sure it's secure. and even if the power goes down, your connection doesn't. so how do i do this? you don't do this. we do this, together. bounce forward, with comcast business. haidi: good morning. i'm in sydney. we are counting down to asia's major market opens. shery: welcome to daybreak asia. our top stories. asia stock skating. futures pointed higher in japan, hong kong, and australia after surprisingly robust data in the u.s. chinese data could move the market tile. expeditions are for the highest quarterly figure since beijing

began releasing results 30 years ago. investors will be looking beyond that number. >> from outside the headquarters in beijing, i'm tom mackenzie. we will cover all the twists and turns of the story with special coverage. that starts at 9:30 a.m. hong kong time. haidi: let's take a look at the set up we are getting for the final trading session of the week here in asia. we are seeing asian stocks looking poised to gain after some pretty surprisingly robust eco-data out of the u.s. we have yields on the benchmark 10 year treasury falling somewhat. new zealand we are seeing modest gains. we are at about .1% when it comes to futures trading. in sydney we are looking like an extension of a -- of the

previous day. the annexes finishing at a record high. nikkei futures mildly positive. we are watching political developments as the leaders of the u.s. and japan are set to meet on friday. city futures holding pretty steady at the moment. we're continuing to watch the outlook when it comes to dollar weakness when it comes to some beneficiaries in the aussie and kiwi dollar. shery: our top story, haurong bonds swing higher as it is reported they have repaired funds for a for attainment of a forged myth -- 40 $50 million -- $450 million note in just a week. our markets coanchor tom mackenzie for the latest. not surprising given that that singaporean debt is only a slice of the billion dollars of huarong has on that.

>> a very small slice indeed. reports suggest they raise about 150 million u.s. dollars to pay off the singapore bonds on the 27th. the whole total debt pile after manage this this year is $7.4 billion. the total debt pile they owe will have to roll over at some point in the future and is more than 23 billion u.s. dollars. it is a tiny slice, but it gave a bit of optimism to some of the investors yesterday, at least in the short situation bonds. the long-duration remain largely under pressure. many of them still in distressed territory. we have key markets to look out for. also on the 27th, there is bog payment that -- bond payment that huarong faces. three and $40 million worth on sunday. $600 million worth of two bonds payback. this is not a company flush with

cash. that is the problem. fundraising very difficult given that there dollar bonds have largely cratered since they failed to publish the preliminary results for 2020 in march. that caused all its concern -- this concern. their reports the company is restructuring. we have yet to hear from its biggest shareholder, the finance ministry of china, jones a 57% stake in -- which owns a 57% stake in huarong. it's china's number one distressed asset manager. as units all over domestically and child, internet -- into china, internationally, as well. the questions. this is a key component of china's financial sector. is a key component of the economy. the paradox in terms of moral hazards any setbacks setbacks

inlet defaults happen and potential of the collapse of a business, or do they step in and supported part of the economy that is so crucial? we are waiting to hear from the finance ministry. another note for your calendars is the end of april. that is when they will have to report their earnings, finally. haidi: not to overshadow the china and -- the china dgp data, we're going to get a headline number rise. that is not telling the full story. yes it is likely to see the best economic growth on a quarterly basis since records began 30 years ago. but one of the details you're looking for? -- what are the details you're looking for? tom: a record is the expectation for the first quarter. 18.5% is the survey. bloomberg economics had at more than 20% gdp growth for the

first quarter. absolutely, base effects are going to have a significant impact on this number given we are looking at a comparison with the first quarter of 2020, which of course was when china's economy was largely shut down as a result of the pandemic. but bloomberg economics is saying is that on the production side, a number of key data points suggest things are looking healthy at this point. what it comes down to is the question of demand, particularly consumption. that is where the fragility is. that is not kicked in yet. we are expecting -- the surveys are, in terms of retail sales, an increase of about 28%. there been some indicators, particularly over chinese new year, that some spending has been picking up. they will need to see that. economist will need to see that sustained before they can call this a more rebalanced economy. there implications for the pboc. it has been withdrawing

liquidity. it is concerned about financial -- risk. if you get a stronger economy and recovery, it may incentivize the central bank to do more to tact -- to tackle risk. haidi: so much going on in china at the moment. tom mackenzie mackenzie there in beijing ahead of china gdp data. taking testing on top of that story. they have suggested that gdp growth will be 8.4% this year. we spoke to kathleen hays. kathleen: i am very happy to welcome a very special guest. elsa berger is the imf mission sheep joining us to talk about the gdp report and more broadly about china's economy, where it is, and where it is heading. tom just ably laid out the basic part. we will see a huge number. 18%, 90%, 20%.

but what should we really look at? what do you expect here echo what are you going to focus on to get a sense of how strong this recovery is? >> i think he put it exactly right. we are concerned about the balance of growth. the headline numbers will be large in terms of annual figures. is often better to look on quarter and quarter growth and analyze. we are thing more about the 4% to 5% goal. given the week first quarter last year,ncluded some thing like 80% or 90%. our concern is mostly on the consumption side. investment has come back. the government is still hopeful. but consumption has been week all the way until the end of last year. if you look at our forecast, conception was about 4.5% lower -- consumption was about 4.5% lower than what we had at the end of the third quarter.

you can see the tension between these two components of china's gdp. >> china was the super hear of the economic world last year when it contain the virus. first big economy to rebound. there is concern about china possibly falling behind in the vaccination process. if it does, it misses some of the reopening opportunities coming from other countries in terms of demand. ab even mess up the ability to do the olympics. -- maybe even mess up the ability to do the olympics. what do you see now? >> we see vaccination as a in important part of china returning to full normal capacity like we see in other countries. they have set an ambitious goal. they think they can vaccinate 40% of the population by july. i hope this works. it will be important to get this final distance to full capacity use. it will help incentivize

consumption. we should have a balance by the end of the year. >> with a balanced recovery by the end of the year? with these very solid numbers, why does the imf say, including you, that china still needs to maintain accommodative monetary and fiscal policy? >> we are, you know, hoping for a rebound over the course of the year. with that comes with certain assumptions. it comes with the ascension that macroeconomic policy is openly supportive. that they do not prematurely withdraw the support goals. in the fiscal policy can help. it can help by changing the composition of the support a little bit away from the investments which is the current main focus of fiscal standing. if you support the social state

