india, ford's allen moulally. caution has crept in before the week is out. european markets are marginally out, asian markets are marginally down. futures are flat. the predicted number of new jobs is around about 150,000. many say that is better but charles still not good enough. >> no. i think that's very much going to be what is dominating investor thought really all way around the globe. we are seeing this slight rebound here in europe. there was a bit of a sell-off, i think perhaps in anticipation of a strong nonfarm payroll. maybe as many as 90,000 jobs being created. that's the whisper number on wall street. as that number goes down to more than 150,000, which seems to be the consensus, there's less prospect of u.s. interest rates being moved up soon and perhaps there's pressure on the euro. there is a lot of worry out here behind all of this. we're still worrying about banks. .only credit rights issue a couple of days ago is still being talked about in the markets because there's a big worry about european banks having to raise capital. here we are up by about 0.66% for the xetra dax, paris cac current, up by nearly 1% right now. let's have a look at the currency markets. we're looking at really a lot of weakness on the part of the euro. 127.83. it has been significantly lower than this. well down below 1.28. all way down to a 15-month low against the dollar. the debt crisis taking its toll on currencies. japanese yen 77 and a bit of change, andrew. >> speaking is of japan, that's one thing the japanese don't want to see is the weaker euro. the euro zone, such a key market for japanese companies. this is how the weekended here in asia today. chinese stocks pummeled in the longest losing streak now for years. europe's troubles continuing to discourage investors. investors ignoring the fall in the u.s. jobless claims which we got yesterday. instead they're focusing on the disappointing news, the white house is not considering a rumored trillion dollar mortgage refinancing scheme. we have rising french italian bond yields all adding to the gloom. banking stocks not surpriselily, leading the hang seng down, down by more than 1%. there was one bright spot, one sector outperforming today, chinese energy stocks having agreat day, after the chinese government raised the tax threshold on the amount of money earned from oil income. as you see, giving a boost to the big oil plays in china. charles? okay, let's have a look back at wall street and the thursday session there. well, we had some gains there for the banks, jobless claims so it would appear were down. obviously there was jobs data which was quite updata. there's also speculation that the white house may unveil a nationwide mortgage refinancing plan. so let's have a look now at how trading is set to begin on wall street when the u.s. stock markets open this friday. so we are looking at a very, very marginal bounce, andrew. >> we certainly are. okay. charles, now, today is the first friday of the month. and that means we learn how the u.s. is faring on employment. and this is the key number as far as the world's biggest economy is concern. the picture has been improving over recent months and the november jobless rate was actually down at 8.6%, much lower than had been expected. it was actually at its lowest level since march of 2009. so what are we expecting on the nonfarm payrolls? how many more jobs will be added? 150,000. that's in december. let's see how that compares with the rest of the year. take a look at this. this over the past 12 months or so. it transpires, 150,000 will be pretty average. now despite a relatively strong start we saw here, last year back at the beginning of 2011 and then a late resurgent in the summer it was overall a year that president obama needs to improve on. he can take some heart, though, adp reports that 325,000 private sector jobs were added in december. that's nearly twice as many as analysts had been predicting. and at a time when republicans are fighting the influence of what they call big government, this obviously is a notable success. this is the number and this is why, charles, obviously the markets in asia fairly quiet today. not a lot of volume once again. there hasn't been much volume all week. this is the number everyone is looking at. >> okay. let's have a look at more broadly at the jobs market and employment in the united states, because the once-thriving finance and real estate sectors are struggling to rebound from the economic crisis that really has been with us since 2008 if not before. however, there is a secretarier that is faring better than ever. american students are turning to technology as a means of making big money. and taech education is a growth industry in itself as maggie lake reports. >> reporter: how are you? 21-year-old zack sims is one of the masterminds between code academy. >> i think we knew programming is the new version of literacy but at the same time it's staggering to see the number of people who