Return to Transcripts main page

Quest Means Business

Iran Exceeds Limits of Enriched Uranium Stockpiles; Warren Buffett Donates $3.6 Billion to Charity; A Teenager Upsets Venus Williams at Wimbledon. Aired 3-4p ET

Aired July 01, 2019 - 15:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

ELENI GIOKOS, CNN BUSINESS AFRICA CORRESPONDENT: Dow Jones up around 32 points. We are off our base levels for the day, but we're floating with

record levels on the market. Lots of euphoria in terms of what happened over the weekend. These are the markets and these are the reasons why.

Tear gas and turmoil in Asia's top financial hub. The Hong Kong Parliament swarmed by protesters. Stocks are rallying towards record highs as Donald

Trump hands Huawei and lifeline. And Iran and Saudi Arabia clash once again as the world's top oil producers meet in Vienna.

Live from the world financial capital, New York City. It's Monday July the first, I'm Eleni Giokos and this is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.

All right, welcome to the show and we begin in Hong Kong where a short time ago authorities took back control of the Legislative Council after hundreds

of protesters occupied the government headquarters for several hours.

Now, just a few hours ago, riot police armed with shields, batons and gas masks managed to disperse the crowd shortly after midnight after failing to

intervene for almost 10 hours as demonstrators vandalized the main chamber.

The protesters stormed the building Monday and truly extraordinary scenes as anger over the Extradition Bill and the influence of mainland China

spiral.

Now the events came as thousands marched to mark the anniversary of Hong Kong's transfer to China from Britain in 1997.

Now we've just learned that Hong Kong's Chief Executive Carrie Lam is due to brief the media in one hour from now at the police headquarters in Hong

Kong. CNN is on the ground, we are keeping track on all the developments there. We've got Nic Robertson inside the Legislative Council where

protesters broke in earlier.

Nic, you've been on the ground there for hours today and what's interesting, what the big question is where were the police? And you

actually watched people breaking in which was extraordinary to experience, one would guess and now it's calm, but tell us what you seeing around you.

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL DIPLOMATIC EDITOR: Well, we're right at the doors of the building right now because we have as you said, we were

going to be inside, but the police have now said it's a crime scene inside. It's a massive amount of chaos. Destruction and vandalism inside.

Some of it you have to say, there's one term vandalism, they spray painted graffiti on the walls, pictures of leaders, previous leaders here they

don't like have been ripped off the walls, and even computer monitors for people, the public to come in and put information into about the building

had been smashed.

But this is what we were watching being smashed earlier in the day. This thick glass windows and I'm just -- this is the first time in the day we

have had to look at it. But it is thick toughened glass, glass on the inside and glass on the outside, and thick plastic on the inside. And this

is what the protesters were bashing at. It peeled away the wall here.

But this is how they were eventually able to get into the building, smashing out these doors here, the glass on the doors, and then this metal

barricade here, literally pushing it up, putting the barricade here on the under it so that the protesters could get inside. So it was an absolute

forced entry.

And what you're seeing scrolled on the walls here, this graffiti is symptomatic of what we're seeing inside. Inside the building, there is

graffiti everywhere, one layer after another layer. And it's significant me that the police and the authorities have allowed journalists in to see

the level of damage inside, to see the level of destruction.

And I think when we hear the Chief Executive speak in about an hour's time, we may get her readout on what she says that means and portends for Hong

Kong.

Undoubtedly, there is political advantage to be taken here of this destruction by the protesters. The police, on the other hand held back

what questions will be asked of why they held back and let the protesters get in. Anyway, all of that is to come. But this gives you an idea of

what it took for the protesters to storm this building after hours and hours hacking away at it earlier in the day, Eleni.

GIOKOS: And that's interesting. Hours and hours of trying to get in, police standing on the sidelines and there was a fear that eventually when

the police would come in and of course they gave a warning that they would that it escalate. It didn't. It was swift. It was very controlled. What

were the rules of engagement here because it's really fascinating to watch this from afar?

From what we saw, there wasn't any violence that ensued because of the police and riot police going in.

[15:05:10] ROBERTSON: Standing in the middle of it, what was very quickly apparent to me is the police clearly had a well-coordinated plan. And they

used tear gas immediately at the front to sort of get the crowd moving.

But what they didn't do was try to corral the crowd and trap the crowd and arrest the crowd. They came in in such a way that they swept the crowd

away, and literally, the protesters were walking away with our hands in the air in an orderly fashion. It was peaceful. So the protesters ran before

the police arrived.

But the police didn't try to cut them off from where they were running and have a confrontation. They let them get away. So even the way that the

police executed the operation to clear the building and clear the area around here, probably by design, but definitely by action allowed the

protesters to get away without confrontation. And that seems to have been the sort of modus operandi, the MO, if you will of the police throughout

today to avoid the criticism they had three weeks ago when they brutally attacked some of the protesters. That didn't happen as far as we know,

today -- Eleni.