in china, it is not a strong as it should be. you can result the rebound this year, dust you can support the rebound this year, but i know policymakers are looking forward to. for us to dispose of a necessary condition, probably unfolding as we hope for, and a bit of an insurance in case things go wrong. >> how about massive u.s. fiscal stimulus? this is something already showing up and we are starting to look at an economic boom. not just in a rebound, but a boom. -- not just a rebound, but a boom. i know that was a big reason to why you upgrade your forecast to a .4% from 8.1%. is it possible it will make china's growth even better? >> it is an important upgrade but it is not the only thing going on. we've also seeing the kind of

pandemic focus so we have been seeing last year. china was producing and was able to produce that they seem to have peaked. it is early to sell but there are signs they are reaching the maximum. fiscal policy is retreating a little faster than we would have wanted it to, was also creates some hesitancy. in the end of our upgrade to a .4% is a balancing act -- 8.4% is a balancing act between different forces. kathlen: when were looking at huarong, it is ironic this is a state owned enterprise set up in the 90's after the asian financial crisis to deal with bad debt. now it has become a very bad bank. all this fallout now, all these

concerns, the government bail them out or not? step back. is this a financial stability issue potentially? does it tell us there are deeper currents that could emerge? >> as you allude to there, there are some special circumstances around this particular company. the whole episode the last two months -- the last few months, showing signs of pressure on the financial markets. i think maybe -- the first is that the pandemic has to put a normal stress on the chinese corporate sector. it is not -- it does not matter whether this is sob or privately for an. this is enormously beneficial for come treaties -- for companies to have access to liquidy.

gdp, that is i had number by any standard. we need to think about for anyone company what is next is the recovery -- as the recovery comes online and we still see some firms struggling. it is time to look at bankruptcy frameworks to make sure we are in a position to deal with nonviable firms to help them restructure. there is a second message. is just as interesting. we have a sign that a nonviable state owned enterprise, like any nonviable privately owned enterprise, might fail. we do not know.

soe's facing that kind of market pressure is in principle a good thing. as we know, the center needs reformed -- reforms, and ease were structuring going forward. this is a good sign. well structured, there is no reason at all for this to tighten financial conditions. >> how concerned are you with the growing u.s. china tech war? last year biden added -- last week biden added seven entities that the u.s. cannot sell through without special permission. that is a specific step. this started with donald trump and joe biden seems to be carrying the mantle. >> tension around the u.s.-china relationship is one of the risk factors we look at.

seeing our work is a constant concern. there are two aspects. one is the trade tensions, they have not gone away. just because we have stopped talking about them does not mean they are not there. they subtract growth. we think it subtract 0.4% of the gdp. that is a large number. things could become more difficult if we allow technological decoupling to take place. between china and other countries in europe. because the world is such an integrated place, if you stop trading in technology, including goods, if you stop working with the global supply chains, if you stop exchanging knowledge across countries and borders, you will ultimately pay price. this could be very high. our research we recently published shows it could be 10 times higher than the losses

forecast. up to 5% of gdp. it is important these two large, important economies find a way to work together and work to improve the global trade system. to adjust to new challenges and help us all. >> a warning from the imf last week that there is a threat to emerging markets, if the federal reserve raises rates abruptly or even just signals that they will do that. that it could hurt emerging markets and developing nations. china is the second biggest economy in the world. in many ways it is a rich country. they do not look like an emerging market. but is that a risk to china or are they immune? >> they are not immune. no one is immune.

but china's financial markets tied to a system around the federal reserve, it is not as exposed as many smaller economies. for the smaller economies is important we have monetary policy in the u.s. that is gradual and not sudden that could lead to sudden changes in financial conditions. kathleen: helge berger, thank you for joining us today. he is china's imf mission chief. haidi? haidi: -- shery: plenty more ahead for china's outlook. we will get perspective from barclays, ubs, and j.p. morgan over the coming hours. bank of america says offices may look more normal, midyear. highlights from our conversation with the chairman and ceo next. plus, japan wants to strengthen ties with the u.s..

the prime minister will be the first leader to meet biden in person. this is bloomberg. ♪

haidi: bank of america reported a better than expected 17% surgeon first quarter revenue. but a decline in loan balances did not impress investors. share fell as 4.2% on thursday. this is coming as executives warned of higher costs from the pandemic and how they will persist for longer than expected. the ceo spoke to bloomberg about those results. brian: the economy of a big bank like ours affects the whole financial services system. this is a health care crisis. you're seeing the vaccine numbers go up. you're seeing the ability to

reopen without the risk that governments could not do in the states and cities and towns. our spending levels for our consumer base were records in the first quarter. march was the biggest month ever. if you go back and prepared to 19, we are up 20%. divide that by two, it is up 10% a year, much faster than we were growing in 16, 17. it is a bigger number going at a faster rate. but people still have stimulus in their accounts and have not spent it. we have a group of americans and people around the world who are not back to work at and we need to get that done, whose businesses cannot open yet. we have to get that done. a big part of the economy, and our predictions for the economy do crossover will be bigger than it was before the pandemic, is open and operating and consumed -- consumers are spending money's and that is good news. you're seeing deposits way up. but our loans are not as high

because people are paying us off because they have so much cash sitting around. the commercial side, we expect that to change with the economy growing at 70% -- 7%, which is what we predict comedies left to borrow to service that economy. -- companies left to borrow to service that economy. consumers are in good shape. there is an unemployment issue. we have to get that down. businesses have to get up and. the by and large, a big portion of the economy is operating very well. >> you have a special viewpoint into the economy because you have consumers and the middle-market, small and medium-size enterprises around the country. are you seeing pickup in the borrowing from medium-size companies yet? >> our business banking segment, and our middle-market, we are seeing line usage pretty flat. but a quick going down.

it got stronger during the beginning of 2021. new clients and new deals bode well. but we have to see them through. that goes back to those companies having a lot of cash that had to run efficiently during the crisis because you would not know what happens next. now they need to start spending money on supplies and things to redo their interest -- their inventory. we have to get the trade -- the trade is growing fast into the country but the ports and things need to get straightened out, just a dynamic and the virus and the supply chains. i worry for those midsize companies that they need to get those supplies, lumber supplies, things like that. i hope it will straighten out. outside of health care, the next challenge is to get the supply chains oiled increased. -- oiled and greased. shery: let's turn to another

bank making headlines. citigroup has announced a plan to simple five sprawling fizzes. -- businesses. you can see here, asia, middle east, and africa are part of the strategic overall. they will operate retail branches in just six countries, down from 50 and 2006. where will they take the bank? the focus will be on for well centers. singapore, hong kong, the uae, and london. there pushing for wealth management products which already has $6.6 billion annually, but they want to capture the full spectrum of the wealth opportunity. haidi: let's get you a quick check of the latest business headlines this hour. hsbc to throw out a substantial portion of a 106 e3 million-dollar claim over a ponzi scheme.

