Transcripts For CNBC Street Signs 20180124 : vimarsana.com

With a clear message with treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin and wilbur ross telling delegates that trade war is a thought every single day but confirming that nafta talks are reopening. The president of colombia, Juan Manuel Santos joins other political leaders in warning the u. S. Against protectionism it will hurt everybody, especially the u. S shares for suez plummet as the french utility firm slashes its earnings forecast. We speak to the ceo in davos later today. Weve got a packed show for you, live from davos today well be joined by james young in a bit talking about tourism over in china. Hes a cofounder and chairman of the largest travel platform over in china. Well be joined by the ceo of jll, talking about property markets lobally. The ceo of Mueller Maersk will join us later on as well as president of the European Investment bank. Well wrap up with the ceo of russof tomorrow youll be joined live tomorrow when you have this panel. We have the panel lined up. We have the uk chancellor on the panel, larry fink will be up there. We have Christine Lagarde and Steve Mnuchin who has made a splash as he arrived talking about the prospects of the Trump Administration Going Forward all of these people will be on the panel that will happen around 11 00 tomorrow. Earlier today you had a chance to sit down with the italian Prime Minister, talking about the elections coming up, also questions about whether, in fact, he would form a coalition with the former leader, Silvio Berlusconi absolutely. I began by asking the Prime Minister about what the impact would be of a Hung Parliament. At the moment, as you look at the polls, that looks like the most likely outcome. Italy has had a decent period in recent years coming out of the funk of the Global Financial crisis what would a Hung Parliament mean for policymaking and stability . Lets listen to what he had to say. We hope that this will not be the case, and that the center left that i represent will have a majority in any case, i think well be the pillar of a possible coalition in our country we have a certain expertise in flexible, ility in politics in country. What is clear is that, one, the populist antieu position will not prevail. And second that italy will keep its stability. You know, we had frequent change in governments in my country, but if you look to fundamentals of our foreign policy, of our economy, we are a very, very stable country given theres so much at stake, if the centerright wins, the coalition of mr. Berlusconi, but they need you to form a government, would you be willing to do that well, you know, to this direct question the answer is no but the fact is that the centerright coalition in italy is a coalition among very different positions. So we have two parts of this coalition. One is a conservative party. The other one the other two are populist antieu parties i think that this coalition will not stay in place. If there is a form of coalition that would leave you in position as Prime Minister, would you be willing to take on that responsibility you know, this is something not for me to decide its something that due to our electoral load will be decided by electoral results because the elections are always fundamental. You cant discuss a government before elections with this kind of low we have a mostly proportionate low. After the electionwe will need and have a government. Our president of the republic will evaluate the situation. Let me be clear on this im not asking you to prejudge the italian election outcome you cant do that. It wouldnt be right for you to do that. But what i do need to ask you, is there any reason you would be unwilling to serve if the outcome required you to remain in office or, indeed, any coalition invited you to remain in office . Is there any reason you would not accept that responsibility im in good health, but my commitment was 13 months ago to try to bring the country to the end of our legislature, continuing reforms and addressing a couple of serious crisis on migration, on the Banking System this was my commitment, and the commitment ends with the elections. After the elections, we will see. I read that as a no, i dont rule it out, but well wait and see what the ultimate outcome is correct im positive on the fact that you have good health and you have the stamina to continue leading. Prime minister gentiloni being frank with me, given the fact we are weeks away from this italian election taking place. Couple other issues i pressed on one on migration italy has borne a tremendous murderen taking these boatloads of african migrants from their own countries. Mr. Gentiloni saying brussels was not as effective as they could have been helping out with that and i talked about the state of the Italian Economy and the Banking System they will probably do 1. 