:03:46necessary measures to defend what it says are its rights. This is the
0:03:46 > 0:03:54latest chapter in what started out as a spat on the trading
0:03:54 > 0:03:56relationship between United States and China when Donald Trump moved
0:03:56 > 0:03:59into the Oval Office but it is beginning to look like it has the
0:03:59 > 0:04:03potential to really be much more serious, maybe even escalate to a
0:04:03 > 0:04:08Craig Hall and believe me when you talk to Americans here, American
0:04:08 > 0:04:10businesses, American diplomats, the last thing they want is a trade war
0:04:10 > 0:04:17because they think no-one can win out of that. What is interesting is
0:04:17 > 0:04:22that the key thing for American companies here in China, and
0:04:22 > 0:04:26American companies seeking to do business in China, is not so much
0:04:26 > 0:04:34the concern about Chinese Government and Chinese companies and how they
0:04:34 > 0:04:38subsidise things like steel and aluminium production, their solar
0:04:38 > 0:04:41panel component production, but their biggest concern is access to
0:04:41 > 0:04:45the Chinese market, reciprocity, we hear about that all the time, they
0:04:45 > 0:04:49have big concerns about restrictions placed on American corporations that
0:04:49 > 0:04:53want to invest here, insistence on technology transfer, insistent in
0:04:53 > 0:04:57some sectors in going into joint ventures with Chinese funds, that is
0:04:57 > 0:05:00a much bigger concern for American businesses looking to get into China
0:05:00 > 0:05:13or expand in China. OK, Robin, thanks very much indeed.
0:05:13 > 0:05:16With me is Professor George Yip, from Imperial College
0:05:16 > 0:05:17London Business School.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20You were listening in to that, are you concerned about what was going
0:05:20 > 0:05:24on over the weekend?Yes, there could be some kind of trade war, I
0:05:24 > 0:05:28suspect the US will back down in the end, both sides will pull back, but
0:05:28 > 0:05:32it is right that American companies are concerned about access to the
0:05:32 > 0:05:35Chinese market because there are many ways in which the Chinese
0:05:35 > 0:05:39Government can make access difficult, take away, impose
0:05:39 > 0:05:43additional restrictions.What seems so extraordinary really, it is
0:05:43 > 0:05:47ironic, perhaps, that China has become this champion of free trade
0:05:47 > 0:05:51at a time when America, which we always thought was a champion of
0:05:51 > 0:05:55free trade, has become, not exactly protectionist but veering that way.
0:05:55 > 0:05:59It is not as ironic as it seems. If you look historically, the
0:05:59 > 0:06:03economically most powerful countries favour free trade because they have
0:06:03 > 0:06:07the goods to sell so Britain in the 19th century first favoured and pass
0:06:07 > 0:06:17laws for free trade and century it was the United States, now in a
0:06:17 > 0:06:1921st-century it is China because they have so much to sell to the
0:06:19 > 0:06:22rest of the world.In the meantime we have meetings going on like we
0:06:22 > 0:06:24see in Geneva today with this UN body coming together to try to talk
0:06:24 > 0:06:28about how the global economy adjusts to the environment we are in, and
0:06:28 > 0:06:32looking at those countries that will lose out the most it is the smaller
0:06:32 > 0:06:35developing nations, whilst this bat is going on between the likes of the
0:06:35 > 0:06:39US and China?Yes, multilateralism favours smaller countries like
0:06:39 > 0:06:44developing nations are you really don't want to be caught, the
0:06:44 > 0:06:49classic, when elephants fight the ants get trampled on the grass.If
0:06:49 > 0:06:53there is some kind of trade war, how seriously do you think it will
0:06:53 > 0:06:57affect China? Because China has this reach across the rest of the world,
0:06:57 > 0:07:03doesn't it?Yes, and China is extending this reach all the way to
0:07:03 > 0:07:10centralise and Europe but that said China still sells more than it buys
0:07:10 > 0:07:13from the rest of the world so it is also vulnerable to a trade war.I
0:07:13 > 0:07:17was going to say, whether it will pull Europe into this as well?It
0:07:17 > 0:07:22could do but the European Union has very strong tariff barriers, free
0:07:22 > 0:07:25trade within Europe but stronger tariff barriers with the rest of the
0:07:25 > 0:07:29world, as we are learning quickly through Brexit.And Europe is very
0:07:29 > 0:07:32busy sorting out its own internal issues like Brexit, that is very
0:07:32 > 0:07:45time consuming for Europe regardless. I think this is less of
0:07:45 > 0:07:48a problem for Europe. Thanks for your time, interesting. Obviously we
0:07:48 > 0:07:50will keep you up to date with all of the twists and turns on trade.
