haidi: good morning, we are counting down to asia's major market open. kathleen: welcome to "bloomberg daybreak: asia." our top stories this hour, president biden's relief bill is one step closer with house approval expected to follow in the senate. it is expected to live markets at the start of a new week. oil expected to extend his bull

run after saudi arabia it says key terminal was attacked, one of the most protected energy facilities in the world. and on international women's day, we look at that containing lack of female high flyers in the corporate world. we are joined by fortescue's elizabeth gains this hour. haidi: breaking news crossing the bloomberg. ge nearing a deal to combine its aircraft leasing unit with another firm according to dow jones potentially a $30 billion plus deal to combine the general electric leasing business with alan aercap holdings, according to people familiar with the matter quoted in the report. this is the latest in a series of moves by ge, to restructure its massive sprawling operations in aviation. we do not have much more when it comes to details, other than the apparent valuation of more than $30 billion. we are expecting an announcement monday, if talks continue to stay together.

the ge unit is a once ambitious lending operation what we saw during the 2008 financial crisis it nearly sank. already ge has been taking steps back from the lending business in 2015, wanting to exit the book of ge capital, this would be another significant move by the ceo, to write the course of a company that has gone through many struggles and recent heirs -- years, thanks to a lot of difficulty in its business lines. let's take a look how we are faring in sydney so far. sophie: this monday, asia suffered after the index fell toward a one month low friday. we are seeing a response and aussie shares the asx 200 at half a percent. the bond market is taking a breather without the yield coming in at four basis points this morning. gd securities recommending long aussie bonds versus treasuries

given the fed is not pushback on rising u.s. yield. australia is said to end its cobit jobs program at the end of this month. the aussie dollar holding this morning around the 77 level. switching the boards to nikkei futures, the index fell for second straight week while the yen is trading above the 10 level. -- above the 108 level. a saudi oil terminal was attacked over the weekend. wti jumping about $67 and brent above $70, gaining 2% in the early asia sent, -- session extending the rally for a fourth straight day. the offshore yuan trading 651 this morning, considering the latest trade data. exports jumping in the first two months of the year showing strong demand even against a low base. and gaining ground after u.s. stocks climbed friday led by the tech sector. the nasdaq did ease losses for the week and cap a third straight week of declines.

kathleen: other big news, china's exports for january and february surged above economists'forecasts even though the figures are distorted from a low base it from 2020 when the economy was a lockdown, the numbers reflect up boom in global demand in the first two months of the air. let's go to our chief north asia correspondent stephen engle for more. it looks like the recovery is back on track and potentially stronger than ever if we take these numbers at face value? >> yes but you also have to take these numbers with a grain of salt because, as you mentioned, there are a lot of distortions in the january and february period, and that is why they combined those two months on the euro of your basis, but last year in january and february of 2020, we saw exports obviously plunge 17.5%, 70.4% because we are in the beginning of the pandemic in china -- 17 point 4%

because we are in the be gain of the panama can china -- 17.4%, and the beginning of the pandemic in china. this january and february it came at a 60% gain year-over-year, yes, there's a low base effect and distortion seasonally because near was in fiber this year, but you are seeing strong -- in february this year but you're seeing strong pneumatic he export markets, and the united states as well as your. also the -- as well as europe. also the import scenario we heard through cctv president xi xinping is labeling the next five-year plan through 2025 and beyond, the theme is going to be high quality development. if you are looking at the import situation, the consumption trend is picking up. we had year-over-year gains an important at 22.2%, a large increases in china's purchases of steel and natural gas, and a plunge in coal, that is key.

all in all, you have the base effect, yes. you have a lunar new year distortion, which was shortened this year because people were not traveling as much. so factory started up again sooner, so there was more production. and you have the big demand. haidi: in the meantime, the national people's congress continues in earnest. we have had morning on taiwan to the u.s.. >> this is to be expected with the new administration coming in, the chinese do not want to repeat necessarily the beginning of the trump administration. trump had a phone call with the president of taiwan, and there were questions about the one china policy and china does not entertain questions. they believe it is their of course territory.

this is what was said at the press conference at the national people's congress, the united states needs to stop crossing lines and playing with fire on taiwan, there's no room for compromise or concessions, it is important the u.s. recognizes this otherwise the world will remain far from tranquil. again, both sides accusing each other of bullying. wang yi saying the truck damage described it -- the trump damage described it as a battle of hegemony, high handedness and bullying and interference. just getting comments as well sunday in the united states from u.s. defense secretary lloyd austin saying, china has been coercive at times, with its asian allies. and also the secretary of state anthony lakin has been quite sharp -- anthony blinken has been quite sharp on how they need to engage with china and china being a key competitor going forward.

haidi: let's get you to vonnie quinn with the first word headlines. vonnie: saudi arabia says its oil export terminal has come under attack, but production appears to be under -- unaffected after a barrage of missiles was intercepted. the energy ministry says there is no injuries or property damage. the attack is reported to be the most serious since to oil fields came under fire in september, 2019. the u.s. b-52 bomber is over the middle east and what is seen as the latest warning to iran. accompanied by aircraft from israel and side arabia and qatar with the second deployment under president biden of the force this year. flight tracking data show the bombers flew from north dakota though that has not been confirmed by the pentagon. myanmar is plunging further into chaos, protesters staged new

rallies across the country. witnesses say in yangon security forces fired tear gas and stun guns and gave 20 years in prison for dissidents. 52 people of a known to be killed in protest since february. reports from thailand say the government is starting to relax quarantine rules to foreign visitors from next month, a boost to the vital tourism sector after your of restrictions. the bangkok post says talks money will discuss letting foreigners leave hotel rooms after three days of mandatory isolation, although they will still have to stay on hotel grounds. global news 24 hours a day on air and at bloomberg quicktake. powered by more than 2700 journalists and analysts in more than 120 countries. i am vonnie quinn. this is bloomberg. kathleen: up next, president biden is nearing a first legislative victory with his $1.9 trillion relief bill.

it will be the second largest aid package in u.s. history. the mining sectors having the lowest proportion of female managers and workers among all industries. one of the most powerful voices in the space tells us what can be done, to change this. we will speak to the fortescue group ceo elizabeth gaines, later this hour. haidi: and plenty more big interviews i had on international women's day. from twitter, fidelity, and others with us over the course of the next few hours. this is bloomberg. ♪ when you switch to xfinity mobile, you're choosing to get connected to the most reliable network nationwide, now with 5g included. discover how to save up to $300 a year with shared data starting at $15 a month, or get the lowest price for one line of unlimited. come into your local xfinity store to make the most of your mobile experience. you can shop the latest phones, bring your own device,

