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First Move with Julia Chatterley
More than a Hundred Lives Lost and More Missing in Northern Europe Due to Floods; DiDi, the Chinese Tech Giant's Offices Visited by more than Seven Regulatory Agencies; Hong Kong Hazard, President Biden Set to Warn on the Risks of Doing Business. Aired 9-10a ET
Aired July 16, 2021 - 09:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
[09:00:08]
JULIA CHATTERLEY, CNN BUSINESS ANCHOR, FIRST MOVE: FIRST MOVE and here is your need-to-know.
Fatal flooding. More than 100 lives lost and more missing in Northern Europe.
DiDi drama. The Chinese tech giant's offices visited by more than seven regulatory agencies.
And Hong Kong hazard. President Biden set to warn on the risks of doing business.
It's Friday. Let's make a move.
Welcome again to Friday's FIRST MOVES and what a week it has been. Elon Musk is tired of the global CEO rat race, global inflation is rising at a
troubling pace. First, Branson; now Bezo's blasting off to near space, and DiDi's down again with more regulators on their case, I'm not done yet.
Let's cut to the chase. Now, I'm done.
Investors chasing U.S. stocks higher. Europe is mixed, wrapping up a pretty unsettling week, I think for global investors. But we have seen a solid
start to U.S. earnings season, that of course led by the banks and there is optimism over solid second quarter Chinese growth, too.
Newly released data also showing U.S. retail sales rising 0.6 percent last month. We were actually expecting a second month straight to drop, but
sales are still not back to April's levels as weaker auto sales are still weighing and it's not a demand issue. We have to make this clear. People
want to buy cars. It's just that there's a supply chain blockage. There's an issue there. And that demand is therefore forcing prices higher.
Fed Chair, Jay Powell assuring Congress once again yesterday that this is all temporary and that he won't cut support anytime soon, even as Treasury
Secretary Janet Yellen sees, quote "several more months of rapid inflation."
The Bank of England though, not so sanguine, too. BoE officials now warning that it may be time to start cutting bond buying, perhaps as soon as next
month as U.K. inflation comes in hot, too. No chance though of a similar jolt over in Japan. The Bank of Japan cutting its growth forecast again
today a week before the Olympic Games begins amid the ongoing Tokyo COVID state of emergency. Japan and China finishing the week lower and the
continued concern over rising COVID rates in the region.
All right, let's get to the drivers and to our top story today.
More than 100 people have died following devastating floods in several countries in Western Europe. You are seeing video taken from Germany, where
the worst flooding has taken place. Authorities say hundreds more people remain unaccounted for.
Melissa Bell is in Liege in Eastern Belgium, another badly affected nation. Oh, wow, and I can see you Melissa, you're actually on a boat going down
the street. Just talk us through what you're seeing and how you're having to travel here, I can see it.
MELISSA BELL, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, this is a street that has become a river as you say, Julian and it shows -- it you gives you a small idea of
where the water levels are even now in Liege.
This is nothing compared though to how high they got in some parts of this region. We're just taking part now in a rescue operation with these members
of the French Military who have been sent over here with their equipment, these special little boats that can be towed in and out of water fairly
recently to reach people that they hadn't been able to reach before.
In other parts of this area, what we've seen this morning, the little village we just came from is water levels that really reached a halfway of
the houses and the insides of the houses really turned around devastated. People slowly coming back and trying to take stock of what are essentially
their ruined homes, their ruined livelihoods, and I think beyond the question of the individual tragedies that we're seeing here this morning,
the beginning of an understanding of the scale of this catastrophe across Belgium and across Germany, but also affecting parts of the Netherlands.
The sheer quantities of water that have been unleashed through the waterways in those parts, really bringing chaos and devastation to so many
people.
Another major problem that they're having here with the rescue operations are the communications being cut. In so many parts of this area, there is
no electricity, there's no water, the phone signals don't get through, and that of course is making efforts harder. And of course it's made it harder
also, Julia, just to get a sense of how badly damaged these places were.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, I can see that and I think some people, if they've just joined us will be looking and saying, hang on a second. There are people
walking around there in Wellington boots. It doesn't look that deep, but I guess this is how they're trying to keep people dry and rescuing them from
their homes.
BELL: And it is from here, Julia that we can head out onto the main river to get to the people who couldn't get out at all.
So, the idea is that they stop and rescue people along the way who haven't been able to make it back to the city center, but then people further down
the river who have no access at all and have been completely cut off.
