07/05/2014 World Business Report


07/05/2014

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Those are the latest headlines from BBC World News. Now for the latest

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financial news in World Business Report.

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A new life for Fiat Chrysler. It could be the largest stock market

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flotation ever. Ali Barber Mack files to offer shares on the New

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York stock exchange. `` Ali ``Alibaba. CEO Sergio Marchionne

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outlines his five`year plan and brings Alfa Romeo back to the US.

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Welcome to World Business Report. I'm Sally Bundock. Also in the

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programme: South Africans go to the polls today in a general election.

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Our team there assesses the outlook for the economy.

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It could be the largest share sale in history. Chinese internet giant

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Alibaba has filed documents for a market floatation in New York and

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analysts predict the company could raise more than $15 billion, topping

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Facebook's initial public offering. Alibaba did not disclose details of

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the number of shares it intends to sell or the price range, but the

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euphoria is already in the markets with estimates of the e`tailer's

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market value soaring to even beyond $200 billion. The difference is

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Alibaba actually already makes profits and a lot of it. Last year

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it raked in more money than its American peers Amazon and eBay

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combined. Let's go to our Asian business hub

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in Singapore. At last they have filed in New York. We can move onto

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the next stage. Absolutely. We don't know the stock price or when it will

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be launched, but the big issue was over the past several months,

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whether Alibaba should be listing in New York or its home base,

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particularly on the Hong Kong stock exchange. You have them listing in

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New York after the exchange in Hong Kong was against the company's

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proposed structure, which would have breached rules by allowing senior

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executives to nominate the majority of the board. Among major

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shareholders set to benefit from this initial public offering, US

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technology giant Yahoo. They own a 22.6% stake in the firm. Alibaba

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isn't well known outside mainland, where they have an 80% share of the

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online retail market. It is best described as a mix of eBay, PayPal,

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Amazon and Google. Many describe it as an 800 pound gorilla in China's

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internet economy. That is a good way of as you say, we have heard of the

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company, but we can't yet use the company in the UK, the US,

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elsewhere. Will it take on Amazon outside mainland China? According to

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analysts that could be a strategy going forward. Alibaba is trying to

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make its presence felt by appealing to British and American companies

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who are thirsting for a piece of China's growing population of

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wealthy consumers. One of its major businesses is a shopping site and

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has already lowered a number of British brands to open up

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storefronts on its platform, including Burberry, Marks Spencer

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and others. It has attracted famous names including Apple, Microsoft,

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NIKKEI, Levi's and others. Being awash with cash, it is making major

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investments with technology start`ups in the US ``Nike. A lot of

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excitement about this. Sergio Marchionne will stay on as

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boss of Fiat Chrysler for the next five years to oversee his new growth

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plan. The carmaker wants to boost global sales by 59% by 2018. And its

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relying on more brands to do it. These targets are part of its latest

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five`year plan unveiled late on Tuesday. Michelle Fleury reports

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from New York. Back in the 1920s, when Chrysler was

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defining the American middle`class dream, they wouldn't have imagined a

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future wedded to an Italian firm and its flamboyant boss. Here we are.

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Sergio Machionne, the smooth talking chief executive of the merged Fiat

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Chrysler and his plan to steer the company to the future now that has

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repaid its government loans. Will I do is I think I know how to lead

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people. Those we have here are phenomenal and they have done

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extraordinary things. Alfa Romeo's re`entry into the US marked by a

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recent appearance at this car show, is part of Sergio Machionne's effort

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to make the brand more distinct. Efforts also include dropping the

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minivan and investing $7 billion to add eight new models and built Jeeps

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in China and Brazil. The strategy is to get greater global reach, global

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scale, by taking existing brands and putting them into markets where they

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don't already sell or art overly penetrated yet. To be a viable

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global carmaker, they must raise sales to 7 million each year if it

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is to compete with Toyota, GM and VW. Last year it saw sales of around

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4 million cars `` are not overly penetrated yet. Sergio Machionne is

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confident his plan will achieve the goal. Analysts say he has missed

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targets before. The latest drive to transform the carmaker started with

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a new sign unveiled at its Auburn Hills campus in Michigan. The real

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test will be selling cars that make a profit.

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As South Africans head to the polls on the 7th of May, the state of the

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economy is something that many voters are concerned about. They

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worry about bread and butter issues like jobs, better housing and access

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to water. In the months leading up to the elections, there's been a

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wave of protests in the poorer townships where most black people

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live. These South Africans say that in 20 years of democracy, the

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country has not delivered on the promises made in 1994. A better

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performing economy could help to address some of these problems.

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Lerato Mbele explores some of the issues in this crucial poll.

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This is a picture of South Africa today. A wave of Rohtaks in the

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poorest communities. The reasons, almost half the population live in.

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`` protests. A quarter are unemployed and the economy is

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growing at only 2%. It is the harsh reality that politicians must face

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up to in this election. The election is taking place the economy of the

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country has been slowing down for several years now. Unemployment is

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high. There has been a lot of social unrest in the form of service

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delivery protest in in the townships. There have been violent

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industrial strikes. It has also been a well`publicised scandal around the

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spend each of government money on the government compound. This has

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caused outrage are amongst people of all walks of life ``

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Spenditure. Opposition parties want to capitalise on these failures.

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Ordinary people are also speaking out. There is a lot of improvement,

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but I don't think we are benefiting anything, especially from the ruling

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party. It is just about self`interest. I am hoping that

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other parties get more representation in government,

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because I feel the SNP in Parliament needs diversity to get somewhere.

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This coming at a time when South Africa reflects on the successes and

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failures of 20 years of democracy. The rise of government corruption

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undermines these achievements. The African National Congress has been

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in power since 1994. This is the party that was led by Nelson Mandela

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and brought to an end of the repressive apartheid regime. Because

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of the popularity of the ANC, they are expected to win the election.

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The track record is however patchy. Some voters are willing to take a

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stand against issues such as rising unemployment, poor quality of

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education and an increase in government corruption. Our

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correspondent from Johannesburg. These are the markets in Asia. A

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rough session today. In Japan, we see the worst day for about four

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weeks. The yen has strengthened versus the dollar. We have Janet

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yelling answering questions today, which will be analysed all over the

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world. `` Yelen.

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