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idi: president biden is nearing a first legislative when with the covid relief bill passing in the senate heading for final vote in the house. pres. biden: and obviously was

not always easy. it was not a waste pretty. but it was so desperately needed, urgently needed. everything in this package is denied -- designed to relieve the suffering and the needs of the most urgent needs in the nation and put us in a position to prevail. haidi: ross crescent and washington, he said it was 25 hours of amendment votes, from here how quickly does this get signed? ros: after the marathon friday night and saturday, looks like this is going to about in the house tuesday, that could be tuesday night. it could get to president biden's desk wednesday for his signature, so it could go quickly from here. there will be a few concerns about aggressives, work -- progressives worrying about elements stripped-down from this bill from the verse the house passed earlier. but from what we hear they do not expect too many issues, so

that could be on a fast-track. and well in time for the unemployment insurance deadline, dish run out of midmonth. -- that was due to run out midmonth so they will probably make a by a couple of days. >> what about when economists are saying about the potential impact of this bill? ros: we heard about elements of this bill in the previous hour, 170 billion dollars for schools and $360 billion for state aid, an extension of obamacare the biggest since obamacare was passed, and $1.9 trillion going to fill a gdp debt gap smaller than that. we are hearing economists that full-year growth in the u.s. could be in the region of 5%, which would be the highest since 1984. so former president donald trump often spoke about a rocketship economy and it looks like something this could create a rocketship economy for the u.s.

coming on the heels of 2020 which is obviously not a great year. as you know from the markets and other economists and larry summers and people like that, there is definitely concern about just filling this whole of the bigger package create inflation and the stoked concerns in the market. so we are looking at concerns about that especially when you consider the u.s. vaccination program against covid is now running quite fast. they're probably going to hit 100 million doses this week. so all in all it looks like a positive, helped by this very large to millis package. >> thank you so much deputy managing editor ross crescent in washington. ace -- ross crosby -- ros krazny in washington. let's look at the impact on markets with state street's

emily weiss. it is not a surprise that the package passed, it was really priced in. our markets going to look beyond to, is it too much, i we going to have inflation? or with a bowl say, one more reason to rev up the rally again? >> the inflation worry is definitely out there and what we have seen this last week is we have this push and pull of markets becoming increasingly worried about the potential for inflation and for the fed to meet its goal in the foreseeable future of achieving that growth that is going to come from the combination of both fiscal and monetary policy at work. but at the same time the fed seems to be saying they're not overly worried about inflation. jerome powell reinforcing that this week in his most recent remarks. on top of that there is a worry that as we get closer to a normally functioning economy that monetary policy officials globally construct remove accommodation. on the flipside we are seeing a lot of monetary policy bodies

are looking to get that accommodation in place. this move back-and-forth that may be exacerbated from data we get out that will have confusing your on your fx, given where we where this -- given -- confusing year on year of facts given where we were last year. this will lead to episodes like last week followed by, this week as it looks like at the open now. kathleen: the fed is not worried about inflation, the fed wants the economy to grow and boost inflation. the bond market is saying already, when you look at the predictions people have for inflation, that no matter what the fed does, this is going to be a problem. and now thank you, the chart with the bond market expectation shows the government 5-year note versus the five-year breakeven, right? the blue line at the bottom has

barely moved up in terms of the five-year yield of the breakevens are just, it is a steady march higher. how do you look at this from an investment standpoint, what does it mean for you? >> it is difficult. because on the one hand you do not want to fight market expectations. there is some validity to expecting inflation to spike higher heading into this recovery. now i do think it will end up being temporary. the reason is there are the smart medium to long-term forces helping to keep inflation pressures subdued. in my mind that is what the fed is focused on. we have seen a different approach to the fed communication and speeches lately over this last year, focused primarily on achieving maximum employment. they do not seem to be talking about the inflation component as much. they seem more worried about a repeat of 2008 were workers at the lower end of the spectrum did not recover as quickly as others. so as much as we are taking note of the bond market reaction and seeing how that will factor in

down the line, it does not business early painter outlook for what the fed is going to do in the middle term -- the immediate term and we believe they will be on hold for a while as they have said. haidi: emily, you talk about u.s. exceptionalism but what out that china exceptionalism story. we have those robust export and import numbers over the weekend. yes there are distortions, but they were still strong. also coming through without compromise on a gdp growth target. is that a stronger anchor for emerging markets? >> the china trade data was impressive, and when we look forward, a lot of growth over the last year has been driven by china. we are not as confident and that growth engine going for this year. that said, we do not expected to be a hard stop per se, not calling for any major issues, just more that in china we noted as much as economic data has been improving to this point, policymakers are slowly starting

to move back on their more accommodative stance and starting to a normal dies -- number like policy. i -- to normalize policy. china has had this bounceback and not continue to be ravaged by covid and second the chinese authorities want to avoid any sort of repeat of previous eras were may be bubbles were formed or money was not going to places they wanted it to, not the highest quality investments as stephen said. that is now the focus going forward, maintaining quality growth, and that might mean china grows more slowly than we would expect in terms of comparative historic numbers. but, ultimately, it will still be at positive that china is continuing to grow and move forward, but we cannot count on them to be the growth engine for emerging markets going forward to the same extent. we have reached a near-term sort of stalling and momentum. -- stalling in momentum. haidi: what is the biggest driver?

we are looking at the u.s. dollars, jobs numbers we saw in the commodity super cycle, who benefits from this? >> the ideal world for emerging markets would be truly global recovery. right now we are seeing, we had the initial search last year driven by china and we saw that reflected in commodity prices particularly copper. now we are starting to see the recovery, driven by the u.s. where it has come up and we are seeing that reflected in oil as some states open up one side other geopolitical issues. but when we think about what emerging markets need, the goldilocks environment for emerging markets at the second half of last year was really driven by a repricing higher of growth expectations. so, better growth globally, but without u.s. higher really yield. and that is about it is hard to achieve given we are starting to enter the world where u.s. exceptionalism looks like it is back and play.

there might be the scenario where the u.s. starts attracting more of these investments. haidi: emily, great to have youh

>> one of the many things we can say for sure about the pandemic, it is had a disproportionate impact on women who suffer greater job losses the note counterpart to the u.s. and around the world. that is partly because they're are more likely to work in service industries which have been hit especially hard, with many schools and day care centers closed. many additional childcare responsibilities have fallen on women. here in the u.s. the gap between men and women, women, the orange line across the top, has widened dramatically. look how their it wasn't how wide it is now. that is a clear representation.