[09:05:13]
BELL: We've seen people being rescued from their top floor apartments. But again, this is an effort that's just getting underway and what we heard
from the locals in the village, even more cut off than here in Liege where we were earlier on, they were saying look, as these waters rose
dramatically on Wednesday, really rising very fast and very high furiously submerging the village, very little help was seen.
And I think that's something we've heard from officials as well, recognizing locally, the President of the Vilonia Region we are in
recognizing that the Army, the Civil Defense people simply didn't have the equipment they needed to get involved as quickly as they should have been
able to do.
CHATTERLEY: Your point, days' and weeks' worth of rain in just a few hours and everyone caught off guard.
Melissa Bell, thank you so much for that report there over in Belgium.
All right, let's move on. DiDi drama. More pain for investors. The stock down a further five percent premarket. China's cybersecurity regulator has
confirmed multiple additional regulators visited the offices of the ride hailing company earlier today.
Clare Sebastian joins us now and has been tracking this, and Clare, and I was just looking through the whole list of the individual agencies that
have gone in there. The Ministry of State Security, I believe. I mean, some of these agencies actually look for criminal activity, perhaps too, I
believe.
CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Yes, Julia, it's been 17 days since the IPO, 17 days of the mounting pressure on DiDi. But even within
that context, this is a significant moment. You see that reflected in the share price. Obviously, we saw the initial sort of 30 percent drop from the
peak in the wake of the cybersecurity review, the app being pulled from App Stores.
But the stock had recovered a little bit after that, and now we see it plummeting again in premarket. And that is, as you say, because we now have
an onsite service security review going on, seven different agencies, the range of different agencies, very significant and everything from the
Ministry of State Security, which conducts counterespionage activities.
As you say, the Ministry of Transport, various others. The State Administration for Market Regulation, and of course, the Cybersecurity
Administration of China, which is the one that is in charge of their cybersecurity review. That speaks not only to how seriously China is taking
this, but also the range of data that DiDi holds, which, of course, is at the core of concerns for China.
And of course, they didn't have to put out a statement saying, you know, we did this. Seven agencies went and did this. They could have done it on the
quiet. But I think they're trying to do it publicly to send a warning shot, all part of the broader crackdown that we're seeing on these tech companies
-- Julia.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, they want the visibility here, Clare. I couldn't agree more with you on that point.
It was interesting. I was watching some of the price action in in Asia overnight, and I did see the broader markets recovered some of their
ground, and there was a report suggesting that companies going public in the future in Hong Kong might not face the same level of scrutiny from
regulators that companies wanting to go public in the United States might face admittedly just reports, but it is and does present perhaps an
argument for staying away from the United States, but also perhaps a closer or more close alignment between Hong Kong and China, which, of course, is
something you and I have discussed in the past.
What do we make of those reports? And did you see some of that, too?
SEBASTIAN: Yes, Julia, this is a report from Bloomberg, citing unnamed sources that they say that perhaps there might be an exemption from this
cyber security review requirement. It's a new requirement, but which was actually announced last week for companies with more than a million users
to go through a cybersecurity review from the Cyber Security Administration of China before listing overseas.
There's a suggestion that might that exempt listings in Hong Kong, suggesting that China wants to bring these tech companies to markets closer
to home, worried again, about data. And that was why, you know, it was surprising that we saw a tweet this morning, Julia, from the spokesperson
for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, saying: "The global digital economy is an open and close-knit entity." She said, "Win-win cooperation is the only
right way forward while a closed door policy exclusion, confrontation, and division would only lead to a dead end."
Surprising because, of course, all these actions combined, of course, with new regulatory pressure on Chinese listings in the U.S., as well suggests
the opposite, suggests that the two countries are sort of edging towards more of a decoupling.
So, it's sort of interesting mixed messages from the Chinese authorities today.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, we're already there, I think on the splinter net and the digital divide. Whether it's true or not, the battle lines I think are
being ever more firmly drawn. Clare Sebastian, thank you so much for that.
And on that point, let's go to Washington now where the White House is planning to warn American companies about the risks of doing business in
Hong Kong.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOE BIDEN (D), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: The situation in Hong Kong is deteriorating, and the Chinese government is not keeping this commitment
made, how would it deal with Hong Kong? And so it is more of an advisory as to what happen in Hong Kong.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
[09:10:14]
CHATTERLEY: And John Harwood joins us for more. John, it's always great to get your perspective on these things. My understanding is, is that it is
going to be guidance for U.S. firms, rather than any sort of action directed towards Beijing.