have signed up. >> reporter: proo positive there's still a massive craving around the globe to develop the next big thing. >> i think programming is really the most important skill in the 21st century. people are realizing that. there are a lot of women and people who wouldn't be learning to program. >> reporter: learning code won't turn you into the next mark zuckerberg overnight but it is a first step and can ultimately lead to finding a job in an economy starved for computer professionals. young people are taking notice. new york institute of technology's manhattan campus is seeing a 40% rise in applications. from students who might have been lured into finance years ago. >> this is here to stay. >> reporter: demand should remain robust for years. >> it's not just about coding. coding can be outsourced. it's more the thrill of inconvenient thing and creating new technology, new software. >> reporter: one success story at this school, 21-year-old robert pinkerton. >> i graduated this december 2011 with a degree from nyt in computer engineering and received about ten potential job offers. in the time of maybe a month and a half. >> what happened? >> reporter: meanwhile, back at the office i took a stab at my first line of code. >> now you need the prarenthese right there. >> i see. >> reporter: even those who will never become computer programmers, they can learn by learning the code. >> we are all using phones and computers. we have to understand how they work. it's a better way to live your life, understand what you're using. >> reporter: a great resolution as we enter 2012. >> you passed with flying colors. >> reporter: he has to say that. he's sitting right there. watch out, mark zuckerberg. maggie lake, cnn, new york. staying with technology, the former ceo of the optical equipmentmaker olympus has abandoned his fight to get his job back. michael woodford who was sacked in october after he blew the whistle on a billion dollar accounting fraud plans to sue the company for his unfair dismissal. he flew into tokyo to rally support for his reinstatement. wolfford says olympus' big japanese shareholders let him down. he has harsh word for the company's president. >> if that had been in any other capitalist market in the world, takayama would have had fruit thrown at him the athe press conference. the headlines would be "idiot, liar, fool." how could he have said these payments were appropriate and good value? but he stays. >> mark woodford going down fighting. the news hasn't hurt olympus' share price. it was up by 2.25%. if you look at the longer term, it has a long way to go before it recovers its huge losses since the scandal broke just under three months ago. one stage down more than 80%. still down by more than 40%. charles? just ahead on "world business today," as western powers increase the pressure on iran to try to limit its nuclear program, the country is playing its next strongest hand. we'll assess what threats a blockade could mean for the global oil industry. luck? i don't trade on luck. i trade on fundamentals. analysis. information. i trade on tradearchitect. this is web-based trading, re-visualized. streaming, real-time quotes. earnings analysis. probability analysis: that's what opportunity looks like. it's all visual. intuitive. and it's available free, wherever the web is. this is how trade strategies are built. tradearchitect. only from td ameritrade. welcome to better trade commission free for 60 days when you open an account. somebody didn't book with travelocity, with 24/7 customer support to help move them to the pool daddy promised! look at me, i'm swimming! somebody, get her a pony! [ female announcer ] the travelocity guarantee. from the price to the room to the trip you'll never roam alone. the price of nymex crude at $102, up just a fraction. volatility has been the name of the game on the oil markets in recent weeks. it's caused in no small part by the iranian president mahmoud ahmadinejad. crude prices rose 2%. there was respite on thursday as royal dutch shell said it started reproduction at a nigerian oil field. good news from a different source. however, volatility is also down to u.s. threat. there we are. is also down to the u.s. threats of sanctions against iran. which is, of course, opec's second biggest exporter of crude oil. iran can control strategically important strait of hormuz and has threatened to block it altogeth altogether. the straight is only 34 kilometers wide at its narrowest point. there are the straits of hormuz. a huge choke point. we have all of these producers right up here, the emirates and saudi arabia and, of course, kuwait and iraq at the head of the gulp. that means one-sixth of the world's oil production passes through this one strait. one-third of the sea-borne oil. if the strait is closed for just one hour, 60 minutes, some traders say oil prices would see a spike of at least 50%. now obviously some nations are trying to ease their reliance on iran and those include