← The Globalist
Loading summary
Transcript115 lines
- [00:04]
A
Craft matters in small ways, like how a coffee is brewed, and in not so small ways, like how your money is cared for. Which is why for 160 years, UBS has elevated banking to a craft, tailoring unique strategies that combine human expertise with the latest technologies, all happening across 24 time zones and 12 key financial hubs. With you at the heart of it all, UBS advice is our craft. You're listening to the Globalist, first broadcast on 23rd August 2025 on Monocle Radio. The Globalist in association with U hello, this is the Globalist broadcasting to you live from Midori House in London. I'm Georgina Godwin on the show ahead.
- [01:17]
B
Look, first we need ceasefire, so we need to sit and speak and to understand where we are. And I think this is the most important first step.
- [01:29]
A
Vladimir Zelensky speaks to the press after his meeting with Donald Trump. And Ukraine will be on the agenda when Europe's leaders gather in Brussels today for the European Council summit. We'll look at efforts to rebuild trust and unity as the bloc faces pressure from the far right. South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa is on a South Asian tour, building alliances ahead of next month's G20 summit in Johannesburg. Our closer ties with Malaysia, Indonesia and Vietnam. An insurance policy against the increasingly tense relationship with Washington. We'll take a look through the day's papers and our security correspondent joins us from Zurich to discuss uniform designs for female soldiers. In Germany, a new AI campus aims to turn Heilbrunn, best known as the home of the supermarket chain Lidl, into Europe's next tech powerhouse. China's BYD automaker takes on Japan's most competitive car market with an electric key car built for Tokyo's narrow streets.
- [02:31]
C
And then you've got to see it as a kind of religious feast that's for the whole world.
- [02:37]
A
Financial Times journalist Simon Cooper, author of new book World Cup Fever, explores how the tournament has shaped modern global society. And we'll wrap up with the latest food and drink news from our Tokyo studios. That's all ahead here on the Globalist live from London. First, a look at what else is happening in the news. Has sanctioned Russia's biggest oil firms as Moscow staged nuclear drills and a Trump Putin summit fell apart. More than 100,000 New Zealand public sector workers have walked out in one of the country's largest strikes in decades, demanding better pay and resources. And Mongolia's top court overturned parliament's attempt to oust the prime minister, deepening political infighting and stalling Reforms in the country do. Stay tuned to Monocle Radio throughout the day for more on those stories. Now, EU leaders meet in Brussels today for what's been called the first anti far right European Council. The agenda mixes geopolitics with domestic repair, Ukraine, Gaza, defence, housing and migration as the bloc tries to prove it can still deliver for its citizens. Well, I'm joined now by Suzanne Lynch, Bloomberg's Brussels bureau chief. Suzanne, it's lovely to have you back on the show. What does the EU's new defence structure involve and why is it being presented as the bloc's next industrial engine?
- [04:08]
D
Yes.
- [04:09]
E
So EU leaders are meeting here shortly in Brussels and I think the emphasis on defence is going to be front and center. We're also expecting President Zelensky to arrive in Brussels this morning. He's going to attend this meeting in person before tomorrow's meeting of the Coalition of the Willing in London. I think the Europeans are trying to show Ukraine and trying to put on a united front when it comes to support for Ukraine. I think one of the main ways they're going to do this is by announcing agreement on the latest sanctions package against Russia. So about a month ago, the Commission proposed the 19 sanctions package of sanctions against Russia, including various measures to hit Russian banks and also entities in China and India that are perhaps helping the Russian war effort some way. There was some resistance to this from some countries including Austria, Hungary and Slovakia. But it looks like today Robert Fitzo, the Slovakian leader, is dropping his opposition and that they're going to agree those sanctions. Now, as we heard there on the bulletin, that's also significant because America for the first time has announced in a really surprise move it's going to hit those two Russian oil companies. And we do believe there was some coordination between Europe and the United States on this. So I think it is a sign of Europe, but particularly the US tightening the screws on Vladimir Putin, which of course is significant given the sense here and the concern here that Donald Trump was moving towards some kind of peace agreement with Putin. There was talk of the summit in Budapest, for example. Now it looks like that's on the back burner at the very least. So again, a kind of more flip flopping by the United States and another change in its policy towards Ukraine.
- [05:59]
A
Let's have a look at some of the other items that are likely to come up for discussion. Why has simplification become the latest, latest Brussels buzzword and what kind of deregulation are they talking about in connection with that?
- [06:12]
E
Yeah, I think, I mean, the EU has always had a reputation for maybe overregulating in some fields. And when Ursula von der Leyen came in for her second term over a year ago, you know, I think there was a sense that she said she was listening to businesses in particular. There is a sense here in Europe that the European economy broadly, you know, is not doing as well as parts of the world. And that in particular has an investment problem and an innovation issue, issue for businesses scaling up, for example. So the European Commission has brought forward kind of complex rules, changes to rules it had already suggested about, for example, reporting requirements for businesses, that some of these reporting requirements would be removed or curtailed for smaller businesses, for example. And some of these rules are in the field of your climate, those kind of issues. So just before this summit, we reported on a letter that was sent to the head of the European Council, signed by the leaders of 20 countries, calling for this simplification agenda to be first and front and center in these discussions. Cutting red tape, review of EU regulations to identify any rules that are seen as excessive. I think people are listening, particularly to the voice of business. But of course, the issue then is you have more people, maybe more on the left, environmental campaign campaigners, who do not want the EU to water down in any way anything that relates to climate legislation. They believe that the EU has always been a leader on this and that this is not the time to start cutting corners.
- [07:50]
A
Now. Migration, it's dominating the agenda once again. How far are European leaders adopting hard line ideas that were once pushed only by the far right?