GIOKOS: And it seems that neither side wanted a violent confrontation. You were with the protesters. You know, when we heard the news that the

police, the riot police were on route and they were on the way, did you get a sense that people wanted to disperse and they wanted to leave?

Or did you get a sense that they wanted to stand their ground to get their message heard, because what ensued was that everyone was dispersed? So I

think there was a sense of fear that came with the police -- riot police coming in?

ROBERTSON: You know, I describe the atmosphere as being electric because there was this real buzz in the air because people didn't know what to do.

They knew the police were coming.

When they kind of got that information in the sort of half an hour or so before they organized some of the things that they brought to the riot,

their umbrellas, the shields that they've made, they took those away, they moved the barricades into certain areas. It looked as if they were

readying for a standoff.

Bizarrely, some of them were sweeping up the ground here as if sort of they were tidying up at the end of the day out.

But you really had the idea that the crowd didn't know which way to go, whether to stand and fight or whether to leave.

But so many of them were young. I watched young teenagers, young men, young women standing side by side, holding each other's hands, boyfriend,

girlfriend, maybe wondering what to do, looking at each other trying to figure out what's going to happen in this situation.

But in the end, the crowd really moved as one and moved away swiftly, but calmly. It's hard to imagine earlier in the day that it could have been

done that they could have cleared away without casualties.

GIOKOS: And the question is why didn't they do that earlier? Interesting. Thank you very much, Nic, for your fabulous reporting out of that region.

Much appreciated for your time.

We've got Claudia Mo, who is a prodemocracy legislator in Hong Kong. She was telling our Anna Coren that the government had lost touch with the

young people of the city Listen to this.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

CLAUDIO MO, PRODEMOCRACY LEGISLATOR: You need to still understand the anger of the Hong Kong young people. They are particularly angry at this

legislature because it's been serving just like some rubber stamping body all these years, because the Democrats are always outnumbered and we're

outnumbered not because we're not popular, but because we have more votes, but fewer seats.

ANNA COREN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Fewer. But Claudia, it's one thing to be angry and we understand these protesters are angry. It is another thing to

vandalize public property, to vandalize the government building, to vandalize the very chamber that you go to, that you work at.

So is this really required to get the government's attention? To draw attention to this issue here in Hong Kong?

MO: Now, you have to understand vandalism, nobody would endorse it, of course. But then the pent up anger and frustration and resentment and

hostility on the part of Hong Kong young people just need to be understood. I hope Carrie Lam would just come out and talk to them.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: All right, joining me now, we've got Robin Kuhn. He is a longtime advisor to Chinese leaders and corporations. He's written a book called

"How Chinese Leaders Think" and is the Chairman of the Kuhn Foundation. Thank you much, sir. Thank you so much for joining us. Interesting stuff.

I mean, in there we just heard that Carrie Lam should come out and speak. She's going to do that in an hour. What is the message she should be

sending? Because we know the protesters want change. They want to see the Extradition Bill being revoked and they also want to see her resign.

ROBIN KUHN, CHAIRMAN, KUHN FOUNDATION: Well, she is not going to resign, but what she is likely to do is to say she has made mistakes and that she

will listen to the people, but the violence cause no good.

[15:10:09] KUHN: We had almost two million people out in peaceful protests and they were making a very strong statement. Violence by a few hundred

undercuts that.

GIOKOS: Yes. So what's interesting to note and Nic was talking about this earlier is why police were hesitant to come in. Why did they show that

reticence?

KUHN: They didn't have martyrs on their hands that would do no one any good. That would be additional cause for anger against the government.

That was very smart.

Look, it's really important to understand why Hong Kong is so important in the world scene today, because it's so important to Beijing, to China.

There are really four reasons. Two to economic and two political.

Economic: Hong Kong has been the gateway to China for decades. That is actually less important today with the rise of Shanghai and Shenzhen. But

the new importance of Hong Kong is it's the key to what's called the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area. And this is a coordinated

economic plan, which is at the core of China's economic transformation.

There's one in the north, Beijing-Tianjin-Shanghai -- around Shanghai, but this is important, $1.5 trillion or more dollars in the economy, 12 percent

of China's GDP. So that's really important.

Politically, also, two reasons. One is it exemplifies the one country two systems approach that China would like to apply also to Taiwan. And it's

also shows Beijing's soft power. So a lot is at stake here.

GIOKOS: Exactly. And I wonder if this is a litmus test to how semi- autonomous Hong Kong really is? Because the question is who is making these decisions? Who is actually pulling the strings here?

KUHN: Right. Well, certainly Hong Kong is a part of the People's Republic of China. They've been so for 22 years, this is not a secret.

Beijing has let the Hong Kong government run its own government. That's their approach. Clearly, there's communications behind the scenes, that's

obvious. But Beijing is going to want in every situation as much as possible for the Hong Kong people to maintain their self-rule.