japan, south korea and india, all of whom are reportedly looking elsewhere. andrew? >> yes, charles, as you pointed out on that chart, iran is second only to saudi arabia in opec's list of oil-exporting nations. a restriction on its supplies could send prices which are already about $100 a barrel, even higher. with a somewhat battered and bruised global economy at the moment that could threaten any recovery. we have a senior research analyst. he jones us now. let's start off with a nightmare scenario of a closure of the straits of hormuz. how likely is that? >> very unlikely. that could have catastrophic effects on the global economy. you'd see oil prices strike above $200 a battle. it was cause a global recession. for iran, it would close off their export capability. everyone loses if the straits of hormuz is closed. i think you can't rule it out but i think at this point i would say it's unlikely. >> what is the more likely scenario then and what do you think that will mean for the price of crude? >> i think increasingly you'll see a ratcheting up of sanctions. eu leaders will take a position on whether or not to basically put an embargo in place on the purchase of iranian crude. if that goes ahead, it didn't shut off iran's export but it basically reduces the number of buyers and increasinincreasingl be forced to sell into asia and africa. it will be a distressed seller. >> how much less? >> $20, $30 a barrel. it could be in some cases having to resort to barter trade. it certainly would increase the cost to iran, reduce the money they get from selling oil and it would have a massive financial implication to the country. >> countries like china, south korea, japan, rely on iran for roughly 10% of their oil needs. if these countries decide to not buy iranian oil, how easy is it for them to be able to replace their supply? >> well, the world has about 3 1/2 to 4 million barrels of spare capacity. iran currently produces about 3.5 million barrels of exports, about 2.5 million barrels a day. if we lost that 2.5 million barrels to the market, effectively, saudi arabia would have to step in and make up for that shortfall. the problem is, the saudi crude is of a different quality to the iranian crude and what that means is that refineries that are depend enept on lighter crude are going to be short of oil. what that means is that brands such as brent will be trading at a significant premium. there is oil to cover this but it will -- it's the wrong type of oil. >> whatever happens on this scenario we'll see higher rather than lower price? >> i think in the near term as we see pressure mount on iran, if the eu follows through on sanctions, i think this will result in the short term of increased oil prices, just given the risks of that disruption of supply. >> significant, could you put a number on it? >> i think it's difficult to put a number on it. in the short term i could see oil testing over $120, $125 a barrel. >> brent? >> yes, brent, those kinds of number. like we saw in 2011, of course, with libya, this is the point at which the marginal consumer in the u.s. starts to get squeezed out, starting driving less and it begins to impact the global economy. >> it's a tipping point, isn't it? >> yes. >> charles? japan's prime minister want tos double the sales tax from 5% to 10% by 2015, amid fears that the country may become the next greece. japan has the highest debt-to-gdp ratio in the developed world and the fastest aging population. after the tsunami and nuclear crisis, the ruling party says it's pay now or possibly default later. cnn cnn's kyung lah. >> reporter: they are proposing an increase in the national sales tax. this bottle of sake costs 1,000 yen or about 10 u.s. dollars. the national sales tax is currently at 5%. so on the 1,000 yen bottle of sake, i had to pay 50 yen in taxes. under the current proposal, by 2014, the tax would jump to 8% or 80 yen for the bottle of sake. and by the year 2015 the national sales tax would jump to 10% or i would have to pay 100 yen for that same bottle of sake. that is double what i paid today. as you can imagine, this is highly unpopular. to be honest, says this taxpayer, i don't want the sales tax but i guess i don't have a choice. we can see what's happening in greece and italy says toshiko misu. we're taking the debt talk more seriously and ready to accept this. japan's government fears its own ballooning debt will follow the same trend and be out of control. japan's debt is far higher than greece, but less risky because it's domestically owned. japan still has the highest national debt in the developed world with the fastest aging population on the planet. a demographic and taxation time bomb. add to that reconstruction from last year's devastating earthquake/tsunami and ongoing nuclear and energy crisis. japan's prime minister and his ruling party says the parliament must figure out a way to pay for everything. in addition to paying down the huge national debt before it's too late. the