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Quest Means Business
EU Goes The Distance With Greece; The Bailout Will Happen; The Big Shift; The Creative: Content Rules; The Economic Future for Sierra Leone; In Focus: Mauritius
Aired June 24, 2011 - 14:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RICHARD QUEST, HOST: Stick to the plan and we'll stick with you.
The EU goes the distance with Greece. Their debt is dragging us down, so says the Bank of England's governor.
Plus, tonight Maria Sharapova tells us how to get the best returns. And she's not talking tennis.
I'm Richard Quest. I mean business. Good evening.
As Greece's July debt deadlines creep ever closer, help could soon be at hand to avoid a default. Greece, the IMF and the EU have finalized the plan for the country to get another traunch of money from its existing $150 billion bailout.
But there is more, because the agreement paves the way for a second, much-needed emergency loan. The deal was hammered out in Brussels and demands some tough action from Greece. It includes some higher taxes, further austerity and a selloff of state assets. Greek lawmakers will vote on the reforms next week.
Eurozone finance ministers made it clear it is crucial these measures are passed by the third of July, which would allow Greece to meet its debt repayments on the 15th. Greece's Prime Minister George Papandreou says funding is vital for the country's economic recovery.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
GEORGE PAPANDREOU, PRIME MINISTER OF GREECE (through translator): We managed to secure speeding up of, on the part of European funding program for all EU funds, and with a better focus, and with two main focuses, shall I say. First to boost the Greek economy the growth of the Greek economy, that is the first focus and the first goal. And the second goal, of course, to create jobs, to find unemployment, and to face the tough following years ahead.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: The sides are now pretty clear. The Greek prime minister may be in the Eurozone camp and pushing hard for the new measures. There is, of course, opposition within his own country. Jean-Claude Juncker is a key figure in the Eurozone. President of the euro group of finance ministers, he is also the prime minister of Luxemburg. And he told me that even after this new agreement, there are obstacles to overcome.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JEAN-CLAUDE JUNCKER, PRES., EURO GROUP FINANCE MINISTERS; That is not the only remaining problem. The first problem is to make sure that the Greek parliament will vote before the end of this month. The key loss which are part of the arrangement we found with the Greek government.
And the second point, but the second point is of paramount importance, the cross-party agreement in Greece. Their position has to understand that this cross-party agreement between the main political parties and families in Greece is of an important nature, because it will be difficult to convince the entire world, the rest of the world, that all of this has to be done in the absence of an inter-Greek consensus of the ways leading to a good result.
QUEST: All right. The problem, of course, is even after a further bailout, or more funds, it still leaves Greece with a very high debt load. They are merely borrowing more money.
JUNCKER: Our intention is to allow Greece to go back to the financial markets as soon as possible. It is obvious that in 2012 this goal cannot be reached and achieved, but our intention is to bring Greece back into the position to back to financial markets as soon as possible. But this will take two or three years of course.
QUEST: Right.
JUNCKER: And we are very interested in having a assurance that the Greek debt situation is a sustainable one. And I do think that if Greece was to implement all the measures which have been foreseen, the Greek sustainability-the sustainability of the Greek debt can be envisaged in a positive way.
QUEST: Do you-can you be confident that the same problems that have affected Greece will not affect Portugal or Ireland?
JUNCKER: I am totally convinced that the measures which we-which Greece will have to take will be of such a nature that the Greek problem can be settled and to which, anyway, no fear as far as we are concerned, concerning the contagion to Ireland or to Portugal. The situation of Greece, or Portugal and Ireland, these situations are totally different.
QUEST: OK.
JUNCKER: And if we would not react in the way we are trying to react, contagion could take place. But Greece and ourselves are doing what we have to do there is no contagion effect to be foreseen for (INAUDIBLE).
QUEST: The commentator say that what this Greece crisis has shown is that the Eurozone is fundamentally flawed. As you look to the future now, what needs to happen, finally, to make the Eurozone perform better?
JUNCKER: We have to improve our governance and the methods of our governance. We have to improve the way we are checking throughout the year, the competitiveness performances of the different member countries of the Euro area. We focus our surveillance effort in the next couple of years, of course, to budgetary targets, but also to the macro-economic divergences existing in between the countries of the Euro area. This will be the focus of our attention in the next coming years.
QUEST: Finally, sir, tonight, can you tell us confidently that you are-that the Euro group, and the Eurozone, is ahead of the curve?
JUNCKER: I think from time to time we are given the impression that we are behind the curve, but as far as Greece and the new Greek program and our cooperation with the IMF and as far as the disbursement of the remaining traunch of our support is concerned, we are this time before the curve. I do think that on the third of July we will take all of the relevant decisions we have to take.