Now there are red lines, pardon the pun, that China will not allow. There won't be any move towards quasi independence, if chaos would extend

further, but other means would be taken.

The central government in China will do the minimum that it has to do, but it will maintain order.

GIOKOS: You mentioned that, you know, they didn't want any kind of violent confrontation, and that's why the police were standing by and watching

this. But was there perhaps another political reason why they allowed protesters to go into Parliament and deface Parliament?

KUHN: Well, I mean, one can always make up conspiracy stories, and I'm sure every possible story has somebody behind it. And so there's this

virtually truth in everything that you can say.

But I think we agree that the violence undercuts the cause, which was promulgated by Hong Kong's biggest demonstrations ever. That was a very

powerful statement. This is mixed at best.

GIOKOS: So what do you think it does for the movement overall?

KUHN: I think today hit it. Hong Kong people are not at their core, political. They are economic human beings. I mean, they're focused on --

that's the -- Hong Kong has been the number one or certainly the top three places to do business in the whole world for decades. They want to

maintain that. That's their DNA. It is doing business.

Now, there was a real issue with what they perceived was an erosion of Hong Kong's semi-autonomous way of doing things. And that's why you saw two

million people, but the violence will undercut that, and most Hong Kongers will not support what we saw today.

GIOKOS: Okay, so you've got protest action, that doesn't seem to be letting up. So what is the next step here? Because it seems that

government is standing its ground. We are going to hear from Carrie Lam, that's going to be interesting to see how it plays out.

KUHN: Sure, and I think they will have to stand their ground. But I think she has said already and she will continue this to show some flexibility

that she has admitted she has made mistakes, she needs to reach out more.

I mean, I expect we will hear some of those at --

GIOKOS: What is the fight of this Extradition Bill? Do you think it needs to be done away with?

KUHN: That's a tricky question because de facto, it has been done away with. I don't know what may happen in three, four or five years from now,

but de facto they've let it die. They don't want to specifically say that because that might give too much fuel to the protests and encourage more.

So the moves that the government will make backed by Beijing I'm sure will be to make the kinds of moves that will minimize the likelihood of

additional protests and that will include letting the bill sort of die a kind of a quiet death, but not make it obvious because that would give too

much of a reward to the protest.

GIOKOS: Interesting. Thank you very much, sir. Great to have you in the studio with me. Much appreciated. Well, all right, still ahead on QUEST

MEANS BUSINESS. Standing side to side for now, the U.S. and China agree to a ceasefire in their trade war, but there are still deeper issues to

resolve. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[15:17:41] GIOKOS: There could be new records on Wall Street today with both the Dow and S&P floating with new highs. The Dow opened above the

all-time high it hit on October.

Investors are breathing a sigh of relief after the U.S. and China agreed to shelve new import tariffs and continue trade talks. The S&P 500 also

opened above its most recent closing record. There is still around 40 minutes ago before the close of trade here in New York. So we all know how

markets fair a little later.

For more on that ceasefire, however, in the trade war, let's speak to Clara Hills, former U.S. Trade Representative who joins us from Washington.

Great to have you on the show. It's a welcome truce. I mean, concessions on Huawei, no more tariffs basically -- no more new tariffs, I guess. But

we don't have a lot of details.

We also know that China has agreed to buy -- in principle -- to buy U.S. agricultural products. But it seems that China walked away with a lot more

here than the U.S.

CLARA HILLS, FORMER U.S. TRADE REPRESENTATIVE: Now, I think that we have to smile and say that we have drawn a line and said we will go back to the

negotiating table and there's still a lot to be done. But the tariffs were not creating a benefit for either side.

So you're going to get applause from business leaders, the workers, the people on branches and so forth, because the tariffs were hurting them,

they are also hurting in China.

So the negotiations have to be reopened and talk sensibly about what each side can do in what time frame.

GIOKOS: Do you view this as a truce? Do you think that this is a move towards the deal? You're talking about going back to the negotiating

table. But you know, trade deals can become quite complex, it's going to take a lot more than one meeting to make final decisions.

HILLS: In my view, it's a mistake to think of one meeting. I think that they should step by step address each side's interests. Listen carefully.

And if they do reach a tentative deal, they should continue to meet on a regular high level basis.

The idea that you would go months and months without meeting when you have friction between the two largest economies in the world is a grave mistake

in my view.

GIOKOS: What are your views on Huawei and the fact that we've actually seen the President move back from his very hard stance against this

company?

[15:20:08] HILLS: My advice to him would be not to throw out a lot of red lines and then fail to observe them. But what he's done is simply say that

the U.S. companies that have contracts of sale to Huawei may continue, and that he leaves the other issues about Huawei's business in the United

States open for discussion. So that's a security issue that they'll have to resolve.

