>> welcome to a new edition of global 3000. how will the world's premier corporate tax-haven re-position itself once the eu's financial loopholes have been tightened? join us for the next half hour which is looking something like this. rebranding luxembourg. the ever-enterprising grand duchy sures up new ways to keep the money flowing. tlc, elephant-style. some hard-earned time out for laos' endangered beasts of burden. australia, "no way!" the onetime immigration nation goes to new and drastic lengths to discourage refugees.

another year is almost over. and another tax year too. a good time then for the european union to tighten up the fiscal loopholes which allow multinational companies like amazon and fiat to reduce their tax bills by channeling their money through luxembourg, the little landlocked country which has become the world's premier corporate tax haven. with its controversial bank secrecy rules due to be lifted in 2017, luxembourg is already positioning itself to attract a new category of client. who would have thought that luxembourg has an underbelly? but there are parts of the grand duchy that the corporate world has not yet reached. the mood is not good. it is overlooked by the statute of the "tall banker." luxembourg's status as a global financial system is under

pressure now that the eu's clampdown on tax havens, set to be complete by 2017, is underway. as usual, bankers are looking ahead. right now, that means they are looking to china. luxembourg is rapidly growing as a channel for chinese financing and investments flowing into the european union. the ceo of the luxembourg stock exchange, robert scharfe, explains. >> when you're working across town, you see much more chinese visitors, tourists. the selection of shops is the reflection of the appetite of these at the international visitors. i think you see above all, the physical presence of the chinese banks active in luxembourg, which the number is

increasing on a regular basis. >> china is not alone in brokering in luxembourg. brokers are well aware of the entire world appreciates luxembourg's know-how. the fact that the country will end its banking secrecy as of january 1, 2015 is unlikely to change that. the chinese, for a start, are not too bothered about banking secrecy and tax breaks. financial consultant amanda young says they are mainly interested in luxembourg's role as a gateway to europe and for the chinese currency. is on track to become the third-largest international currency behind the u.s. dollar and the euro. >> 2013, chinese overseas direct investment section were

increased to 90 million dollars, more than 70% increase and because of the chinese companies they are going out, they also use their currency. and at the same time, the chinese government really wants to make their currency internationalized. they have to make that currency recognizable as a reserve currency. >> it's possible that it won't be long before amanda young can pay with this currency when she goes shopping in europe. luxembourg is looking to consolidate its role as a leading offshore center in the eurozone. it is already europe's islamic finance center.

islamic banking shows interest of banks loans. >> luxembourg gets around that by buying real estate, for example, which is rented out. >> commercial real estate. that is mostly what we deal with. >> the bank of china's european headquarters are also located in luxembourg. one big reason for that is the countries relaxed attitude toward banking regulation. >> for luxembourg, for example, if they felt that they need to to be in europe, it was a perfect hub for them to the eurozone. in addition if you compare to a city like london or frankfurt, if you go there, it has a stronger political standpoint. maybe they don't want that. luxembourg is more neutral from their perspective. >> the country is attractive to fund industry not only because of political considerations, but also because

it is small. that's right home to genii capital, for example, an investment in management and financial advisory firm. one of its specialized areas is motorsports. >> if you look at the german automotive cluster south of germany, all of the expertise that has been built over the last 50 years. has never ceased to improve every year. in the field of design, engineering, manufacturing, logistics, all of this is deeply integrated. localized in the same region. >> but luxembourg doesn't want to rely on its financial sector. it is home to a high-tech university.

luxembourg would like to become a world leader in innovation and tech. the state has plowed money into a company called digicash, a pioneer of mobile payment technology. >> because luxembourg regulators are very flexible there and have a very interesting dynamic therefore payment companies, and luxembourg has become a hub for payment companies there is a lot of them over there like paypal and others that have established in luxembourg, so that was the reason, why we could actually do this. >> i don't think luxembourg has much to worry about. it's investment fund sector is second only to new york.

we are talking about an industry worth 2.4 trillion euros. here's another staggering fact. every year some 300 million tons of potatoes are harvested around the world. making the humble spud one of the most important foodstuffs on the planet. in peru, the first potatoes were grown from 8000 years ago and today the country is home to thousands of different varieties. some of which you will find in the delicious potato soup waiting for us high up in the andes. ♪ >> today's global snack takes us up into the mountains. cusco is located in the heart of peru's andean highlands at an altitude of 34 hundred meters. once the capital of the inca empire, it is a popular tourist magnet.