crucial moment is on the horizon, says japan's prime minister, urging lawmakers to pass his tax plan. we must unite and make this happen. a bitter pill but one that any country with a national debt problem may eventually have to swallow. kyung lah, cnn, tokyo. myanmar is playing host to another high profile guest this week as it tries to improve relations with the rest of the world. the british foreign secretary william hague is there to meet leaders who hope to end western sanctions. he'll meet aung san suu kyi as well. they're hoping to secure the release of thousands of political prisoners in return for the lifting of trade embargoes. for years myanmar has been a no-go area not just for foreign politicians but for many regular travelers as well. as the country begins to open up, there are signs it's earning its place back on the tourist trail. paula hancock visited at the end of last year to see what's attracting all the interest. >> reporter: this is the pa goda, 2,500 years old, it's said to enshrine various items. in any other country, such a site would be swarming with tourists. but this is myanmar. until earlier this year, off the list of desired places due to the brutal military junta. with a strong government, albeit linked to the military and tentative reforms comes new travel interests. there are definitely more tourists coming here to myanmar, according to the ticket office, around 1,000 foreign visitors every single day on average come to see this pegoda. for a country isolated from the rest of the world for so many years, these images are p.r. gold. if the top u.s. diplomat hillary clinton is happy to visit, why not tourists? the ministry of hotels and tourism says around 790,000 people visited last year. that's expected to rise to 900,000 this year. >> hillary was coming before us. i figured if it was good for her, it would be good for us. we're fine. >> we recognize that it's changing. we've been there in january this year and now it's getting more modern. >> reporter: myanmar has a long way to go before it can consider competing with neighboring thailand. the infrastructure has been neglected for decade and the economy is cash-driven and riddled with widely differing exchange rates. but with little outside influence for so long, the heritage of the country has been preserved. making it one of southeast asian tourism's last frontiers. paula hancocks, cnn, myanmar. coming up on "world business today," looking east. we hear from the man in the driver's seat at ford about where he thinks his company lies. stay with cnn, the world's news leader. welcome back to "world business today." a quick check now on some of the other business stories this hour. india's king fisher airlines has until monday to address safety concerns raised by the country's civil aviation regulator. the deadline comes as part of a safety audit of their airlines. the regulator is concerned that financial problems at airlines could lead to compromises on passenger safety. >> barnes & noble, america's biggest book store chain says it's considering spinning off its fast-growing nook ereader business. the announcement and forecast of a much bigger loss than expected took 17% off the company's share price on thursday. barnes & noble face stiff competition in the e-reader market. amazon kindle and apple's ipad is popular as well. >> and the "spider-man" musical spinoff "turn off the dark" opened last june, it was delayed by royalty disputes and the death of a producer, as well as other things. now it's a huge success. this is how much it took in at the box office last week, $2.9 million, a one-week record for a broadway show. speaking of shows in new york, let's have a look at the shows in europe, perhaps. stock market action in europe, where trading has been under way for 90 minutes, we are seeing a little bit of a bounce for some of these indices after a bruising couple of sessions particularly for indices like the paris cac currant. that is making back a bit of the ground it lost over the past two. the dax up by 0.3%. zurich, scant games, a fraction of a percent for the london ftse, andrew. >> not so much of a bounce in asia pacific, charles. the weekending with a lot of bang, not a lot of bang, rather a whimper. the key markets ended like this, nikkei down 1%, not being helped by the euro's weakness. down under 128 now. hong kong ending the day down by a similar amount. only shanghai up today and australia you'll see down by about 0.8%. now, let's talk about one specific stock which has been having a great 12 months, samsung electronics, the south korean giant sweeping past its arch rival apple in spartphone sales. now thank to those sales, samsung estimates record-breaking profits for the fourth quarter. ramy inocencio joins us with the numbers. it must be nice for a company to take on apple and beat it. >> samsung investors with definitely smiling today. they expect to pull in a record $4.5 billion in profit, this is for the october to december