- [08:01]
E
Yeah, I think we've seen over the last couple of years a shift rightwards by the European Union on migration. And I think we saw the adoption of the EU's asylum and migration pact, which includes certain measures like toughening up rules set, the ability to send people back to their home countries, including family members in some cases. And the idea, though not fully developed, of outsourcing of, you know, registering migrants in third countries and other countries before they come into Europe. These kind of ideas have become more mainstream now. Now, of course, there are differences across the block with depending on what government is in power, we see more right wing policies when it comes to migration or not. But it is significant that it is on the agenda on today's European Council with so much else going on geopolitically that the leaders are taking time to discuss this. Over the last year or so, there have also been kind of breakout meetings before the summits with certain countries, including Italy, Giorgia Meloni and meeting and discussing migration with other colleagues. So, yes, I think it's very much an indication of the political temperature on that issue.
- [09:11]
A
Now, I'm assuming that Gaza is going to come up. How united are member states on that?
- [09:17]
E
I think with Gaza, this is in Israel. This has been the one issue that. Well, one of the issues, but particularly this issue that has really revealed the divide at the heart of Europe. There are very different views on this. A lot of people feel that the European Union has done nothing really on the Israel Gaza situation is been a bystander and most significantly, it really refused to hold Israel to account in terms of seriously reassessing its trade relationship with Israel, which some countries had been calling for. Now, of course, we're in the situation post ceasefire, which means that the discussion today is going to be a lot different than it would have been if the ceasefire hadn't happened. But we're seeing divisions across country lines. So a core group of countries led by Germany, but also Austria, the Czech Republic, some of the Baltics, have historically taken a more pro Israel stance. Then on the other side you've countries like Spain, Ireland, Belgium and a growing number of countries who feel that the Palestinian plight is not being recognized enough. So I think that is going to be a very touchy conversation. But as I say, because of the ceasefire situation, I don't think it's going to be a huge call by countries for the EU to do more. And Israel, they're going to let this ceasefire play out as it is at the moment anyway.
- [10:36]
A
And finally, Suzanne, I wonder if this summit shows or will will show that the EU can still lead when faith in the wider project does appear to be fraying. Can it prove it still works for its citizens?
- [10:48]
E
Yeah, I think that's part of it. I mean, I think, you know, I think there's always been, there's always debates about the power of the eu. I don't think it's necessarily more your skepticism at the moment, but I do think the fact that they're looking at these issues of regulation and trying to change those suggests that they're aware of the political dynamics out there, particularly the rise of the right in certain countries, and they want to show that the EU matters. I think in terms of Ukraine, it's showing it has shown a lot of leadership in terms of like 19 sanctions packages are a lot of sanctions packages against Russia. So the fact that they were able to get this one over the line, I think that's going to be one of the key deliverables today. What we won't see probably though is progress or significant progress on the idea of seizing these Russian immobilized assets to help Ukraine? That's still at the discussion stage. They will discuss this today. There could be a lot of debate around the table on this, but we don't expect a decision as such or a final decision as such.
- [11:46]
A
Suzanne, thank you very much indeed. That's Suzanne lynch there, Bloomberg's Brussels bureau chief. And this is the globalist. It's 811 in Jo', Burg, 711 here in London. South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa is on a three nation visit to Southeast Asia starting in Indonesia, then Vietnam and Malaysia as he builds momentum ahead of next month's G20 summit in Johannesburg. In Jakarta, he and President Subianto agreed to speed up a defence pact and explore a new trade deal, part of a broader effort to deepen south south ties and boost cooperation on security and diplomacy. Well, I'm joined now by Brendan Von Essen who's an analyst for Africa Risk Consult. Brendan, welcome back to the show. Why is Southeast Asia such a priority for Ramaphosa at this moment?
- [12:47]
F
Hi Georgina and thanks for having me. It's priority for a few reasons. As you mentioned, it's self south cooperation is a major underpinning point of South African diplomacy. But at present South Africa is also aggressively trying to find a way to expand and diversify its trade relations and Southeast Asia has fostering economies, potential new client bases. That offers a real opportunity for South Africa to expand its trade relations and its influence at a time where it's obviously has lost some access to the US market. So let's put a priority on major countries such as Indonesia, Vietnam, Malaysia, the three countries Ramforce is traveling to. But on top of that, Indonesia is also recently an addition to brics which has also created another impetus for South Africa to build that relationship as part of the BRICS ambition of strengthen ties between its member states.
- [13:36]
A
I wonder how this tour fits into Ramaphosa's push to to position South Africa as the voice of the global South.
- [13:44]
F
I think that that's a pretty accurate assessment. I mean Ron Paulson is a statesman at heart and I think he would love to spend way more time on foreign policy and this does tie with it. He's also using the year that we host in the GSAF as hosting the G20 as an opportunity to bolster South Africa's standing in the world, particularly among developing countries, particularly amongst middle income global south countries such as South Africa, Indonesia, even South American states. And this also ties in with Africa's other Foreign policy positions, such as the ICJ case against Israel, where some Southeast Asian nations, particularly Malaysia, have expressed support for South Africa's position.
- [14:21]
A
And of course Washington vehemently opposes that. Let's talk a little bit about that because Trump has said he's not likely to attend the G20 summit and that he's unhappy with the current trade engagement between the US and sa. So what signal, signals does this closening of ties with Southeast Asia, what signals does it send to Washington given the strains in US South African relations?
- [14:49]
F
I think the primary signal it sends to D.C. is to let the U.S. administration know that South Africa does have options. I mean, we can debate about the extent to which we can replace our US augment our relationship, that is with the US in terms of trade with other partner states. But this is an opportunity for South Africa to tell the U.S. look, we know we have lost access under a go, we know we're facing these new tariffs, but South Africa still can build new trade relationships with other emerging powers. And it's been a large part of South Africa's narrative that there is a new era, emerging global politics and trade, where emerging nations will take up a larger part of trade and offer more economic opportunities. And this is a chance to try and walk that talk. The success of that obviously is yet to be determined.