JOHN HARWOOD, CNN WHITE HOUSE CORRESPONDENT: That's right. It's not going to be a mandate on American business. It's just the United States
government officially reflecting the fact that as Joe Biden said, the situation is deteriorating in Hong Kong, and that the Chinese government
can expect consequences from that in terms of the attitude of the United States and American firms.
You know, China promised when it took control of Hong Kong from Britain in 1997, fifty years of continuation of conditions in Hong Kong. As President
Biden said, they have not abided by that. And they've been facing pro- democracy protests, they've cracked down on that. And it's a reflection of the broader rising tension between the United States and China, and the
United States is going to respond.
CHATTERLEY: And President Biden said it yesterday in that presser, too, with Angela Merkel, that they simply aren't meeting their commitments. It's
almost like a reality check of the situation that we find ourselves, and quite interesting that virtually, at least, President Biden and President
Xi are going to meet at the APEC Summit, of course, in the coming hours as well.
It's going to be interesting to see what comes of that in light of messages as we were just hearing there from Clare Sebastian, saying, look, we don't
want this digital divide, and we have to work together. And yet, it's simply not the reality that we're seeing.
HARWOOD: Well, it's like, Julia, the situation with respect to Russia. There are going to be areas of profound disagreement, and President Biden
has framed his administration as part of an effort to demonstrate that democracy is a superior system to authoritarianism. That's a fundamental
difference.
And you've got very specific differences with Russia over NATO and Ukraine and with China over economic competition, military in the South China Sea,
military -- a potential military confrontation. At the same time, there are areas they need to work together with adversaries, climate change and COVID
being two of the most prominent ones.
So, how President Biden manages that dialogue with President Xi is going to be a drama worth watching the rest of the year.
CHATTERLEY: We like watching dramas. Listen, we can explain them.
John Harwood, thank you so much for that. Great to have you with us, and have a good weekend.
All right, let me bring you up to speed now with some of the other stories making headlines around the world.
The Haitian-American doctor accused of plotting to assassinate Haiti's President had outwardly been planning a peaceful entry into Haitian
politics according to a source. Instead, Colombian Police say Christian Sanon secretly recruited men who knew their goal was to execute the
President.
CNN has obtained a new video that shows the alleged assassins as they tried to elude capture several hours after the attack on President Moise.
Our Matt Rivers reports from Port-au-Prince.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MATT RIVERS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: More recently we became aware of a clip of a live stream that was taken the day that President
Jovenel Moise was assassinated several hours after he was assassinated. This clip is made the rounds here in Haiti quite a bit, but it hasn't
really been given a lot of attention internationally, especially by international media.
And what it shows really is enlightening in terms of exactly what happened in the hours after President Jovenel Moise was assassinated.
RIVERS (voice over): Just hours after Haiti's President was killed, this video livestreamed by a local journalist shows some of the men accused of
killing him. Here you can see two of the Colombian mercenaries that officials say were part of the hit squad.
The first man is holding a rifle and signals for the journalist to stop. A second then stands up, rifle glinting in the sun. They tell him to stop
recording.
At this point, Haitian security forces had trapped the two dozen or so alleged assassins along this stretch of road. At the bottom, a roadblock,
then the lookouts with the majority of the suspects holed up in this building.
Moving up the street and past the vehicles the suspects had abandoned on the road, the camera reaches that building. As it pans, you can see two
things: several black clad mercenaries and this man; one of the two Haitian-Americans accused of taking part in the crime. At this moment, he
is actually giving a live interview to Haiti Radio Mega saying they didn't kill the President.
"Someone died but we didn't do it," he says. People inside the President's house started to shoot at us and we fired back to defend ourselves.
He then says most of the group believed they were going to arrest the President, not kill him.
The journalist who filmed them, Mahayko Senesha (ph) who didn't want to show his face said the group didn't seem to have a plan.
[09:15:12]
RIVERS (voice over): He says, they knew they were in a tough position and knew the President was dead. They were confused, not sure whether to turn
themselves in or fight.
Ultimately, some chose to fight and a fear shootout with police left at least three Colombians dead. The easiest way to tell who actually killed
the President would be to see the footage from CCTV cameras inside the presidential residence that a source tells us captured most of what
happened. But authorities have refused to release it or even describe its contents.