it london appeals court dismissed most of the case that alleged the bank turned a blind eye to suspicious payments over bogus certificates. at the time it was the second largest ponzi scheme prosecuted in the u.s. behind the maid off scheme -- madoff scheme. $174 million length to the brother of greenfield. transactions were close between october and december 2019. they were found in a liability account labeled, repayable in a year. a spokesman for greenfield has declined to comment. samsung has sold $1.5 billion in bonds. they are singing just over $22 billion in demand which started off low but included to repair notes coming june and april.

a chinese carmakers has its new electric car unit will give it an edge against fintech in the av market -- ev market. it's president tells us that deliveries of its new car set to begin in september and it is targeting if thousand annual sales by 2022. it is the companies special -- second attempt to crack the ev space. >> zika -- this was perfect for this. it was founded and spun off from geely. it's culture is no different from any other tech or internet company. >> coming up next, the japanese prime minister is the first foreign leader to meet with president joe biden in person.

we get a preview of what to expect from the talks. this is bloomberg. ♪

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getting rid of sugar cravings, helps control stress and emotional eating and losing weight. go to golo.com and see how golo can change your life. that's golo.com. ♪ shery: sick a look at the day ahead for japan and south korea. in seoul, president moon jae-in may name a new prime minister. the prime minister could offer to resigned in order to push ahead with a bid for the presidency. we will be on watch for the finance ministry to release its monthly economic assessment report. the finance minister is also holding a meeting later to boost system chips future cars and the health-care industry. over in japan we are softbank is investing in indian food delivery startup swiggy. we are

also watching chose sheba. they could reject cbcs buyout offer. local media saying that would raise the opportunity for cbc to launch a hostile bid. japan's share of u.s. treasuries falling to the lowest on record. holdings are about 5.9% of total debt in february. haidi: we will sound japan. the prime minister says he wants to build a trusting relationship with the u.s. as he becomes the first foreign leader to meet with president biden in person. let's go to our government reporter emily wilkins for a preview of what to expect. emily, we understand the suga administration will rest overnight before the meeting on friday. what is on the agenda? what the receipt in terms of the priority of this being the first foreign leader to be met by president biden in person?

>> there are a lot of things to cover on the agenda for tomorrow and for this meeting. i think one thing that everyone will be watching very closely is what is discussed on china. we know the two world leaders are set to discuss china's military record and human rights record but there's also the question of exactly how much they might get into the dynamic that is going to play out as the u.s. be is to focus more on asia and more on china in particular under the biden administration. the meeting comes as the biden administration shifts its focus away from the middle east with afghanistan. they have said they are going to readjust focus onto to china and asia. one of the things i will watch for is if the two leaders include any language in their joint statement on taiwan. we sought last month with the u.s. secretary of state and defense in their japanese counterpart when they mentioned the peace and stability of the taiwan strait. shery: what could be said about

china, specifically echo we know that prime minister suga has been pressured to join other democracies in imposing sanctions on china over xinjia ng. >> is in a difficult spot. they are major trading partners with china. they have a closer relationship because of the geography at play here. there is a delicacy and how the biden administration needs to go about deciding what japan needs to do as their ally when it comes to the focus on china, putting pressure on china, perhaps responding to china if it makes move in the regions -- moves in the region. expecting the two leaders to talk about the coup in myanmar, the coronavirus pandemic, and the north korean nuclear threat. shery: emily wilkins their joining us from washington. staying with japan, the boj is jumping in on the digital currency trend.

after the pboc rolled out an electronic yuan in china. we spoke to the director general of its payment and settlement systems department about the possible launch of digital yen in the future. >> [speaking foreign language] a central bank digital currency, a so-called -- so-called cddc is likely to become an option in japan. digitalization is progressing rapidly, both domestically and globally. as a central bank, we feel it is our responsibility to prepare appropriately. having said that, we have no concrete plans to issue a cbdc but we think there is still a need to work on the technology side. we're looking carefully at the current technology and more advanced technology we could use in the future. that is what our experiments starting this month our four. we are making a list of issues

we need to solve before the future issuance of a digital currency. >> last time we spoke to you, you talked about the importance of public support for issuing a currency. is there any signs public support is gaining momentum in japan? >> [speaking foreign language] in order to issue a new currency we need to work together with all parties involved. i do not believe the bank of japan alone can make a decision to issue a currency before making any decision. we need to consider how a cbdc where work that framework. developed countries have efficient and safe payment systems so digital currencies to go -- should go beyond that level. >> the pboc has rolled out digital currencies across china.

what is your view? >> [speaking foreign language] i understand many central banks have been working on cbdc's in recent years. according to a survey by the bank for international settlements, 86 percent of relevant central banks are doing some kind of work on central bank digital currencies. many are conducting experiments. i understand that the pboc is moving fact to introduce the digital yuan. i believe technology is constantly involving -- evolving and the technology they are using currently might become outdated and hinder further technological innovation. we want to make an appropriate decision as to what kind of technology we should use if we are to launch a digital yen in

the future. for all of the world's central banks making constant progress on settlement systems is most important. from that perspective, it is hard to believe anyone digital currency will dominate others. the bank of japan has been working on cbcs --cbdc's for many years. several central banks started discussions in january 2020. we discuss not only the technology involved, but also how we should cooperate and settlement and payment systems in the future. with that, i do not believe the bank of japan has been slow to consider digital currencies. haidi: that was a bank of japan director general for the payments and settlement systems department. we have some breaking news when it comes to virus researches in japan. the japanese government is seeking virus measures in areas around tokyo.