- [15:35]
A
So I mean, is Ramaphosa then setting up an insurance policy as relations with the west reset and I wonder who he sees then as South Africa's natural allies.
- [15:46]
F
So I suppose, yeah, that's, I think there's a lot of truth in that, that it is definitely insurance policy, both in terms of long term planning, but also an element of South Africa has been scrambling obviously since the new U.S. tariff policy came in and ago it ended in September. And I think South Africa, to answer your question, South Africa views its natural allies as similar middle income countries that might have foreign policy leans more to the non aligned movement. So Southeast Asia is a good fit, particularly large states such as Indonesia and Malaysia. And I think Savka used similar relationships in the Occident with South America, Argentina, Brazil as those potential partners, which significantly really just brings South Africa's foreign policy deeper into the new expanded BRICS framework.
- [16:31]
A
And how does Ramaphosa's stance on Gaza reinforce the message that he wants to bring to the G20 next month?
- [16:38]
F
I think it very underpins, I mean South Africa's mission GPEN20 is wanting greater global equality, a greater emphasis on ending debt and ending oppression, and obviously a core part of Ramaphosa's personal history as well as the ruling anc. Paul, the now leading party in the coalition ANC has been opposing forms of imperialism and occupation, has always been maintain strong ties with the people of Palestine. So yes, in the G20 that will be a core debate as it's as what has happened in Gaza has become a core point in global politics causing quite stark divides. I heard all your previous guests talking about how similar divides have even emerged in Europe over the last few months.
- [17:20]
A
And just finally, how significant is it that Donald Trump won't be at the G20?
- [17:25]
F
It is significant, but it isn't devastating. So obviously the US remains the world's largest geopolitical power, largest economy and the US President not being there will obviously detract from the event and I suppose remove some prestige and prevent the G20 from able to come to certain decisions that will impact globally and maybe move the agenda forward. However, it does present other opportunities as the absence of Trump will create light and oxygen for other topics in other states to move to the fore and will obviously could undermine potential US obstructionism on a variety of issues ranging from debt forgiveness to climate change.
- [18:04]
A
Brendan, thank you very much indeed. That's Brendan von Essen, analyst for Africa Risk Consulting. Now still to come on the program.
- [18:14]
G
The challenge before us is to quickly improve technological capabilities in Germany and Europe.
- [18:21]
A
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz says Europe needs to catch up as he breaks ground on a new AI campus for Germany. But is it already too late to match the US and China? This is the globalist craft is a matter of perspective, a unique outlook, an obsessive attention to detail. With UBS's Chief Investment Office Houseview, we're focused on identifying the latest investment opportunities and market risks to help you achieve your financial goals. So you get the big picture broken down into thought provoking insights delivered daily and curated by over 200 globally connected, locally active analysts. UBS Banking is our craft. It's just coming up to 19 minutes past 7 here in London and I'm joined in the studio by Vincent McEvinney, political broadcaster and commentator. Good morning to you, Vinnie.
- [19:23]
G
Good morning.
- [19:23]
A
It's lovely to see you here. Let's talk about Russia because we often do.
- [19:28]
G
Yes, we often do.
- [19:31]
A
This is a story from Le Monde that I'd like you to pick up on about Russian secrets and how Russia's built an Arctic spy network using European equipment.
- [19:41]
G
Yeah, this is a really fascinating and timely story, particularly when we know that the US has just put in those sanctions on two Russian oil companies and how effective Russia is at getting around international Sanctions. So this is a long read investigation by Le Monde and a German TV broadcaster, channel, NDR as well. And it goes into real detail about what they've been up to in the so called sort of high north on the sort of boundaries of these sort of Arctic seas for the last couple of years, which has involved Russia building this massive network underneath of cable sensors and sonars to not only protect its own nuclear sites, but to also detect incoming submarines. Because this area is now becoming the fascination because of the way that the ice is shifting. It's opening up new lines of potential transport. And what we're seeing is really that Russia has managed to get around sanctions, being able to use shell companies to get dual use technologies. So things for instance, like drones, sea drones from Britain, sonar equipment from the United States, they've been able to not have to develop this themselves, go out to the commercial market, buy it when they were banned from buying, when they were banned from buying it, and then bring it home and build this massive network themselves. It's a really fascinating long read as to what they're doing in an area of the world where things are shifting very quickly and a lot of countries are very interested in it.
- [21:14]
A
Absolutely. Let's cross to the New York Times now. When Trump said he was building a ballroom at the White House, he did say it would be very close to the existing building, but not actually touching it. Now it turns out he's actually tearing down the East Wing.
- [21:30]
G
Donald Trump lied. Who would have thought? Yes, he had been maintaining that they were only going to be needing to make. It would be very, at first it was very close to the East Wing and then it was going to be, we're only taking down the facade and we'll extend it out. Now they've just sort of said, because they can't, they've been trying to stop people taking photos from nearby areas. Now they've just given up the ghost and said, oh yeah, we've, we're tearing the whole thing down, down. Oh, and by the way, it's $300 million now, not $200 million as I told you. I mean, I think if you were an American, this, you, the symbolism of this I think could come back to haunt him. Tearing down an actual section of the White House that is over 100 years old that is supposedly under protection orders. The fact that he just as always, it is the sort of Silicon Valley move fast, break things, then the courts and the public can catch up with me. This happened without announcement. It was only when people spotted this machinery Turning up that they knew that this full demolition was getting underway. And they've tried to obfuscate in the past couple of days as it's been going on, as to the extent, but now they can't. You know, you can't point. You can't point to a pile of bricks now of what was the East Wing and say, oh, it's only sort of minor renovations whilst we build this spectacular.