let's move onto an important question, and that is representation in upper management, also remaining sluggish. no sector on the s&p 500 has more than 11% of its companies represented by a female ceo. areas like materials and communications have had 0%, no female leaders. that is not a mistake on the chart. report from executive search from heidrick and struggles shows executive search firms are recruiting women to fewer roles since the start of the pandemic as companies have shifted their focus to prior experience, a strategy that favors meant. -- men. haidi: and you can count mining is one of the sectors with the lowest female representation and we will be discussing that with elizabeth gaines of fortescue. meantime let's get you the latest business flash headlines. the crypto that has been

outperform a bitcoin may see supply reduced. at the area blockchain developers have approved one of the biggest changes -- ehereum -- ethereum has approved destroying some of the tokens every time it is used. china fintech on china's start board after halting an group listingt.. -- ant group. . senior executive team has all changed -- reporting that jd.com senior executive team has all changed. australian cattle prices have soared on recovery at home and abroad the chronic supplies shortage with herds the smallest since the early 1990's. kathleen: taking a look at key

events in japan today, keeping an eye on softbank when it opens after a bloomberg's group, the chief strategy officer, sa isg planning to quit after three years of the companyo,. japan current account data -- sago, is planning to quit after three years of the company. japan current account data. at on yen watch after we saw the currency fall to the deepest since june, 2020. strategists are saying the dollar is poised to break that yen-dollar 110 level. keep it here as we will be speaking with the ceo of fortescue, the top woman in the industry. we want to find out what drives her and how she keeps an ongoing, plenty more ahead. this is bloomberg.

>> this is daybreak: asia. i am vonnie quinn. high college of element is the main theme of growth plans in china for the next two years as the national people's congress gets fully underway. state media say that the president reiterated the high quality as required in all chinese regions, not just developed regions. he spoke sunday in a discussion with lawmakers. chinese exports surged in the first two months of the year, reflecting demand for goods. they were skewed by last year's

low base during the pandemic lockdown. they have jumped 60% in dollar terms. all above the 40% estimate in a bluebird survey. china's morning the u.s. to reject the previous administration's policy on taiwan. they are calling the recent high-profile ties dangerous. the foreign minister said beijing's claims on the island are in interest certain -- an insurmountable redline with no room for debate. u.s. resumed official relations with taiwan under president trump. the u.s. and south korea reached a tentative deal on defense cost-sharing that will raise money for american forces stationed there. there are about 29,000 u.s. troops in south korea and funding has been appointed. talks began soon after joe biden

assented to the presidency. the package has to lawmakers in seoul. there are fewer than 70,000 daily fires cases for the first time since late october. anthony says the number remains high. several states are to each -- ease restrictions. restaurants in new york are set to open with 75 percent capacity . spring break is coming in florida, and raising fears. global news 24 hours a day, on air and on quicktake by bloomberg, powered by more than 2700 journalists and analysts in more than 120 countries. i am vonnie quinn. this is bloomberg. kathleen? kathleen: thank you so very much now. we want to get back to sophie in hong kong for a look at the markets. we've seen momentum in some so far, but not 100% yet? >> so far we are seeing a risk for stocks in sydney and wellington.

adding nearly 2% this morning. energy shares are also gaining value. that crude rally is extending above 70 bucks. this after resize saudi oil terminal attacked over the weekend. output has not been affected according to the kingdom. with that case getting stronger for oil, we may see forecast return to the drawing board after we saw them tweak their forecasts last week. goldman, ubs among them. nasdaq on the board. take a look what is happening. you have the dollar index holding steady after the greenback cap a third week moving higher in yields. the dollar is steady. the aussie back above 77 this afternoon after we side two-week drop on friday.

several strategists are saying that 1/10 could be on the horizon for the dollar yen the coming months. this is the latest trade data. haidi? haidi: let's get more on the energy story. that reaction on the oil markets after saudi arabia reported a drone attack on an oil export terminal. we are joined by aaron clark. what we know about these attacks, aaron? rex good morning. the saudi energy ministry said a tank in the country's gulf coast was attacked by a drone from c. --from sea. shrapnel landed near a residential compound for employees of saudi aramco. both attacks did not result in injuries or loss-of-life. what people are saying is that

oil output has not been affected. this facility is really important. it is one of the world's largest oil terminals. it is capable of exporting 6.5 million barrels a day. 7% of global oil demand. it is really one of the world's most protected oil installations. that is why you're seeing that jump in crude prices as a result of this. >> does this ulster the bullish case for oil? >> i think it is important to remember that production from saudi arabia and exports do not appear to be impacted at this point. you're seeing that knee-jerk reaction in brent futures in london, they jumped 2.6%. this is after they rose 5% last week. you're seeing oil push above $70

per barrel. it is important to thing about the context of the oil market right now. last week saudi arabia and the opec-plus group surprise the market by saying they would make -- maintain outlook -- output in april. they will stick to some cuts they made a few months back. they will maintain discipline in the market. they will avoid pumping oil unilaterally. i think there's a little bit of tightness and yght inue to see that in today's market. kathleen: thank you so very much for joining us. now, going on with this, we are learning more about that sophisticated global cyberattack on microsoft's widely used business email software. microsoft said it began with the chinese government hacking group and the white house is concerned about national security issues. here's the latest.

european banking authorities say it is one of the victims. this is widespread. reporter: absolutely. authority saying access to personal data may have been compromised. they would be the latest of the 60,000 known victims globally. that numbers according to a former senior u.s. official with knowledge of the government investigation now taking place. many of the victims appear to be small or medium-size businesses caught in a wide net the attackers cast as microsoft ascended to shut down the hackers. national security officials were alarmed by the rapidly escalating nature of the attack. in an email from the white house over the wee said " we are undertaking a whole government response to address the impact. this is an active threat still developing. "

the white house urging network operators to take this seriously. soft has identified the hackers as a chinese government backed group. it appears to have been writing into private and government operated networks through which widely used exchanged email software,'s -- cloud-based email software was not impacted. microsoft is blaming the attack on a china government entity. a chinese foreign minister said last week that the country firmly opposes cyberattacks and believe blaming a particular nation was a highly sensitive political issue. haidi: coming up next, fortescue ceo elizabeth gaines joins us to talk about increased female representation in the mining sector. this is bloomberg.

>> just like in every sector, i think we need to populate the leadership space with a lot more women. >> when your first -- when you are first, it is very difficult. you carry with you the hopes of so many, the hopes for change. >> someone has to make a start and make an impression that gender does not matter at the leadership level.

