Claim OwnershipBig Take Asia
Subscribed: 1,039Played: 2,375
Subscribe
© 2024 Bloomberg
Description
We’re taking The Big Take to Asia. Each week, Bloomberg’s Oanh Ha tells a story from the home of the world's most dynamic economies - and the markets, tycoons and businesses that drive the ever-shifting region.
19 Episodes
Reverse
They caused global markets to seize up – and raised serious questions about just how much money was at stake. No, we’re not talking about Nvidia’s earnings. Or the US jobs report. We’re talking about carry trades – an obscure part of international markets that’s suddenly less obscure. On today’s Big Take Asia podcast, the Bloomberg Explains series continues with Bloomberg Opinion columnist Shuli Ren. She tells hosts K. Oanh Ha and David Gura about how the yen carry trade became so popular with big banks to small-time investors, what went wrong during the August markets rout and how soup dumplings are key to understanding why carry trades shouldn’t work … but do. Read more: How Big Is the Yen Carry Trade, Really?Further listening: Odd Lots Podcast - BloombergWatch, from Bloomberg Originals: Why Japan’s Yen is So VolatileSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Call centers in the Philippines, the world’s second-biggest outsourcing center after India, are embracing artificial intelligence - and it’s radically changing what it looks and sounds like to work there. On today's Big Take Asia Podcast, host Rebecca Choong Wilkins demos the Sanas AI app and talks to Bloomberg's Saritha Rai about the industry's rapid transition and what it might mean for workers around the world. Read more: The World's Call Center Capital Is Gripped by AI Fever — and FearSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A Chinese businessman persuaded officials to establish a special economic zone in a remote part of Laos. The gamblers arrived first. Then came the drug runners, human traffickers and scammers.On today’s Big Take Asia podcast, host K. Oanh Ha speaks with Bloomberg Businessweek editor Matt Campbell about his investigation into the Golden Triangle Special Economic Zone and how it became a criminal’s paradise. Read more: Dodge CityWatch, from Bloomberg Originals: How One Man Rules in Asia's Golden TriangleSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
After weeks of protests and a brutal crackdown that led to several hundred deaths, Bangladesh’s Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina was forced to step down and flee the country, putting an abrupt end to her more than 15 years in power. Stepping into the leadership vacuum is Nobel Prize-winning economist Muhammad Yunus, who we spoke to last month -- when he was facing charges that his supporters said were trumped up by Hasina. Today on The Big Take Asia, host K. Oanh Ha speaks to Bloomberg’s Kai Schultz about what drove the student-led uprising and Hasina’s downfall, Yunus’s surprising turn to politics, and what’s at stake for one of Asia’s most promising economies. Read more: Yunus Cleared in Graft Case After Becoming Bangladesh Leader Further listening: Why This Nobel Prize Winner Faces Life Imprisonment in BangladeshSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Gautam Adani, the controversial Indian billionaire, gathered his two sons and two nephews for a family lunch one day and asked them a bombshell question: Did they want to carve up the Adani Group’s sprawling businesses between themselves and part ways? Or did they want to stick together? He gave them three months to decide. Today on The Big Take Asia, host K. Oanh Ha talks to Bloomberg editor Anto Antony about the Adanis’ ambitious succession plan, in the wake of regulatory probes and a daring short-seller attack. We also hear from the Adanis themselves on their vision of an Adani Group without Gautam at the helm, how they’ll make decisions to manage an empire – which spans everything from airports to solar farms – and what's at stake for India’s $3.5 trillion economy.Read more: Adani Unveils $213 Billion Succession Plan as Scrutiny PersistsFurther listening: The Rise of Modi: Why India’s Leader Is So Popular – and PolarizingSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Costs are rising in Japan and small businesses risk being squeezed into oblivion if they don’t figure out how to raise their prices. After decades of deflation, many small Japanese companies are out of practice on exactly how to do it. Today on The Big Take Asia, host Rebecca Choong Wilkins talks to Bloomberg senior editor Reed Stevenson about a class he visited where people are relearning the long-lost skill of negotiation, and what a failure to raise prices at these small businesses – which make up 90% of the economy – could mean for Japan’s future.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Is K-pop even K-pop without the K? A Bloomberg analysis of song lyrics shows that for the first time, almost half of K-pop songs released this year have majority English lyrics. On today’s podcast, host Sarah Holder speaks with Bloomberg reporter Sohee Kim about the genre’s identity shift and why industry efforts to grow its global audience might mean fewer Korean band members.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Nobel Peace Prize-winning economist Muhammad Yunus pioneered micro loans as a tool to fight poverty. Now prosecutors in Bangladesh have linked him and his colleagues to a dizzying number of crimes, including embezzlement and laundering millions of dollars. Today on The Big Take Asia, host K. Oanh Ha speaks to Bloomberg’s Kai Schultz about the complicated saga and what implications Yunus’s case has for Bangladesh, one of the fastest growing economies. We also hear from Yunus himself, who talks about the rift between him and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and the personal impact of the legal drama. Read more: Why the Nobel-Laureate Pioneer of Microfinance Risks Life in Jail Big Money Backs Tiny Loans That Lead to Debt, Despair and Even SuicideSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
China’s Luckin Coffee is the nation’s top coffee retailer, overtaking even Starbucks. That would be notable itself, but less than 4 years ago the company filed for bankruptcy, making its comeback even more unlikely. The turnaround is in part thanks to the chain’s automated stores, cut-price deals and innovative drinks that appeal to local tastes. Today on The Big Take Asia, host K. Oanh Ha speaks with Bloomberg’s Rachel Chang on how Luckin managed to turn around its failing business to overtake Starbucks, and asks whether it can hold on to its success as coffee takes off in China, and more rivals emerge. Read more: China’s Luckin Coffee Is Back From the Brink and Beating Starbucks Further listening: What Does China’s Economic Slowdown Mean For the Communist Party? See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
One after another, bankers at China International Capital Corporation — China’s premier investment bank – are pledging loyalty to the Communist Party, underscoring a new reality for Wall Street-style capitalists in the era of Xi Jinping.Today on The Big Take Asia, host David Gura speaks with Bloomberg’s Cathy Chan about the tug-of-war between communism and capitalism at the “Morgan Stanley of China,” and how politics are redefining Chinese finance.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Four years after Beijing imposed a national security law on the city, Hong Kong continues to serve as an important financial hub connecting mainland China with the rest of the world. But beneath the surface, the consequences of the crackdown are far-reaching.Today on the Big Take Asia, ahead of the 27th anniversary of Hong Kong’s handover to China, host K. Oanh Ha speaks with Bloomberg’s China editor Alan Wong about how Beijing is reshaping Hong Kong, its impact on the city’s residents and what that means for Hong Kong’s future.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Indonesia’s nickel business is booming. The metal is a key component in electric car batteries, but its success has a dark side: the country’s nickel mines and processing plants have a history of fatal accidents, with workers being run over by forklifts and burnt to death in smelter fires.