- [22:43]
A
And it's got to go through some official body which hasn't actually given. Given its approval yet.
- [22:47]
G
Exactly, yeah. That hasn't given its approval whatsoever. And, you know, they're trying to point out that successive presidents have done big renovations, but renovations are one thing, but this is sort of tearing down an entire structure that stood there since 1902. It's housed the offices of first ladies, the social secretary offices. It's also played host to some sort of key meetings over the years and in the Clinton administration. But what he's trying to build, I mean, first of all, this huge structure, I mean, he's only got three more years left in the White House on paper, and building a ballroom at the time when the government is shut down, when his administration is trying to block furloughed workers from getting what they normally get, which would be back pay once the government's back up and running. I mean, I think he is really testing the boundaries now of how much the public will go along with him ahead of the, you know, we've got the midterms next year. If you were the Democrats, you would think, well, this is a gift. This, you know, this imagery of him literally tearing down the people's House, something he doesn't own. I think they should plaster it all over their. Their advertising campaigns.
- [23:57]
A
The, the. He. He gave a dinner for people who had donated to this. It's all funded by private donors. And he said, we've made enough money, in fact, we've got extra, and I think we might use it to build the Arc de Trump.
- [24:12]
G
The Arc de Trump, indeed. And he was showing them three different sizes. It was like, if you invest this much, we get this. In this much, you get this. This much, we can go the full hog. I mean, it was like a timeshare salesperson.
- [24:25]
A
Oh, let's just move on. I can't. I just can't. Oxford Rail link to reopen as Europe's Silicon Valley takes shape, says the Times.
- [24:33]
G
Love a rail story here at My Monocle, don't we? And it is a big celebration here in the UK, because I think it's 250 years or no. Is it 200 years of rail? Is the. Is the big celebration? And Britain, if you look at a map. Yeah, railway 200. A celebration of 200 years of rail. If you look at a map of Britain's rail network in the early 1960s, you see lines everywhere. And then there were these reforms. I think it was the Beeching Reform. And so much of it was shuttered, including a line that ran between Oxford and Cambridge. And since then that. That line has sort of just been dormant. There's been freight that's passed along it, but it's not been used. So if you want to go between those two great universities and sort of science research cities, you have to come into London on public transport, go back out. Is the. Is the sort of quickest way, effectively not quick at all. So they're opening up this branch line very soon, which. Which is quite exciting. And they're trying to do sort of. They're calling it sort of the Silicon Valley triangle. So it'll be a sort of triangle with London at the bottom as well. And they're going further now and extending an extra part of this line. And building on the Cowley branch line will reopen. It's been only used by a BMW factory since the 1960s to move minis back and forth. And now it's going to be, in addition to this line, a sort of new branch. 120 million funding for a new science site, which is going to be backed by Larry Ellison. It will be a big investment in terms of research in Oxford. And it does show that railways do bring investment, that, you know, this is an American kind of initiative coming in here. But they see the benefit in having their own railway station being designed by Lord Foster, that workers can get in and out from, rather than having cars, more traffic on the road.
- [26:26]
A
I was up and down on the train a lot last week to Cheltenham, where the literary festival was going on. And there were huge problems on the train, signal failures and all sorts of things. And at one point everybody had to get off the train and then get on a train somewhere else. And it was just.
- [26:43]
G
The worst words in Britain are rail replacement, bus service.
- [26:47]
A
But the point was there was a very long wait until the next train. But I could see that there were a number of other trains coming through. So I asked inspector or whatever he was about it, and he said, oh, no, but those are run by other networks. And this sort of cry took up in the carriage, nationalize the railways. And it's true.
- [27:03]
G
I mean, well, that's what Britain is heading towards their Great British Rail. Essentially our sort of decades long, which.
- [27:08]
A
We used to have.
- [27:09]
G
Right, yeah. And our decades long experiments since the 1980s in privatisation, which has ultimately failed even by the end of their time in power. The Tories accepted that it didn't work as a model. You know, franchises don't work, you see not enough investment in the line. You've seen sort of poorly managed contracts and now they're all being as gradually phased into one company as those contracts expire.
- [27:31]
A
Well, it's not just Britain's institutions that are bad at things. Turns out the Louvre was pretty lax with its security.
- [27:41]
G
Very lax. And I was slightly fascinated going back to. Do you remember when we were in Paris for the Olympics in 2024? My spot for the opening ceremony was literally by this window. I was down there in a sort of press spot, cover it in part from Monocle. And I was very surprised actually, because I'd never been to that sort of section. You know, you walk into the front of the Louvre, the pyramid. You go around, you go out. I'd never been in that section of the Louvre and I couldn't believe how street facing it was, how there was no sort of perimeter wall around the external walls. And I think there are serious questions. And there's two pieces here, so one in the Telegraph, the thieves who stole that truck with the lift mount, which is kind of common in Paris because that's how you move furniture into, you know, the lovely grand apartments and things, things because of the spiral staircases. They had stolen it nine days before and had swapped the plates over. So that vehicle had been missing for nine days. Police action, they hadn't found it. And then you've got the museum itself. The area was not covered by CCTV on the external wall, which seems absolutely extraordinary and such a dereliction of duty. We now get estimates that the jewels, you know, we were told they were historically, they're, you know, priceless, but they are around the 100 million US dollar marks. I was speaking to a forensic art expert the other day who, who's sort of tracked down a lot of paintings and other works. He said that paintings are increasingly hard to get rid of, but jewels, he said they will have been broken down within the day, sewn into the linings of garments. They'll head to Antwerp, Tel Aviv, India, they will be cut up and sold and they will likely never be seen again. It's such a cultural loss for France. But you do have to think if there are two collections similar in the uk You've got the VNA jewelry room, which is essentially in a vault buried deep in the V and A, which is open. It's a spectacular room. I'd really recommend it free to visit as well. And then you've got our crown jewels in the Tower of London. I mean, you've got a moat, external wall, another wall, another building that they are in, again in what is essentially a vault structure. In that building with the huge doors, no windows. There are serious questions as to why they thought placing such valuable items on the periphery of the building was a good idea in the first place, despite the failures and everything.