And yet, I think that there ought to be a way to work around it. My advice to him would be to have your own high level negotiators sit down and work

out a blueprint. You know, President Xi was very clear, when he gave his guiding speech at the opening of the G20 saying that he was going to open

up the market, stopped the discrimination, create opportunities in agriculture, services, and manufacturing.

Okay, let's sit down and see what he can do, within what timeframe and how we can react in a reasonable and proper fashion.

GIOKOS: Carla, I'm curious, as a former U.S. Trade Representative, you know, over the last, you know, decade or so we always looked at China

saying, you know, they intervene in their currency, it's very difficult to compete with their goods, because it's just not economically viable for

other countries.

And that's why we saw a flurry of imports from China into many economies around the world. Do you think tariffs are the right way to go, when

tariffs for a long time in the past, we're actually a no-go area?

HILLS: I think that we did make a mistake by not speaking up earlier on. China joined the World Trade Organization in 2001 and they continued to

open up their market until about 2008 and then they began to level off.

And we should have with Europe, Japan, South Korea, Canada addressed them and said, these are the commitments that you've made. The most basic is

national treatment, treating us like you treat your own businesses and non- discrimination.

So percentage caps on inward investment. We don't have those for you. You don't have those at home. Let us move forward. And again, if we had

started this about 2010, 2009, I think we wouldn't be where we are today.

GIOKOS: Carla, great to have you on the show. Thank you so very much for your insights. Much appreciated.

HILLS: My pleasure to join you always.

GIOKOS: Tech stocks have enjoyed a boost after Donald Trump dialed back on a ban on American companies working with Huawei, but the move comes with

the risk of a backlash from his own party.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

SEN. JOHN BARRASSO, (R-WY): I am very concerned about Huawei. I think they are a threat to our national --

CHUCK TODD, MSNBC HOST: So the President made a mistake?

BRRASSO: I think Huawei is a threat to the national security of America. I know the President is a dealmaker, he is working on this, I would not

allow Huawei certainly into our country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: Strong words there. Clare Sebastian joins me now with more. "I wouldn't allow our way into the country." That is really interesting to

hear.

CLARE SEBASTIAN, CNN BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT: Well, so the problem here, and the reason why we've seen such a backlash, and it's not just in the

Republican Party, it's from both sides of the aisle is because the reason these restrictions on Huawei were put in in the first place was because of

national security. Now the reason they're being eased is because of trade.

So here we have a conflation of two things and that's what's got everyone so concerned. And that's why you have comments from people like Chuck

Schumer on Twitter over the weekend, saying it will dramatically undercut our ability to change China's unfair trade practices. Marco Rubio as well

calling this a catastrophic mistake.

People are very worried about these two things being conflated and thereby bargaining away something that has to do with national security.

GIOKOS: And it's interesting, because the markets have done really well today here in New York. I mean, we are off our best levels on the Dow.

But the point is that this was going to be a really important test in terms of where markets would be going, where trade would be going.

Do you think there's just too much optimism right now, especially the way the chip stocks have been reacting?

SEBASTIAN: Yes, I think we can look at some of the chip stocks today. It wasn't as big of a move as we've seen recently, for example, when we saw

Micron's earnings, and fact that they had a work around this entity list.

GIOKOS: They did a lot of work to get that done.

SEBASTIAN: They did. They did, but we didn't see such a big move today. I think that you know, certainly Huawei is a huge customer for these chip

makers in the U.S. Some of them accounts for more than 10 percent of their sales.

So certainly there's some relief here that they might be able to continue to sell. Look, there's still a lot of uncertainty. We don't know exactly

what the administration is thinking of doing.

It looks like if you listen to Larry Kudlow speaking over the weekend, the President's top economic adviser, that Huawei will still remain on the

Commerce Department's entity list, which means that companies will have to apply for a license but it looks like the administration will start to

grant these licenses.

GIOKOS: This is what I want to ask you. What is the situation like -- what was it like on Friday prior to the meeting and what is it like this

week? It seems like nothing has changed.

SEBASTIAN: Nothing has changed. Officially nothing has changed.

GIOKOS: So they still need to apply for a license.

SEBASTIAN: Right now Huawei is still in the Commerce Department's entity list. You still need to apply for a license to export to them. And

experts have told me that actually, most of the time these licenses don't get granted.

But it looks like, you know, now the administration is going to start to look at these licenses and think of granting them to various companies,

particularly the ones who have come out so strongly, the chip makers in particular against this blacklisting.

GIOKOS: Other companies have also perform quite well on the back of this, you know, kind of easing of the trade war talk. What other companies

should we be looking at this time?

[15:25:22] SEBASTIAN: Apple is obviously the poster child for this. That's done pretty well today off the back -- it's been kind of probably

one of the most trade sensitive stocks all along because of course, they assemble most of their iPhones and iPads in China.

