16/11/2017 Business Briefing

Hello. This is Business Briefing.

I'm Sally Bundock. Here are the

headlines:

The soaring cost of

living in Zimbabwe -

could the dark days

of hyperinflation be returning?

Plus a desert oasis

with a difference.

The UAE plans to colonize Mars

within a century and grow lettuce.

Yes, you are hearing me correctly.

We'll bring you all the details

from the Dubai Air Show.

And on the markets despite

a downbeat day for Wall Street

the night before, Asia is riding

higher with Japan up by almost

a percent.

We start in Zimbabwe,

where as you've been hearing

President Mugabe remains

under house arrest,

after what the African Union says

"seems like a coup" -

something denied by

the country's military.

The economy is a huge source

of unrest in Zimbabwe.

Its currency was scrapped in 2009

after hyperinflation reached several

billion percent and replaced

with foreign currencies.

Today it's mostly the US dollar.

But that hasn't helped

ordinary people.

Zimbabwe's official

inflation rate was

2.24% in October.

But some analysts who track the cost

of consumer goods in Zimbabwe think

they're rising at over 65% a year.

That's because of a shortage

of dollars needed to pay

for imported goods.

In fact, one

economist, Steve Hanke

from John Hopkins University,

thinks

the situation is far worse.

He recently wrote in Forbes magazine

that the actual inflation rate

is almost 243%.

He's warning that hyperinflation

is returning to the country.

He and other economists put

the blame on Robert Mugabe's

economic policies.

The economy is by weight has been in

a prolonged state of paralysis

spending over ten years. -- economy

and Zimbabwe. This is done to Nehru

causes, like the seizing of farms,

and much is dependent on Rod

McGarvie's political agenda. Now it

appears he will be reading power and

if once gives an opportunity for a

fresh start the economy. -- Robert

Mugabe's political.

William Attwell, Senior Analyst

for Sub-Saharan Africa

at Frontier Strategy Group.

You are from South Africa and have

family in Zimbabwe. Give us your

perspective on the economy.

It has

been recovering very mildly over the

past year or so. There has been a

bounceback in agricultural

production. There has been a rebound

in metals prices well, helping

exports. But the real Achilles heel

is the currency and crash crisis,

which, as was mentioned there, is

really pushing us back into

inflation again, and it means the

economy is still starved of cash,

inhibiting businesses' ability to

function.

And he will point the

finger, don't they, at the policies

of President Mugabe as the reason

that it is floundering so much.

Yes.

I think what is significant, in

addition to the firing last week,

that the Vice President, who might

return to power, now, is actually

the firing of the relatively

moderate Finance Minister about a

month ago. He had been leading

reforms. They were happy to

stabilise the economy and re-engage

Zimbabwe with lenders like the IMF

and World Bank, which Zimbabwe has

not been able to access money from

4/50 years, due to serious debt

arrears. The court is that with some

change, it provides an opening, as

you have said, which could ease cash

loans and strains of the economy.

It

is critical what happens next. We

have the South African officials

looking at this crisis.

What you

think will happen next? Into floor

situation. I think that there is a

strong supporter of the military.

The more popular site, represented

by Grace Mugabe, is he giving the

week. There is either going to be

some pushback from that.

Thank you

for your analysis. We will discuss

that in detail later in the News

Briefing. It is all the media, so we

will look that event. We are also

continuing our coverage of the Dubai

Air Show. The United Arab Emirates

are no stranger to ambitous

projects, but this latest one is

astronomical. They have been laying

out plans for a desert always is

with a difference, 300 -- 33 million

miles away, on Mars.

Tsonga is believed that more than 4

billion years ago, Mars used to look

similar to Earth, in that it had

similar geography. But something

went wrong then it turned into a

dead planet. One reason for that is

it is basically losing its

atmosphere.

To Asia now and some warnings

about serious risks facing

China's economy.

Sharanjit Leyl is following this

from our business hub in Singapore.

Good to see you. Tell Moore. Was

this warning coming from?

Is coming

from a variety of places. Actually,

what has ended up happening is that

the warnings have resulted in China

coming up with some new rules to try

and curb some of the risks at its

big development banks, and that is

as they look to avoid a debt crisis.

They are, these rules. They are

saying that for the first time, the

Chinese banking regulator by they

will start enforcing specific rules

to reduce financial risk at three

banks. The new measures will ensure

they don't lend more cash than they

can afford, and crucial corporate

governance rules, as well. The three

banks offended at the journeys of

, the export bank of China, and the

agricultural development bank of

China.

Together, they have 3.8

trillion dollars in assets at the

end of September.

This comes as

there is the threat of ballooning

debt. This comes as the two senior

financial experts are they warned

about the Chinese financial sector,

with the head of research at the

Chinese central bank, and the

committee chair of the National

People's Congress have been speaking

at a congress and have warned that

the Chinese financial sector runs

the risk of becoming a bubble.

Thank

you very much for joining us

Sharanjit Leyl.

Now let's brief you some

other business stories.

Barbie maker Mattel has rebuffed

the latest takeover approach

from rival Hasbro,

according to sources quoted

by Reuters, casting doubt over

the potential merger

between the world's two

largest toy companies.

Mattel believes the offer

undervalues it and doesn't address

potential antitrust concerns,

the sources claim.

European regulators have warned

banks working on post-Brexit plans

that they will "need to have

substance locally" to serve

European clients.

The European Central Bank says some

proposals are inadequate and risk

creating "empty shells". Many banks

currently access the European market

through UK offices but are working

on contingency plans, adding space

in cities such as Frankfurt and

Dublin.

And the president of Angola,

Joao Lourenco, has fired

the daughter of his predecessor

as head of the country's state

oil company, Sonangol.

Isabel Dos Santos,

the billionaire daughter of former

President Jose Eduardo dos Santos,

is Africa's richest woman with a net

worth of over $3 billion.

President Lourenco, known as JLo,

has promised to tackle corruption

Let's take a look at what is

trending in business.

From the Wall Street Journal -

how the robot revolution

could create 21 million jobs.

Experts predict the US

will lose 19 million jobs

to automation by 2032.

The good news?

21 million new roles will be created

It predicts a raft of new job

categories including

man-machine teaming managers.

The plot thickens.

From Quartz, demand

for gold has dropped

to an eight-year low.

As stock markets soar,

investors have seemingly decided

they don't need the precious metal

often bought as a hedge

during downturns.

And among the most read

on the BBC website,

Dyson to sue former chief

executive Max Conze.

The electrical firm Dyson

is suing its former boss

for allegedly leaking company

secrets and using company resources

for his own benefit.

Of course, as you know, get in touch

with us.

Let's us know what you are spotting

online - use the hashtag

#bbcthebriefing.

That's it for Business Briefing this

hour, but before we go,

here are the markets.

The news briefing is coming up next.

We will talk you through all the

stories making headlines in the

global media today.