Today on The Big Take Asia, host Janet Paskin speaks with Bloomberg Businessweek editor Matt Campbell about his investigation into the mines. He found that nickel sourced from these plants are present in the supply chain that feeds virtually every major seller of EVs, and is an indispensable part of the car industry’s green revolution.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Reports of alleged imposters are cropping up more and more in the family office frenzy in Singapore and Hong Kong. The ultra wealthy use family offices to manage their finances and affairs.
Today on The Big Take Asia, host K. Oanh Ha speaks with Bloomberg investing reporter David Ramli about the secretive nature of the family office industry and why scammers are so hard to spot. Plus, she hears from Medway Investment board director Eric SayWei Neo about how people like him are becoming amateur detectives to try to weed out suspected imposters.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party lost its majority in India’s parliament. The stunning blow is forcing Modi to rely on allies to form a government for the first time since he stormed to power a decade ago.
On today’s episode of The Big Take Asia, host K. Oanh Ha digs into India’s 2024 general election results with Bloomberg reporter Sudhi Ranjan Sen on the ground in New Delhi. And Milan Vaishnav, senior fellow and director of the South Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, delves into what the results mean for both India and the world. Read more: India Election ResultsTo hear more from Milan Vaishnav listen to his podcast, Grand Tamasha.To hear more about our coverage of Narendra Modi, listen to our series, The Rise of Modi. See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
All of Japan's 54 nuclear reactors were shut down after the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. As the country's energy needs soar, debate is heating up over whether to bring the world’s largest nuclear plant back online.
On today’s episode of The Big Take Asia, host K. Oanh Ha speaks to Bloomberg reporter Shoko Oda about her visit to the Kashiwazaki Kariwa plant and the challenges to rebooting it.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
After four decades of unparalleled gains in income and wealth, China’s 1.4 billion have been hit by a series of blows: a real estate collapse, a trade war with the US, and a crackdown on entrepreneurs have stalled the country’s prosperity engine.
On today’s episode of The Big Take Asia, host K. Oanh Ha dives into how China’s slowing economy is affecting people on the ground, and how Beijing is responding to that shift. Ha talks to Bloomberg correspondent Rebecca Choong Wilkins in Hong Kong and Bloomberg’s Chief Economist Tom Orlik.Read more: ‘Are You Better Off?’ Asking Reagan’s Question in Xi’s ChinaSee omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
In 2002, Narendra Modi was facing the biggest political crisis of his career. But in the aftermath of riots that left more than 1,000 people dead – most of them Muslims – he saw an opportunity to turn his fortunes around. He would go on to become one of the most powerful leaders India has seen in decades.
Host K. Oanh Ha, Bloomberg’s Sudhi Ranjan Sen and author Nilanjan Mukhophadyay trace how Modi and his government have been able to transform India into one of the fastest-growing economies in the world.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Narendra Modi is arguably the world’s most popular politician. With nearly 1 billion Indians eligible to vote in a six-week election that concludes on June 4, Modi and his party are expected to win a majority for the third time in a row and extend their decade in power.
But there are also concerns over human rights and religious and press freedoms that many political leaders, CEOs and bankers in the West appear willing to overlook. On our first episode of The Big Take Asia, host K. Oanh Ha and Bloomberg’s Sudhi Ranjan Sen chart how Modi built up so much power over the last several decades – and why he is both a beloved and divisive figure.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
A deep dive into understanding Asia and how it impacts the global economy and world of business.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Top Podcasts
The Best New Comedy Podcast Right Now – June 2024The Best News Podcast Right Now – June 2024The Best New Business Podcast Right Now – June 2024The Best New Sports Podcast Right Now – June 2024The Best New True Crime Podcast Right Now – June 2024The Best New Joe Rogan Experience Podcast Right Now – June 20The Best New Dan Bongino Show Podcast Right Now – June 20The Best New Mark Levin Podcast – June 2024
Download from Google Play
Download from App Store
United States
This is a little too one-sided. The claims of the Bangladesh government are almost certainly politically motivated and without merit. However, there is more to Muhammed Yunus than this report covers.Yunus is not a politician now, but he did flirt with politics in the past (as him about "Nagorik Shakti") and was initially asked to head up a caretaker administration, which some viewed as unconstitutional. I'm a Yunus supporter, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't give a balanced account of things.