Their main supplier, Foxconn also did fairly well out of this. They also - - don't forget assemble phones for Huawei. And also, I think Google -- Alphabet, Google's parent company is one to watch. Don't forget that their

Android operating system is used in Huawei smartphones and Huawei is still the second biggest smartphone maker in the world.

GIOKOS: Good to see you, thank you so much, Clare. Appreciate it. All right, so up next, we return to our top story. Events in Hong Kong, my

next guest calls them the largest protest in modern history. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: Hello, I'm Eleni Giokos. Coming up in the next half hour of QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, we will be live in Vienna where OPEC leaders might be on

the brink of another move to prop up oil prices.

And Kenya pays tribute to a legend of the business world. I'll speak to the country's Central Bank Governor about the life and the legacy of Bob

Collymore.

First, these are the top news headlines we're following on CNN this hour.

Dramatic scenes in the hearts of Hong Kong. Riot police armed with batons fired tear gas to clear protesters from the Legislative Council. Hundreds

of demonstrators stormed the building earlier using makeshift battering rams to smash the windows and rush inside.

Iran insists it is not violating an international nuclear agreement, even while acknowledging it has exceeded its allowable stockpiles of low-grade

enriched uranium. Iran says the move is reversal if European signatories to the deal uphold their commitment to show Tehran from crippling U.S.

sanctions.

Police say an apparent stowaway is dead after falling from a Kenya Airways plane as it was approaching London's Heathrow Airport. The body was

discovered in a garden outside a home in south London. A bag, water and food were found in a landing gear compartment.

Warren Buffett is donating $3.6 billion in Berkshire Hathaway shares to five charities including the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Buffett

has donated some of his shares to charity every year since 2006. The company says he has given away $34 billion to date.

A teenager has upset tennis superstar Venus Williams at Wimbledon. Cori 'Coco' Gauff is the youngest player to qualify there in the open era. She

defeated Williams, 6-4, 6-4 in the first round. The 15-year-old American says she was inspired to take up tennis by Williams and her sister Serena.

Right, so more on the situation in Hong Kong. It's around 3:30 in the morning there, and things have calmed after incredibly dramatic few hours.

Riot police moved in to remove protesters who had filed for rather the city's legislative council. Officers fired tear gas and also chased

protesters down outside the building.

And Chief Executive Carrie Lam is expected to speak at the top of the hour after another day of riots. Demonstrators were there on the 22nd

anniversary of the handover back to China, an occasion that traditionally sees protests, but this rarely happens at this kind of scale. This year,

anger has been fueled by a controversial Extradition Bill, one protesters fear could be abused by China.

Some demonstrators damaged and vandalized the inside of the legislative chamber. Now, the European Union has urged demonstrators in Hong Kong to

use restraint and dialogue to find a way forward. Meanwhile, the British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt tweeted his country's, quote, "unwavering

support" for Hong Kong and its freedoms, and said that while violence was unacceptable, citizens must have the right to peaceful protest.

Joining me now, we've got Isaac Stonefish; he's a senior fellow at the Asia Society Center on U.S.-China relations. Great to have you with us. When

you look at what played out today, you have police waiting for a very long time, watching protesters bang down the doors of parliament essentially and

not coming in to stop them. What are your thoughts when you see these images coming through from Hong Kong?

ISAAC STONE FISH, SENIOR FELLOW, ASIA SOCIETY CENTER ON U.S.-CHINA RELATIONS: This is an astonishing story, what we're seeing unfolding in

Hong Kong both today and over the last several weeks. And you do have to hand it to the Hong Kong police for as far as we can tell right now

acting with restraint.

Hong Kong is one of the world's best governed territories which is strange because the Chief Executive as we're seeing with Carrie Lam right now has

made some bone-headed mistakes. But yes, it is important to note that as far as we know right now, the Hong Kong police has acted with restraint.

GIOKOS: Yes, exactly, and what we saw is that neither party wanted any kind of violent confrontation. When police did actually come in, we saw

protesters moving away, dispersing, and then we of course saw the police just firing tear gas. It seemed pretty swift, but the question is what

happens now?

FISH: That's a great question, and it's very difficult to say. I mean, Beijing thought it was going to have a quiet 24 hours because of the deal

or at least the absence of continual war between the U.S. and China on the trade front, and that seems to be calming down. But it's very difficult to

know how hard Beijing is going to push on the situation in Hong Kong.

If they push too hard, they could spark further protests, but if they're too soft, that could give people in mainland China, the idea that, hey,

maybe they can protest as well.

GIOKOS: Yes, so Carrie Lam is going to be speaking in about half an hour, and this is going to be quite pivotal because she has said in the past that

she wants to engage more with the youth, and at the same time, they've got to make sure that they uphold the rule of law.

When you've got people going into parliament that brings into question, you know, your step forward. What do you think she's going to need to tell

people because I think that they just want this to end, they want protesters to stop protesting.