0:07:50 > 0:07:54Let's take a look at some of the other stories making the news...
0:07:54 > 0:07:56The head of Latvia's Central Bank has spent the night in custody.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59Ilmars Rimsevics, who is also a member of the European Central
0:07:59 > 0:08:01Bank's governing council, has been detained by Latvia's
0:08:01 > 0:08:03anti-corruption agency, but no details have been
0:08:03 > 0:08:04released about why.
0:08:04 > 0:08:07His home and offices at the Bank of Latvia were both raided.
0:08:07 > 0:08:10The Greek Finance Minister has told the Financial Times that his country
0:08:10 > 0:08:13won't need anymore close financial supervision once the third tranche
0:08:13 > 0:08:17of it's bailout comes to an end in August.
0:08:17 > 0:08:19It's worth more than $100 billion, and progress on implementing
0:08:19 > 0:08:23the economic reforms it requires are top of the agenda for a meeting
0:08:23 > 0:08:33of Eurozone finance ministers in Brussels later on Monday.
0:08:34 > 0:08:40We told you earlier there was a Budget going on in Singapore, the
0:08:40 > 0:08:43finance minister delivering it, the 2008 in Budget, in Parliament today.
0:08:43 > 0:08:48The speech is two hours, apparently. I don't know if he is on a breather
0:08:48 > 0:08:51right now. He is back on his feet!
0:08:51 > 0:08:55It is quite a while! He has worn so far that the country must prepare
0:08:55 > 0:08:59for three major shift in the coming decade, economy, ageing and
0:08:59 > 0:09:05technology.
0:09:05 > 0:09:10Mariko Oi is listening.
0:09:10 > 0:09:14Yes, I have been refreshing the page waiting for the announcements! What
0:09:14 > 0:09:19economists have been anticipating the possible hike in the goods and
0:09:19 > 0:09:24services tax, their VAT, from 7% to possibly up to eight or 10%, and
0:09:24 > 0:09:29another thing that is possibly on the cards is an introduction of
0:09:29 > 0:09:33e-commerce tax, so at the moment anything under $400 that you buy
0:09:33 > 0:09:38online is exempt from that GST but that might soon change. But he has
0:09:38 > 0:09:44not announced either of them, he has mentioned, though, the challenge of
0:09:44 > 0:09:47the ageing population, and that is one of the main reason is that even
0:09:47 > 0:09:52though Singapore has quite a healthy surplus, it still wants to raise
0:09:52 > 0:09:57taxes because last year in 2017 the Government spent about $10 billion
0:09:57 > 0:10:02on health care and that is set to rise to at least 13,000,000,020 20,
0:10:02 > 0:10:07which is quite a hike. So I will keep listening in to see if he
0:10:07 > 0:10:19announces those hikes -- rise to at least 13 billion in 2020.
0:10:19 > 0:10:26Let's have a look at the markets. The US dollar ending on... I
0:10:26 > 0:10:30hesitate to call it a strong ending, but it was a strong week for the US
0:10:30 > 0:10:35market. S and P is always the best want to look at rather than the Dow,
0:10:35 > 0:10:38much more representative, 500 stocks across the US economy.
0:10:42 > 0:10:46The Australian market and Hang Seng also. Hong Kong and China closed
0:10:46 > 0:10:51today for New Year celebrations. That was of course the end of last
0:10:51 > 0:10:57week. So of course we will not have those figures today. Let's go to
0:10:57 > 0:11:01Wall Street and find out what is going on there. I beg your pardon,
0:11:01 > 0:11:07we cannot go to Wall Street! Sally, takeover!