RIVERS (on camera): We know that there is CCTV footage from the presidential residence the night of the assassination. Why not release that
footage to the public? Would that not answer so many outstanding questions about who did this?
LEON CHARLES, HAITI NATIONAL POLICE CHIEF: So, we cannot reveal to the public, anything, any more information until the investigator allow us to
do so.
RIVERS (on camera): Now, I also got the chance to ask the Chief of the Haitian National Police about the fact that we haven't heard from any of
the alleged suspects in this case that are detained at this moment, including the Colombians that are currently detained in Haiti.
And I asked him when we'll be able to hear from those detainees. What have they officially been charged with? Do they have legal representation? He
didn't answer really any of those questions and because of that, our questions will remain about exactly what the motive behind all this
actually is.
Matt Rivers, CNN, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: Amid public frustration with government and political infighting in Lebanon, Prime Minister designate Saad Hariri is stepped down
nine months after being tasked with forming the country's next government.
Hariri says he has resigned because the President didn't accept his proposed Cabinet.
Coming up here on FIRST MOVE, rebuilding South Africa, the global superstar DJ and producer from Durban, Black Coffee joins us to discuss.
Plus a real winner in remote learning boom, the CEO of Ed Tech unicorn GoStudent talks about transforming the world of tutoring. That's all coming
up. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to FIRST MOVE. Following days of violence in South Africa, authority say calm is returning to several cities with the
deployment of 25,000 troops to help end some of the worst unrest in years.
At least 117 people have lost their lives in the unrest, which saw widespread looting and destruction.
CNN's David McKenzie asked the country's President how the government will now respond.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Mr. President, ordinary citizens have taken the law into their own hands, and they feel let down by
the state. Why did it take so long to secure these regions?
CYRIL RAMAPHOSA, SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT: Yes, ordinary citizens have felt that they need to defend -- to defend their areas, to defend their assets.
And we welcome -- we welcome the fact that ordinary citizens are working together with the Security Forces standing up not only to defend their own
assets, but they are also defending our democracy, because they can see that this is an assault on the democratic situation that we have in our
country.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CHATTERLEY: Among those hoping the South African President and the government will help address the causes of some of this unrest is Nathi
Maphumulo. He is the globally renowned DJ, producer, songwriter, and singer, better known as Black Coffee. He is a major name on the global club
circuit and a huge promoter of South Africa and an African music talent, and also an investor in some of the nation's top tech startups.
In a tweet, he said, "After all the chaos, I hope the spirit of true South Africans emerge," and goes on to say, "I hope our government shows up."
And I'm very happy to say he joins us now. Nathi, fantastic to have you on the show. Thank you so much for joining us.
I mentioned there, I mean, in my own personal opinion, you're a brilliant music producer and talent in your own right. But you've also stepped up
here to say, look, something needs to be done. I think you heard what the President said there. What do you think needs to be done? And what is your
view of what we've seen in recent days?
NKOSINATHI MAPHUMULO, SOUTH AFRICAN DJ AND PRODUCER: We are kind of like in a different pandemic, you know, we have like two pandemics happening.
One is what's happening globally, which is COVID, and we just have our own internal issue as a country. And what we've seen happening is coming
straight from people not satisfied, you know, which is -- it is understandable, we are a very young democracy, you know, we are very, we
are very young.
And this is part of the journey, I think this is stuff that's still going to happen until we get to the right place. You know, our government is a
new government, there's been so many mistakes that have been made by the government.
You know, and my tweet was basically -- when I'm saying, "I hope they show up," it's more about not just showing up in cleaning and fixing, it's just
showing up for real. You know, I just feel like, there's a lot of stuff that needs to be changed about the country, including the Constitution.
You know, and I mean, that far. You know, I just hope that we deal with the real problems, not just COVID, not just like immediate hunger. I just hope,
like we fix the economy, and just the standard in the level of living is way different for people of South Africa and it needs to be addressed.
CHATTERLEY: Talk about some of those mistakes. And you know, you don't have to get into the politics if you don't want to. To your point, it's
sort of more fundamental than that. Talk about some of the changes that you hope, and I think a lot of people that perhaps voted, hoped that this
government and this President could perhaps address.
MAPHUMULO: Not just my country, I just always felt like just Africa as a whole or rather, the African part deserves an equal opportunity, you know,
and we've seen this for many years. That's why the continent lacks in developing faster, because we will rather take a contract, give a contract
to an outsider of the continent, an outsider meaning, a European company that obviously has the knowhow and experience, but what that does is, it
limits chances for our own people.