QUEST: Right.
JUNCKER: Under the condition, of course, that the Greek parliament will have done its work before that.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Jean-Claude Juncker, the prime minister of Luxemburg and the head of the Euro group. There is no alternative. They are ahead of the curve and there is no contagion.
John Defterios is with me. These measures that they are putting in place, the Greek austerity packages. I need you to tell me the numbers and whether they add up.
JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT: Yes, it is good to get some common ground here. So let's take a look at tax and spending, Richard. If you break it all down, they talk about 28 billion euros, that is $40 billion, as we speak tonight.
QUEST: So, $40 billion, in tax-raising of taxes, and increasing spending, part of the austerity package.
DEFTERIOS: From 2011 to 2015, to be clear.
QUEST: Right. Right.
DEFTERIOS: Privatization, now this is a kind of a dodgy number because they are putting 50 billion euros as a target, $72 billion at an exchange rate of 1.45 against the dollar.
QUEST: Wait, 70?
DEFTERIOS: $72 billion.
QUEST: $72 billion dollars they believe they will raise from privatization. Bearing in mind they haven't raised virtually a nickel farthing, so far?
DEFTERIOS: They are trying to raise $3 billion in 2011. It is telling that they have a power company that they are trying to sell right now. And the general strike was called by that power company's employees, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week.
QUEST: And there is a golf course, as well, apparently, that is also up for privatization. Not that I play golf, but I can.
DEFTERIOS: This is interesting, a budget shortfall closed. They have the new finance minister, Mr. Evangelos Venizelos. Who came in last night and admitted to the fact that they had a shortfall. That is $5 billion.
QUEST: Right, if I add all this up, what is the total for the austerity package?
DEFTERIOS: So, the total austerity package brings you now to $117 billion.
QUEST: $117.
DEFTERIOS: So earlier in the week we talked about $112. We are now at $117 billion. This is quite interesting because it is something that is austere enough for somebody like Chancellor Merkel to go back to the German parliament and say I did my job to get the Greeks back on track. Let's take a listen to what she says.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANGELA MERKEL, CHANCELLOR OF GERMANY (through translator): It was a good message that Greece met with the troika, the European Commission, the ECB, and the IMF, yesterday and that they agreed on its contributions. We have agreed that there will be a new program for Greece, which the Greek parliament has to vote on in the next week first. Then we will talk about the aid package. Which is made up from both voluntary and private contributions as well as public contributions.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEFTERIOS: It is quite interesting to listen to the words she is saying at the end here, voluntary, private contributions and public contributions. This is Brussels code here talking back to the banks, saying that you need to make voluntary restructuring of this debt, or at least to stretch out the debt.
QUEST: Now let's just look, show me how much debt is coming due, and when?
DEFTERIOS: OK, perfect. Let's take a look. This is the Greek debt payments that are due, between 2011 and 2015, right?
QUEST: So, this is all the money that Greece will be rolling over, or the bonds become due in each of these years.
DEFTERIOS: Exactly. $40 billion in 2011, $53 billion in 2012, 44 billion in 2013, $46 in 2014, and in 2015, nearly $30 billion. Take a look at this. And this is why we are going to need some voluntary help from the private creditors, because it totals up to $174 billion.
QUEST: If all this happens, what does it leave us with in terms of Greek's debt to GDP. Because Japan has got a debt to GDP over $200, the U.S. is 100 percent of debt to GDP, roughly.
DEFTERIOS: Yes, this is quite mind boggling, actually. Because we keep on talking about the austerity the Greeks are going through. 2011, the debt to GDP is supposed to peak out at 157 percent of GDP. You would think that after all this austerity and all the pain by 2015 look at what they come up with, 140 percent of GDP. And this is what the Greek people are saying. We have to go through this for the next five years to come up with that.
The president of the European Commission, Mr. Barroso, wanted put a brave face on it today. Let's take a listen to him.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JOSE MANUEL BARROSO, PRESIDENT, EUROPEAN COMMISSION: On Greece we have once again shown that we find the agreement when the agreement is needed. It was important because we have shown that our new way of dealing with European economy is working. We spent most of last night's session discussing the challenges, members states, and the European Union as a whole face. We did this with an openness and frankness that I have not seen before.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
DEFTERIOS: So, openness and frankness we haven't seen before. That is a credit to the new finance minister as he put everything on the table. Some would say a lot of pain, very little gain when you look at that final number in 2015.
QUEST: John, many thanks.
DEFTERIOS: Thank you.