anyone wanting to sample some local cuisine heads for the city san pedro market. there are many different stands offering a wide variety of food. this woman specializes in peru's number one vegetable, the potato. she learned how to prepare the different varieties from her mother. >> i have been coming out here since i was a child and my mother passed on all her know how to me. >> today, mother and daughter are preparing a very special potato soup called sopa de moraya. it is a variety of potato that is freeze-dried. it is laid out in the sun until it turns pale and then crashed. it is the main ingredient for the soup.

another variety of potato that is added, as well as broad beans, some finally chopped with vegetables, and pork. >> now we add some herbs to give it more flavor. this is what paico looks like. >> it is a kind of mint, and it's good for the digestive system. it's a good additive when cooking with beans. the beans are added later on with some spinach leaves on top to garnish the soup. why is it so tasty here? >> because they using goodies that you can only find in peru, like a special kind of potato.

different kinds, in fact, and that is what makes this a typical peruvian dish. >> then, buen provecho. >> how about nominating your favorite snack to be featured later in the series? on give you a tip, taste and tradition are two things guaranteed to tempt us. >> savory, suite, or spicy. what kind of no-fuss food you like when you are out? send us a photo of your favorite snack and win our global snack apron. send us your photo by e-mail or better yet, via facebook. good luck. >> next imagine just for a second that you are an asian elephant. you'd have thought that endangered species status would exempt you from having to work.

and yet in contrast to their free ranging african cousins, asians elephants are frequently used as beasts of burden. in the people's republic of laos, once known as the land of a million elephants, you will find less than 1000 of the pachyderms today. an elephant village ensures working elephants are kept healthy and that their owners invest in their welfare. >> mae khamdi is pregnant. she could give birth at any time. at this stage, the elephant cow should definitely not be used to work. normally, the elephant pulls tree trunks through the jungles of laos.

this is how the elephant caretakers earn a living. >> i don't let mae khamdi out of my sight at the moment. she needs a specially good care, so i have brought her to a sanctuary. she and her calf will get the medical attention they need here. myself, i get the equipment of 150 euros a month to take care of her. >> the elephant conservation center in the remote province is staffed with an international team of elephant vets. they offer free veterinary care services and an emergency unit, breeding center, a mahout vocational center and the most extensive elephant information center in the country. baby noy was born here three years ago. these elephants don't have to carry tourists about. they can walk around freely. and of course, they take their daily plunge in the nearby lake.

the wildlife conservationists with the ngo elephant asia are dedicated to the protection of the endangered asian elephant. laos used to be known as the land of a million elephants. today, it's home to an estimate of 1000 of them, half of which are used in logging and worked to the point of exhaustion. >> elephants can't always find enough to eat, so there often malnourished and weak. and if they are forced to work, they often end up dying. that happened in a lot of villages come and in many places wild elephants have died out, too. >> one of those places is the village of nongboua.

this is one of the poorest regions in the country. huge trees used to stand here in the jungle, but all that's left now are these roots. deforestation was rife here the 1990's. illegal logging remains a problem in laos. the children of nongboua have never seen an elephant before. the village elder camera member a time when a herd of wild elephants destroyed the rice paddies. even though he knows that elephants can be dangerous, he worries about the effects of illegal logging. >> it not only destroyed the elephant's natural habitat, it also denied us our livelihood. we used to rely on the jungle. we would find useful plants there, healing herbs and

mushrooms. we need our jungle back. >> much of the former jungle has been replaced by bamboo. one of the world's fastest-growing plants, it's a useful raw material for the villagers, but they still have a lot to learn about sustainable bamboo forest tree. this professor from the faculty of forests science teaches locals how to use bamboo sustainably. the german government supports the project. locals need to avoid harvesting all the stalks at once. or they will wreak the same damage as illegal loggers. >> bamboo serves several important purposes. it helps bind carbon dioxide in

the earth, prevents erosion, stores moisture, and functions like a natural fertilizer. it has significant economic potential for locals. we would like to help them cap that potential and use it optimally. >> the sun, this region is witnessing a bamboo boom production. villagers use bamboo for household purposes. to build the homes and to make furniture. along with rice growing, it has become their main source of income. around two thirds of the region is now covered with bamboo forests. sections of the bamboo forest are reserved for other rare trees, such as rosewood. the ultimate goal is the emergence of mixed woodland that can provide a home for greater biodiversity.