And we've seen this happening even in South Africa, and they've tried different things. They have tried introducing the beginning to meet
everyone halfway, but it's just been slow. You know, one of the things the local people were crying for is the people that were defending a very big
mall in South Africa called Maponya Mall.
[09:25:14]
MAPHUMULO: They were complaining about how everything there is still -- they've defended the mall. The companies that have all the jobs and all the
contracts are not there to defend, it is the local people defending. It is the community defending. But tomorrow when everything goes back to normal,
the locals, the community don't have the contracts in the mall. The contracts are held by people who are not in the community.
And that's how you start fixing the problems, you know, where you allow people in the community to be in charge of their communities, you know, in
the infrastructures, in the contracts, and everything that happens around, and then they will defend and they will make sure it prospers.
At the moment, people don't feel like they're destroying their own. They feel like they're destroying what's been there and what's not theirs, even
though somehow it benefits them.
You know, I think that's where the disconnect is mostly.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, it does feel like a disconnect, and I know and I've watched -- I watch you on social media and there is sort of a cleanup
operation going on now. And this is many small businesses that do belong to ordinary South Africans that got damaged and got destroyed. So, there's a
balance here, too, isn't there? There's this sense that South African people need to feel ownership somehow in the things that they're trying to
grow and trying to build at the same time.
And I don't want to be an outsider in some way, patronizing, and I don't think anybody does. It's this balance of providing help, support, and
encouragement, but at the same time, people feeling that sense of ownership there.
MAPHUMULO: Yes, I mean, I've spent the weekend in New York, the Fourth of July weekend, and I was telling a friend of mine, I was so jealous to see
how Americans take their Freedom Day seriously, like, it felt like New Year's Eve, you know, and stuff like that is so powerful, because it unites
the nation.
You know, people always remember and know and become more patriotic to be where they are from, you know. And we look at ours, you know, this is
something small, but it's also big, because if we are as patriotic as other people, we know how to be firm and strong.
And by a patriotic, I don't mean black or white, I mean, all of us, you know, like, if you are proudly South African, you will know what will
damage you, you know, and you will not do what will damage you or your country or the economy for that matter. Everyone will try to deal with
problems the right way.
CHATTERLEY: You know, it's funny, there will be people watching this going, you know, what America has challenges of its own, every nation has
its challenges, whether it's the economy, not doing enough for people.
I want to end on a good note, because you are impassioned, and you are talking about rebuilding and we can see that and that is taking place right
now.
You're an amazing export. You are investing in domestic talent, whether it's music talent, producing talent, tech talent, and small companies as
well. There are amazing things going on in South Africa and just talk to me about how great it is to be back on the road, to be able to be back on the
road and doing some of the things that you love. And as someone who is a representative of what is incredible talent in many spheres in South
Africa.
MAPHUMULO: It's so amazing to be back. You know, one of the things that was being affected was me continuing investing. You know, I have a very
soft spot for the continent, you know, and the growth. And like I said, giving our people opportunities.
You know, I think we are one of the countries that has one of the biggest potentials to be something much greater. I just can't wait for us to get to
a space where we are able to govern ourselves. And you know, and when I cry, when I tweet, you know, it's not from a political point of view. It's
-- you know, it's not -- I'm not a member of any political party.
It's from a South African who is concerned about the future of a country, you know, a South African who is very passionate about the country and its
people you know. And we have one of the most beautiful people in the world.
Everyone who has been to my country will tell you, you know, and I often get embarrassed to even tweet about our issues because I have this
following of the entire world watching, and I feel like I'm airing our dirty laundry, you know to the world and people are going to start
questioning our country, and then they will not go to our country because they are like, oh, so you guys are burning houses, we're not going to go
there.
But then there's times where I'm like, okay, I really need to speak up, you know, and this was one of them, you know, where I just felt like, I need to
do something. And we're not even calling -- this is not a matter of calling international media. It's our internal thing that needs to be sorted. You
know, because we are destroying ourselves. You know what I mean? But I'm very passionate, and it's unfortunate that I mean, I'm even here talking
about our dirty laundry, you know, to the world. You know, and I'm hoping we're going to fix things and eventually become a strong nation.
CHATTERLEY: So much potential. I have been to your beautiful nation and it has incredible potential. We believe. Nathi, fantastic to have you on the
show. Come back and talk about more fun things soon, please. And we hope you get the progress you're asking for.