0:11:07 > 0:11:12I am always the fallback!
0:11:12 > 0:11:16Joining us is Lawrence Gosling, editor-in-chief of Investment Week.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20The reason we do not have Wall Street is because they are closed
0:11:20 > 0:11:25today?Presidents Day, no action.A well-deserved day for the team
0:11:25 > 0:11:30there. What are you watching today? It is a funny day, half of Asia
0:11:30 > 0:11:33closed, Wall Street not opening and Europe trading in the middle
0:11:33 > 0:11:37somewhere?It is interesting, Wall Street had a strong week last week,
0:11:37 > 0:11:42the strongest for five or six years, actually, and I think we are
0:11:42 > 0:11:44gradually gathering ground from the correction at the beginning of
0:11:44 > 0:11:48February and I think we will see more of that this week. Not a huge
0:11:48 > 0:11:53amount of news around and I think it is significant, with China, Hong
0:11:53 > 0:11:56Kong and the US closed today, a quiet day for markets, they won't
0:11:56 > 0:12:03all be listening to the Singapore Finance...Long blood!Recovering
0:12:03 > 0:12:11from that two-hour speech, I guess! -- a long lunch!A big section of
0:12:11 > 0:12:14the global market closing, talking about Hong Kong as well, and five
0:12:14 > 0:12:17years ago people would not have worried too much, not worried, but
0:12:17 > 0:12:22it would not have affected trade?I think you are right, there are two
0:12:22 > 0:12:27major indices that investors can trade Chinese equities which they
0:12:27 > 0:12:30could not five years ago, there was only one and it was not quite as
0:12:30 > 0:12:37open. China as an economy, as we were hearing earlier, has become
0:12:37 > 0:12:39significant, second-largest in the world, so the importance of China as
0:12:39 > 0:12:43the stock market and economy has moved on in measurably in the last
0:12:43 > 0:12:47five years.What are you watching for the rest of this week? The start
0:12:47 > 0:12:52of a new week, anything to keep an eye open for?We will be watching
0:12:52 > 0:12:57what the currency does. A lot of the results affected by exchange rates,
0:12:57 > 0:13:01we have seen the dollar strengthening a little bit, Stirling
0:13:01 > 0:13:05drifting a bit, the euro is quite steady so we will see more of that,
0:13:05 > 0:13:08it does not feel like a week were a lot will happen but I think there is
0:13:08 > 0:13:15still some turbulence out there in the markets. You cannot relax!Not
0:13:15 > 0:13:18for a moment! Lawrence cannot, he has got to come back in 15 minutes
0:13:18 > 0:13:21to talk about all sorts of other stories!
0:13:21 > 0:13:24We will be talking about streamlining travel around Europe,
0:13:24 > 0:13:28beating the man who saved his app can simplify your holiday plans.
0:13:28 > 0:13:38You are with Business Live from BBC News.
0:13:40 > 0:13:41Former shareholders in the collapsed British construction giant,
0:13:41 > 0:13:43Carillion, are calling for its management
0:13:43 > 0:13:44to be investigated.
0:13:44 > 0:13:46Some have told MPs that the company's
0:13:46 > 0:13:48executives must have known, or should have known,
0:13:48 > 0:13:50about its cash flow problems, well before it went
0:13:50 > 0:13:51into liquidation last month.
0:13:51 > 0:14:00Our business correspondent, Joe Lynam, reports.