QUEST: We'll be watching that as it works its way through.
One person at odds with the latest bailout plan is the governor of the Bank of England, Sir Mervyn King, who is now warning the Eurozone debt crisis will not be solved by stop-gap measures such as loans, because it doesn't address the key problems. (BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
MERVYN KING, GOVERNOR, BANK OF ENGLAND: Right through this crisis, from the very beginning, when we were concerned about financial institutions, right up to now, when we are more concerned with sovereigns, and awful lot of people wanted to believe that it was a crisis of liquidity. It wasn't it. It isn't. Until we accept that we'll never find an answer to it.
It was a crisis but based on sovereignty, or to be more precise, the build of very large amounts of debt where concerns crept in, apparently the ability of the borrowers to repay that debt. Initially financial institutions are now sovereigns. So whatever is the answer, provision of liquidity can buy only time.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
QUEST: Mervyn King, "provision of liquidity can buy only time."
Traders in Europe initially responded well to the news of the agreement. The excitement wore off as the day went on.
The Xetra Dax was down, as was the Paris. But it was the Milan MIB index, the MIBTEL index, which fell the furthest. And one of the reasons, of course, was banking stocks in there. Moody's warning it may downgrade 13 Italian lenders.
Milan's MIB now at the lowest level since 9-since November. Look at that, Unicredit down 5 percent. These are seriously big falls in that market.
The euro just lost half a cent against the dollar; $1.4179. It is has now lost 4.5 percent against the U.S. currency, since the start of May. You need to know where the markets are at the moment.
The big three, at the moment, in New York, the Dow, the Nasdaq, and the S&P 500. Comfortably now 6 to 8 percent lower than their may highs.
Oracle is down 3.5 on Nasdaq. Investors were worried about its poor results. Otherwise,
Google down 1.2 percent that is on the announcement that the Federal Trade Commission is investigating Google because of its dominant position.
The markets, you are up to date.
Could future airline travel be powered by the sun? Pilots at the Paris air show say it is possible and their planes show just how.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Airbus grabbed the headlines at the Paris Air Show this week after winning a record number of orders. The success was partly due to a new fuel efficient version of the most popular jet, the A320 Neo. Now the Neo wasn't the only new. There is another star of the show and it is a plane that goes one stage further. Forget Neo, what about no? And solar impulses powered entirely by the sun. It's makers told Jim Boulden that they are hoping their invention will show the potential of new technology.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ANDRE BORSCHBERG, PILOT & CO-FOUNDER, SOLAR IMPULSE: It is fully experimental and we never thought we could fly internationally with this airplane, because it is-in some ways it is test damaged (ph), but it flew so well that we accepted an invitation to Brussels and we accepted the invitation to present this airplane Louvre (ph) Paris.
BERTRAND PICCARD, PRESIDENT, SOLAR IMPULSE: This airplane really wants to demonstrate what we can achieve with the technologies of today, in terms of energy saving, in terms of renewable energy. And when an airplane can fly with no fuel it is a really good message to encourage people to use the same clean tech for cars, heating systems, lighting, construction of houses. So it is really an encouragement to the pioneering spirit in the energy and in the technological world.
JIM BOULDEN, CNN FINANCIAL CORRESPONDENT (voice over): But also is it not a flight of fancy, because I mean, we have seen many airplanes over the years where it is the dream of somebody. But the reality is what can this teach us?
PICCARD: Solar Impulse can teach that you can achieve impossible things, or so-called impossible things with renewable energies. We need to save our natural resources. We need to plan the after fuel future. We need to create jobs. We need to run the economy to have good growth with the clean tech. And at the same time have a reduced impact on the environment. So those are challenges we have to address. So, you see, pioneering spirit is something that our world desperately needs.
BOULDEN: But as the pilot, what was it like to fly this? It must be an extraordinary feeling. It is the size of an A340 wingspan, but the power of what, a scooter or a lawnmower?
BORSCHBERG: It makes us-makes me very close to nature. But first during the day, I can fly, and I can collect even more energy that I use during the flight. The flight from Brussels to Paris, if I would have more batteries I could have taken this energy and given it to the grid. So that is a very strange feeling.
BOULDEN: This kind of plane obviously is never going to fly passengers, or am I just being one of those negative people.
PICCARD: When Charles Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic he was alone on board and the plane was full of gasoline. And everybody thought, oh, that is a pity, if you want to fly New York to Paris, we have to become pilots ourselves. And 25 years later there were 200 people in the airplanes. So Solar Impulse is full of batteries, just one pilot on board. Who knows what is going to happen in the future?