MAPHUMULO: Thank you.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, the DJ/producer, Black Coffee. Great to have you with us. Thank you.
And keep raising your voice. I think that's the other thing. The other message there.
We're back after this. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:34:31]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to FIRST MOVE, and it's another First MOVE Friday, a firmer Friday, in fact on Wall Street. The U.S. reporting a
strong retail sales pop as consumers still go out to eat and shop. Airlines moving higher, too. President Biden may soon lift restrictions on Europeans
traveling to the United States that was discussed between Angela Merkel and himself yesterday.
Tech merger speculation is helping nurture the NASDAQ, too. Reports say Intel is in talks to buy rival chipmaker, GlobalFoundries for some $30
billion -- a deal that represents Intel's biggest corporate purchase ever.
[09:35:09]
CHATTERLEY: GlobalFoundries had recently been planning to go public, too. If you remember we asked them on the show. I think the antitrust guys might
have a problem with that. But perhaps with strategic importance, they'll get away with it.
To an ill-fated IPO now, however, and another day of DiDi dumping. Beijing officials swarming the offices of the ride-hailing app, an intensification
of China's ongoing cyber crackdown, as we've already discussed, already on the show. The big risk that officials are building a criminal case. DiDi
has fallen some 12 percent since going public on the New York Stock Exchange last month, and that's the performance there.
And another momentous Moderna moment. Shares of their COVID vaccine maker are higher on news that it will soon be added to the S&P 500 index higher
by almost seven percent as you can see.
Now, the world's biggest sporting event is now just one week away. The Games are still in go despite COVID cases reaching a six-month high in the
Japanese capital. Some athletes are also having to quarantine due to testing positive or coming into contact with someone that has.
CNN's Blake Essig joins us live now from Tokyo.
Blake, great to have you with us. And actually, this is something that I hadn't considered. You can vaccinate all the Olympic athletes, but if they
come into contact with somebody around them that tests positive, then they have to go into quarantine and how do they train? How do they follow their
strict diets under those conditions? It seems like it's becoming a challenge.
BLAKE ESSIG, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, you know, Julia, there's no question that these Olympic Games are going to test these
athletes, not only on the -- whether, you know, in competition, but preparing for competition.
Again, I mean, they could come into contact with somebody, you know, whether it's in the dining hall or at the gym that could potentially knock
them out of competition. Of course, now, the decision to ban all spectators for roughly 97 percent of Olympic events will also play a role, especially
for those athletes who feed off the crowd's energy. You know there's a lot of potential issues surrounding what these athletes are going to have to
deal with, and the lack of spectators is responsible for some of those people like Australian tennis star, Nick Kyrgios to actually withdraw from
The Games because he says playing without spectators just doesn't feel right.
So yes, as you said, Julia, a lot of -- there are a number of hurdles that these athletes are going to have to deal with in the build up to The Games,
and then once The Games actually take place here in about seven days.
CHATTERLEY: Yes, in addition to the stress of simply competing and wanting to be at the top of your game. Now speaking of someone being at the top of
their game, we were 50/50, or at least he said he was, Novak Djokovic after he won the Wimbledon final about going to the Olympics, and it now seems
he's confirmed he will be there.
ESSIG: Yes, you know, I mean, look, when you hear of, you know, some athletes dropping out and then you hear of a guy like Nick Djokovic that's
going to actually show up and the potential for a Naomi Osaka, Simone Biles, I mean, that's what's going to get people excited about these Games.
You know, at this point, you know, for athletes, the biggest challenge is going to deal with again, the fact that a lot of the people in Japan don't
want The Games to take place at all, ongoing health and safety concerns are the primary reason that these games have been and continue to be so deeply
unpopular.
The majority of Japanese people even though with The Games are just about a week away, people I spoke with just a few hours ago told me that it's still
not too late for them to cancel. They say after the world spotlight has come and gone, it is the people of Japan that will continue to be left to
deal with the consequences.
Now, this is what's being said in the build up to The Games, but when you talk about some of these big named athletes that are going to be coming and
performing at the highest level on the biggest stage, you know, there's a lot -- there is excitement.
I've talked to people who are excited about these games after a rough year, you know, across the board dealing with the pandemic and the fact that we
are still dealing with the pandemic, especially here in Japan. You know, a lot of people are looking to the Olympics and hoping, you know, for
excitement for these big name stars to really show on the biggest stage and bring some happiness even if it's only for 16 days
CHATTERLEY: Yes, well, I'll be cheering them on from home. It's just a shame they can't get that cheering where they're competing. CNN's Blake
Essig in Tokyo, safety first, as always. Thank you for that.