in connick, and nishimura -- we're seeing stricter rules as cases arrive. 729 cases with that second day average at 523 cases. we are seeing tokyo over the past few days looking to seek to return to stricter virus measures as we see cases continue to grow in the capital. we also heard what could potentially happen as the countdown continues to the summer olympics. a couple of senior officials, including the vaccines are -- tsar of japan saying it could be held without but they are still open to canceling despite prevention measures being stepped up in six regions including in tokyo and osaka. let's take a look at how we are setting up with this friday session here in asia. we are seeing last traded

numbers out of new zealand up by .1%. sydney futures looking mildly positive. we are looking at the start of trading in tokyo, as well. singapore up by half a percent there. we discussed women facing issues in the financial industry, and what needs to be done to increase representation. this is bloomberg. ♪

shery: let's turn to china again. big z for gdp data -- big day ahead for gdp data. more on this story in hong kong. david, it seems to be far from resolution right now given several payments are due even after the singaporean one they say they have the funds for. >> that is covered. that led to a five cent rally across some of the more liquid bonds. we have three other bonds coming in today -- not today, before the end of the month with the securities unit. all told, $42 billion in total owed locally and outside, $17

billion which is due by the end of next year. that dovetails into -- the larger insurgency, the long-term liabilities of the company. today have enough cast jack -- do they have enough cash? can they raise enough? normally we would it be at hundred 40 basis points before it spiked to about 1400 as of yesterday before the news broke. i would watch dollar bond spreads, asia dollar bond spreads, most of which are developers that have been widening for nine or 10 days. we will see if it tightens up a little in the next coming days. haidi: this is obviously playing out in parts of the bond market but we have been talking about contagion. is there an idea or narrative that this is not really going to turn out to be a systemic problem? >> morgan stanley was out with a note two days ago saying this is not systemic. we are not even seeing it play

out in all parts of china. not to say we will not see a play out. amc has seen their spreads widen. but when you look at three and five year aaa, though spreads have tightened up a little bit. when you look simply add it -- attic you would not even know. one thing to bring up, is tencent overnight raising quite a bit of bond money into the market. the final spread as you can see here were quite tight. 106 he five basis points on the four-year. -- 106 he five -- 165 basis points on the four-year. shery: we are expecting a strong quarter in china, but always a double-edged sword. his are tightening on a her -- on the horizon? >> we are about two hours away from breaking backwards looking data. i am kidding. in all seriousness, the

connection between this and the market -- is quarter and quarter, 2020 was an aberration. the numbers we will get on this metric today will confirm that china has returned to trend growth, if you will. when you look at what is happening with the market, first in, first out, the types of these narratives have really been playing out in the equity market. it has underperformed recently. we'll see what happens when things open up here in hong kong and in china. it will be a very busy day ahead. haidi: david ingles with the anticipation being built on a backwards looking data. we have coverage on the fallout from huarong. you can join us at 9:30 a.m. hong kong time to get the latest on that. let's get to vonnie quinn who has the first word headlines. >> to senior republican

lawmakers are calling for broader restrictions on u.s. sales of chipmaking tools to china. in a letter to the commerce secretary, they say there is evidence that companies linked to the chinese military are using the technology to advanced weaponry. russia has promised retaliation for the latest round of u.s. sanctions but the kremlin says a remains open to a white house offer of a presidential summit. the u.s. is expelling 10 russian diplomat and imposing new sanctions on 32's entities and individuals. they are acting in retaliation for alleged misconduct related to the solar wind hacked and last year's presidential election. france is the latest country to surpass 100,000 covid related deaths. becoming the third european nation behind the u.k. and italy to do so. it has nearly 5.2 million confirmed cases.

a third lockdown started in april. after the president ignored advice to do so back in january. people have -- people who bought tickets to the fire festival will receive some compensation. the 2017 event by convicted per moment billy mcfarland and rapper ja rule did not deliver on thomases of a caribbean party with celebrities and gourmet food. the $2 million settlement gives each ticket holder just over $7,000. 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. haidi? haidi: blue burst data the biggest rise for women on the boards of a set companies. gender equality still has a way to go.

membership association women in banking and finance is working close -- to close that gap. the ceo joins us now. i should say, it is nice to get some positive news given that the overwhelming bad news the pandemic has wrought two women's career progression and leadership overall. what does the data show you at the moment? how quickly are we managing to close this gap? >> thanks, haidi. is great news, of course. it is showing finance is a great career destination for women. we are making progress. we see here in australia there has been a number of key roles made and women hold 30% of board seats in finance and banking entities here in australia. haidi: what is the barrier to increasing that number to true equality? >> i guess what we look at is

the pipeline. although women have formed the majority of the workforce and the banking and finance sector for a number of decades now, over 50% of the workforce is female, we do not see that transiting to key executive positions. still only one quarter of key executive positions are held by women. just over 30% of board seats. that is really an issue to do with how we keep people moving through the pipeline and how we create opportunities and really howie -- really how we, the risks we take on women compared with men. shery: the president in australia has been angry about women in politics. how much to that charge the movement? and perhaps give more opportunities to women in business? >> it is such an interesting time in australia. i have been working in the gender diversity space for about 15 years now and i have never

seen the momentum we have right here right now. i think the bubble has burst around the way we have treated women and anyone who saw the former ceo give testimony in the senate hearings during the wake of blistering hot questioning and answering down in canberra, that has to do with the banking deal. it went through the australian post network. we are seeing a rising of women. over 100,000 women marched in the streets in early march to say enough is a month -- is enough. we want to move beyond the injustice women have experience in australia. that will translate into the workplace. women have found their voice. shery: do you expect this to be a sustained momentum and not a one-off >> i do think it will be. there are enough key players. women arm more mobilized than ever.

i've never seen so many of my male colleagues -- obviously, as ceo of women and banking and finance most of the ceos i work with and the members of our organization, the ceos are men. these guys are all mobilized by i and -- mobilized behind what we need to do to create opportunities in ways i've never seen before. haidi: are you hopeful there will be contributing to the ability to make meaningful change? when you take a look at the anecdotal tide of stories that have come out, particularly this year, it can be pretty detrimental to the idea we will ever get to a healthy working environment, particularly in some of these sectors, like finance, making, politics, and the like. >> the respect for workers is long overdue. that report sounded desk for 15 months.

