>> abirached: this week on world business a look back at some of our best stories of the last year including... the huge investment kia cars made into americas heartland. >>the economic impact over the next few years, between now and 2012, will be somewhere around 6 point 5 billion dollars from this one project. >> abirached: and malaysias role in the new world order and the rebirth of decoupling we speak to the md of malaysias huge investment holding company kasanah nasional . >>the growth epicentre is, has been accelerated by the crisis to move eastwards >> abirached and the serious money to be made from the mid life crisis, >>people of my age grew up on easy rider and that was sort of the bike that you always saw in the shops and you wanted

>> abirached: the last year has been catastrophic for the us auto sector, which despite the cash for clunkers scheme is still in a sorry state. however one region, got a jump start from an unlikely source. while american carmakers cut thousands of jobs, close hundreds of dealerships and even file for bankruptcy, kia motors is making a multibillion dollar foray into the country. its the sign theyve been waiting for - west point georgia is the unlikely host of an american auto renaissance. south rean auto maker kia motors is setting up shop in this city of less than four thousand people. and with unemployment sitting at around ten percent residents couldnt be happier.

>>martin: residents of west point georgia are welcoming the new kia motors plant. it is kias first ever northamerican plant, and it comes at a very tough time for us auto makers - especially in this region. ford and general motors recently closed their plants in this state. but despite the downturn, kia and hyundai have managed to boost their she of the us auto market. >>reporter: a market undergoing a sea change, as the downturn deepens customers are increasingly demanding more for their money. kias smaller and frugal cars seem to be doing well compared to their american counterparts even if overall numbers are down. >>hyoungkeun in the developed market, like north america and europe, of course we faced decrease of our sales. but its far less than the industry volume decrease. that helped us. for example, in the us,

by the end of may, our sales decreased only 4%. >>the new us site will give kia a foothold in the american market. plus unsurprisingly the state offered millions of dollars in incentives; lots of available land; and strong transport links....including- a railway line. it used to haul cotton - and now it will haul cars. >>martin: west point georgia used to be a textile town, but the last of the textile manufacturers - like the one behind me - have all closed their doors and moved on. at first people here said that they were victims of globalization. but now, with the new kia plant in the works, they say that globalization has come full circle. >>both kia and west point representatives say that people who were trained to work in west points now defunct textile factories can now use those skills to work on the auto assembly line.

>> hyoungkeun: senior exec vp, kia motors corporation the global strategy is the flexibility. the market demand varies, depending on the economic condition of each country or region. so we want to be very flexible, and meet the demand of the market. >>ferguson the economic impact over the next few years, between now and 2012, will be somewhere around 6 point 5 billion dollars from this one project. and thats a remarkable number for a community of our size. >>the mayor helped to seal the kia deal which he hopes will turn around the citys fortunes. about 10thousand people will work in the kia compound and a further 20 thousand jobs are likely to be created in the local communy, >>ferguson: this has been an amazing opportunity. we are very empathetic to what goes on in other parts of the nation. and so when you hear voices of dissent,

they are not from this area. we are embracing these opportunities, we are embracing the future of this region, and our little city has taken a leadership role for this. >>khazanah nasional is malaysias huge investment holding company with a 25 billion dollar portfolio covering over 50 major companies. it was also the driving force behind the vast iskandar special economic zone in southern malaysia. the md of khazanah, azman mokhtar was previously head of research for both ubs and sbs in malaysia. with such a wealth of knowledge to tap into we sat down with him inkuala lumpur and began by asking how malaysia was positioned to emerge from the current economic crisis >>mokhtar: i think we were fairly resilient, i would say, and certainly the numbers are,