- [30:00]
A
El Vincent, thank you very much Indeed. That's Vincent McEvinney and this is the Globalist on Monocle Radio. Now here's what else we're keeping an eye on today. The U.S. has imposed sweeping sanctions on Russia's oil giants Rosneft and Lukoil, accusing Moscow of using energy revenues to fund its war in Ukraine. The move came as the Kremlin staged nuclear drills and a planned Trump Putin summer. It collapsed. Over 100,000 teachers, nurses, doctors and firefighters in New Zealand have gone on strike, demanding higher pay and better conditions from the centre right government. The mass walkout, the largest in decades, underscored growing frustration over cuts to public services. And Mongolia's Constitutional Court struck down parliament's vote to remove the prime minister, siding with the president and upending the balance of power. Power analysts warn the decision could prolong political turmoil and stall much needed economic reform. This is the Globalist. Stay tuned now for a look behind the headlines. Here's Monocle Security correspondent Gurana Gurgik on the need for better equipment for female soldiers.
- [31:23]
E
For decades, the lazy answer to the female quote, unquote problem in military design was simply to shrink it and pink it to make the men's version of a piece of kit smaller and color it in pastel. This quick fix had real costs. Ill fitting body armor, flight suits and even underwear reduced performance and raise injury rates. To complain about this isn't vogue. It's a matter of pointing out a design problem that has operational consequences. Only in the the past few decades has research started to catch up. The U.S. army's combat capabilities Development Command recently decided to treat bras as mission equipment, not fashion accessories. Designers held surveys and focus groups, prototyped flame resistance concepts with adjustable support and explored the link between fit and comfort fabrics and focus. The results, better fitting, more functional garments. These fixes belong to a broader engineering doctrine called human systems integration. Under Joe Biden, NASA And Pentagon guidelines required anthropometry, ergonomics and human factors to be integrated early into system design to ensure that equipment was usable. Despite this progress, there is still some way to go. The solution is simple. Mandate mixed body anthropometric testing in procurement, fund targeted R and D and run field trials with diverse users. Design isn't neutral. When a boot, bra or flight suit is built around a default form, it entrenches assumptions about who counts as a soldier. Fixing this shouldn't be seen as part of a culture war. Its ingenuity engineering that would help in the event of a real one.
- [33:17]
A
That was Monocle's Gurana Gurgiek and her column is featured in the brand new November issue of Monocle magazine. It's out on newsstands today. This is the globalist. It is 8:33 in Heilbronn, 7:33 here in London. Germany has broken ground on what it hopes will become Europe's leading AI hub. A vast new campus in the otherwise little known city of Heilbronn. Backed by 80 companies and some 3 billion euros in investment, including 2 billion from the family behind retail giant Lidl, the project aims to turn a supermarket town into Europe's Menlo Park. But can Germany innovate at scale and catch up with the US and China in the field of artificial intelligence? Well, to explore that, I'm joined now by Meren Gull, who is an expert on entrepreneurship and author of the New Geography of Innov Merrin. It's great to have you on the program. What makes Heilbronn the chosen site for this project? And why build an AI hub from scratch there rather than somewhere like Berlin or Munich?
- [34:29]
H
Thank you so much for having me, Georgina. So I think the answer is simple, which is Dieter Schwartz, who is Germany's richest person, who calls Heibron his hometown. And this is not the first time that he has invested heavily in his hometown. He. He has previously brought globally known universities like ETH from Switzerland to come to Hebron as well. And it's primarily because his, his foundation, the Schwarz group, is pouring $2 billion into this initiative that this relatively unknown town has become the center of AI, not just in, in, in Germany, but in Europe in general.
- [35:10]
A
I wonder why the Schwartz family want this hub on their doorstep.
- [35:13]
E
Step.
- [35:15]
H
So there has been a question mark over what is called the Mittelstand in Germany, which is the traditional way of doing business there, that companies are essentially family owned. They don't go public. Ownership is heavily concentrated among a small group of people and this has been criticized recently for holding back innovation. So we have seen many of these middle stand owners, owners, not just Schwartz, but also Suzanne Clarkin as well, who, who owns stakes in BMW for instance, investing heavily in in Germany's new generation of companies.
- [35:52]
A
Do you think that a private led initiative like this can help Germany close the gap with US and China in terms of AI?
- [36:00]
H
So I think there's still many question marks about this initiative. It is important to mention that, that they have just done the groundbreaking and the campus doesn't open for another two years and then people don't move in for another three years. So if you look back three years in the past, the revolution essentially had not happened in 2022. ChatGPT was released in November 2022. The entire landscape can change in the next three years. Nvidia was not a trillion dollar company in 2022. It is now a $4 trillion company company. So even though this is a step in the right direction, it is far too early to tell whether this can be the launch pad for Germany's ambitions in AI. Because if the first companies don't move in for another three years, we don't expect that anything meaningful will happen for another four or five years. So there is a lot that needs to be done in the interim to make Germany competitive in AI.
- [36:56]
A
And I wonder what kind of ecosystem such as researchers, startups, investors need to grow around Heilbronn for this to work and will that talent want to be based there? You're asking a lot of talented people to relocate to somewhere that isn't one of the major centres.
