Big Take Asia

Latest Episodes:

Carry Trades, Explained Sep 03, 2024

Show notes

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 - Bloomberg
Watch, from Bloomberg Originals: Why Japan’s Yen is So Volatile

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Humans and AI Bots Blur in the World's Call Center Capital Aug 27, 2024

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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.

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Inside Southeast Asia’s Most Notorious Crime Hub Aug 19, 2024

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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 City
Watch, from Bloomberg Originals: How One Man Rules in Asia's Golden Triangle

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After a Deadly Student Uprising, Bangladesh Starts Over, Again Aug 13, 2024

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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.

Yunus Cleared in Graft Case After Becoming Bangladesh Leader

Further listening:

Why This Nobel Prize Winner Faces Life Imprisonment in Bangladesh

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$200 Billion, Four Heirs And One Mighty Indian Empire Aug 04, 2024

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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 Persists
Further listening: The Rise of Modi: Why India’s Leader Is So Popular – and Polarizing

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Japan’s Small Businesses Have a Problem. They Don’t Know How to Raise Prices Jul 29, 2024

Show notes

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.

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K-Pop's Big Bet on Becoming Less Korean Jul 23, 2024

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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.

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Why This Nobel Prize Winner Faces Life Imprisonment in Bangladesh Jul 16, 2024

Show notes

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.

Big Money Backs Tiny Loans That Lead to Debt, Despair and Even Suicide

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The Chinese Coffee Chain Beating Starbucks Jul 09, 2024

Show notes

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.

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

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Why China’s Investment Bankers Are Breaking Up With Capitalism Jul 02, 2024

Show notes

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.
Read More: China’s Investment Bankers Join the Communist Party as Morale (and Paychecks) Shrink
Further listening: What Does China’s Economic Slowdown Mean For the Communist Party?

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