FISH: It feels like regardless of what Carrie Lam says, she's a lame duck. She does not have much longer that she will be able to say. And I think a

lot of people in Hong Kong feel that she's lost her legitimacy. So, I think you're right, I think she will try to calm people down, try to say

things that will get the protests to end.

[15:35:00] But I really think that at some point, perhaps in the next several months, maybe it will be longer to save face --

GIOKOS: Yes --

FISH: For Miss Lam, they're going to appoint someone else and her career will be over.

GIOKOS: So, when you see parliament being defaced to the extent that it was, and when we actually saw the violence that did play out, it was

actually from the protester's side. Do you think that it diminishes their cause? What do you think it does to their message and their movement?

FISH: I think we're going to see as the days move forward, which of the images from the protests are the ones that really last. Is it going to be

the Hong Kong protesters leaving money for the drinks that they have taken in LegCo in the headquarters or is it going to be some of the more violent,

more aggressive actions that they've taken.

And it's really going to be fascinating and scary and important to see how these images play out, not in Chinese state media because we have a pretty

good idea of what's going to happen there. But in the minds of people across the Chinese-speaking world and across China, and it's really

contested territory and the story is still developing.

GIOKOS: Isaac, great to have you on the show, thank you so much for your time.

FISH: Thank you.

GIOKOS: All right, so it's Iran versus Saudi once again. Geopolitical tensions are playing out as OPEC tries to set oil prices. We'll be live at

the meeting in Vienna next.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: Welcome back. So oil prices are rallying. We've got an OPEC meeting that we're watching in Vienna. It's going to be really important

because this is where the cartel decides whether to cut supply or keep supply going. We've got Brent crude sitting up seven-tenth of a percent

right now.

Remember Brent crude was actually rallying, it's done really well over the last couple of weeks because of the Iran-U.S. tensions. That has subsided

and this is why it's going to be important to decide about future supply. We've got John Defterios standing by. John, it's always a tough situation,

it's always is to and fro, who is going to cut? Who can afford to cut? So, what is the deal? What are you hearing right now?

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: Well, Eleni, when you have the tensions like we've seen in the Middle East between Saudi Arabia and

Iran and the U.S. stoking the fires with the military presence, of course, some of that drama is going to spill out here in OPEC headquarters, and

that's exactly what's taking place right now.

There are five hours beyond the deadline as we see ministers just starting to come out right now. They had some sticking points, so we understand

they're going to roll over the agreement for nine months, that gives some market clarity for their cuts of 1.2 million barrels a day.

[15:40:00] But the real sticking point was an effort by Saudi Arabia to try to formalize the OPEC-non-OPEC agreement with Russia. I'm told by

sources in the Iranian delegation, they've now signed on to the agreement, but with the Iranian caveats, they want to try to protect OPEC as it

celebrates its 60th birthday in 2020.

Let's hear from both sides, first with the Iranians and the Saudis, and we'll pick it up from there.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BIJAN ZANGANEH, OIL MINISTER, IRAN: It is important for me to protect the existence of OPEC --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: It's important --

ZANGANEH: The existence of OPEC for me is the main importance, and in this meeting, I think I -- we had achievement for better procedure for decision-

making cycle.

KHALID AL-FALIH, MINISTER OF ENERGY, SAUDI ARABIA: We've had wars, we've had conflicts, and differences between different countries. We keep them

outside the room, we come here, we're pragmatic, we talk about supply- demand balances and how to get the oil markets to stabilize and in turn lead the global economy in the right direction.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

DEFTERIOS: So, that's the effort there by Iran and Saudi Arabia. It seems like we have an agreement right now as the meeting is starting to break.

But we have some video from earlier to show you the acrimony and then trying to gloss over it, a shot of the Iranian Energy Minister Bijan

Zanganeh and then haul it off with Al-Falih of Saudi Arabia embracing before the start of the meeting.

But at the end of the day, Eleni, the brass tax here, is that Iran is losing about $50 billion a year because of the U.S. sanctions with their

exports going at this time last year around 3 million barrels a day, down to about 350,000. It's a lot of pain on Iran and they're trying to save

face taking that last stand against the formal charter between Saudi Arabia and Russia --

GIOKOS: Yes --

DEFTERIOS: That's the latest tonight.

GIOKOS: I mean, lots of geopolitical issues also playing out, I mean, we know that Iran sent a shipment of oil to China. We don't know what is

going to play out with the U.S. and Iran down the line, but at the end of the day, the U.S. does also want prices to be higher than the $65 a barrel

mark. And then you throw -- you run into the greatest scheme of things and one wonders how this is going to play out.

DEFTERIOS: Well, you know, this is interesting because the focus has been on the power of Russia and Saudi Arabia and Vladimir Putin saying before

this meeting started, he wanted a nine-month agreement and he got it. So, there was some trepidation about that.