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: The finer planes of the world. We'll all, no doubt, be at some point flying with the aid of the sun.
As Maria Sharapova eyes another Wimbledon win, she is making a fortune off the court. International tennis star talks to CNN about brand Sharapova, after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Maria Sharapova wowed the crowds at Wimbledon today, beating the British favorite Laura Robson. With her eye on the Grand Slam Sharapova is smashing records away from tennis, as the highest earning woman in sports. Sharapova has sponsorship deals, designs sports clothes, and even launching her own candy line, Sugarapova. Isha Durgahee went to meet Maria Sharapova to talk brands, business, and since it was Isha, she insisted on talking tennis.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
MARIA SHARAPOVA, PROFESSIONAL TENNIS PLAYER: The endorsement deals that I have been a part of have been so fun for me and challenging in a way, because they have all been really creative. And I have been part of the creative process from the very beginning. It has never really been about just putting my image on something and trying to sell it.
Tennis and business are two very different things. You know, the tennis is very physical. You are on the court, you are in the gym, you are sweating. You are trying to make yourself better and better. You know, business is more strategic. It is something, you know, I have a great team around me that sat down, and we looked for long-term rather than short- term.
ISHA DURGAHEE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT (On camera): And are you in a sense, laying the ground for life after tennis then?
SHARAPOVA: You know, I'm not really the type of person that likes to sit still. I love experimenting. The one thing is I'm not really afraid to fail at one thing. I think if you haven't tried it you-it almost feels to me that I always get the edge that I-you know, I haven't really put my foot into that. I really want to experiment with that. And if I didn't then I almost feel like I have failed.
DURGAHEE: Are there any athletes that you look up to in terms of how you can do down, in terms of endorsement deals and how you manage your brands.
SHARAPOVA: I think I have seen, you know, I've seen many different examples. I think a great one is Andre Agassi, you know, the brand Jordan, what he has done with Nike, on his whole Air Jordon collection. That has lived for many years since he stopped playing.
And you know, Andre Agassi is someone who I watched, you know, playing incredible tennis, but also give back to the world in so many different ways. And still you know, he hasn't played for a few years now and you see and you hear his voice in the tennis world, because he holds such a strong influence.
Not only on that present day and that present match that he played, but to so many young kids that, you know, he was an idol and he still, to this day, gives back. He helps out in so many communities and charities around the world. And it is an incredible example.
DURGAHEE: What would you call yourself, a designer, a business woman, or an athlete?
(LAUGHTER)
SHARAPOVA: No, I'm an athlete, first and foremost, I'll always-I hope I will be known as an athlete that has, you know, worked for everything that I could have, that I always gave my best, physically and mentally, out on the court. And everything else, you know, whether it is a designer.
You know, it is tough to say that I'm a designer, because it is not something I went to school for. It is not something I started at a very young age. I think when people go out and buy my product it is not because they think I'm an incredible designer. But I think it is more because they liked my tastes and they like what I've done, you know, with a certain product.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
QUEST: Maria Sharapova.
Now, while we have been on the air, the news has just come in that Conrad Black, of course, the Canadian newspaper magnate, has been sent back to prison by a judge in the United States.
You will remember, he was serving a prison sentence for a variety of financial crimes. He was released on bail after the Supreme Court got involved. He was sent back for resentencing and now the original court judge has sent him back for-well, he was originally sentenced to 60 months. Now she has resentenced him to 42, he has already served 29, you can do the math. I'll do it for you.
Basically Conrad Black going back to prison for a year or so. When the announcement and the sentence was given out, Lord Black's wife collapsed on the courtroom floor, and had to be helped. We'll have more on that after the break.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest, QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.
This is CNN. And on this network, the news always comes first, the news always comes first.
It's just been announced in the United States that the media magnet, the former newspaper owner, Lord Conrad Black has been sent back to prison by the judge for various financial crimes. He had been released on bail following a Supreme Court decision. Now, he's been ordered to serve 42 months, which minus the 29 that he's already served, means he'll return to a U.S. prison for roughly one year.
We'll have more on that story, on what the judge said, when she resentenced him in -- later on.
Other headlines to bring to your attention this evening, another day of deadly protests in Syria. An activist group says at least 10 people were killed. We can't confirm the authenticity of this video from YouTube. It's said to be from the city of Latkia. The European Council strongly condemned Syria, saying the ruling regime is calling its legitimacy into question.
Seventeen years after the Rwandan genocide shocked the world, a former government minister has been jailed for life. Pauline Nyiramasuhuko is the only woman convicted by the U.N.-backed court. Her job at the time was to oversee and protect Rwanda's families and vulnerable women.