>> at some point, they feel like they need to make a choice. >> women often fall off as they make progress through the leadership ladder on various accounts. >> there is more attrition at the senior level. >> we have a gender impact assessment dashboard and for the past 10 years, each of our major policies has been done to make sure there is equal pay and equal opportunity. >> we can be better business partners every embrace diversity. people that bring different perspectives. >> it is a problem for man to support us. whenever we see women at the beginning of their career, helping them find their own strengths and voice. >> the more women who participate, the more economies grow, the better businesses is

performed, the data is inescapable on that point. a diverse team delivers better results. every time. haidi: some guess there on the challenges reflecting -- facing women in the workplace. this is to commemorate international women's day. mining is considered to be a very male-dominated industry. data bears this out. if you take a look at these numbers, australia's mining workforce has increased by just 1% over the past year. our next guest has publicly railed against the ongoing gender imbalance in her industry, fortescue ceo elizabeth gaines joins us. you're arguably the most powerful woman in mining. what is it that prevents more women from being able to take on more senior leadership roles within that sector? >> i do not think it is just a

sector challenge. i think across corporate australia we see that there is a flatlining of representation in senior leadership roles across corporate australia more broadly. we recognized very early on that diversity is key to our success. we know our success is not by accident. it is due to our workforce. 44% of our board directors are female. 32% of our feet -- our senior leadership are female. we have very good representation. across the whole business we are around 20% female representation. we want to do more to increase our reputation. that representation. it is about an open diverse -- an open approach to diversity. we have been very focused on that for a long time. we make sure we have a setting in place to encourage female representation. that includes work arrangements, family rooms, and i think our

approach to innovation has been key to that, because it has gone out and integrated our operation center here in perth that is remotely operating our mind. 49% there are actually female. that approached automation has contributed to an improvement. as i said the beginning, this is not contained to the mining sector. across corporate australia, there are more ceos with the names johns than there are female ceos. there is more that needs to be done. haidi: i want to get an insight into how you run things that fortescue from an inclusion converse but -- perspective. are these active conversations you hold? i am sure there are lots of corporate leaders out there who would hope this happens organically. it does not.

>> you're right. it does not. you need to focus on settings that will improve diversity. some of these stats were at the grassroots. i worked with a group of trainees that joined us. large representation of women, deliver on our part. we want to encourage more women to enter the mining sector. they have been given the opportunity to train and get insight into our integrated mind operation center. two of those women -- getting the opportunity to enter the mining sector, does not happen by chance. you have to take that leap. if say that lead. -- that lead. when people realize there is an opportunity per -- to pursue a career in the mining sector. we have to have these conversations all the time. we are committed to having a diverse workforce. diversity is more than gender.

we want diversity across our workforce and we have settings in place to encourage that. you cannot be complacent about it. you cannot assume it will happen by accident. you have to have that in place to encourage that increase in diversity across our workforce. kathleen: it's important and interesting to me that you have ascended in the corporate world, becoming the ceo of this company , dray diverse set of steps. i read about your background. music scholarship got you into school. your first job was not in mining at all. for the time when there were not boards and people encouraging young women to get there, how did you do it? whatever you applied in your own life must still be useful to women or anybody trying to get into the corporate world and succeed. >> i have had a philosophy from the outset which is to take opportunities and embrace change.

you're right. i have had a lot of change in my career, in industries, as well. i've also worked in different countries. but i embrace change. sometimes, women in particular feel reticence or having the confidence to brace opportunities when they arrive. i say to young women who i meet throughout my career, say yes more often than you say no. have the confidence to take those opportunities. of course, we all suffer at times from thinking, will i be good enough? imposter syndrome, that seems to apply more to women than to men. i really encourage people to embrace change, to be open to opportunities. in my main moving industries or companies -- or countries or cities. but by having that approach, saying he will take these opportunities, that will make a big difference. kathleen: so you're in the

sheryl sandberg facebook ceo camp of lien end? >> absolutely. you have to have a voice. you have to be authentic. to me, it is about strain true to yourself. -- staying true to yourself. i think by leaning in and being true to oneself and authentic and working hard, by the way, and there are no shortcuts. hard work is -- underpins all of it. the hard work is absolutely there throughout. haidi: one of the anecdotes from your career, one of your first leadership roles that you took, and you did not stay in the role for very long because of an opportunity that came to your husband -- is having to say no at those difficult junctures something you reflect on as being a key part -- a formative

part of the process? of you getting to where you are now? >> absolutely. there are times in one's life where you have to balance the priorities of your family as well as priorities at work. that was a difficult moment in time. it was the right thing to do for us as a family and definitely for my husband's career. when i reflect back, you have to have a balance. it would have been easy to say no, to stay here, but we knew it was the right thing for my husband. i they there are times in your career where you have to make difficult decisions. yet to be open to having those conversations. -- you have to be open to have those conversations. that is when interesting things can happen. haidi: we talk a lot about the outsized impact of the pandemic on women not just in mining, but in every workforce. every working woman in the world has been affected by the pandemic. in ways that feel unequal. i am wondering, in terms of the

policies within a corporate level but also from a government level that need to be put in place or maintained on the others of his pandemic, what do you think needs to change to ensure more equitable, more diverse return to normal from the pandemic? >> i share those concerns. women have been is proportionately impacted by covid-19 because of service sectors being hard-hit. the impact on women has been far greater than it has on men. we have to make sure that there are pathways for women to gain employment. it might be in a new industry, which is why training is so critical. corporate's like ourselves working with the government can provide those pathways. i mentioned about my mind training ship program. we had 900 applicants. we know there is a willingness people want to get into new

industries. they want the opportunity to retrain. by working with the government we believe there is a real opportunity. but i will need let -- heavy lifting, not just from the corporate sector, but we have to work with government, and the government needs to be permitted to provide those opportunities and support for training in particular. people knew that pathway. i've done quite a lot of work here in western australia. the government has a lot of steps in place for reskilling. we are to make sure we do that heavy lifting and do not become complacent. we have to drive to provide those opportunities. there are great new roles happening in the mining sector, for example, in innovation and autonomy. the view of someone in a hot dusty mine site with a shovel in their hand, that is long gone. there are some the opportunities

and with the right settings and support, i think there are a lot of opportunities, we have to work with them. haidi: elizabeth gaines joining us exclusively from perth on international women's day. this week bloomberg hosted its fourth annual equality summit. among speakers, melinda gates, and maxine williams. >> we have breaking news. japan's january current account numbers are out. big moves but not exactly what markets were expecting. the unadjusted, the actual balance of payment or account is ¥646 billion. that is less than half of what economists were looking for and down sharply from 1106 t five

the month before. still showing quite a full shortfall -- quite a shortfall. if you wanted the surplus to fall, you're happy, but if you did not, to wonder what is going on with exports. some big surprises there. only more ahead. this is bloomberg. -- plenty more ahead. this is bloomberg.

haidi: let's get you a quick check of the latest business headlines. sending executives to mongolia for talks with the government on the huge copper mine. a new finance agreement for expansion with underground mining set to again this year. this includes taxes and benefits sharing. they remain committed to working with mongolia to ensure the project success. saudi aramco struggling to meet the dividend after being eased by oils recovery. brent crude is heading back toward $70. the dividend was given out -- was not given out last year.

they demanded lower spending and higher borrowing. disease latest movie flops at the box office with smaller sales then hoped. "raya and the last dragon" failed to lure audiences back to theaters. it made about $26 million this weekend. china is it second-best market. does he has not released details about it sales on the disney plus about platform. kathleen: big interviews ahead on this international women's day. bonnie chang all -- joining us in the next two hours. the market opens in tokyo and seoul are next. we are watching to see how the optimism generated from the passage of a one point $9 trillion to me was package in the u.s. but also china's export

numbers. this is bloomberg.