But you're correct on bringing up the U.S. because it crossed $12 million a day last month for the first time. So, we have three gigantic producers,

Saudi Arabia, Russia and the United States. OPEC has lost 4 million barrels of production in the last couple of years between Iran, Venezuela,

Libya and Nigeria. Who filled the void? It was the United States.

So, the new reality within the OPEC-non-OPEC world is the three major producers, Saudi, Russia and the United States produced about a third of

global supplies. They are calling the shots and OPEC is getting this power water down. So, with this cut of 1.2 million barrels a day that they're

rolling over for nine more months, look at it, Eleni, as a giant shock absorber, you have to try to balance out the U.S. expansion of its

production right now and hope for the best.

The final decision that we've heard from sources here that the OPEC Secretary-General has another three-year term, Mohammed Barkindo. They

don't want to change horses as it --

GIOKOS: Yes --

DEFTERIOS: Faces challenge between Russia, Saudi Arabia and the tensions with Iran. Back to you from OPEC HQ as they -- more of the ministers come

out. We've only seen the --

GIOKOS: Yes --

DEFTERIOS: UAE minister so far, Eleni.

GIOKOS: Yes, interesting, so of course, we'll be keeping a very close watch on that to see what decision has been made. Thank you so much, John.

All right, so India now, and as the Summer heat swells, millions of people in rural areas are still left without electricity. The start-up frontier

markets is aiming to change that, bringing clean energy to households and employing women along the way. John Defterios has our report.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DEFTERIOS (voice-over): Fabi Threh(ph) is on her way to her first appointment. She is a Solar Saheli, a solar product saleswoman recruited

by company Frontier Markets. Her customers are some of the millions who live off grid in rural Rajasthan.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE (through translator): It's extremely difficult to live without electricity. When I visit these homes, women tell me that during

the Summer, power cuts happen often. We used to burn kerosene, but the houses are made of mud and can catch fire. There have been deaths. Solar-

powered products make life much easier.

[15:45:00] DEFTERIOS: The best-sellers, small panels and torches. Robust demonstrations are part of the job. Founder Ajaita Shah, Solar Saheli

Project has been a key success driver.

AJAITA SHAH, CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER, FRONTIER MARKETS: Today are 3,000 Solar Sahelis are actually addressing over half a million households needs

when it comes to clean energy challenges. They're not only communicating the benefits of clean energy, but they're actually now helping us

understand what are the next new innovations that are required to bring in for that rural household to help bridge the gap when it comes to their

life challenges.

DEFTERIOS: At the headquarters in Jaipur, Frontier Markets manufacturers wide-range solar goods locally. After eight years of hard work, marrying

their products with job creation has finally turned into profits.

SHAH: The day that people are chasing the rural customer because they want to give them products and services and they're happily living in that

village without having to move to an urban slum is a day that we achieved success. John Defterios, CNN, Jaipur, India.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: After M-Pesa brought modern banking to millions in East Africa. The man responsible for its success has passed away. Tributes are pouring

in for Bob Collymore, the Safaricom CEO. Kenya's Central Bank governor will join us to remember him. Stay with us.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: Welcome back. Now, the man who brought mobile banking to the masses in East Africa has passed away. He was Bob Collymore; the CEO of

internet provider Safaricom and the pioneer of M-Pesa. Kenya's Central Bank Governor says Collymore will live on through the lives that have been

changed by his innovations.

M-Pesa, which allows anyone with a basic mobile device to send and receive money has financially liberated millions of people. Collymore began

receiving treatment for leukemia in 2017, his condition worsened in recent weeks, he died earlier Monday as his -- at his home rather in Kenya.

He was 61 years old.

Now, I had the pleasure of speaking to him back in 2017, I had no idea that he was facing cancer. It was an extended interview, we did some of that a

few years ago, but we've pulled some new bites that we'd like you to listen to.

[15:50:00] He explained why reducing inequality is a crucial part of Safaricom's business and how that mission gave his life a sense of purpose.

Listen in.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BOB COLLYMORE, LATE FORMER CEO, SAFARICOM: Businesses cannot, simply cannot be successful in an unequal world. And we say, let us help the

world to become less unequal so that you have a market. So, when we then do things like provide free Wi-Fi which we've committed to the government

of Kenya, free Wi-Fi for schools.

The reason why we do that is because we want to bridge that digital divide so when those children come out of primary school, they are digitally

literate and then can compete with children in urban districts and other parts of the world.

GIOKOS: I get that it is about survival because that's a really good argument, but is there a personal thing for you as well?

COLLYMORE: What's happened is that we have managed to find a company that helps us to realize our purpose because there's an alignment between

what the company wants to do and what we want to do as individuals. And CEOs, they're not machines, you know, CEOs are people, and the people

person because I need a purpose-led life, not having always done, but I do now.

And you know, we're really lucky that my purpose is aligned with the purpose of this company.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

GIOKOS: That's really touching to hear a few years after I interviewed him. He was the man who revolutionized commerce in East Africa and nowhere

is that more apparent than on the streets of Nairobi. M-Pesa is the grease that allows the gears of Kenya's economy to turn a few months ago.