6 gdp growth this year, which is not where other countries in the eurozone are but thats not too bad right now. Debt stock is an issue npls are an issue, but mr. Gentiloni says the banking crisis in italy is behind us, not ahead of us, we have got there and cleared up the system here hes optimistic that the economy now has momentum to grow certainly a wideranging interview. For now the focus on that election coming up absolutely. He made it clear he wouldnt go into a coalition with the centerright but we will see. Italian politics tend to be fluid. You did try to press him there. Thanks for that. Geoff cutmore joining me here on the back of that interview with the italian Prime Minister President Trump will host Frances Emanuel macron in Washington White House Officials Say trump will hold a state visit for the french president in late april it will be the first state visit of trumps presidency. Macron rolled out the red carpet for the president last year in frances bastille Day Celebrations we will bring you the keynote speech from the french president coming up later today here it Takes Center Stage in the afternoon. The white house delegation has arrived in davos treasury secretary Steve Mnuchin kicked off talks with a bang saying a weaker dollar is good for america. He was joined by commerce secretary wilbur ross who said nafta talks were reopening last night gary cohn said trumps message would be that America First does not mean america alone. Were going to the World Economic forum to share President Trumps economic story and to tell the world that america is open for business we want the world to invest in america and to create jobs for hardworking americans President Trumps economic agenda has unleashed the u. S. Economy and were growing. Despite that message from the white house, there has been an outcry, a collective outcry here at davos over the Trump Administrations latest protectionist measures, slapping tariffs on solar imports speaking this morning, ceos and policymakers emphasizing the importance of open trade global trade is a great and important mechanism for Economic Growth so when you start to implement tariffs, you have to be careful about unintended consequences. The u. S. Economy is very strong that is an excellent sign. Its an excellent sign for Companies Like ourselves doing business in the u. S. , but also for the rest of the world. U. S. Will continue its very resilient, this growth the tax reform which has been long awaited, has been a further positive impact on the economy well have to see the details are still being worked out some definitions, the consistency with wto, consistency with other International Arrangements its early days. Chinese firms found themselves facing a an increasingly negative sentiment from the u. S. Amid rising tariffs, a clamp down in intellectual property and recent moves to block crossborder deals. Some firms are staying optimistic about Growth Opportunities in america including chinese tech giant bayu. Im concerned about some of the chinese sentiment. Its detrimental to china, detrimental to the u. S. And the rest of the world. I dont have a specific deal blocked by this. But overall i believe that no borders in technology, talent, or trade there should not be friction cro and we are now joined on set here the ceo of another Big Tech Company of china james yang is cofounder of sea trip, the Largest Online travel agent in china great to have you on today i want to get your response. A lot of conversations at davos with the Chinese Companies is just how concerned you are about the rhetoric coming out of washington last year we heard talk. This year weve seen some actions start to take place. Yesterday the white house lobbying these tariffs against the imports of solar panels as well as washing machines as somebody who has ambitions in the u. S. , how concerned are you about the tensions the consumer part of business is more in the outbound part of the business every country will welcome Chinese Tourists its not affecting us much 6 million chinese citizens traveled to europe alone last year globally the numbers are soaring. You have a report out tracking the changing habits here what kind of shift have you seen among chinese travelers along with the growing income . Well, certainly we see, especially in the u. S. And europe, the numbers really are encouraging. The Chinese Tourists have always been the Fastest Growing sector of the market. In the past asia has been growing fast, but the last few years more ma chir markture marh u. S. And europe, weve seen fast growth in those markets. You last year acquired a startup in california. That raised some questions about perhaps that was your first inroad into the u. S. What ambitions do you have for the u. S. Market . You are prepared to take on the expedias and pricelines . Yeah. Mostly its Outbound Travel, because we are doing so well with Outbound Travel in many markets, not just in u. S. , asia, europe, we have best of the supplier and product coverage in those markets. Tease are the same products not just visited by chinese but other tourists in the world. For these markets we have a good chance to succeed. For example, we are doing very well in hong kong, korea, japan, and those tourists, they come to china or come to other parts of the world, we have the best products this is more of a play to go after the dollars coming out of asia, not necessarily trying to go after american travelers. Well, if they come to asia, they come to china, we usually have the best products we certainly have the deepest product coverage and most competitive price. Actually the u. S. To china, u. S. To asia demand has been very healthy for ctrip and this part of the market is growing as well you released a book recently that argues that the aging demographic in china is bad for innovation you could argue some ceos of Tech Companies could disagree with that argument what do you mean by that china has made no secret about their ambitions on the tech front, yet the reality is because of the onechild policy you are facing this wave of aging citizens i think the fact that the age of the demographics, the size of the population, especially young population is critical for innovation the