period. now, compare this to the same quarter of 2010. that's when it made a profit of about $2.6 billion. now, this is actually a huge percentage jump year-on-year. 73% jump is exactly what we're talking about here. the reason for this, though, it its soaring smartphone sales like the popular galaxy line, considered by many to be an iphone killer. south korean analysts estimate samsung sold as many as 35 million smartphones just in the fourth quarter alone. total sales could soar to 170 million units. this is according to a report by bnp paribas and korea investment and securities this is number is expected to keep it safe from any apple advances. today we did learn that in italian court ruled against samsung, against its bid to stop sales of the iphone 4s in that country. that follows a similar ruling in a french court last month. now looking at the big picture, south korea's weaker wan has benefited samsung. today, samsung's share price, however, fell by about 1.5%. but this is because of profit-taking. investors had actually already been expecting this good news out from samsung and that was already priced in. andrew? >> ramy, thanks very much for that. charles? now, on wall street, two of the big three u.s. stock markets are set to open slightly higher this friday. here is where we are at the moment. the s&p 500 tiptoeing down in terms of the future, very slightly. but gains of a fraction of a percent there foreseen both for the dow and nasdaq futures. again, i think what may work very well be encouraging numbers on the u.s. jobs market already in the price. >> now, move over compact city car. in india big is beautiful and the suv is king. at least that's what carmakers hope. new delhi's auto expos opened on thursday. the message was clear, size does matter. this is being offered, the safari storm. the nana didn't take off in india as the company hoped. nissan unveiling its own suv, the avila at the five-day show. they expect suv and van sales to triple by 2020. this is how ford is hoping to increase its own market share with the eco sport compact suv. charles? >> now, ford sold 96,000 vehicles in india last year, up from just 29,000 in 2009. if you think about that, that's tripling its sales. it's also opening dealerships at a rate of one every ten days. no surprise that ceo alan mulally was optimistic about ford's future in india when he spoke to us. >> reporter: the top ten companies are here in india to show case their latest and best. what does that say about india. >> india may be the center of the universe. when you look at growth rates going forward, probably 70% of our incremental sales will be in the asia-pacific region because of the demographics, the number of people driving and the economic development. it's terribly exciting. even more important, i think is that the consumer tastes in india and asia-pacific, especially for really high-quality, fuel-efficient capable smaller vehicles are leading the world. >> reporter: sales have been decreasing in india because of the rising interest rates. do you think things will change in the next year? >> well, it has slowed down a little. but there's still very substantial growth in both india and in china. as a matter of fact, i think most people believe that these growth rates are a lot more sustainable. that will be good for all of us. >> ford has had to raise its prices here in india several times due to the depreciating rupee and rising costs. how do you ensure that ford is competitive against the local automakers. >> a very important part of the ford strategy is that with every one of our products, every year, year after year, we not only improve the quality of the vehicle but we also improve the productivity. our operations here in india are some of the most productive in the world. >> india has a major pollution problem, especially in cities like delhi. why isn't ford pushing more for greener cars? >> this is a very important part of the ford plan, because our fuel efficiency in every vehicle size is the most fuel efficient in the world. some of the technologies we're introducing here in india are the eco boost engines, direct fuel engine and turbo charging. no matter what size vehicle, it improves the fuel minimumage by 30% and reduces co2 by 20%. >> do you think consumers in asia can afford the premium charge for these? >> that's absolutely the key. that's why we're dedicated to getting the weight out of the battery and getting the technical capability improved and get the cost of the battery down. until we can make it affordable, we're not going to see large numbers. >> how do you think the u.s. market will fare this year? >> we're really very encouraged. it's been a slow expansion but we're recovering from probably the worst recession the u.s. has ever had. we're thinking that we've had a market of about 13 million vehicles this year. we're thinking somewhere between 13.5 million and 14.5 million next year. the important thing is that the economy is recovering and we're