kathleen: welcome to daybreak asia. from bloomberg's world headquarters in new york, i am kathleen hays. haidi: i am in sydney. asia's major markets have opened for trade. our top stories. brent crude top $70 as a key export terminal comes under attack. asian markets head for gains as

president biden's bill moves to a finer -- a final version in the house. china's recovery mains -- remains on track. things are skewed somewhat by last year's lockdown influence. take a look at how markets are coming online this sunday morning. what do you think? -- this monday morning. >> jgb traders will be on the watch for the deputy governor of the boj's speech today. see if there is clarity around yields control. jp morgan saying that jgb yields will stay cap around the quarter range below 15 basis points after the governor downplayed potential need for widening. check of the yen, staying above the 108 handle. this after the dollar had a three week advance. let's see how the openness faring in -- let's see how the open is faring in seoul this

morning. the kospi's trading up. we are watching to see how the finance ministries sale of 3 .1 trillion won fares. sectors are being led higher by financials and materials. the aussie dollar is back up at 77. the aussie you on hovering around 661. we're seeing the bond rout for aussie bonds steady. the 10 year yield up five basis points this morning. checking in on how the u.s. 10 year yield is creeping up. oil very much in focus. kathleen, you are seeing a rally for brent, which is about $70

per barrel. perhaps you could see forecast returned to the drawing board when it comes to oil price outlook, especially with concerns emerging that opec may over tighten. kathleen: thanks for that great summing up. let's get more on markets with mark cranfield. mark, building on the point sophie just made about oil, the export terminal on the gulf coast in saudi arabia is one of the most highly protected sites like this in the world and its attacks, oil surging. is this a one-time wonder or the beginning of something that could bolster a further move up in oil? >> probably not too much further. we see events from time to time and understandably the knee-jerk reaction is for people to buy oil futures and push prices higher. you consider oils having a bit of a run-up anyway, that is certainly the passive least

resistance. no one to surprise oil prices pushing higher. go to look at it in the context of where we are over the long-term. with brent oil already at $70 per barrel, we have made some extraordinary gains over the past few months. we are probably getting closer to the top end of the trading range, rather than creating a brand-new frenzy. we've already got people talking about $100 per barrel per oil -- for oil. that is a good indication we are getting to the top of prices. by the time you have analysts asking for that kind of price range when it is already risen dramatically over the past year, that suggests to you it has become a bit of a frenzy. it is one of those things that is close to blowing off near the top. that is not to say that there is not demand for oil. obviously as the global economy improves, but that is been priced in already. people expected 2021 to be a

better year, higher demand, the saudis recently mentioned get opec-plus to maintain their supply of oil as well. but people are pushing hard for renewable energy and moving away from crude oil, so we are probably towards the tail end of the rally in oil, not the beginning of it. haidi: speaking of the u.s. stimulus heading back to the house for a vote, it has been hard-fought four. our question of the day, is which asian stocks and assets are likely to follow wall street? >> probably a good part of it is nothing new. we have talked about stimulus for a long time. there will be some spinoff effects because once people actually get money into their pockets, there will be individuals to receive cash. we saw what happened last year when people got the checks. some of it went straight back

into the stock market. we might get a similar reaction this year, where people save the money and put it to work. there may be a bit more of a positive impact from that. here in asia, interesting, we saw some decent corrections in various markets across asia. for example, the h-share index dropped 10% from high to low. that puts in a good position to benefit from the positive and we had last week to wall street. that means some of the china stocks, they are in a better position. throwing the china trade data which was extraordinary, as well. it means people have been on the sidelines for a while and are starting to look at some of the stocks and think they are at reasonable values now compared to where they were a few weeks ago. even though it might be priced into some extent, is not to say asian stocks cannot benefit from

some degree, particularly when you throw in what the signs are from china, that they will easily achieve the 6% growth a targeted last week. kathleen: thank you so much. mark moving onto another story we are watching closely. that will be china's exports for january and february surging well above economists forecasts. the numbers reflect a boom in global demand for the first two months of the year. let's go to our chief north asia correspondent. steve, recovery back on track? >> it looks that way. it dovetails nicely with the government's reduction for at least 6% gdp growth for 2021. that came out friday at the national people's congress. we are seeing xi jinping, the president of china being quoted

that the next five-year. will be -- the theme will be high quality development. it is a good start to the year of the ox, if you will, for the chinese, because the year of the rat was pretty bad. you have those distortions from the lunar new year holiday last year. in 2020 it was in late january. this year it was quite late, mid february. those are distortions. interestingly, february, while we have the holiday this year, february saw exports more than double from the year before. that tells you distortions happened because of the pandemic and the lockdown at the unit -- at the lunar new year last year. we were expecting a 40% pop up word for exports this year versus last year. it came in in excess of 60% up. why? there was stronger than expected demand from key markets, the u.s. and europe. also imports were significantly

higher, up about 22%. playing well into the story of the domestic consumption and recovery in china, with imports of natural gas a highlight here, as well as steel. whereas coal, it plunged. that dumb sales nicely with xi jinping saying they need high-quality growth. there are those three factors. better than expected from key markets. better-than-expected recovery. and you have those seasonal and pandemic distortions. haidi: and on the geopolitical front, china is urging president biden to tread carefully on the issue of taiwan. particularly what the prime minster said. >> [speaking foreign language] the one china for an savoy is the foundation of the china u.s. relationship. there is no room for copper mines on taiwan. we urge the new u.s. -- we urge the new u.s. admission ration to understand the sensitivity of the issue and move away from the

previous dangerous practice that was playing with fire. haidi: this is of course beijing's long known that on taiwan. would any of this have surprised the biden administration? >> now. these comets at his annual press conference -- these comments at his annual press conference not surprising. they want to do set the tone quickly. there is no room for debating the one china policy. whether taiwan mines any rights to self-determination. this will not be a flashpoint, but it will be a point of contention, the has we do not necessarily -- we have not gotten necessarily yet from the biden administration its view on unwinding some of the stances trump administration has taken. the chinese authorities have clearly said they are hopeful we can have a reset under a biden

administration. at the same time, they are getting hints that the biden administration might carry on with some of those trump policies. basically, he is saying, and this is an interesting quote, that it is important the u.s. recognizes this as soon as possible. otherwise, the world will remain far from tranquil. while the u.s. is also stepping up its rhetoric as well, because lloyd austin, the defense secretary says china has been coercive towards its asian allies and also antony blinken has made some comments to, the secretary of state. he has said, when assessing u.s. china relations, it will be competitive when it should be, collaborative when it can be, adversarial when it must be. keep in mind, lloyd austin and anthony blinken are due to be in this region visiting japan and south korea's week. haidi: thank you so very much.