Richard got a hands-on look, and he was amazed to find that the forefront of a mobile banking isn't in London or New York or even Hong Kong. It's in

Nairobi with M-Pesa.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

RICHARD QUEST, CNN (voice-over): Mobile banking got started right here in Nairobi.

(on-camera): M-Pesa.

(voice-over): M-Pesa was created in 2007, its service is simple, money is sent back and forth like a text message. Transfers can be made and

received on even the most basic phones and you don't need a bank account.

(on camera): Do you use this every day?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Of course --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes --

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every day. It's easy.

QUEST: Do you take M-Pesa?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, we take M-Pesa, all right --

QUEST: Yes, of course, they do. M-Pesa?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: M-Pesa, we can accept.

QUEST: Now, this is the real test. Can I buy newspapers using M-Pesa?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes.

QUEST: Never mind American Express, VISA or MasterCard. It's M-Pesa.

(voice-over): There are only 2,000 ATMs in Kenya, compare that with 120,000 M-Pesa agents, places where Kenyans can withdraw or deposit cash in

exchange for virtual M-Pesa currency.

(on camera): You get the idea.

(voice-over): Ninety three percent of the population has access to mobile payments. In fact, transactions processed by platforms like M-Pesa account

for nearly half of Kenya's entire GDP.

(on camera): I've never quite seen a revolution in payment systems like it. Forget PayPal or Venmo, this is going right to the grassroots here,

everybody takes M-Pesa. That's what you call marketing and mobile banking.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

GIOKOS: All right, so Kenya's Central Bank Governor has been paying tribute to Bob Collymore. Patrick Njoroge has -- he's joining me now from

Nairobi and he's on the line. Governor, really, a big pleasure to speak to you, and I know that you and Bob spoke a lot. You had a really good

relationship.

A lot of the times it also means fighting it out in terms of Safaricom's role in Kenyan society because it was just taking on so much money that it

was passing through its system. Tell me about some of the most memorable moments that you have shared with Bob.

PATRICK NJOROGE, CENTRAL BANK GOVERNOR, KENYA (via telephone): Thank you very much. The first time I met Bob was in (INAUDIBLE) very soon after I

came back to Kenya about four years ago. And I remember a very cordial conversation, he was very deliberate and he on the subjects that we were

discussing. And of course, he's a soft-spoken person and which I think hide the --you know, the depth of, you know, his thoughts and so forth.

That was one media -- sort of meeting for me that I guess I won't forget because, you know, it's -- I guess I expected somebody else altogether.

And that was one of the -- I think that remarkable thing. Since then of course, we've kept in touch as a regulator and as well, he being regulated

by us, that is M-Pesa.

[15:55:00] And we observed how he had steered Safaricom to even greater heights in terms of moving from a person to person transaction to person to

business, lending services and so forth. I mean, I always was struck by his vision which I think is the most important thing to see and how he

explained that deliberately.

And that was sort of portioned on anyone else. Of course, the other thing that I think everybody was surprised by his -- had very well-rounded

personality. He loved that, for instance, he played bass guitar(ph), loved jazz like painting, and yet though at the intervals some of the reference.

You know, things like he wore multi-colored socks --

GIOKOS: Yes --

NJOROGE: Good sandals with --

GIOKOS: Yes --

NJOROGE: You know raise an eyebrow and then --

GIOKOS: Yes --

NJOROGE: And he's -- he always loved a challenge. So --

GIOKOS: Yes --

NJOROGE: Eleni, those are the thoughts and memories I have of him.

GIOKOS: Governor, thank you so very much, now, I also interviewed him so much times in my career and definitely a visionary and a big loss. Thank

you so much, sir, for joining us on the line from Nairobi, much appreciated for your time. We are about to head to the close of trade here in New

York. Let's quickly check in to see how the markets are faring right now.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

GIOKOS: Right, so last few minutes of trade on Wall Street, let's check in on the numbers, as you can see, we're up just over 100 points. We've paid

back some of our earlier gains after we opened up on a record high set back in October. There's been relief among investors after the U.S. and China

agreed on a ceasefire in their trade war and after President Trump walked back on a ban on American companies doing business with Huawei.

And coming up now any moment, Hong Kong's leader Carrie Lam is due to make her first public comments following a dramatic day of protests there.

Demonstrators occupied the government headquarters for several hours on Monday before police moved in after midnight. Lam is due to speak on the

hour at 4:00 a.m. local time from the police headquarters.

So, you can see live visuals coming through there, we are standing by. All right, and that's it for QUEST MEANS BUSINESS, I am Eleni Giokos, we'll be

bringing you that briefing from Carrie Lam as soon as it begins. For now, the closing bell is ringing in New York, "THE LEAD" with Jake Tapper is

next.

(BELL RINGING)

END