what it will take is a lot of investment to turn it into outcomes. it is disappointing we find ourselves having this conversation again. the fisk -- the fixed discrimination in australia act wasn't amended in 1984. we have to iron out the bugs in the system. so many women and men are experiencing sexual harassment at work. we need to have safer workplaces where they can feel more psychologically and physically safe. i think we see the actions announced by the government ensuring we have a level playing field for everyone and that we systematically address the recommendations of the commissioner that will be -- that will require a lot of investment and commitment from organizations and from the government. interesting to note that parliament was excluded from the

sexual harassment previously, so bring everyone into the same phrasing, making sure we address that, is extremely important. shery: we will watch those development closely. more to come on daybreak asia. this is bloomberg. ♪

shery: -- haidi: citigroup scored a record first quarter profit. this comes as the new ceo takes the helm to offset the slump in revenue from the banks. it also said it will exit retail banking in 13 markets across europe, the middle east, africa, and asia, including in mainland china, india, and here in australia. after spiking as much a 6.4%, shares close down 1.7% with some 40 million shares changing hands. the exchange's $64 billion valuation is a far cry from the original valuation. softbank is said to be investing 40 or $50 million in indian food

degree -- indian food delivery to business swiggy. this reportedly comes as the fines it still needs approval from indian trust regulators. they face stiff competition. we will watch and japan the key issue of releasing radioactive water treated into the ocean. the government has released this cute mascot, this character called tridium as a radioactive element to try to explain the safety of dilating it and releasing it into the ocean. you can see that little tadpole looking like character. it has received a lot of backlash on social media. the government has had to pull it. haidi: in fact, the

reconstruction agencies said it would temporarily retire and redesign the character this week. i'm curious to what the redesign mascot will look like and whether it will appease the broader population and make people feel a little better and safer about the intention to explain that the water is not hazardous at the levels people are adjusting. it is interesting. they love their mascots in japan. there is a mascot for everything. shery: all these cute mascots for cities, even in china, for sporting events, first -- for health and safety issues. very cute when used properly. we will be watching to of elements around this character. plenty more to come. the market opens in sydney, soul, and tokyo are next. --seoul, and tokyo are next.

shery: welcome to daybreak asia from bloomberg's world headquarters in new york. haidi: and i'm in sydney. asia's major markets have just open for trade. our top stories this hour. asian stocks poised to gain after surprisingly robust data in the u.s. chinese data will be under the microscope today. investors will also look beyond

the chinese gdp numbers. huarong investment plans fraying investor nerves. >> outside huarong's headquarters here in beijing, we are following the twists in the story. we have special coverage kicking off at 930 hong kong time. shery: prime minister suga has landed at joint base andrews at -- in maryland. it will be the first foreign leader to meet with president joe biden in person. we've heard from a senior u.s. administration official that the biden-suga meeting will be one-on-one on friday before other aides join the talks. biden and suga are excited to talk in depth about china, according to the u.s. administration official. the u.s. and japan will be announcing a $2 billion initiative on 5g technology as

the rivalry between washington and beijing in tech continues. the u.s. and japan will issue a statement on the taiwan strait, as well. according to the senior official, the u.s. wants to see japan's and that's japan and south korea improving ties. biden will seek an update on the tokyo olympics. the u.s. will hear japan's 2030 climate change targets in the meeting, as well, as we hear from the finance minister in tokyo that the suga-biden will be the first step in building a personal relationship. you can see his plane landing at joint base andrews. take a look at how the markets are opening right now. the nikkei is coming online .3% higher. we continue cdc -- we continue to see strength for the japanese yen, holding its three week

high. this as a u.s. edge further down. we are watching jgb's closely. they have stayed in a narrow range. this is what curry is doing right now. gains similar to what the nikkei is doing. the korean won fell in the previous session. they left interest rates unchanged. a half percent in the previous session. we're seeing the korean won unchanged against the u.s. dollar at the moment while the kospi is gaining ground. haidi: let's take a look at the start of trading in sydney, as well. australia still within 1.5% of a record high. it is a staggered start, so we will give it some time.

s&p futures pretty steady at the moment after a record high session overnight. we are seeing yields on the benchmark 10 year study, but that decline put further pressure on the dollar in translate into some gains here in asian currency. the aussie dollar's outperformance in asset classes this week, its largest gain since november. let's take a look at brent crude, up about .25%, still set for the best week since early march. that demand outlook is improving. goldman for one seeing demand peak in transport and about five years time. shery: let's get more on the markets with our next guest. david, great to have you with us. this coming at a time when we have already seen a rally in value. this chart showing perhaps those moves are now cooling a global

growth. especially with the higher earnings we are seeing recently. is it worth continuing to push into value? especially when valuations could already be looking stretched. >> i think we have not seen the rotation really yet from growth and tech scott -- stock propel forward. we have seen the rotation in places like china where the technology industry continues to be under a microscope under regulators. it depends geographically where this rotation will continue. i think overall, this rotation still has many -- a lot of life to it. shery: so you are favoring china, especially in the tech sector, given the pressure we are seeing recently with regulation? >> i think chinese stocks are very interesting right now. especially chinese technology stocks. they really have come off their highs and we have seen the

rotation from tech stocks to value. that trade very much makes sense, given the regulatory changes. i think chinese tech stocks are still very attractive because both their fundamentals are very strong. technology stocks will benefit from this. haidi: you hinted at some of the regulatory changes. we know more changes are to come when it comes to the regulatory plan -- clampdown. does it worry you from a gross outlook point of view this will not be the same as the years of unfettered growth of the year -- that the big tech have had in china? >> i think it makes sense that regulators tend to let novel industries develop first and then regulars take a microscope and examine ways they can better regulate specific industries. we saw that in the videogame industry in china and also now with these e-commerce platforms,

financial technology companies, as well. it makes sense these regulations are coming down the pipe. i do not think this is a sign there will be systemic risks due to further regulation, but this is just a catalyst the industry has to get over. the removal of the overhead -- haidi: when you take a look at the, i guess, the uneven pace about the recoveries from covid and the vaccine rollout, where you see opportunities in those gaps? >> last year was all about covid containment and chinese stocks very much benefited from that. this year is about the vaccine rollout. american stocks have really benefited from that trend. we have seen an expedited rollout in china.

they have plans to vaccinate around 40% of the population by the summertime. i they suddenly the chinese play will start to gain a little more traction as investors start to refocus their attention back to the chinese market. shery: whether it is in china or here in the u.s., there seems to be more concern about inflation, especially with the latest news reports from both countries. how do you hedge for that? >> i think there are a few ways investors can diversify. enter investments like tips, real estate, and also commodities. shery: what do you make of the u.s. dollar right now? we have seen significant strength at a time we saw we would see a structural decline for the dollar. where we headed? what does it mean for asian markets? >> i think the u.s. dollar will hang out at these levels for the near term, but it's trajectory is to weaken in the second half

of this year. because of interest rates in the u.s. staying lower longer than other places like china and other em countries. i think the dollar trajectory will be weaker, which is positive for em equities. haidi: does that mean you are saying -- you are in the camp that you do not see the fed tightening any time soon in a meaningful way that will trickle into pressure to em's? >> we are not going to see interest rates rising in the near future. i think the bond tapering program could happen sooner than expectations, chairman palace -- chairman powell said that could be a possibility. the impact on em's is relatively positive, that interest rates in the u.s. and liquidity conditions will remain flush in the near term. shery: david chow from invesco