our chief north asia correspondent. let's get to vonnie quinn with the first word headlines. >> kathleen, thank you. the u.s. and south korea have reached a tentative deal on cost-sharing that will accelerate funding for american forces stationed there. thereabouts when he 9000 u.s. troops in south korea. the issue of funding has been a big deal under president trump. the u.s. has reported a full week with fewer than 70,000 coronavirus cases, the first time since mid-october. anthony fauci says the renumber remains high. -- the number remains high. restaurants outside new york city in new york will open with 75% bessie en marche! -- capacity on march 19.

this will boost a vital tourism sector after year restrictions. talks on monday -- they will discuss letting foreigners leave their hotel room after just three days of mandatory isolation. they will still have to stay on the hotel grounds. myanmar is plunging further into chaos. protesters defied the army and staged new rallies across the country. security forces fired tear gas and stun grenades as authorities worn about prison sentences for dissidents. the u.n. says at least 55 people are known to have been killed in protest since the february 2. global news 24 hours a day, on air and on quicktake by bloomberg, powered by more than 2700 journalists and analysts in more than 120 countries. i am vonnie quinn. this is bloomberg. haiti? -- haidi?

haidi: the latest on the microsoft attack. plus the hurdles for women working in tech. later on, we will hear about women in the broader tech industries, as well. this is bloomberg. (announcer) back pain hurts, and it's frustrating. you can spend thousands on drugs, doctors, devices, and mattresses, and still not get relief. now there's aerotrainer by golo, the ergonomically correct exercise breakthrough that cradles your body so you can stretch and strengthen your core, relieve back pain, and tone your entire body. since i've been using the aerotrainer, my back pain is gone. when you're stretching your lower back on there, there is no better feeling. (announcer) do pelvic tilts for perfect abs and to strengthen your back. do planks for maximum core and total body conditioning.

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>> just like in every sector, i think we need to populate the leadership space with a lot more women. >> when your first, it is difficult. you carry with you the hopes of so many. the hopes for change in the fears. >> one has to make a star and make an impression that gender does not matter at the leadership level. >> at some point, women feel

like they need to make a choice. >> women often fall off as they progress the leadership ladder. on various accounts. >> there is more attrition at the senior level. >> we had a gender impact assessment dashboard, and for the past 12 years, each of our major policies has been done to make sure there's equal pay and opportunity. >> we can be better business partners f we embrace diversity. people that bring different perspectives. >> is a great moment for men to be real allies and partners. supporting that whenever they see women at the beginning of their careers, helping them find their own strengths and voice. >> the more women who participate, the more economies grow, the better businesses perform. the data is inescapable on that point.

diversity, a diverse team, delivers better double -- that are results. every time. kathleen: some guess there with powerful comments on challenges women face in the workplace. diversity has long been an issue in silicon valley, especially with regards to women. they are committed to increasing the number of women and minorities in leadership roles. france us now the twitter asia-pacific vice president. -- joining us now is the twitter asia-pacific vice president. we are happy to have you here on international women's day, maia. we know you have a commitment to making half of your workforce and by 25. globally, 42.5% of your workforce is already women. what is the challenge to keep it going? is it training the women have not had? is it women holding back? is it someone opening the door wider? >> thank you for having me. it is great to be here on international women's day.

i think the vision and bold vision around the aspiration to be the most inclusive, the most of diverse tech company in the world, is what we carry. these representation goals, around half of the workforce being women, our ambitions we ladder up to. if you think about it, that is the output we are aiming to get to. we think that pillars like finding the right way to hire enough women into the workforce, but also baking about how we, once they come into the company, how do we give them a sense of community? how can they find their tribe? how can they find their voice? but we think very deeply about developing women and having very honest conversations to make sure women are represented but promotion packets are looked at. -- when promotion packets are looked at. we think these policies and

changing of awareness is within the company are essential to make sure the company has representation and is truly inclusive. kathleen: in terms of the jobs women have a twitter, do they tend to be in one part of the company over another, for example, say marketing or commit acacian's or maybe hr -- or communications or hr, versus the more technical side of the business, or have you managed to find talented women to fill all those roles? that is something we see in some companies. they may have lots of women, but the women are more concentrated in some jobs than others. >> case in point, i am standing here leading a general management function in the company. when i look around, there are a lot of strong women at the leadership stable i am supported by across different functions. i think it is true for our

industry in general that the pipeline of technical talent coming into the company is always one we have to work very hard to ensure we attract and maintain. this is played out in our region as we thought about specific programs to be able to have developers consider twitter and consider technology roles to come in to our industry and workforce. we have custom programs, we have run a few like that to tackle technology roles. in general, our women representation looks -- i am encouraged by the fact that it is quite balanced across function. haidi: what needs to be done, policy-wise, conversation that needs to be -- that need to make sure gender representation is actually embedded within a company in the way does things? >> i think this is an important

area to dive into. starting with a bold vision right from the top and setting the tone from a leadership level is important. a quick follow to that is making sure that, like companies carry objectives and key results around business metrics, we think that there is a need to have a similar focus around inclusion and diversity, broken down into chunks for every leader to say, what is my role in this in contributing to the desire to see this out for the whole company? things like having the right conversations, for example, when we are having promotion conversations, is there representation of women also can we make sure there are communities that are built? we have thought deeply over the

last 18 months about building communities like twitter women or twitter asian to give people that say space and community to say that i belong here. if a woman feels like she belongs, we see that their attention and happiness of our talent in the company is always better and stronger. haidi: talk to me a little a bit about the business. some of these ambitious targets, how do they play out in the asia-pacific and what sort of market do you see this turning into? >> we are very excited about the ambitions around developing -- doubling our development philosophy, doubling revenue by 2023, growing our audience globally by at least 20%. when we think about asia-pacific over the last few quarters, asia-pacific continues to be a driver, a strong driver of our

international performance as a business. both on the audience side and revenue side we continue to be strong -- see strong momentum. the growth strategy for us is focused on two things. a focus on helping both performance advertisers and brand advertisers launch products and services and be able to connect to a valuable audience at the right moment here and asia-pacific. the verticals we are doubling down on -- you see strong women on technology, e-commerce, media and entertainment. they are verticals that have been affected by the covid scenario. moments like today, international women's day or ramadan coming up. they are great moments when we are able to lead into being able to have a conversation on the platform. haidi: maia, always great to

have you with us. still ahead, we will assess the challenges for women in the vc sector. this is bloomberg. want to save hundreds on your wireless bill? with xfinity mobile, you can. how about saving hundreds on the new samsung galaxy s21 ultra 5g? you can do that too. all on the most reliable network? sure thing! and with fast, nationwide 5g included - at no extra cost? we've got you covered. so join the carrier rated #1 in customer satisfaction... ...and learn how much you can save at xfinitymobile.com/mysavings.

haidi: let's take a look at the effects at the moment. big move in the u.s. dollar on the back of those robust yield numbers. that has pitted out a little somewhat. we're seeing the dollar-yen hold steady.

