17/04/2017 World Business Report

China reveals its economy is growing nicely,

We tell you what the experts are saying now about

Cadbury grapples with a nationwide backlash in New Zealand,

as it prepares to move its factory there to Australia.

Welcome to World Business Report, I'm Sally Bundock.

Also in the programme: Lloyds is poised to set up a European

The latest numbers from China show its economy has grown by 6.9%

in the first three months of this year.

That is better than most were predicting, and slightly ahead

of the government's own target of.5% growth.

So do we need to be concerned anymore about the state

of the world's second-biggest economy?

Well, if we take a look at last year, it grew by 6.7%.

That was its slowest pace in 26 years.

And last month, Premier Li Keqiang said the government was cutting

its economic growth target for this year to 6.5%,

this as the government tries to get China used to what they call

the new normal, ie China growing at a slower pace,

and moving to an economy fuelled more by domestic demand and less

But the Organisation for Economic Co-operation

and Development says China's private and public debt could be a big

problem in the future, as it has now exceeded 250% of GDP,

and could lead to a destabilising economic crash.

And, despite increased lending restrictions,

people are still borrowing to invest in the red-hot property market.

For example, February's figures show prices for new homes rising by just

Our Asia business corresponden Karishma Vaswani joins

Nice to see you. Give us your take on how how healthy things. Analysts

have been speaking to say it has come above what many people expected

at it is really important to point out that while we should always

remain sceptical about these official figures from Beijing, it is

important to look at the number on the whole as a sign, it seems, as

China's growth rate stabilising. The trajectory seems to be stabilising.

As you said earlier in your introduction, growth rate last year

coming in at the lowest rate in 26 years. But it looks like, if you

look closer at the data points which have helped China's economy to grow

this time around, it is the same object. It is state investment, it

is the property market. So where is that transition that Beijing has

continuously talked about over the few years, moving from the old

tricks, the old parts of the economy, into a new modern economy?

We are not seeing that is the main drivers of growth just yet. But

having said that, these kind of shifts do take time, don't they?

They are not something that can come into place quickly and many have

been really warning about China heading for a hard landing. Very

difficult times ahead. Is that still the concern in the background? I

think the bigger concern is just how sustainable this growth rate is.

Now, if you look at the typical first-quarter figures, they do tend

to give you a sense of what is going to have over the next 12 months. But

I think, especially according to many of the analysts I have been

speaking to, we won't be seeing a 6.9% figure in the quarters ahead.

It may come down a bit. Poverty will not continue to grow as much.

Because remember, the government is very concerned about how that is an

overheating sector -- property will not continue to grow as much. They

have put in some measures which will show up in the later part of the

year. In terms of the 6.9% figure, we are unlikely to see that in the

quarters ahead. What we will see as China's growth rate coming in at

around a figure that authorities in Beijing have been broadcasting, and

that will continue with the narrative of slowing, gradually

slowing Chinese economy. For now, thank you much indeed.

There is plenty more analysis of China's growth

Just head to our website, or download the BBC News app.

Here, you will find both text and video coverage

of all of the stories covered on Business throughout the day.

In other news: Lloyds Banking Group has decided to set up a base

in Germany after the UK leaves the European Union,

Several British financial institutions are putting plans

in place to protect their EU operations after Brexit.

Lloyds is the only major British lender that does not currently

have a subsidiary in another European Union country.

The bank is believed to have considered both Frankfurt

and Amsterdam for its European base, before finally opting for Berlin.

United Airlines is changing its policy on giving staff

last-minute seats on full flights, after a man was dragged screaming

The airline said that, in the future, crew members would be

allocated seats at least an hour before departure.

It comes after a passenger lost two front teeth and suffered a broken

nose when he was forcibly removed from a flight last Sunday.

The US commerce secretary, Wilbur Ross, has dismissed warnings

over protectionism made by the International Monetary Fund.

In an interview with the Financial Times,

Mr Ross said that the Trump administration is far more liberal

in its stance towards trade compared with Europe,

The comments come ahead of the IMF's meeting in Washington

The passing of Lent normally signals a time of celebration

for the world's chocolate makers, but there has been a nationwide

backlash in New Zealand against the decision by chocolate

giant Cadbury to move its operations to Australia next year.

The company's American owner says it is not profitable enough to keep

the factory in the south-east of New Zealand, and hundreds of jobs

Mauricio Olmedo-Perez reports from Auckland.

The world-famous jaffa race brings out the cheering crowds

in their thousands, as Cadbury chocolate balls made just down

the road roll down the world's steepest street.

But now crowds are protesting against Cadbury, which has made

chocolate here since 1930, and become a part of

I think it's disgusting, because we're making a profit here.

Despite turning a profit, the company that owns Cadbury says

the factory isn't sustainable, and more than 360 workers will lose

jobs, a major blow for a provincial centre.

It's about time our multinationals begin looking after people who have

been looking after them for the last 100 years.

There are reports of keeping Cadbury World open, but it's a bit

silly having it open without the Cadbury behind it.

It has over 100,000 visitors per year.

It wants to redevelop the tourist attraction.

A national campaign has been started to boycott Cadbury products.

While one company claims it is not profitable fruit to produce

chocolate in New Zealand, just north of Wellington, Whitakers is proving

otherwise. It has been making chocolate

for more than 120 years, and has become one of

the country's success stories. Big multinationals often have

strategic views in certain areas, and I think we are just solely

focused on quality of product. The family-run business has been

growing, using innovative flavours Now, it is taking a careful approach

into the Middle East, We don't try to spread

ourselves too thinly. We just need to focus

on particular areas. When you look at China,

in particular, the change in demographic is the biggest

opportunity on our horizon. And, with its main competitor's

production now leaving New Zealand, the prospects for the southern

chocolatier are mouthwatering. Let's look at market is really

quickly. An unusual day to day, a bank holiday in many countries

around the world because of the Easter long weekend. Japan is open

and trading, down 0.5% Khazova very strong yen against the dollar. That

figure at the bottom is not correct, so ignore that for now. In many

cases, markets are closed. Hong Kong is closed, Shanghai is open and down

slightly, despite those growth figures out that we discussed

earlier in the programme. Stay with us. We will look at some of the main

stories in the news and what the newspapers are saying about Turkey.

A specialist squad of police and Prison Service staff has been

formed to tackle the use of drones to smuggle contraband,

The officers in England and Wales will study how to catch those