- [37:13]
H
So this has happened before. Innovation centers often get a bad rap for not being very effective. And while it might be true in general we do have very successful examples like the Stanford Research park which opened in 1951, which essentially was the boot sequence for Silicon Valley Valley. Shenzhen was also a centrally directed effort at creating an entire city from scratch, which is now the innovation capital of China. So you know, I think hubs work, we have also seen that at King's Cross in London as well. But is it going to be like the many science and tech parks that we see in Russia or is it going to be like the Stanford Research park or Shenzhen Zen? I think that still still remains to be seen.
- [38:03]
A
Mirin, thank you very much indeed. That's Mirin Gul who is author of the New Geography of Innovation. You're with Monocle Radio. Chinese automaker BYD is expanding its presence in Japan Japan through a new retail partnership and the launch of an Affordable, small electric vehicle. BYD will team up with Japanese retail group aon to sell EVs at around 30 outlets nationwide by the end of the year. At next week's Japan Mobility show in Tokyo, BYD will also unveil an affordable, fully electric key car, its first model developed specifically for the Japanese market. Market. So to tell us what impact this could have on Japan's auto market, I'm joined by Hans Grimmel, who is Asia editor of Automotive News. Hans, welcome to the show. Could you tell us about BYD's strategy in the Japanese market and how well it's working so far?
- [39:08]
B
Well, BYD is a rather new entrant here in Japan. It's not having great success so far with EVs, but that's mostly because of two factors, I would say. One, EVs are not very popular to begin with in Japan. And number two, it's a foreign company, an overseas company, and they have traditionally had a hard time breaking into Japan's market. When we look at the new strategy, it happens to have perhaps a little bit more chance of success because they are really focusing on this Kei car segment, this mini car segment that's unique to Japan and has such a big share of the market here.
- [39:45]
A
Tell us about this Kei car. Why is it popular? What does it look like? Like, and why is it particularly suitable for Japanese roads?
- [39:55]
B
Well, it's a unique kind of car or a unique segment that gets special tax considerations here in Japan. That makes it a little bit more affordable, but it also has to kind of be boxed into certain dimensions. It's very small, it's very narrow, it's very light. The engine horsepower is limited on it as well. So it's a very, very tiny car, something that probably wouldn't sell very well in many other markets. It's unique here because it also is uniquely suited to the roads, which are very narrow in Japan and small. So it fits in a tight places very easily. Actually, this segment as a whole eats up about or takes up about 30% of the overall market. So it's a very sizable business here. And if BYD can crack into that, but with an electric version, it might be onto its way to more volume.
- [40:50]
A
Tell us about this partnership with aon. Could that bring changes to Japan's traditional car sales structure?
- [40:56]
B
Well, it's an interesting strategy, and it's partly due to necessity because BYD does not have a long, wide and extensive dealer network here. The other automakers, the traditional players, of course, have a very exciting, extensive traditional dealer network, and that's traditionally the way that Japanese people like to buy their cars with a one to one personal relationship with a dealer in a local store where they can go in for repairs and service. BYD is starting off without that kind of backbone to its business here. So working through an established retailer like Aon, which has stores all over the country. Country can give it a quick start.
- [41:41]
A
And I wonder how Japan's major car makers are responding to BYD's move.
- [41:48]
B
Well, they aren't responding yet, but they are trying to get maybe a little bit ahead of the game by introducing their own all electric Kei cars for these mini cars for Japan. We see that becoming a trend. We have already in the market. We have Honda with one, Mitsubishi with one, Nissan with one. Suzuki is expected to introduce one as well. So you have these other local makers coming in with the cars as well. So they're giving BYD a run for their money.
- [42:19]
A
Just tell me a little bit about the infrastructure for supporting electric cars in Japan. Are there many, many charging stations?
- [42:25]
B
No, that's another big strike against electric cars here. A lot of people live in apartment buildings or apartment blocks where the charging infrastructure is not very well established or they have a hard time flying, finding or installing their own home chargers. And meanwhile the charging infrastructure around the big cities is not very well established as well, partly due to space constraints and expense. That is why, as opposed to electric vehicles, hybrid vehicles, which have a gasoline engine and electric motor are more popular in Japan.
- [43:01]
A
And finally, what does this move by BYD tell us about the next stage of China's global EV expansion? Expansion and also Japan's ability to respond to it.
- [43:12]
B
Well, this is a real frontal assault on Japan's home market and the last bastion of their domestic business that they thought that they had all to themselves. Few foreign automakers really tried to challenge the Japanese in the mini car segment here, partly because of the expense and the hassle, if you will, of having to develop, develop and do the R D and the cost to make a car that fits into that segment's special rules which, which has only limited. You can basically sell it only one place in the world. So it's really been a kind of a deterrent to many auto, global auto players to, to enter that segment here. Byd I think is taking the idea that if they can make it in Japan and compete against the, the compete and win against the Japanese players in their last bastion, then probably they can compete anywhere on the world stage against the Japanese. So that's a big threat to them.
- [44:12]
A
Hans, thank you very much. Indeed, that's Hans Greimel, who is Asia editor of Automotive News. And this is the globalist on monocle Radio, iq, EQ and AI. Three components key to the craft of innovation at ubs. Because to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving age, you need a partner with decades of experience, endless passion for the work and a finger on the pulse of leading technologies. Bridging human expertise with artificial intelligence, all to elevate you. Ubs banking is our craft. And now it's time to discuss football. More precisely, the appeal of the World Cup. Author and Financial Times journalist Simon Cooper, also one of the best football writers out there, has just released a new book, World Cup Fever, A Footballing Journey in Nine Tournaments, on how football has transformed the world. Monocle Radius for Fernando Augusta Pacheco caught up with him.