110 is the next level to be looking out for. we are also looking at the won still up. the aussie dollar at about 77 u.s. cents. also recovering after a second week of losses. lots more coming up, this is bloomberg.

>> this is "bloomberg daybreak: asia." i am vonnie quinn with the first word headlines. high-quality development is the main theme of growth plans for the next two years as a national people's congress gets fully underway. safe media says president xi xiping reiterated that high-quality is required in all chinese regions. he spoke sunday in a discussion with lawmakers. china is warning the u.s. to reject the previous administration on taiwan,

calling it dangerous. the foreign minister says beijing claims on the island are an insurmountable redline. the u.s. has no official relations with taiwan, but trump officials visited taipei in a public show of support. saudi arabia says the oil export terminal has come under attack, but production appears to be unaffected after a barrage of missiles and drones were affected. there was no injuries or property damage. they attack would be the most serious against saudi oil since the key processing facility in two oil fields came under fire in september of 2019. the u.s. has sent b-52 bombers over the middle east, and what seen as the latest morning to iran. ventral command said they were accompanied by aircraft from israel. flight tracking data shows the bombers came from north dakota,

although that has not been confirmed by the pentagon. the most famous soccer club is voting for a new leadership amid a crisis on and off the field. our solana fc has reported $1 billion in debt with a veteran superstar earning a huge salary. three men are standing by for the new president. each has a plan to balance the books. global news, 24 hours a day, on air and on bloomberg quicktake, powered by more than 2700 journalists and analysts and 100 20 countries, this is bloomberg. >> looking at the asian markets, how the day is going with sophie kamaruddin. what's going on? sophie: here is the lay of the land. the nikkei backs that up. helping a two day decline with kospi getting ground and chipmakers providing a boost. you have auto and ev related

battery names under pressure. in australia, stocks have jumped the most. assets getting a list with the global recovery picture. getting reaffirmed by china's bullish export signal. element around the u.s. to millis package as well. let's see what we are seeing when it comes to the bond market. looking steady while the yen is trading at a nine-month low just ahead of his speech from the boj deputy governor, who is the architected the yield for control program. u.s. benchmark is at the 150 level. we have seen an increase in treasury with options to do this week. we are seeing oil prices extended, providing a boost to commodity by the aussie dollar. over at bloomberg intelligence, their view is that higher oil prices could provide more momentum for emerging markets, along with the cyclical rotation. pulling up the chart on the terminal, we are seeing the outperformance of emerging

market stocks that have been in place since last may. that may be the reversal of higher u.s. yield. over at goldman, warning of more trouble for the em space, if the majority in u.s. rates comes up. haidi: we are learning more about that for cystic aided global cyber attack on microsoft widely used business email software. microsoft said it began with a chinese hacking group. the white house is concerned about national security. su keenan has the latest. the european banking authority is saying it is now one of the victims as well. su: the european banking authority is saying access to personal data through email held on the microsoft server may have been compromised, and they would be the latest of the more than 60,000 known victims globally. that is the number we are getting from a former senior u.s. official close to the investigation. it does appear many of the victims are small or

medium-sized businesses. banks and utilities as well. they are caught up in a wide net as microsoft works to shut down the hack. national security officials are escalating the nature of the attack. in email from the white house said, "we are undertaking a whole of government response to address the impact, this is an active threat still developing. the white house urges them to take it seriously." microsoft has identify the group as a chinese government backed group that appears to have been breaking into providers and government computer networks through which widely used exchanged email software. microsoft has acknowledged that their cloud-based accounts were not hacked. when the chinese were asked about microsoft blaming it on the government, chinese foreign ministry spokesman said on wednesday, that their country

firmly opposes in combat cyberattack. they suggested in a pushback of blaming any particular nation at this point is a highly sensitive political issue. kathleen: one cyber expert is saying other hacking groups may have identified the same server flaws and begun their own attacks. what is the story there? su: a look like everything seemed to change it last week. that's when the head of the cybersecurity firm helps microsoft identify the flaws being used by the hackers. he said, and referring again to this group of hackers, they went to town and started doing mass exploitations and indiscriminate attacks literally around the world, with companies that had these exchange servers. he is saying there was no regard to purpose, size, industry and they were hitting any and every server they could.

additional hackers have not been identified, or if it was the chinese group going wide to focus in and find out where the high intelligence sources where, the experts in the field are saying the attacks were so successful and so rapid, they suggested that hackers found a way to automate the process. it also underscores the fragility of u.s. computer networks. this being the second major global cyberattack in nine months. you recall the russians were found to have breached nine u.s. federal agencies and hundreds of companies again last year. kathleen: quite a story. coming up we hear from two big names of the world bank and the imf about using the covid cash crisis made by low income nations. this is bloomberg. ♪

kathleen: the world's poorest countries need to finance a crushing debt burden is finding ways against the covid-19 pandemic. in a bloomberg opinion article, the chief economist, and imf strategy policy and review department director are urging transparency as a key stepping stone debt relief.

>> with the pandemic this has become more of a tsunami of debt facing many countries about how low income countries are in high-risk. and they face large debt payments over the coming years. so this is critical that we address this issue so that they can address the crisis and get out of the health and economic crisis going forward. >> let's turn to transparency. your out bed, and you wrote sunday in the u.s., transparency is a key to unlocking the door to getting the debt relief. we hear about transparency and accountability all of the time. tell us why this is not just a buzzword, why it really matters? >> why is it critical now? it's critical now because the g20 initiative, the common framework to deal with debt

problems and help countries through this very difficult process needs different creditors to come together to offer the process of concerted debt relief, organized debt relief and debt reduction. this is a problem if creditors don't trust one another. right now we have a very small group of creditors. we have bondholders. we have, among the official creditors, new entrants, non-paris club predators -- creditors, like china. it is a complicated environment and transparency is key for that creditor coordination. kathleen: and people getting this data, which is not always

released in a coherent and consistent matter. here we have the world bank and imf working together. this is a big issue for these very important institutions. at the imf, i understand you are looking at the way -- special drawing rights. fdr's are traded, allocated, what does that have to do a transparency in solving the problem? what are you urging people to do? >> this is transparency in terms of how public revenues are spent in terms of building trust, with citizens, with creditors, it's really very important. and in this context we talked about fdr. coming back to that -- that transparency, it should be public, it's very important, we have been focusing on the issues and working very closely with the world bank, making sure that