reason china has been so successful in the last decade because its a huge young cohort of innovators. Going forward, china will still enjoy 10, 20 years of healthy demographics those people were born in 80s, they are a huge cohort they will become a prime age of inno vague in tvation in the 30s but because onechild policy was strictly enforced in the 90s, so after 2030, 2040, you have a much smaller cohort. Overall demographics of the chinese work force will become much older by that time china will hit a speed bump great to you have on the set today. You can follow much more of our coverage here from davos online across the nbc platforms and our social media platforms well continue our coverage live from davos coming up, the ceo of jll, Christian Ulbrich. Street signs will be right back any object. Any surface. If youve got a life you gotta swiffer you myour joints. Thing for your heart. Or your digestion. So why wouldnt you take something for the most important part of you. Your brain. With an ingredient originally found in jellyfish, prevagen is now the number one selling brain Health Supplement in drug stores nationwide. Prevagen. The name to remember. Welcome back to street signs. Tomorrow theresa may takes the stage here at davos. Business leaders will be looking for more clarity on the Prime Minister on the next steps for brexit weve been asking our guests here about the impact of all the uncertainty. We still live with uncertainty. The government has made some good inroads, and by the end of the First Quarter in the uk were hoping that the government will have some more clarity as to whether there will be an implementation period beyond march of 2019. This will give some comfort to business, but its not going to be providing Legal Certainty we will continue to operate plants, activities in the uk but if we were to make a strategic investment, we would be cautious. The trade environment is uncertain. I totally respect, obviously, the british peoples decision, but i think it is evident, at least for the italian public opinion, that it was not a good choice for uk. The choice has been taken, we respect, we cooperate. To talk much more about brexit as well as other factors affecting the Global Property markets, we are joined by Christian Ulbrich, ceo of jll. Lets start on brexit. Theres no question the uncertainty surrounding the entire process has affected property markets what are you seeing now in terms of where the decisions are being made and how certain people are about the direction the uk will take postbrexit i mean, there is still a strong element of uncertainty. We saw that after the vote in 2016, where the market really stalled. In 2017, we saw a bit of a rebound because people had to play catch up with their decisions. The real impact is still to come i would be quite cautious on the outlook for 2018 you cant just leave a market of 500 Million Consumers without having an impact so real estate is a longterm investment, so people will be cautious to take decisions Going Forward. In 2017 we saw a lot of money coming from hong kong into the safe haven of london, which was not brexit related that was just the safe haven element. Now as the whole date is coming closer, the impact of brexit will become more into real estate again you talk about the money coming in from asia. Youre talking about the top 30 cities index london overtook new york as the biggest global city for investments. Aside from the money coming in from asia, what other factors are people seeing in putting their money in what is an uncertain market london is the global city we have a great governance, very strong legal system. Strong transparency in that market so these factors will still be there after a brexit so that has been a big driver in 2017 but Going Forward, you will see that the economy will have an impact now, the uk on its own will have the opportunity to drive the regulation, the tax system, so there will still be a strong influx of money, but in absolute terms, they will kind of lose out against other global cities. One other thing i thought was interesting in this index, investors doing cities by regional clusters. Theyre looking at it in a more scientific way what shifts are you seeing on that front how much of that is driven by the workplace . By these companies perhaps moving away from some of the big cities if you are a leader of a city, you have to look at the benchmarks the benchmark of london is not manchester or birmingham t could be singapore, paris or new york. You have to look at your benchmark. You look at your tech clusters, talent plays an Important Role for cities futures Going Forward. You have to attract the best talent in. Ten years ago the talent would move to the company, today the company has to move to the talent so companies have to analyze where do they find the best talent thats where they have to move to thats driven by clusters so when looking at the silicon valley, you have Companies Competing for talent in the silicon valley, but you also see now talent moving into houston so companies have to move to houston. Thats a comparison for that type of talent that is a big shift. When you look at the moves last year, real estate prices globally, on the back of a tough year here for property funds, especially given that so much money was poured into the equity markets. Theres a sense that things could be getting more frothy do you see the pendulum swinging back especially in the u. S. Where perhaps commercial real estate is expected to be a big beneficiary of the trump tax reform ye