EU leaders have given Greece a week to enact new austerity measures in order to secure a new infusion of badly needed cash. Athens is facing a July deadline for repaying debt. The Greek parliament is divided and there's been fierce resistance from unions and massive street protests.
Even with emerging markets driving global growth for the next decade and beyond, many of us aren't quite exactly sure what that means and certainly how you take advantage of it.
That's the view of ICE Canyon co-founder, Nathan Sandler, who oversees more than $2 billion in assets.
Nathan joined me from CNN New York to talk about taking the long view.
(BEGIN VIDEO TAPE)
NATHAN SANDLER, CO-FOUNDER, MANAGING PARTNER, ICE CANYON: I think that the shift is really from advanced economies to emerging markets. And -- and we call this the new order. The new order is really framed by the - - by the rise of emerging markets as the primary force for global economic growth playing off against extreme secular and cyclical weakness in the advanced economies. This paradigm shift is completely reshaping the contours of global economic growth, of financial flows and even the distribution of -- of global power.
And we think that we're only in the very early stages of this transformation and it's probably one of the most important investment themes for the next 10 years.
QUEST: So for -- for an ordinary investor -- and I don't necessarily mean an institutional investor, how do you take account of that?
What does that mean, as opposed, to put it bluntly -- in blunt language?
SANDLER: Well, it means that investors should be leveraging their global investment strategy and asset allocation strategy to the emerging markets, where the underlying secular and growth fundamentals are -- are strategist. The emerging markets -- risk factors in the emerging markets today are at the lowest risk point in 40 years. By contrast, risk factors in the advanced economies are at the highest risk point in 40 years.
Growth is expected to grow -- emerging market growth is expected to exceed the advanced economies by a factor of -- of two to four times, meaning emerging market economies should grow at two to four times the rate of -- of advanced economies.
You have --
QUEST: Right. But --
SANDLER: -- public income migration --
QUEST: But let me -- let me just come in there.
I mean we've known for some time, though, that the emerging markets are where the action is at the moment. You know, look at China. Look at India. Look at the BRICS and those countries.
But there are also places, of course, where there can be currency risk. And they are also often markets where they are -- where there's volatility, as well.
SANDLER: Well, the markets have -- have certainly offered up its share of volatility. But what is interesting is that the emerging markets, this time around -- and -- and certainly this was an -- in evidence in the 2008 crisis. The emerging markets fell by less and recovered faster to, you know, back to full trend growth, I think underscoring the -- the -- the same point, that the underlying fundamentals in the emerging markets and the structural fundamentals of the emerging markets are very strong.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
QUEST: Emerging markets and getting involved.
After the break, what do Lady Gaga and the man in charge of the world's largest advertising company have in common?
It is all about making an emotional connection. We'll take you to a beach party in Cannes where the art and business world collide.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
QUEST: Basie and Ellington, McCartney and Lennon, Gaga and Madonna -- when it comes to music and global branding, the biggest names in music have always known how to play the top note. It is, of course, content. It rules.
CNN's Max Foster is at the Cannes Lions Festival of creativity, where life really is a beach, if you remember that style never trumps substance in the south of France.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
(MUSIC)
MAX FOSTER, CNN ANCHOR: But it's all work, work, work here in Cannes. But, actually, there's a lot of networking that goes on at events like this, and a surprising amount of business, as well.
(voice-over): Musicians from every genre have been invited to teach the ad world a thing or two.
BOB GARFIELD, MEDIA COMMENTATOR: Every marketer and his brother is in social media now. They just know they have to have a Twitter feed, a Facebook page and so forth.
What do those likes mean?
What do they represent to you?
Are they currency?
NICK JONAS, MUSICIAN: We've found it to be a priority for us, because it does create a friendship with our fans first.
(MUSIC)
FOSTER: Pharrell Williams, a music mogul -- performer, producer, content owner with a massive online following, giving him a brand that these creatives can't ignore.
PHARRELL WILLIAMS, MUSICIAN: Now it's really about like how rich are your experiences, because that's what you take with you when you die. And really honestly, at the end of the day, people live more on their mobile devices and on their laptops than they do in their houses.
FOSTER (on camera): So you've got to give them experience on your mobile?
WILLIAMS: Right. Your experience, your life is here.
FOSTER: And that's what you do to your fans.
WILLIAMS: We try to create as many ways as possible to connect to our fans, that -- that is authentic and makes sense, at least in -- at least in my mind at the time when I'm doing it. I'm not always right. Sometimes I look back and go eeww, you know. I think -- FOSTER: But it's still authentic --
WILLIAMS: Yes.