- [45:27]
C
I interview a vicar here in London who says that you've got to see it as a kind of religious feast that's for the whole world. So a religious feast like Easter or like Eid or Hanukkah, which is a time of celebration, escape from the drudgery of life, and a World cup is that. But everyone is invited. So whether you're Brazilian or Iraqi or English, and we have this love of our neighbor nation, but it's also appreciation of others and kind of everyone's talking about Brazil or everyone's talking about France, as the case may be. And so it's a kind of nation and planetary celebration. It's very strange.
- [46:04]
G
It's very strange. And for me, it's more powerful than the Olympics. I don't know if I'm allowed to say this.
- [46:09]
C
Yeah, I mean, I live in Paris. I saw the Olympics last year, went to a lot of events, and I do find it quite boring in the Olympics. I think most people in the crowds, when I look around, also find it boring because you're at archery or Paul Walsing or whatever, and most people have no idea what's going on. And so people are there for the event and they kind of. They're having a good time. In a World cup, people are engaged to the core of their being. And, you know, in the book I describe, I remember World cup matches from when I was 8 years old in 1978. I can describe moments to you as most people who love World cup can. And I began going in 1990. So the book catalogs the seven World Cups I've been to and how the World cup captures the world. And it's about football, but about so much more.
- [46:55]
G
So much more. Because even the countries that are hosting those events. I mean, suddenly in 2010, you have South Africa, which I know is very close to your heart. 2014, Brazil, you know, some new countries were hosting the World cup, and then Qatar, you know, so even the countries that are chosen have changed. Changed, right.
- [47:11]
C
Yeah. So the World cup was really a kind of Euro, Latin American duopoly into the 1990s, and almost nobody else gets a chance to play and suddenly not host. So in 1990, my first World cup, there were three teams from the British Isles, England, Scotland and Ireland. There were two teams from the whole of Asia, two teams from the whole of Africa. And so, yeah, for a country like South Africa or Qatar to be given a World cup, that country also goes on and journey. It's this question of, who are we? What do we want to be? What are our ambitions? And then this fantasy that you can remake yourself through a World Cup. So World cup doesn't so much change the country, but it takes the country on this journey that lasts, you know, sometimes up to a decade from when it's chosen as host. And it's fantastic to watch that country go through that. I mean, you, as a Brazilian, saw that around 2014.
- [48:01]
G
Absolutely. And I was there. That was actually the only World cup, which. Which I attended to, and it was against your country, which is you.
- [48:09]
H
Let's.
- [48:09]
C
You're.
- [48:09]
G
You're a Dutch supporter, right?
- [48:11]
C
I'm not Dutch, but I support Holland very passionately. Yes. And so World Cups are a highlight of my sort of attachment to Holland country. I grew up and was not a citizen. And, yeah, I mean, we. We beat Brazil 3 nil. And in fact, it was almost anticlimactic because it was four days after Brazil had lost by a rather large margin. Yeah, that was the game I was.
- [48:34]
G
In the stadium for. And I remember we were very sedated, the Brazilians, because we had that trauma after Germany, and then we were like, let. I mean, the Dutch are winning. They're the best. They're the best today. So we have to give in to them in a way.
- [48:45]
C
Well, I watched the Brazil, Germany 17 in a bar on the Avenida Paulista in Sao Paulo, and a Financial Times editor calls me after about 20 minutes and he says, it's two nil. Brazil's going out. You have to write a story about this. And as I'm talking to him, it goes from 2 nil to 5 nil in 5 minutes. And at half time, I walk down the avenue of Paulista to see how people, Brazilians are taking it. Because every, you know, Every bar is packed, people are wearing the canarina, the yellow shirt.
- [49:15]
G
Yes.
- [49:15]
C
And I think, how are people going to react? And they were laughing their heads off. People were laughing and it was just a kind of, it was so bad, it was hilarious, was so absurd. I, I, I even thought that they.
- [49:25]
G
Were replaying the go on tv and I was like, no, that, that can't be true. That really cannot be true. But okay, let's start from the beginning, from your first World cup that you've attended. That was 1990, and I'm not sure if you can say that, but it was not by accident. But a friend of yours invited, right? So it was kind of.
- [49:43]
C
Yeah. So I'm at University, I'm 20 years old and I'm, I'm in the bar and a friend of mine comes up and he said, if you had tickets for the world to cup in Italy, would you go? And I thought, I don't really understand the question because yes, of course, but I don't have tickets. How would I get tickets to the World Cup? And he said, oh, don't worry, I've got tickets, I can get as many tickets as we need. And it turned out he knew a guy whose dad worked for Mars. Mars had invited all these sponsors from around the world, but in 1990, North Americans didn't care about soccer, agents didn't care about soccer, and everyone, the whole story of the World cup was hooliganism. You know, the English hooligans were going to destroy Italy, which to some degree did happen. And so Mars couldn't invite its guests. The guests didn't want to come, the sponsors didn't want to come. So Mars had been left with hundreds of tickets. So me and two friends, we drive to Dover and we, you know, take the train from, from Calais to Italy. They won't let us in at first because they think we're English hooligans. And so that's my first World Cup.
- [50:40]
G
How was the feeling for you? Because for you, as you always loved football, right?
- [50:44]
F
Yes.
- [50:44]
C
In the beginning, I mean, it just felt insane to be at a World Cup. Like how, you know, it's as if suddenly you've been elected president of the United States. It's just, it's just beyond what I'd ever imagined. I thought, I'll never go to a World Cup. I had a cousin when I was growing up and his dad had been to the World Cup, I guess in some kind of sponsor capacity and he'd got a photo with Pele, you know, everyone who went to the World cup as a sponsor, ended up shaking Pele's hand, getting a photo. So my cousin had this picture in his room of his dad with Pele. And I thought, that is the most glamorous, exciting thing that could ever happen to me. It was unimaginable that anyone in my family could meet Belay. So then it sort of happened to me. I never met Pele.