there, we're ready with the vehicles people want. >> alan mulally speaking with us there. a slice of history is about to go up for sale in new york. 5,000 artifacts salvaged from the "titanic." are going up for auction to commemorate the ship's sinking almost a century ago. some of the things on the block at the auction include this, a black vest that belonged to passenger william henry allen. there's also things like binoculars and this is what's known as a logometer. it is used to determine the titanic's speed. and this, a gold mesh purse. the auction is expected to raise more than $189 million. the proceeds will go to the salvage company which razed the it items from the depths. on that note we say farewell. thanks for joining us. i'm andrew stevens in hong kong. >> and i'm charles hodson in london. interesting story about the "titanic." perhaps we ought to wish them well. the news continues at cnn and "world one" is next. onon my jou, i've learned that when you ask someone in texas if they want "big" savings on car insurance, it's a bit like asking if they want a big hat... ...'scuse me... ...or a big steak... ...or big hair... i think we have our answer. geico. fifteen minutes could save you fifteen percent or more on car insurance. this week on "marketplace middle east," the sector hardest hit by the arab string, tourism. we sit down with a luxury hotel to discuss the impact of the unrest on the regional expansion plans. plus, cashing in on caviar. abu dhabi's ambitious plan to lead that market. we head behind the scenes. it's been one year since the start of the arab uprisings. now, tunisia, libya and egypt are looking to rebuild. one of the hardest-hit areas is the tourism sector which is done on average 12% in 2011. rocco forte wants to open three luxury hotels in the next four years. i ask him what impact this has had on his long-term plans. >> it's always quite difficult to get the timing absolutely right. usually when you're looking at building a hotel, everybody else is doing the same thing at the same time. >> in fact you've been selective about which markets to come into in the middle east. how are you picking which markets you want to come into at this stage of what is a revolution in some of these markets? >> if you're looking in an area, the cities that you'd like to be in and then as the opportunities arise, you take advantage of them. you can't say i'm going to do one by one. the opportunities have come in a certain way in this part of the world and i've taken advantage of them. >> do you feel like the earth is shaking in a sense because of what we've witnessed in the last year? >> well, i think it's very unclear as yet what is going to happen. that's rather worrying. i think the situation is very unsettled. and i'm not an expert in middle east -- politics of the middle east but i don't think it's going to be as easy a ride as everybody was making out, certainly in the west 6 or 12 months ago. >> how does that affect your decisionmaking going forward? do you stay committed to those properties and don't expand? >> the shepherd's hotel in cairo was due to close in december is now closing in june, to be completely refurbished. the hotel in luxor which had been closed for three or four years has now been completely redevelop. the redevelopment started and is ongoing. we're two years away from that hotel opening and probably a similar time frame, 2 1/2 years for the cairo hotel. by then, i think things may have settled down. >> very interesting. the other thing i want to talk to you about is your emerging market strategy. as a hotelier how do you position yourself for the emerging markets. >> if you expand too quickly, you can't do what we like to do in our hotels. almost all my hotels were in europe up till now. this is the first hotel outside of europe. 25% of my business into the european hotels comes from the united states where i don't have a single hotel. so that market is very important to me. and i'd like actually to go into the states, have a hotel in new york, at least. and i'm looking to do that. and another big market for us is the middle east. about 10% of our business into our european hotels comes out of the middle east. this is very important. having a presence will help to expand that business into our existing hotels. >> well, the arab uprisings has impacted tourism in different parts of the middle east. it was the opposite story in neighboring oman. earlier i spoke to the head of their investor arm to discuss the unrest they saw there in sohar. i asked him if the sultan has addressed the root causes. >> it all boils down to economy. sohar is where we had clusters of energy-based industry. for the last five years it had attracted $14 billion worth of investment in that particular area. now, the surprising thing is that there was not much job creati creation. >> you have about half the population below the age of 20 and then about 80% of the population below the age of 35. so this can be looked at as a