FOSTER: -- at the time.
WILLIAMS: But, yes. But that's the one thing I can always do, I can always look back without regret and say, man at that time, this is what I was feeling. And for the most part, thank god and the universe --
FOSTER: But that's your brand.
WILLIAMS: -- and (INAUDIBLE) --
FOSTER: That's what makes you a good brand.
WILLIAMS: It's been -- it's been -- it's been successful.
FOSTER: It's authenticity.
WILLIAMS: Yes, 100 percent.
(MUSIC)
FOSTER (voice-over): There's no arguing with the Gaga brand -- 14 million Facebook likes. And she's making money -- lots of sponsorships and ads she attaches to her music on the Vevo platform.
RIO CARAEFF, CEO, VEVO: She connects in an authentic and pure way with her fans and they -- and that resonates. And that value that's created and that relationship, I think, will transcend any one particular song or any one particular album. I think she'll have a -- a career and a relationship with her fans for quite a while to come as a result.
FOSTER: Has she created a new marketing model, do you think?
CARAEFF: I certainly think so. I mean she's certainly one of the latest and greatest examples of -- of a -- of brand building at its finest.
FOSTER (voice-over): Work by Prasoon Joshi, an ad executive and composer. He says the music and creative industries are now integral to each other.
PRASOON JOSHI, GLOBAL CREATIVE HEAD, MCCANN ERICKSON: It's subconscious consumption of the brand, which music allows you to do. When you put an argument logically forward, people are using their mind. When you musically put the argument forward, you're reaching their hearts. And that's what every brand wants.
FOSTER: The Cannes Lions Festival used to be for ad agencies. Then their clients started to come and now the content owners. And they've all been annual events, reflecting an evolving I need.
MARTIN SORRELL, CEO, WPP: What we've tried to do is to embrace content, to use it as you would use music, to build connections -- emotional connections, tangible and intelligible connections with the consumers. And that's what it's all about. So -- so that -- that triangle of clients, obviously, are the most important. Let's focus on Google and Facebook and Twitter. These companies really, to my mind, are meter owners masquerading as technology companies. And they have their own channels. They have their own properties. And it -- it's a bit -- when they talk to our clients, it's a bit like if Rupert Murdoch or James or -- or Sumner Redstone or Philip Dolman (ph) or Lesman Vers (ph) or Jeffrey Buchas (ph) was talking directly to our clients and saying they should use the News Corp channels.
FOSTER: Do you think Facebook and Google, for example, are trying to create another market, in a way, between you and the content owners, and, actually, there isn't a market there and they need to --
SORRELL: Well, they --
FOSTER: -- decide which way to go.
SORRELL: That disintermediation process obviously puts established legacy businesses like media owners, like newspaper owners, like TV owners, free to air television owners, agencies, at risk, because these are, as I said, they're the new media owners.
There's nothing wrong. This is just the height of competition.
FOSTER (voice-over): A big welcome to Cannes for a prolific content provider with a massive global fan base.
(MUSIC)
FOSTER: Will.i.am is a member of the phenomenally successful Black Eyed Peas.
(on camera): So what's your content now?
What's your product?
WILL.I.AM, MUSICIAN AND ENTREPRENEUR: Whether it's song, a short -- a design or a remake of something that I like, it's just perspective and just excitement of creating songs or what sticks in people's heads.
(END VIDEO TAPE)
QUEST: Max Foster, who has been at the Cannes Lions Festival all week.
Let me update you with the news tonight that Conrad Black, the former newspaper owner and magnet, has been returned to prison after a judge ruled that he should serve more of his sentence. He was initially released after the Supreme Court overturned a -- no, that the court of appeals overturned some of his convictions. But he was resentenced on the remaining counts.
He received a new sentence of 42 months. That's lower -- less than the original sentence. He's already served 29 months. Do the math, 29 to 42, it means Conrad Black has roughly a year or so still to serve.
When the announcement was made, the sentence was given, Barbara Amiel, his wife, fainted in the courtroom. It had been thought that Conrad Black might actually be released for time served, bearing in mind what had gone on. But in the recent days, it became clear that that was not to be the case. And now he'll -- he'll -- arrangements are being made for him to surrender himself back into custody.
One final look on what's been a turbulent week on the markets and it ain't finished yet, down 96, under 12000. That's where we'll probably end this week.
And that is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS for tonight and for this week.
Thank you for your time and your company this week.
I'm Richard Quest in London.
Whatever you're up to in the hours ahead, I do hope it's profitable.
"MARKETPLACE AFRICA" is next.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROBYN CURNOW, HOST: You're watching MARKETPLACE AFRICA.