at the elephant conservation center bamboo is harvested the natural way. looking forward to the eminent birth of a calf. the caretaker and his elephant mae khamdi have been a team for about 25 years. >> look, there is already milk in her udders. i'm really excited about that. my parents had eight or nine elephants, but they had to sell them one by one. i hope i will be able to leave my children at least one elephant. >> just four elephants are born in laos every year, while 10 die. so the birth of mae khamdi's

baby is a ray of hope for asia's wildlife conservationists. >> to australia now, a journey that's easy for us to make here but for refugees and 11 by boat it's another matter entirely. australia might be one of the few countries in the region to sign a convention on refugees, but if you're thinking of claiming fln there then think again. that is the message the estrogen government is paying millions of dollars to promote full sub in addition to an aggressive poster campaign, australia has now signed a controversial agreement enabling you to relocate refugees to cambodia. >> australia, many people's idea of the perfect place to live. safe, stable, it's a land of opportunity where the sun always shines, like here in brisbane.

but for many who set out to reach its shores, the dream ends in a barbed wire fence. there are refugee camps scattered all across the country. australia is not too keen on the 40,000 asylum seekers who arrive every year, and their numbers are rising. >> i leave my country to save my life. i came from australia that maybe i get some safe haven like this. >> month after month, thousands of boat people undertake a perilous journey in an attempt to reach australia from afghanistan, sudan, bangladesh. often, they only get as far as an immigration detention facility. the advocacy group refugee action collective says that conditions in these camps are appalling. activist mark gillespie says their overcrowded and outbreaks of violence are commonplace.

>> as a form of torture, you know, i've seen young girls suffering from depression, young boys as young as 10 who get a frown on their face when you talk to them about nauru. >> australia has traditionally been a country of immigration, but not anymore. the government recently sparked criticism with a controversial anti-immigration ad, aimed at discouraging asylum-seekers from traveling to the country illegally and stressing that they will be dereported back to their home countries regardless of the circumstances there. violence on the street in cambodia. when textile workers protested because they haven't been paid, many were injured and some even died. the country has enough on its plate with poverty, unemployment, and corruption. and yet, the socially government recently

signed a secret deal with cambodia for refugees who seek australia's protection to be resettled in cambodia instead. a human rights activist explains. >> australia is looking to send a strong message to the world that it will not welcome refugees, and of course, in a very sick way they are looking for countries like cambodia that can fit that bill where they can buy their way and get their agenda on the table to send a very strong message that refugees will not be safe, will not be treated in a humane way, therefore, don't try to seek australia's shores in the first place. >> australia has pledged to increase its aid to cambodia by $40 million. critics have called the deal a violation of international law.

mohammed from burma knows what is likely to happen to refugees resettled in cambodia. he has been there for years without any kind of state help, living hand to mouth. >> cambodia is a very poor country and survival is very difficult, so if i spend time learning the language or something else i have no food. >> the deal between australia and cambodia raises many questions. will the children of the refugees go to school? will refugees get medical attention when they need it? will they even be able to earn a living in their new home? >> in cambodia, it's very difficult to survive. even other cambodian nationals and my people cannot find jobs, so how can other refugees?

>> not even the rights of cambodians are guaranteed. as the australian government well knows. they say it is on a voluntary basis and no refugee will be forced to move to cambodia. but what if their only option is being deported? >> you have one country, one of the richest countries, offloading its responsibility to one of the poorest. this is why, beyond illegal, it's very upsetting. >> in australia for a startup my think there should be a more welcoming policy. they are not a problem. they can contribute to this society. we should be more welcoming, not this silly policy of trying to deter people, push them away from our shores. >> back in brisbane. these refugees, here to pick up food donations, waiting to find out what will happen to them. it's a stressful time.

>> we have no work rights. we have no right to travel outside australia. we have no right to call our family here. >> despite everything, thousands of asylum-seekers continue to hope that one day, their dreams of a better life here in australia will come true. >> u.n. figures show that applications for asylum in australia are indeed down this year, but refugee deaths at sea remain a problem. that brings us to the end of this edition of global 3000. for more information, go to our webpages www.dw.de/global3000 or look us up on facebook. thanks for watching. and until next week, goodbye. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] ññññ

>> at the turn of the 21st century, several thousand tons of scientific studies on climate change all lead to a