Big Take Asia

Every year, billions of dollars of sanctioned Iranian oil finds its way to China, even though on paper the country hasn’t imported a single drop in more than two years. How? On today’s Big Take Asia podcast, host K. Oanh Ha speaks to Bloomberg’s Serene Cheong on her team’s investigation into a clandestine shipping hub off the coast of Malaysia that funnels Iranian crude to China.

Read more: The Clandestine Oil Shipping Hub Funneling Iranian Crude to China

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Higher tariffs. Geopolitical flare-ups. Inflammatory comments. All across Asia, countries are bracing for the return of Donald Trump.

On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, we unpack what a second Trump term means for China, India and other Asian economies – who are the potential winners and losers and what’s ahead. Host K. Oanh Ha is joined by Daniel Ten Kate, Bloomberg’s executive editor for Asia economy and government, Chan Heng Chee, the ambassador-at-large with the Singapore Foreign Ministry, and Erin Murphy, deputy director of Chair on India and Emerging Asia Economics at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Read more: Trump Is Set to Elevate China Hawks, Deepening Beijing Rift

Further listening: The Economic Impact of Trump’s Promises

Become a Bloomberg.com subscriber using our special intro offer at bloomberg.com/podcastoffer. You’ll get episodes of this podcast ad-free and unlock access to deep reporting, data and analysis from reporters around the world.

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A record number of Pakistanis are leaving at a rapid speed. Among them are some of the country’s top talent including doctors, engineers, accountants and managers. Over the last three years, one million skilled workers like them have left Pakistan.

On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host Rebecca Choong Wilkins talks to Bloomberg’s Pakistan Bureau Chief Faseeh Mangi about what’s behind the severe brain drain in one of the world’s most populous nations, where the immigrants are going, and what it means for the country’s already fragile economy that depends on loans from the International Monetary Fund.

Read more: 

Pakistan’s Top Talent Is Leaving the Country in Record Numbers

Watch, from Bloomberg Originals:
What’s Driving Pakistan’s Middle Class Brain Drain?

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China is making steady progress in its quest to dominate key industries of the future, despite years of US tariffs, export controls and sanctions. 

On today's Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha talks to Bloomberg’s Rebecca Choong Wilkins about how the US is struggling to curb Beijing’s technological advances, and whether the upcoming election could change the dynamic.

 

Read more: US Efforts to Contain Xi’s Push for Tech Supremacy Are Faltering

Further listening:

• How China’s BYD Became King of the Affordable EV

• On Thursday, Odd Lots will dig into Bloomberg’s research on the Made in China plan, and why it largely succeeded in spite of US efforts. Subscribe here.

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Started as a battery company in the 1990s in Shenzhen, BYD is now one of the best-selling EV brands in the world. Once mocked by Elon Musk, the company’s startling growth made it a global player and has sparked tariffs in the US and EU.

On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha talks to Bloomberg’s Gabrielle Coppola and Danny Lee about the company’s aggressive expansion and what it means for the global auto market.

Read more: BYD Is Winning the Global Race to Make Cheaper EVs

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Vietnamese real estate tycoon Truong My Lan was convicted in April of orchestrating a $12.3 billion fraud. She was sentenced to death by lethal injection, which she is appealing. And this week, the court is expected to hand down another verdict on additional charges.

On today’s Big Take Asia podcast, host K. Oanh Ha speaks to Bloomberg’s John Boudreau about how Lan was able to embezzle so much money for so long, how she went from riches to death row and what her multibillion fraud case means for one of the fastest growing economies in Asia.

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Adrian Cheng, the third-generation scion of property dynasty New World Development, seemed poised to take over his family’s $20 billion empire. But last month, in a surprising twist, he was replaced as CEO by someone outside of his family.  

On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha talks to Bloomberg’s Shawna Kwan about the succession drama at New World, the possible ripple effects on other family dynasties in the region, and what it all could mean for the future of one of Hong Kong’s major property developers.

Read more: New World Scion’s Fall Upends Succession at $23 Billion Dynasty

Further listening: $200 Billion, Four Heirs and One Might Indian Empire

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With relations between Washington and Beijing at a critical point, US Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz’s time in China has come under scrutiny from Republicans. Walz first went to China as a teacher in 1989 after the Tiananmen Square military crackdown. Over the years, he continued to return to China, even spending his honeymoon there.

On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha talks to Bloomberg’s Daniel Ten Kate and Professor Li Cheng from the University of Hong Kong about what Walz’s track record on China could mean should the Democrats win the election – and whether Walz’s ties with the country would be an asset or liability.

Update: During the vice presidential debate on October 1st, Democratic candidate Tim Walz said he misspoke about being in Hong Kong on June 4, 1989. That’s when the Tiananmen Square protests turned deadly. He didn’t clarify his whereabouts at the time and said that he was in Hong Kong and China in the summer of that year.

Walz has also said he’s traveled to China about 30 times. A Harris-Walz campaign spokesperson said the number of trips Walz took to China is “likely closer to 15.”

We’ve updated the episode to reflect these updates. 

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Talk of de-dollarization has been gaining momentum among China, India, Brazil, Russia and South Africa in the wake of significant US led sanctions on Russia. Former US President and candidate Donald Trump has said the currency is under attack — and that any country that shuns it would face new tariffs on imports if he is elected.

On today's Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha talks to Bloomberg’s Saleha Mohsin about the unique role the dollar plays in the world economy — and what, if anything, could replace it.

Read more: The Dollar’s Dominance, Explained

Further listening: Odd Lots Podcast – How the US Dollar Became an International Weapon of War

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China’s drive to upgrade its struggling economy has left millions of people facing job losses or pay cuts, fueling an existential crisis among some of its best and brightest workers.

On today's Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha talks to Bloomberg's Lulu Chen about the impact Xi Jinping’s push is having on professionals, from banking to tech, and what this anxiety could mean for the outlook of the world’s second-largest economy.

Read more: 
China’s CICC Demotes Senior Bankers, Cuts Pay to Slash Costs

Further listening:

Why China’s Investment Bankers Are Breaking Up With Capitalism

What Does China’s Economic Slowdown Mean For the Communist Party?

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