0:14:00 > 0:14:04Carillion collapsed last month with debts of almost £1 billion and a
0:14:04 > 0:14:07pension black hole almost as large again, today we heard from
0:14:07 > 0:14:11Carillion's former biggest shareholders, any of them got out
0:14:11 > 0:14:15before it was too late, in letters to MPs examining the collapse, one
0:14:15 > 0:14:21fund manager said that they'll should be an investigation, they
0:14:21 > 0:14:26used to own 10% of Carillion. Another big shareholder, standard
0:14:26 > 0:14:29life Aberdeen, said management had played down any potential risks. A
0:14:29 > 0:14:33Canadian shareholder needed for attempts to get a meeting with the
0:14:33 > 0:14:38former chief executive of Carillion. We have had a setup where people
0:14:38 > 0:14:43working continued faithfully to work, people on the bridge of the
0:14:43 > 0:14:46company drawing their mega salaries but those shareholders taking a
0:14:46 > 0:14:52close look, as soon as they had a look and a smell, they ran for the
0:14:52 > 0:14:57hills and that was the warning sign. None of the regulators seemed to be
0:14:57 > 0:15:02aware of what was happening.Anyone left holding shares in Carillion
0:15:02 > 0:15:06when it was liquidated lost all their money, but thousands of former
0:15:06 > 0:15:08employees lost their jobs and their livelihoods.
0:15:18 > 0:15:21On the businesslike page we have the latest news as it breaks, including
0:15:21 > 0:15:27shares slumping because of flat earnings, flat earnings, this is the
0:15:27 > 0:15:32household goods giant. Shares down something like 3% this morning.
0:15:32 > 0:15:37Making lots of goods that we are familiar with, death toll, all sorts
0:15:37 > 0:15:45of things. That is one of the stories. -- Dettol. Billion pounds
0:15:45 > 0:15:55sales for McColls, convenience chain. Following its acquisition of
0:15:55 > 0:16:00298 Co-op stores last year. Lots to digests. On what is normally a quiet
0:16:00 > 0:16:13start to the trading week, certainly financial markets.
0:16:19 > 0:16:22You're watching Business live.
0:16:22 > 0:16:23Our top story:
0:16:23 > 0:16:26it looks as if there could be a showdown over global trade.
0:16:26 > 0:16:29China is threatening to strike back if America goes ahead with tariffs
0:16:29 > 0:16:32on steel and aluminium.
0:16:32 > 0:16:37A quick look at how markets are faring.
0:16:37 > 0:16:43London is up a little, as is Germany and France, no big movements given
0:16:43 > 0:16:48that Asian markets were closed. Pound is stronger than the dollar,
0:16:48 > 0:16:54weak dollar at the moment. Do you want to start? Talking about global
0:16:54 > 0:16:57tourism.
0:16:57 > 0:16:58Global tourism is booming.
0:16:58 > 0:17:00In fact, the number of trips made by global travelers
0:17:00 > 0:17:02surged 7% last year, according to the UN
0:17:02 > 0:17:03World Tourism Organisation.
0:17:03 > 0:17:07And as this hunger to see the world shows no sign of abating,
0:17:07 > 0:17:09most travellers are becoming more savvy, in an effort to make
0:17:09 > 0:17:10their money travel further.
0:17:10 > 0:17:12One man who is embracing this is Naren Shaam,
0:17:12 > 0:17:13the founder of GoEuro.
0:17:13 > 0:17:17His app was set up in 2013 to try and solve some of the problems
0:17:17 > 0:17:18associated with travelling around Europe,
0:17:18 > 0:17:20helping users to navigate different languages, travel tickets,
0:17:20 > 0:17:30companies and routes.
0:17:33 > 0:17:35One man who is embracing this is Naren Shaam,
0:17:35 > 0:17:36the founder of GoEuro.
0:17:36 > 0:17:40His app was set up in 2013 to try and solve some of the problems
0:17:40 > 0:17:41associated with travelling around Europe,
0:17:41 > 0:17:43helping users to navigate different languages, travel tickets,
0:17:43 > 0:17:44companies and routes.
0:17:44 > 0:17:46GoEuro operates in 12 countries in Europe,
0:17:46 > 0:17:49serving around 80,000 rail and bus stations and over 3,000 airports ...
0:17:49 > 0:17:52Today, the company has grown to 250 people in its Berlin headquarters,
0:17:52 > 0:17:58and has raised almost $150 million in funding.
0:17:58 > 0:18:01The founder of GoEuro, Naren Shaam, joins us now.