- [51:27]
A
That was Simon Cooper, author of World Cup Fever, A Footballing Journey in nine tournaments. And you can listen to the full interview on the Monocle Weekly on Monocle Radio. You're listening to the Globe.
- [51:38]
C
Listen.
- [52:09]
A
And finally on today's show, it's time for a roundup of news from the world of food and drink in Asia. And for that, I'm delighted to say that I'm joined from our Tokyo studio by Melinda Jo, who's a food, sake and wine journalist based in Tokyo. Hello to you, Melinda.
- [52:26]
D
Hi, Georgina. Nice to be here.
- [52:27]
A
I understand that you are sitting in our Tokyo studio with a bottle of sat Sake.
- [52:33]
D
Oh, gosh, yes. Just in case, I thought I would would bring it along. I was hoping that maybe we could taste during the segment, but I'm not sure if that's really something that you guys allow or not.
- [52:46]
A
Oh, it's positively encouraged. I'm just really sad that you're not directly physically in front of me because I'd love some sake. Even though it is before 8am that.
- [52:56]
D
Is no problem whatsoever. As I said before, I am a professional. Just to let you know why I brought the sake, it only because it's not really a fun trend. But as you might know, there have been soaring rice prices because of a rice shortage in Japan for this whole year. And once again, the rice prices have shot up, which has actually significantly impacted the sake industry. So normally a lot of the sake rice growers would get more money for growing the sake rice, but because of the high demand and the high price prices, a lot of them have shifted to table rice. And this puts sake makers in a really bad position because the costs are going up majorly. And unfortunately, that means that some of the prices will be rising for a lot of the brands starting this autumn. But I wanted to say that please don't be discouraged by that. If you can, please just continue to support especially independent and small producers of sake because they are doing amazing work. And. And this season is the season for an autumnal sake called Hiya Orochi, which is a style of sake that I brought today.
- [54:07]
A
What does it taste like?
- [54:09]
D
Well, normally sake is pasteurized Twice. And usually. Well, I should say that it's brewed normally in the winter and then pressed in the spring. And often it's pasteurized twice before before it's being sold. But this style of sake is allowed to rest over the summer and normally just pasteurized once. So it has both a fresher taste, but also the roundness and mellowness that comes with aging for six months.
- [54:39]
A
All right, so beyond sake, tell me about the cocktail scene in Asia.
- [54:44]
D
Sure. So the cocktail scene in Asia is really, really lively. You might know that there was recently The World's Famous 50 Best Bars awards in Hong Kong. And for the first time, a bar from Asia took the number one spot. It was Bar Leone from Hong Kong. Watershed moment for us in Asia. And also the bars in Tokyo, there have been normally just a couple of bars, but we had a little bit of an increase this year.
- [55:19]
A
And what do you think that's down to?
- [55:21]
D
Well, I think that the general trend is that we're seeing a bit of a global diffusion in the cocktail scene. So previously, if you look, let's just say, at the world's 50 best bars, previously, London and New York would have, like, accounted for probably more than a quarter of the bars. But now we're seeing a lot more new markets enter. So, for example, some bars from Eastern Europe got onto the list for the first time. And Tokyo, Paris and Athens are now, like, really contenders, like on the tail of New York and London.
- [55:59]
A
Can the same be said for restaurants? Are we seeing the eating out sort of diffusing, if you like, beyond the traditional big centers?
- [56:09]
D
Oh, certainly. I think that this is a trend both in food and drinks globally, but certainly we see that in Japan. For example, you probably also know that we've had record numbers of tourists here in Japan. Like, I think for the first half of this year, it was something like 21, 22 million visitors, which is extraordinary. But of course, they all go to Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. Our restaurant scene in Tokyo is amazing. We just had the Michelin awards ceremony. And once in again, Tokyo is the city with the most starred restaurants in the world, which is fantastic for the consumers. However, the one problem is that with all of the overseas tourists, we're seeing really difficult. We're seeing more difficulty getting restaurant reservations and also higher prices, partly because of that, but not only. It's also because there are so many people coming, they're looking for new places to go outside of the major megacities. And so we see a lot of interest in places like Kanazawa and Toyama and also Fukuoka, where I just came back from.
- [57:22]
A
Oh, yes, tell us about that briefly.
- [57:24]
D
Fukuoka is really a food lover's paradise. It is probably my favorite place to go in Japan to eat and drink. The people are some of the friendliest that you'll ever meet. But the quality of the and the breadth of restaurants and bars in Fukuoka is amazing.
- [57:40]
A
Is there a regional speciality in terms of food?
- [57:42]
D
Oh, there are many. There are so many. Well, I mean, ramen is hugely popular in Fukuoka. And the style of ramen that they are popular for is a kind of pork, very dense pork broth, ramen. But also there is udon, which is another noodle dish. They have a specialty that's made with beef and fried burdock root, which is super tasty. But then there's just so much variety there. The chicken, hot pots. But even, like fine dining is expanding.
- [58:19]
A
Yeah. I'm going to leave you to enjoy your sake and I suspect that Ryoma is there and is going to help you out. So many thanks to you, food journalist Melinda Jo in Tokyo. And that's all for today's show program. Thanks to our producers Chris Chermak, Hassan Anderson and Ryoma Takashi, our researcher Joanna Moser, and our studio manager, Lily Austin with editing assistant from Elliot Greenfield. After the headlines, there's more music on the way. And the briefing is live from Paris with Tyler Brulee at midday, London time. The globalists will return at the same time tomorrow. I'm Georgina Godwin. Thank you. Thank you for listening. With ubs, you have a truly global partner incorporating new technologies, innovative approaches and unexpected opportunities, leading you to insights that help answer the questions that matter. Delivered with passion, care and unmatched expertise. Because it's about rising with the dawn each day, knowing that we can do even better. That's what banking is to us. Not just work, but a craft. UBS advice is our craft.