coble market. take you very much for joining us. we're watching the markets in japan right now as we see toshiba falling more than 4%. this on local media reports that toshiba may be rejecting that cbc buyout offer. local media reporting that that raises the possibility of cbc launching a hostile bid coming at a time when this toshiba -- when the toshiba ceo has just resigned. he came from cbc so we are hearing perhaps they will be rejecting the buyout offer. haidi: let's get to maryland to joint base andrews where we are seeing the japanese prime minister and his delegation arrived. the deplaning is about to happen. you're seeing live pictures there of joint base andrews. we know the delegation, including the prime minister, will rest overnight ndc before a series of talks -- overnight in

dc 40 series of talks. this will be president biden's first series of talks with foreign leaders since taking office. we know that they see japan as a bridge to the rest of asia. we know president biden as well as prime minister suga will be meeting one-on-one on friday for their aides join in on the talks. a lot to talk about. the geopolitics of the region. an update on the tokyo olympics. we're hearing they will be issuing a joint statement on the taiwan strait, as well. shery: we heard from the finance of took -- of japan, saying that this meeting is the first step to building a first all -- a personal relationship. very important to prime minister suga and president biden who has been trying to show this broad coalition in asia especially as you have china becoming tougher in the region. expectations are china will be discussed. prime minister suga has been

feeling the pressure from lawmakers in his own party to join other major democracies in imposing sanctions on china over xinjiang. this will be a very sensitive topic. not to mention that we are expected to get statements on the taiwan strait, according to a senior u.s. administration official. haidi: you talk about this striking of a delicate balance, and that is exactly what diplomacy is. it is a big challenge for these two leaders. for the japanese prime minister, there is increasing pressure that there is a push against china, but it is the biggest trading partner with japan, as well. there is a need to keep beijing from lashing out. that will be a crucial issue in terms of finding that unified voice between the u.s. and japan, as well. in a lot of ways, i think the suga administration has been quite bold on these geopolitical

and human rights positions being taken. it will be interesting to see what comes out of these talks and that joint position after they happen. shery: we make it a hands of that coming from president biden and japanese prime minister suga. they will hold a press conference on friday at 4:15 p.m. eastern after they hold a summit on friday at 1:30 p.m. eastern at the white house. we will watch very closely what they say, the tone of their comments, as well. the u.s. has a said they do want to see japan and south korea improve their ties, as well, this of -- this according to a senior u.s. official. haidi: we will continue to monitor. the deplaning there is about to happen at joint base andrews in maryland. we are expecting the delegation including the japanese prime minister to leave that plane, resting overnight before these key talks happen with president

biden and their aides. let's get you vonnie quinn now with the first word headlines, in the meantime. >> bloomberg analysis has revealed many u.s. states have a growing surgeon the need for covert vaccines even before a large percent of the country has been vaccinated. data shows as many as one and three shots is going unused in some states. so far, 37% of u.s. adults have received at least one dose. norway's top health authority has recommended stopping any further use of the astrazeneca vaccine, saying the risk of lung clots is unexceptional. it joins the list of countries partially or completely abandoning the vaccine. earlier denmark became the first earlier be nation to do so. russia has said there will be retaliation for the latest round of u.s. actions but that the cremona's open to offers of a presidential summit. the u.s. is -- expelling

tangible mats and imposing sanctions on 32 entities or individuals. 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'm vonnie quinn. this is bloomberg. shery: we are back at joint base andrews as we continue to wait for prime minister suda to deplane in maryland. this as he heads towards his first summit with president biden. he would be the first foreign visitor -- foreign leader to actually meet with biden since he became president. the summit will take place at 1:30 p.m. eastern at the white house and then they will both hold a press conference together at 4:15 p.m. eastern, as well. we have heard, haidi, that there is a lot on the agenda already.

a senior official talking about china, south korea, the tokyo limbic's, other issues on the table. haidi: just as a point of interest, we know that everything, including air travel and a diplomatic relations, have to be done differently, given we are still in the middle of a pandemic. the pandemic has forced the prime minister to travel to the u.s. with quite a reduced entourage, as well. cabinet members that would usually accompany him are not with him and the first lady is not with him, as well. there we are seeing the japanese prime minister deplaning at joint base andrews in maryland ahead of the first face-to-face talks with a foreign leader to be held by president biden and his administration since taking office. a lot for the japanese prime minister, as well as the u.s. leader to talk about in this meeting. we know there will be a one-on-one meeting on friday ndc before the aides join in.

geopolitical issues. we are expecting that joint statement on the taiwan strait, as well. the shadow of china and how to balance its rise across the region will be looming large over these talks. a lot more to come. this is bloomberg. ♪

haidi: our top story, dollar bonds higher after the embattled debt manager is reported to have to pay full repayment of a 40 or $50 million note due in just a very weak. investors are looking at other key dates to get a sense of the country's finance. let's go to beijing now. tompkins he joins us with the latest. tom, we're taking a look at prices on hong kong, dollar bonds balancing now at record lows. we've not heard anything from the company or any confirmation.

>> that's absolute right. presumably, the workers of h uoarong are working through some of these issues, but there was some modest release -- relief yesterday when it was reported they had the funds to pay off the singapore bond due on the 27th. then another bond due this sunday. the longer term is that they have debt obligations around17 billion dollars between now and the end of 2022 and as a result of the cratering offshore dollar bond market, they are struggling to raise funds. the? 's as to how they will meet those debt obligations going forward. we've not heard from the finance minister yet. they have a majority stake in this company. the company itself told bloomberg they do have adequate liquidity. they are also looking ahead to their earnings. they have to report their

earnings by april 30. that will give us some insight into how much pressure this company is under. the biggest distressed asset manager in china. how china and its regulators deal with this company will go a long way to answering that question that is long deviled china, how much moral hazard are they prepared to put up with? or will they step away from businesses like this? shery: what if we seen so far when it comes to the chinese government commenting, perhaps, on the issue with huarong where the broader bond markets? tom: we have heard very little. there is an official press conference later this afternoon around 3 p.m. local time with senior regulators. we will list out -- listen to anything they say about huarong, but that is been the big question for investors. we did not get the earnings report at the end of march. we've yet to hear any clarity from the finance ministry.