I'm Robyn Curnow.
Now, away from the bustle of Johannesburg's inner city, located on the west coast of Africa, is Sierra Leone. Sierra Leone. It has abundant natural resources and fertile soil, but its economy was in shelters after 10 years of civil war.
But they're hoping for more fruitful times because of a new juice venture.
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ZANE VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): It's a village brimming with mangoes, loaded with market potential. And yet.
They often wind up on the ground, not in stores. In this village outside Freetown, Sierra Leone, a lack of infrastructure means farmers have struggled to turn their mangoes into money.
SHEKA TARAWALIE, DEPUTY MINISTER OF INFORMATION: Sierra Leone is nationally endowed with so many resources, including the agri base resources. And so you find out that we have fruits like mangoes, pineapples, all over the country. But they are being wasted. And there -- there is not much value added to -- to these resources.
VERJEE: But a new juice factory is giving local farmers a fresh start. They can now fill crate after crate with mangoes and sell the fruit to Africa First, a juice manufacturer. The company pays farmers about $250 to $300 for each tree harvest. That's a huge jump from the $15 they'd get at the local market.
Inside the factory, mangoes are sorted then turned into a juice concentrate. It's the country's first significant value-added export since the civil war ended nine years ago.
CLAUDIO SCOTTO, CEO, AFRICA FELIX JUICE: We are targeting the factory reach of the business, obviously, because Sierra Leone has got such a difficult past. It's having a fruit juice coming from Sierra Leone, we think, will have a -- a very, very good impact into European consumers that can now choose something tangible coming from a place they were thinking there was only war, famine and death.
VERJEE: Africa First is majority owned by First Step, a commercial subsidy of the American NGO, World Hope International. First Step created Sierra Leone's first special economic zone. It's a 54 acre, low tax industrial park designed to attract foreign companies. Africa Felix is the first tenant and enjoys a three year tax holiday, along with security, electricity and water supplies.
RICHARD SCHROEDER, CEO, FIRST STEP: We're just making it possible for businesses to easily establish and -- and employ people to start processing resources locally instead of what always happens in Africa, natural resources are dug up, brought some place else, cut down or taken out of the water, brought some place else and processed and then sent back to Africa or other places in the world. And the real -- the value addition is where jobs are create and where income is created. And, you know, where an economy can really find its engine.
VERJEE: With Africa Felix up and running and farmers receiving increased profits, the government sees plenty of potential.
TARAWALIE: First, it's doing something that is historic, is unheard of in the contemporary history of our country. And they are changing the lives of people in the sense that they can see development practically taking place in our own lifetime.
VERJEE: Special economic zones have started popping up across Africa, following their wide success in Asia. Some analysts worry the zones won't work in countries without a well-developed labor force or infrastructure.
But First Step says its approach will set it apart, especially when it comes to recruiting future tenants.
SCHROEDER: There has to be a commitment to -- to not only the -- the bottom line, the financial bottom line. We're looking for tenants that -- that also are passionate and -- and care about their impact in terms of social impact, environmental impact.
VERJEE: It's an impact that First Step expects will create thousands of jobs, while showing foreign companies that Sierra Leone is open for business.
TARAWALIE: We have created an enabling environment for companies to come in and do their business without hindrance. And they can substitute (ph) from Africa Felix, from the special economic zone and they will know that this is the time to come into Sierra Leone.
VERJEE: Starting with mangoes, Sierra Leone hopes to rebrand itself as the place to reap the fruits of investment.
Zane Verjee, for MARKETPLACE AFRICA.
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CURNOW: OK, let's take a look at some more numbers.
Now, there are currently 130 villages providing fruit to Africa Felix. The company says that to maintain production, the factory needs 3,000 kilograms of fruit every hour.
Next, bridging a business gap, Mauritius' role as an economic hub linking two continents.
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CURNOW: It may only be a tiny island nation, but Mauritius is one of Africa's success stories, as one of the more competitive economies on the continent.
Well, our guest on FaceTime this week is the Mauritian, Saleem Beebejaun.
He heads up the company, British and American Investment.
And he chatted to me about opportunities and challenges on the island.
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SALEEM BEEBEEJAUN, CHAIRMAN, BRITISH AMERICAN INVESTMENT: It's tiny, but it's on its way stay to sophistication, so you need to be very present, you need to be very close to your -- to your customer base. It's a very well-educated population, so they're very much aware of what happens in the world, very well connected to the first world. So you need to be there with them on the cutting edge.