0:18:01 > 0:18:09The both of us have been playing with the website. We have both had a
0:18:09 > 0:18:26go, and we struggle with it a little bit, it kept pinging me to
0:18:26 > 0:18:30Booking.com.We are starting a new partnership, so you hit on an edge
0:18:30 > 0:18:33case, we try to bring all trans built in Europe together, operating
0:18:33 > 0:18:39in 12 countries. -- all transport. We have partners built in, what we
0:18:39 > 0:18:43try to do is bring all of this inventory online, makes it easily
0:18:43 > 0:18:48bookable.What strikes me is extraordinary, something people are
0:18:48 > 0:18:53not aware of, fragmentation of the European travel market, we think of
0:18:53 > 0:18:57Europe as a single market, people talk about the single market, it is
0:18:57 > 0:19:02not yet, it is not in travel, can you explain it to us.That is the
0:19:02 > 0:19:09purpose of me founding this company, if you look at other industries,
0:19:09 > 0:19:16Netflix, you stream almost all movies in Netflix, when you want to
0:19:16 > 0:19:18order, Amazon, song, Spotify, travel... Ten different websites.
0:19:18 > 0:19:25Airline websites, trained is mostly state owned in most countries, you
0:19:25 > 0:19:30work on the kiosk at the station or national rail. Coaches are extremely
0:19:30 > 0:19:34fragmented, thousands of companies. All of this has never come together
0:19:34 > 0:19:38on a single platform, when you type in the destination and the platform
0:19:38 > 0:19:42tells you what is the best way, whether it is a simple route like
0:19:42 > 0:19:46London Amsterdam or London Paris. You are trying to solve that
0:19:46 > 0:19:51problem, trying to get across all the bus services, sounds like a
0:19:51 > 0:19:55mammoth task, 250 people on it at the moment, how will you be making
0:19:55 > 0:20:00enough money to run yourself as a viable business, I know that you
0:20:00 > 0:20:06have a lot of funding, but that will run out quickly?We have a long
0:20:06 > 0:20:10runway with the funding, most of the revenue we generate today is 90%
0:20:10 > 0:20:15plus of the revenue comes from partners, so we charge a commission
0:20:15 > 0:20:20for every ticket that we sell. The bus company, the rail companies, the
0:20:20 > 0:20:26airlines, etc, that is 90% of the revenues, the remaining 10%,
0:20:26 > 0:20:30partnerships, advertising deals, etc.What about negotiating a trip
0:20:30 > 0:20:39across Europe through a different sort of travel mode, a new regime.
0:20:39 > 0:20:43Your website, your system, how does it work it out, do you have an
0:20:43 > 0:20:46algorithm, from one place to another, or people negotiating the
0:20:46 > 0:20:55way in which you travel, going from one plane to another?Very complex
0:20:55 > 0:20:58network of suppliers, that we are trying to stitch together, it
0:20:58 > 0:21:02happens in phases, the first phase for us is to bring all the supplier
0:21:02 > 0:21:07online, so you can actually book everything on your app, 70% of
0:21:07 > 0:21:11consumers are mobile, most of the consumer journeys happen on what we
0:21:11 > 0:21:14call simply journeys, a choice between London and Paris, you can
0:21:14 > 0:21:21take a coach or a train or a flight, and as we, as we, and this is
0:21:21 > 0:21:24negotiated by our business development team so in each of the
0:21:24 > 0:21:28countries we have people...That is a human being doing that.That is
0:21:28 > 0:21:33correct, brings the supply online, 100 bus, 50 plus engineers bringing
0:21:33 > 0:21:38it together and making it simpler. The second part, which we are
0:21:38 > 0:21:41starting to build, how do you stitch these together, taking a flight plus
0:21:41 > 0:21:48a train, cross-border, maybe multiple trains, very complex
0:21:48 > 0:21:52journeys, not easily possible by humans. This is done by algorithm.
0:21:52 > 0:21:57We were testing it in Spain and rolling it out across other markets.
0:21:57 > 0:22:02We will keep a close eye, he in particular likes... I have got to go
0:22:02 > 0:22:10to Budapest, June. No, August. I think that we are going to fly,
0:22:10 > 0:22:14probably Vienna, and then train. Much cheaper to go Vienna, and then
0:22:14 > 0:22:19train. The view out the window is much better.Very cheap option, yes.