it was notable that the reporting around the cash that was raised for the singapore dollar was in a state bank media organization, a newspaper, and of course there's going to be debate as to whether or not the offshore part of this business, huarong's international arm where most of the dollar debt has been raised, will be the sacrificial lamb, whereas the domestic business, which is so important when it comes to those nonperforming loans, that that part of the business will be protected. that is the view from some investors and that is been reflected in the domestic bond prices for huarong. shery: tom mackenzie in beijing. one of the big questions on investors minds right now is how did no one see the issues with china huarong? bloomberg opinion colonist joint -- columnist joins us now. >> right now, wall street is

thinking, oh. as some have mentioned. these dollar bonds, the way they are structured, legally they are not responsible for any of the bond repayments. what happened was huarong was a big issue are in wall street was making quite a bit of money helping issue trading and facilitating trading. they sold those bonds to a lot of emerging markets fund managers. there is a lot of soul-searching at this point. why do we not see this coming? haidi: they are a big issue in the dollar bond space. the investors incur up to $10 billion of paper loss. could there a been earlier morning -- warning for clients? >> i think so. they are way behind the curve. what happened was, the huarong

bonds started falling off the previous week, but over the week, and influential chinese financial magazine had a harshly worded editorial. i will transit the headline. "how can huarong be destroyed and restored?" if you look at the notes to clients, they do not mention this editorial at all, even though they should have. i do think that they can come back to the banks and say, what happened? haidi: always great to have you with us. surely ren there. --shuli ren there. we have special coverage of this a little later on.

this is bloomberg. ♪

haidi: get a quick check at the latest headlines. citigroup had a record first quarter profit thanks to its equities division. this offsets the slump from revenue in its fixed income trading. it will be exiting retail trading and 13 markets. -- in 13 markets. this case over a ponzi scheme alleges that the bank put a blind eye over initial payments made. greenfield capital is examining $174 million in payments like to the brother of the founder. some transactions in 2019 were found in the liability account labeled repayable at the

beginning of the year. a spokesman for greenfield climbed to comment. coming up next, we will discuss with barclays. this is bloomberg.

haidi: we do have trade data out of the moment. your and your for the month of march, 12.1% is what we see against expectations of 2.6% and certainly picking up the pace from 4.2% from february. a more modest scale of 1.2%, that is lower than the 8.2% of the previous month from expectations of a contraction of 4%, so given the effect of covid, given the impact a lot of

the shutdown and logistic challenges that we are seeing on the course of the pandemic, it is clear that we are seeing but that 12.1% headline number. electronic spitting that out year and year, the number is 24.4% and jumping about a 7% gain in the previous month. we know pharmaceuticals tends to be spread out pretty volatile as well so we will continue to watch but this certainly comes on the back of gdp numbers, strengthening in the singapore dollar, some of these indicators that the singapore economic recovery is on track. the central bank there keeping its main monetary policy unchanged with a slightly less dovish tone going into the release of this data. let us get to the big data that we are expecting later on. china expected to report the highest growth.

it is bringing in the chief economist. taking a look at how crazy the basis is and projections signaling a quarter expansion in gdp growth. we know the recovery is robust but if you look under the hood, what are you looking for? are you concerned about the customs -- consumption dragon? guest: we projected a higher than consensus 28% gdp growth and it was upgraded. adjusted on the back of the strong exports and strong economic momentum at the start of the year, as projected, so

indeed like you said, the consumption will be whether the service recovery and whether the chinese will be able to pick up this year and to take over for growth. as we go to the holiday statistics, the upcoming labor day holiday travel information and i think that suggests that at least consumer confidence is back and people are willing to go out and spend. it is clearly that all of these services so that the volume improvement are a lot more higher than the value. haidi: earlier we spoke to the imf mission chief. this is what he had to say about his view of the recovery trajectory.

guest: it is often better to look at quarter and quarter growth and analyze the 45% of growth which is a solid base but given the week first quarter last year, our concern is mostly on the consumption side. haidi: there is concern about consumption. what is preventing consumption from coming back? guest: i think there are structural reasons that a been raised on chinese consumption recovery and there are structural reasons that have been found for several years and even before covid. with concern about energy and unemployment recovery there are also i think the surging house

prices. that is really added to the burden of the household of her monthly mortgage payments and crowding out consumption, so these have been the underlying structural questions. we all know that the u.s. and europe's government -- subsidies to the household as well. emphasizing on job creation so rather than direct cash to the household and that i think is another factor for the cyclical recovery. shery: we already saw producer prices really rally to 2018 high.

if we get more inflationary pressure, how much burden will that put on households? guest: so far, we clearly see chinese inflation exceeded the expectation. we are forecasting it to rise at 7% any the second quarter before moderating and any consumer price inflation. currently, it is somewhat moderate in terms of overall pressure and i think the underlying demand, it remains relatively soft. they have yet to pick up gradually in seen in askew, cpi inflation to rise gradually, notably in the second half of the year towards 3% so for the

moment, i think the overall inflation pressure is manageable. shery: what will the pboc do? guest: there been concerns of preventing financial risks in the central chinese bank have already started normalizing monetary policy since may last year. a tightening clearly for the beginning of the year, especially after surging house prices. the surging credit growth as we see in the first two months of the year so the pboc has already issued guidance to banks to guide credit growth lower to ensure the sustainability and china's overall macro leverage. the pboc i think has also joined

in with other regulators to ensure the typing as well as the financing and on the housing market and in terms of the overall liquidity, we have seen they will ensure liquidity, especially at times of an angel volatility -- financial volatility. for the moment, we are not looking for them for high interest rates. shery: great having you on. looking for any clarity on the state of china huarong finances on its details of its overall plan. our executive editor is joining us now. we have already seen the spill over into other high-yield chinese dollars and credit risk across asia rising. it is a bit of concern here.

reporter: contagion is definitely a concern. it is shaping up to be the ultimate test of china's capital market. we know the authorities are encouraging more defaults in the financial system or at least they are more willing to stomach them. they are trying to wean investors. they want better pricing in their bond markets and they want to mature the market and of course huarong is the ultimate s.o.e. it is majority owned by china's government ministry. it has a left of debt outstanding. this is one of the most highly -- there's one other thing that makes a big test for china's

capital market and that is the fact that the bonds that are under scrutiny, with something in agreement. this is basically credit enhancements that is provided by the huarong parent. those agreements have never been tested and it is not entirely clear whether it will materialize when it needs to come so overall a lot of uncertainty on two key issues that really strike at the heart of how china's bond markets work. haidi: there are a lot of questions about why we did not see this coming and whether a warning could have been given. what can we see that could ease some of these concerns? reporter: i think investors are trying for some clarity or some guidance at this point. we know that huarong has avoided a short-term defaults by saying it will pay off a singapore bond. it still has a lot of debt

outstanding. i think something like $7.4 billion that needs to be refinanced this year alone. it has $3.4 billion according to its last financial report and most of those are held in mandatory reserves and it is not going to be able to use in order to pay off debt so investors want to see the financial statements which have of course in the -- delayed. i think they would like to see some guidance from the government about how it is thinking about the situation. there are still plenty of investors out there that think the government is not going to be willing to let an entity like huarong, and really the ultimate soe.