net positive. you have a young population that could enter the work force but also creates a near-term challenge. >> they've always had a policy towards creation of environment that is conducive to investment and doing business. and from day one when his majesty took over was investment in people. he announced that we're going to start in educating our young population, even if it were under the shade of a tree. and that continued. because if you have people who cannot read or write, they cannot be productive. >> you're looking at a longer term horizon. but it seems that in the arab spring, the sense of urgency has even arrived to oman. >> i think what we have to do is revisit our institutions and policies, because like many of the people in the country, we were taken by surprise. initially we were in denial. this could not have happened in oman. when we looked into the facts and figures, we were shocked to see that, yes, there is unemployment. we cannot be combatative and productive if we marginalize part of our population. marginalization based on gender, race or faith. >> i've looked at the economic growth numbers. you're well behind your average growth of 2005 and 2009. which was a healthy 7%. >> oman is part of the global community. if we had 4.5%, that's healthy compared to the rest the world who had negative growth. oman is going to strive to maintain this growth of 6% and above. but it's not alone. the other people -- other countries have to get their house in order. whether in europe or the united states or other parts of the world. up next on "marketplace middle east" from abu dhabi, a new delicacy for the region. we visit the largest caviar farm which wants to compete with the likes of central asia and russia, when we continue. for my arthritis, i use new capzasin quick relief gel. (announcer) starts working on contact and at the nerve level. to block pain for hours. new capzasin, takes the pain out of arthritis. from the world's fastest roller coaster to the world's first dispensing gold atm and something as stunning as this grand mosque, abu dhabi has made its mark in many ways over the last five years. now it's going into the world of caviar to compete with russia as well as others. we have the story. >> reporter: this is the tale of a new beginning, 10,000 sturgeon eggs hatching at the royal caviar company in abu dhabi. the first step in creating the world's largest caviar factory. >> the hatching happens of the eggs. and the whole process of the hatching the eggs an growing them out from this area takes around eight months. >> reporter: 30,000 eggs each. the company is set to produce 35 tons of caviar each year. but it will take at least four years before these fish start producing eggs. this is when they're 8, 9 months old? >> exactly. >> reporter: the factory took three years to build at a cost of about $115 million. >> now we move into the grow-out area. >> reporter: how do you transport the fish. >> this is delicate fish. we transport it by hand. >> reporter: at more than 50,000 square meters, it's the largest caviar facility in the world. this room is so massive, the best way to get around it is by cycling. there are 32 tanks in this room alone. there's a second room exactly like it. when it's fully operational, it will house 1,000 tons of fish. the factory is fully automated and staffing is minimal. the company is hoping to produce its first batch of caviar for the retail market in the latter part of 2012. oh, wow. to kick start the process, royal caviar was gifted 22 sturgeon that are already producing eggs. >> they will give around 10% of their body mass as eggs. >> reporter: the fish is siberian sturgeon, accustomed to arctic waters here in one of the hottest parts of the world, the company must carefully regulate the temperatures. >> when you think about it, you either have to heat or cool a factory. we never have to heat this factory. as you might have to do in germany or north america but certainly we do have to cool it. >> reporter: even with the cost of cooling, the company aims to keep maintenance down to about 2% to 3% of expenditure. it's also hoping to compete with the world's other top caviar producers. >> what drove the whole project in the first place was an incredible global supply and demand imbalance. we think that the -- there's probably a demand for some 400 tons of caviar that is unmet by current supply. we will absorb, perhaps 10% of that supply and demand imbalance. >> reporter: the company is still about four years from reaching full capacity. only then can the facility truly achieve its royal ambitions. leoni lakhani for "marketplace middle east," abu dhabi. for more about the program, visit our website, cnn.com/mme or siene your comments via e-mail to mme@cnn.com. you can check out our web page in arabic as well, arabic.cnn.com/mme. and that's all for this edition of cnn "marketplace middle east." this week from the grand mosque in abu dhabi. i'm john defterios. we'll see you next week.