0:22:19 > 0:22:27Thank you very much.Thank you for having me.
0:22:30 > 0:22:32The British chocolate firm Cadbury's was founded two
0:22:32 > 0:22:34centuries ago by a Quaker, John Cadbury, who was famous
0:22:35 > 0:22:36for his kindness to his worker.
0:22:36 > 0:22:38But when international food and drink giant
0:22:38 > 0:22:40Mondelez took over the firm, it had to make mass redundancies
0:22:40 > 0:22:45to keep it in business.
0:22:45 > 0:22:47So what's the secret of delivering bad news
0:22:47 > 0:22:48like that without ruining the company's reputation?
0:22:48 > 0:22:50That job fell to Glenn Caton, Mondelez President
0:22:50 > 0:22:54for Northern Europe.
0:22:54 > 0:22:56Got to make difficult decisions for the long-term good of the business
0:22:56 > 0:23:09but how you do it in partnership with employees is equally important.
0:23:10 > 0:23:14One of our problems was that the cost of manufacturing in Bournville
0:23:14 > 0:23:22was three times as much as it was in a comparator plant in Germany. The
0:23:22 > 0:23:26three things we did, first, communicate the need for change,
0:23:26 > 0:23:30second, compelling vision of the future, and the third, how we went
0:23:30 > 0:23:34about it, consulting with employees to make sure they were part of the
0:23:34 > 0:23:38process and all the redundancies were voluntary, none of them were
0:23:38 > 0:23:43compulsory. If we had not done it in the right way, in the short term,
0:23:43 > 0:23:45could have resulted in strike action, it is better for employees
0:23:45 > 0:23:50and the business, if you do things in collaboration and trust and
0:23:50 > 0:23:54respect people, they will trust you and respect you back, and they will
0:23:54 > 0:24:02give you more.We were just having a look... We were having a laugh...
0:24:02 > 0:24:06He is the president of northern Europe Mondelez, not the president
0:24:06 > 0:24:10of northern Europe! And his name is not Mondelez, that is the name of
0:24:10 > 0:24:15his company. Lawrence is back, Lawrence Gosling, very simple, very
0:24:15 > 0:24:22easy. Going through the newspapers. I think that this is really
0:24:22 > 0:24:28interesting. In the news, as it were, Saudi women allowed to start
0:24:28 > 0:24:34business without male position. -- permission. Saudi Arabia changing
0:24:34 > 0:24:38their laws, there are regulations, empowering women in more and more
0:24:38 > 0:24:47ways.Vision 2020 is designed to for women to have a greater part in
0:24:47 > 0:24:51Saudi society, so I guess in a way that we would think of in a western
0:24:51 > 0:24:57country, a new more liberal leader in Saudi Arabia. Fields ironic,
0:24:57 > 0:25:03seeing this headline, in western newspapers... Women allowed to do
0:25:03 > 0:25:08things...They can drive cars, go to a football stadium, start a business
0:25:08 > 0:25:16without a man giving them permission to do so. Is... Overnight it is
0:25:16 > 0:25:20doubling the size of the human resource, could be the most
0:25:20 > 0:25:22extraordinary economic effect.The one thing they have recognised, they
0:25:22 > 0:25:27need to shift the economy away from the old oil based economy toward
0:25:27 > 0:25:31something more diverse, if they are not tapping into 50% of their talent
0:25:31 > 0:25:36in women, they will not achieve that.Lots of reports have come in
0:25:36 > 0:25:41from the World Economic Forum, the World Bank, they show that if you
0:25:41 > 0:25:46have more women in the workforce, you increase GDP growth,
0:25:46 > 0:25:51significantly, I don't have the statistics.And there is a strong
0:25:51 > 0:25:55history of women only universities, so it is a highly educated female
0:25:55 > 0:25:58workforce coming into the economy in the next
0:25:58 > 0:26:02couple of years.Thank you very much. That is all that we have time
0:26:02 > 0:26:03for. Thank