there people who out there think that they are not going to let something of that size failed. the price of letting huarong go -- shery: bloomberg executive editor and take a look at how it is doing right now. after losing about 4% in the session. this after they said that no decision has been made to reject the cbc offer. they were out to reject the cbcs buyout offer which could potentially meet the hostile bid. this is bloomberg. ♪ vonnie: i'm vonnie quinn with

the first word headlines. 100,000 covid related deaths, becoming the third european nation behind u.k. and italy to do so. plans to going into the third like down into april after france president a nordic advice to do so back in january. president joe biden will meet south korea president in washington and their first face-to-face meeting. the white house has not confirmed a date for the meeting. north korea is likely to be a

key issue for discussion and cooperating on wrapping up the chip supply. hong kong media tycoon has four separate court appearances on friday. they continue their crackdown. an alleged protest could be the most serious trial under national security law imposed by beijing. authorities are pursuing six cases against the 70 -- 72-year-old. 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. haid. i. haidi: to take on tech giants like apple who have big ambitions in the electric car market. the president spoke exclusively to our tom mackenzie.

[speaking foreign language] >> no matter its banned brand or product, organization which is no different from any other tech or internet. tom: how much of a threat do you see bonds the like an apple given that this is your response? [speaking foreign language] translator: i think it will be a long time for now. they have the final product and when customer satisfaction. i do speed up our development in the meantime. tom: how much time do you spend thinking about tesla? [speaking foreign language] translator: i do spend some time

but not only tesla. i'm studying other tech and internet companies. there is no boundary for that industry. it is a big challenge for us. we need to learn things from all outfits. tom: what are we going to see mass production and what is your target for the shipments of units over the next, say, 12 to 24 months? [speaking foreign language] translator: we will start delivering cars this september. i estimate 7000 to 8000 units in the fourth quarter. next year, it will be higher. we are aiming for more than 50,000 units. tom: for your plans for shipping this brand overseas, what are your international markets and when can we expect them to be --? [speaking foreign language] translator: they -- we are a

global brand. we will focus on the chinese market this year and we expect -- the european markets by the end of 202020 --2022. tom: is the u.s. market on the table? guest: north america is the next step. [speaking foreign language] tom: is the plan to list the company and go for an ipo and so -- if so what is the timeframe? guest: [speaking foreign language] translator: we do not rule out the possibility. tom: there is a big focus on the global semi conductor and ship shortage. this is impacting automakers and

many other sectors of the economy. how is it impacted you? in terms of shortening production? guest: [speaking foreign language] translator: we have been asked -- we have been impacted since the end of last year around 10% of our sales. it is more severe now and it is hard to tell the future impact for now. tom: how are you addressing that supply constraint when it comes to chips? guest: [speaking foreign language] translator: it is hard to avoid these situations. orders we placed ahead of time so they can provide us some support for help but the impacts will be there. guest: [speaking foreign language] tom: let me push you because there are reports that they are considering an ipo no. can you at least confirm that that is under consideration and

give us a sense of the timeline for that? guest: [speaking foreign language] translator: we are not ruling out the plan for an ipo. it is normal. in terms of the actual progress, we need to wait for a formal announcement because we are not the stage for publication. guest: [speaking foreign language] shery: that was the president. coming up, citigroup ceo moves to exit retail banking and 13 markets including china. this is part of her mission to simplify cities falling businesses. we will have more details of those plans next. this is bloomberg. ♪ shery: we are live outside and

sentencing is expected for others for to protest in august 2019. he is 82 years old and the other guy is already in prison. they have been denied bail on another charge. this comes as hong kong has convicted these democracy leaders. market has been called the father of democracy and the

other guys a prominent media tycoon. haidi. haidi: we will be getting more on that is the story develops but in the meantime, let us get back to our top bank stories. citigroup has plans to exit retail markets. the bank will instead upgraded its franchise to centers in hong kong, singapore, united air members, and london. why is city exiting these markets? is there a timeline? this is kind of familiar domain for the new ceo as well. >> the new ceo overnight mention scale so she says businesses are good but they are just not big enough to compete with the local rivals in the markets so that is

a big reason. it is coming at a time when regulators are putting increasing pressure to clean up internal infrastructure and controlled and there potentially facing costly regulatory work so they are looking at each unit as a part of a broader strategic review and trying to clean up. shery: what is the timeline for all of these changes? >> their exiting markets in china, indonesia, some in europe as well. they that outlined a timeline but that is not something they going to be holding onto for very long. in australia, they started a sales process and they are in talks with several bidders and we are looking at something being announced before the end of the quarter. the finalization will take a while because in each of these jurisdictions, the regulators will have to approve the new

buyers we were expecting announcements in the not-too-distant future. haidi: in terms of implications for the regional footprint, what does that mean for citi in asia? reporter: she is adamant that they will still remain in the region so they are going to be operating in consumer banking franchise in both the region from this whole well center. singapore, hong kong, united arab emirates, and london and then been building an advisory in singapore. they have a big office. they have made room for more than 200 elation shift managers and product specialists so there's going to be centralizing their services rather than being disparate areas. shery: asia finance reporter

there with the latest on citi's changes. we are seeing and holding steady as we have health care information amtek leading the gains so that you have sectors like consumers and utilities drag on the index. the japanese yen holding steady as well as we continue to see the strength against the u.s. dollar around that three week high. a 10th of 1%, this after we had the bank of korea come out without these economics comments, not to mention that they left their key rates unchanged. kiwi stocks are gaining ground for the fourth consecutive session. our special coverage on the rising credit concerns on the mainland and the fallout of huar ong. that is at 9:30 hong kong time. as we look at the hahong

kong, shanghai. this is bloomberg. ♪ tom: it is 9:00 a.m. in beijin.

welcome to bloomberg markets china open. i am tom mackenzie. david: i'm david. the chinese mainland and hong kong and let us get to your top stories. china is seen reporting