We're back up after this. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:42:25]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to FIRST MOVE. And tech-based tutoring, GoStudent, an online tutoring startup that connects students with private
tutors on a range of topics including Math and Physics has become Europe's first Ed Tech unicorn.
The Vienna-based company is now rapidly expanding with the backing from major investors including SoftBank and Tencent.
Joining us now Felix Ohswald. He is the founder and CEO of GoStudent.
Felix, congratulations on raising the fund. Just talk us through what you're seeing on the platform? What the cost is? And how many students you
have?
FELIX OHSWALD, FOUNDER AND CEO, GOSTUDENT: Yes, hello, Julia. Great to be here today. With GoStudent, we have this mission to build the number one
global school. And how do we do that today? We connect children in the age of six to 19 with world-class teachers, because this is really one of the
most fundamental problems in education, lack of access to great teachers.
We connect them in a one-on-one video chat environment, and we support the families and the teachers until the kid makes it out of school
successfully.
CHATTERLEY: So, this is like supplementary education on top of the schooling that they're already getting, whether it's online or otherwise,
given what we've seen in the last 18 months.
OHSWALD: Yes.
CHATTERLEY: Your fundamental asset -- and you've touched on it -- is your teachers. Do you actually have a global talent pool? How do you select
them? Talk me through this because this does feel like the pivotal point.
OHSWALD: Exactly, exactly. And the teachers are really the heart of the platform and of teaching and education in general. Education can only be as
good as the quality of the teacher and we have created a really sophisticated process in order to make sure that we can only get to the
best teachers.
First, we check the subject skill set level. So, is the teacher good in mathematics, for example? Good in German or English? Then we check the
pedagogical skill set. S, is this teacher able to explain something in easy and very like understandable terms for the kids?
And then last but not least, we do a really proper background check and an onboarding process to make sure that also the start of the teaching can be
as smooth as possible.
CHATTERLEY: And what's the cost of a class?
OHSWALD: Yes. So for example, in Europe, we are actually 30 percent cheaper for the one-on-one classes than what you find in traditional
offline learning centers. So, the cost is really, it's an affordable service that the mass population can have access to and it is not something
that only the top two to three percent can afford.
[09:45:13]
CHATTERLEY: And just in terms of cross-selling, how many of your students actually come on to get teaching, for example, for a Math class, and then
decide, actually, maybe I'll get some tutoring for English because I like what I'm doing. I guess, I'm asking the cross-selling opportunities here
with supplementary teaching.
OHSWALD: Yes, the cross-selling opportunities is really huge, because once you start with a subject, the majority starts with mathematics. Forty
percent of people start with that. And once you have this first, like success experiences, then this is the perfect timing in also getting into
other subjects.
So, we have on average, like most of the kids like 70 to 75 percent of the kids after three months, they try out a second subject because they see
that the service is improving their grades tremendously.
CHATTERLEY: Explain what happened during the pandemic? Because this is quite fascinating. I've seen some comments from you suggesting actually you
saw less use during the pandemic, and I just wondered whether that was perhaps lack of exams that people needed extra training for or just enough
of being online when so much of the of the teaching was online?
OHSWALD: That is a really good question, Julia. So, first and foremost, a large amount of people that requires additional help in the afternoon are
people who want to practice and improve for their upcoming tests.
And one thing that we have seen in the year of the pandemic, is that during the time when schools were completely locked down and closed that we have
seen less exams, less pressure at school, and less pressure resulted in less families searching for afternoon related tuition services. At the same
time, we have seen a huge spike of teachers and people generally looking for remote shops and the mindset -- the mindset accelerated towards digital
services, video calls in general.
CHATTERLEY: Now, I know you're raising money. I know you're in expansion mode. But if you look at the number of students you have, and I believe
it's around 400,000, and you're looking to get to 800,000, by the end of the year, what they are paying versus the costs of acquiring this teaching
staff, never mind platforms, are you profitable?
OHSWALD: Yes, so we have profitable unit economics. We are really pushing hard on geographical expansion already present in more than 15 countries,
20 by end of the year, and really looking forward to bring more affordable and high quality education to more families around the globe.