CURNOW: When you say it's connected, I think that -- that's perhaps, when people look at Mauritius, physically, you sort of bridge Africa and -- and the East. And I think business-wise, Mauritius, as a country, is trying to position itself as sort of the bridge into investing into Africa.
BEEBEEJAUN: We are part of Africa, clearly. And we are very active on the African front. But our population comes from diverse, different areas, from Asia, from Europe and from Africa.
Our cuisine, what we would call Creole cuisine, is very much French inspired, with a touch of Indian. But we also have Indian cuisine as our cuisine.
We tend to do business naturally more, in the old days, with Europe, because we -- we were French and then British. Nowadays, we are positioning ourselves to be the hub, in effect, between Asia and Africa, mostly targeting China and India, assisting in providing a basis and the support to be able to go into Africa.
CURNOW: And why -- why is that needed?
BEEBEEJAUN: We believe that there could be cultural issues, which we think we -- we are well positioned to apprehend (ph) and transcend. We think we have very good links with all the different countries. In a way we are mutual. We blend in. We understand the needs of -- of each one of the different players. And we are also the tragedy of the hyphen between the cultures, whether it's economic, whether it's cultural.
CURNOW: Mauritius has to make itself relevant in -- in -- in the global sphere, particularly when it comes to trying to at least capture some of this -- this growth that has been seen in Africa.
Do you think you can do it or is it -- is it something you're still trying really hard to achieve?
BEEBEEJAUN: Well, I think we are -- we can do it, because we have -- the first thing that we have, I think we need to sort of remember, Mauritius has no natural resources, except our beaches and -- and the sea. We have nothing else. The big strength that we have is our population, our people. And our people are well-educated, travel a lot, are very disciplined, are very hard-working and are very flexible in the sense that they would be in Mauritius, they could come to Africa, they could come to Europe and (INAUDIBLE) --
CURNOW: But multiculturalism --
BEEBEEJAUN: There is multiculturalism --
CURNOW: -- is --
BEEBEEJAUN: Yes.
CURNOW: -- is, for you, the biggest asset.
And you're saying, listen, there -- there's a lot of stuff in Africa that people might not understand, whether it's regulations, whether it's laws, whether it's cultural things. And the Mauritians are the ones to open the door, essentially?
BEEBEEJAUN: We could open the doors, because we're very adaptable. We are adapted, we are flexible and -- and we also have experience in many things that are yet to be done in Africa.
CURNOW: You've done very specific things in terms of making Mauritius more accessible to business, haven't you?
BEEBEEJAUN: We have really opened up. It now takes very little for an expatriate to come to Mauritius. The qualifying rules are very low. We have opened up such that when the people do come down, within three days, the permits are approved. All paperwork is done. We --
CURNOW: So the ease of doing business --
BEEBEEJAUN: The ease of doing business --
CURNOW: -- you think is --
BEEBEEJAUN: -- is there.
CURNOW: -- the key to doing business?
BEEBEEJAUN: Big time. Big time. It's the ease of doing business. And it's the fact that when the person does come down, that they are accepted within the community. And the facilities and the structure is there and the process of going through setting up the business itself is not as tedious as it would for me elsewhere.
CURNOW: And would you say investors are -- are encouraged by that?
BEEBEEJAUN: I would say we have, actually, been quite successful. We have a lot investors from Europe and even from South Africa, who are actually now coming to Mauritius --
CURNOW: There's a huge interest --
BEEBEEJAUN: -- to set up --
CURNOW: -- in South Africa
BEEBEEJAUN: -- a huge interest --
CURNOW: -- setting up in -- in
BEEBEEJAUN: A huge interest. And, actually, in some areas, we probably have a bit more South Africans that Mauritanians now, in the sense that there's been a lot of South Africans coming to establish themselves in Mauritius as a base. And many of them were in South Africa, but have also been working in Africa, not only South Africa.
And for us, it -- it's a -- it's a -- it's an added benefit, in the sense that we get expertise that we wouldn't have had. We have a different way of looking at things, which eventually is shared in the community. And it really helps, again, adds value to what we already have in Mauritius. And we are very welcoming for that.
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CURNOW: Saleem Beebejaun there, of British and American Investment.
Now, here's what's trending this week.
(ON SCREEN)
Trending
Power Plan
France has signed a $590 million agreement with Ethiopia to develop water and energy products.
The East African country aims to produce 15,000 megawatts of power within 10 years to improve the country's power supply.
CURNOW: You can catch up with all of our stories and interviews online at CNN.com/marketplaceafrica. You can also follow our links to our Twitter and Facebook pages.
But until next week, for me, Robyn Curnow, here in Johannesburg, thanks for watching.
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