countries have the fiscal space to really depend on vaccines and also dealing with the economic impacts of the crisis. that's why transparency of public expenditures in public spending is really critical. kathleen: for the world bank, obviously you have been talking about this for a while, in terms of transparency and steps that can be taken, what is it that you are urging countries to do? >> it is a game where both creditors and debtors can win. transparency is a public good. in the process of data gathering, getting much better information from the creditors and the debtors on borrowings that go unrecorded, state enterprises that have borrowed,

domestic debt, which is new to many of the low income countries. importantly, it's under recorded. it does not sound terribly exciting, this data gathering process, but it's actually quite fundamental. because, you know, we go through these boom busts again and again, and if there is any hope for getting out of this one quickly, and trying to avoid the next one, i think transparency is not a buzzword, it's actually very important for global surveillance. haidi: global venture funding

fell significantly in 2020. over 800 female founder start ups globally received just over $1 billion in venture funding while 27% compared to the previous year. let's discuss the opportunities and the challenges facing women in the vc world. joining us the managing partner. so great to have you with us on this international women's day. let me ask you your view of some of the numbers we ran through. is this pandemic related for fiend l -- female founded companies? >> i am glad to be here. i don't think this is covid related. but, the representation of funding for females -- female founders has been awfully low for a long time. i think really because of the tradition of the vc business. it has been male-dominated for

many years. i think women are beginning to come into this business, and i think in two parts. the women vc and the other part is the founders, the entrepreneurs. the more women vcs there are in the market, the better. women entrepreneurs will be funded. really this is a circular problem. but i think, with the advance -- events of many of the new industries, i think this will change very quickly. i think the pandemic has actually accelerated the change. you will see many women scientists coming into play nowadays. haidi: it is interesting, because the numbers you give us, women representing 40% of entrepreneurs overall, but they only get 2.5% of the funding. so what needs to change for that funding to flow more equitably? >> there has been a history of

studies that says, in any process, the problem is the pitching process. if there are a lot of buyers in that process, this sourcing, the pitching, the due diligence final closure. i do agree, women entrepreneurs fail to get the funding in the pitching. because the pitching is where presentation happens. there is a lot of previous buyers about women being able to make it in to carry the enterprise through. and i think that this will quickly change because of the whole dynamic. the whole dynamic is that more women vcs are coming into play. and hopefully slowly but surely that will change. one of the key things as a whole world of tech. and more women are coming into that, especially in the phase of science. you have a lot of women coming

into that, and that is a very quickly changing phase. yes, i think i would like to give another data point. in general, 40% of entrepreneurs only get 2.5% funding. that is low. but the other findings says that , if there is gender diversity in the firm, whether it is venture, whether it is entrepreneurial. especially when it is in the vc firm, you get 20% more better returns. the women only companies generate a 9.7% better. kathleen: you say it's because women get better returns, you say it's because they nurture the founders better and give them more support on average

than men tend to do. >> absolutely. i think that is required of many of the startup firms. they may have good ideas, but many fall along the wayside because they were not nurtured enough. one of the key traits that i think women have that can contribute to the whole growth to make the start of successful, is the fact that women tend to be more open, and tend to listen more. i think, generally, it is true. there are men who listen very well as well, but from the general stats, women tend to listen more. and because we listen more, we can talk to the entrepreneurs and nip problems in the but. therefore, help to pivot, help to find a market, help to mentor the entrepreneurs so that they can get on the path of success. kathleen: to what extent is the

current hurdles? there is a lot more consciousness about wanting more women, particularly in silicone valley and in tech ventures around the world. you came in with a very strong science background, strong science training. we know sometimes women are still reluctant to get into that field. is it something and women that has to change? do women have to push harder in that direction? do men have the open the doors further? what do you think is the biggest challenge? >> women have been in science for a long time. girls actually do very well in science in school. but when they grow up and they choose the university subjects, they tend to actually very -- it veer away from engineering. many still remain in science, but after that, they become teachers, perhaps they don't get into the soft skills or soft disciplines. more and more you will find,

this is what i'm seeing, a lot of women scientists, women who take on phd, they actually build a business based on their science. that is happening in a fast way. so you asked me about what needs to change, i think what needs to change is the whole culture that -- and bias in this that needs to be removed. -- culture and bias that needs to be removed. he would think of a male rather than a female. i think these need to change. and they will change because the reality will change things. the covid has accelerated that in both aspects. one is intact. digitization is exhilarating. and the other is in the science, where there women can come to the fore. kathleen: even in the dark cloud of the covid, there are some silver linings.

thank you so much. there is plenty of big interviews ahead. the hong kong exchange head of listing joined us in the next hour. we hear from the city's former undersecretary for the environment, christine low. they are with us later. and this week, bloomberg hosts its fourth annual equality summit. the theme is from words to actions. among the speakers, melinda gates and the facebook chief diversion -- officer. this is bloomberg. ♪

haidi: a quick check of the latest business flash headlines. saudi aramco may struggle to meet the 75 billion dividend next year. bank of america says aramco may boost its payoff as it lifts up with brent crude headed back toward $70. aramco's dividend wasn't out last year as oils tumbled and covid-19 devastated demands. that prompted lower spending. rio tinto is sending executives to mongolia for talks with the government on the future of the huge gold copper mine. they say they will include a new finance agreement for expansion, with underground mining set to begin this year, as well as taxes. australian mining billionaire gina reinhardt has cattle assets

to cash in on strong global demands. the agriculture unit are expecting strong interest from domestic and international buyers. australian cattle prices has soared amid a chronic supply shortages. let's look at what we are watching at the moment. sophie: watching chinese banking stocks advance as investors seek safety while popular traits have been getting battered amid valuation concerns. consumer staples index is trading far above the average. financials is staying relatively cheap. rising young, there are growth stocks that typically have high leverage and are not cash rich resulting in heavy losses for the chinext on the mainland. that is clock steeper declines in the nasdaq 100, as well as the regional asia tech index. jd.com has been among those laggards. we are keeping an eye on those

shares in hong kong on a report that the fintech unit may scrap its plan to list on the stock market. speaking of jd.com, it is one of chinese heavyweights that still don't have any female directors on that board. that list includes players like shao me and other startups. biodiversity is something that continues to plane the industry like e-commerce. along with state earned enterprises. kathleen: thank you so much. more on the challenges for women in business ahead. the hong kong exchange his head of listing vonnie chan joined shortly. we hear from the undersecretary for the environment, christine low. pimco is with us later. that is it from "bloomberg daybreak: asia." our markets coverage continues as we look ahead to the start of trade in hong kong, shanghai and

shenzhen. we thank you for joining us today on international women's day. standby for "bloomberg markets: china open." this is bloomberg. ♪

>> 9:00 a.m. in beijing and shanghai. this is bloomberg markets china open. looking at the trade on the chinese mainland and right here in hong kong. china's recovery remaining on track. a surge on demand. there is a low base from last year's virus. brent crude topping 70 bucks a barrel. saudi arabia says the key