CHATTERLEY: Where are the expansion opportunities? Because -- and we've spoken to a number of sort of similar players in this space. Coursera in
the United States is a classic example. Byju in India. Do you avoid those markets because there are plenty of others, particularly in Asia, I think,
where this kind of model I think would work, particularly given the ability to be online and the global teaching opportunities that it presents?
OHSWALD: I can assure you by now, like the opportunity is there globally. And let's say the only two markets in which we are not going to expand soon
is China and India. Because in China and India, you have brought up Byju, for example. You have already great companies there, but they are very busy
in their own home markets. So, there's enough time for us and room to grow elsewhere.
CHATTERLEY: Okay, we should watch this space. Felix, great to have you with us. Felix Ohswald there, the CEO of GoStudent.
You're watching FIRST MOVE. More to come. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[09:50:57]
CHATTERLEY: Welcome back to FIRST MOVE. Valued at an estimated $180 billion, gaming is actually more lucrative than the film and music
industries combined. Dubai-based PLG believes that more than just entertainment, games are a platform to reach larger and more engaged
audiences.
As part of our "Think Big" series, Anna Stewart shows is how it connects brands like Coca-Cola and Adidas with gamers around the world.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANNA STEWART, CNN REPORTER (voice over): Eyes peeled, attentive ears, quick reflexes. This is how almost three billion people around the world
choose to spend their time.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's not the most relaxing pastime, that's for sure.
STEWART (voice over): Matthew Pickering realized early on that consoles are much more than just fun and games. He's the CEO of Power League Gaming,
an eSports and gaming company based in Dubai.
MATTHEW PICKERING, CEO, POWER LEAGUE GAMING: So, the big idea with PLG is that it will produce the region's biggest eSports tournaments and find new
disruptive ways to produce content to reach gaming audiences for our clients.
STEWART (voice over): Working with big international brands like FIFA, KFC, and Intel, PLG produces different events and videos to engage the
gaming community. Their content varies from competitive events to talk shows reviewing the latest releases, or podcasts where gamers can share
their tips.
Last year, they opened a creative studio, the first of its kind in the region.
PICKERING: We invite five guys and girls down to the show to try and amplify their gaming careers, to give them the tools and give them the
ability to be able to become self -- sort of proficient in streaming and concentration of the gaming space. So super, super excited.
STEWART (voice over): As the world gaming industry grows nearly nine percent yearly, the Middle East is leading the pack with annual growth of
13 percent.
CANDICE MUDRICK, HEAD OF MARKET ANALYSIS, NEWZOO: For the Middle East and Africa, there's still quite a bit of room in terms of bringing new gamers
into the market. In terms of really localizing games specifically for a more Arabic audience.
STEWART (voice over): PLG is tapping into an audience of 230 million players in the MENA region, focusing on local gaming trends and speaking
their language literally.
PICKERING: Something that's quite different or defining for PLG is that we are Arabic first, so we actively build strategies to connect with Arabic
gaming audiences.
STEWART (voice over): It's a sign that companies are looking at different communities.
MUDRICK: Gaming's importance in society is really becoming more than just an entertainment platform, and brands and other industries, game
developers, and publishers, they can all leverage this trend in order to continue to grow.
STEWART (voice over): So, for Matt and his team --
PICKERING: Luckily, we've got a company full of very good "Call of Duty" players.
STEWART (voice over): It's game on rather than game over. Anna Stewart, CNN.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CHATTERLEY: And finally on FIRST MOVE. Did your parents ever send you up to your bedroom? Once or twice. Maybe more.
Now, for one 18-year-old, well, his dad sent him up to space with a ticket paid for by his father, Oliver Damon will travel with Amazon founder Jeff
Bezos aboard the Blue Origin's first manned flight next Tuesday, making him the youngest ever astronaut.
And just to be clear, this wasn't the person that paid the $28 million, by the way. The original bidder of that spare flight, and that spare ticket
had quote "scheduling conflicts." Washing his hair? He'll apparently take another flight.
Anyway joining Bezos and Oliver will be the world's oldest astronaut, the wonderfully named 82-year-old Wally Funk. What an amazing person.
So, the trio, we wish them well.
[09:55:00]
CHATTERLEY: And that's it for the show. If you've missed any of our interviews today, they will be on my Twitter and Instagram pages. You can
search for @jchatterleyCNN.
In the meantime, stay safe. "Connect the World" with Becky Anderson is next.
And I wish you all a wonderful weekend.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
[10:00:00]
END