again, panning out, atthe macro level in malaysia. i think the recession is a short and relatively shallow recession in that sense. and i think the government in the 2010 budget that was just announced a few months ago, very clearly has taken the bull by the horns of making quite bold measures in terms of fiscal discipline but at the same time its a difficult time to craft because you can not exit out of your fiscal stimulus too early either so i think the equilibrium, i think, is about right, i think its at least panning out. the challenge for malaysia still remains, over the medium term, is the structural transformation towards a high income economy. >>sager: in order to reach vision 2020 which will lead basically, to a fully developed nation status, you need at least 5 and half percent growth, is this something you think its achievable? >>mokhtar: i think this is moving and its happening if you look measures, r example around,

gradually liberalizing the economy, not forgetting our role in driving both growth and investment as well as equitable outcomes. i think which has been the bedrock of over 50 years great development for malaysia. but for the country really, the government to start and the private sector to start to drive private investments and kazanah being between the private sector and the government i think is playing this role in investing into a lot of this newer sectors whether they are around services based sectors like creative industries, whether it is leisure and tourism, whether they are education services for example, or technology sectors like biotech and ict. so you put all that together, really the story thatis emerging is one about a new economic model that has be formed. >>sager: under your stewardship kazanah has also invested increasingly abroad including into china and into india. what impact

did the economic growth of these two powerhouses have on malaysia and its externaloutlook? >>mokhtar: we have taken a very measured view of gradually regionalizing and currently about 15% of our portfolio is invested directly abroad, principly in the asean region, including both singapore and indonesia as well as china and india. india, we have gotten into health care and into infrastructure, our companies have been building airports and roads. into china actually we have made some investments into the retail sector, thats turned our very well. so these are all good natural kind of linkages, bearing in mind this whole culturally you know malaysia is a multiethnic nation with a very large, oneof the largest concentration of people

of chinese descent as well as indian descent and thats part of our great cultural diversity >>sager: they also have strong ties with the gulf region and you know you have this blue chip consortium of investors which have invested in iskandar. how do you see that region recover and how are the ties? >>mokhtar: the ties are very strong. the, indeed you referred to our consortium at medini in iskandar, which isan investment that will translate, or is being translated into a gross development value of more than 15 billion us dollars. at the same time we are putting more or less the amount of 150 millions us dollars or about 4.25% or thereabouts of islamic private equity fund called fajr capital, with theview of investing in the gulf and the islamic world and using islamic finance vehicles. and indeed this is a trend that i think we have

been participating in both in islamic finance as well as the socalled new silk road, as well as the spice route the whole indian ocean strategy and this is all part of our natural footprint if you like. >>sager: its interesting, decoupling 1.0 was quickly discredited but i think as this crisis has shown, that now you know, seeing the economic gravity shift to the east asian pacific, is decoupling 2.0, is thata reality? is that a real prospect now? >>mokhtar: i thk quite clearly, the growth epicentre is, has been accelerated by the crisis to move eastwards, and certnly that is happening. the coupled nature of globalization and financial globalization meant that clearly there was a contagious effect that the force of which was something we had seldom,hardly ever saw before. really at that point some of us remarked that the real

decoupling was between the financial economy and the real economy and i think if that gap becomes closer which is reallywhat this crisis is happening, that is all well and good, i think for the better of everyone. but what it means in terms of the geographical maybe decoupling is too strong a word geographical but when they are running in different lanes, one in the fast lane, one in the slow lane, one in the middlelane. asia is certainly in the fast lane and i think their pace of growth and therefore all their various supply chains should be targeted more towards asia. >> abirached: still to come on world business... as india embarks on one of the greatest road rollouts in history we talk to minister for road transport and highways kamal nath selling the rock n roll dream to aging execs, why the midlife crisis makes for good business. plus hundreds of miles an hour

metres from the ground, we meet the daredevil pilots of the aero gp >>serious stunts and the rest in just a moment on world business... >> abirached: india has been one of thereat economic success stories of recent years, but that development couldbe derailed due to poor infrastructure in the country. indian roads in particular have suffered from a lack of investment. now the indian government has taken the situation in hand with one of the biggest road roll outs in history. our executive editor alan friedman sat down with the indian minister for road transport and highways kamal nath, to find out more. >>this is the old india and this is the new india. the government has begun a 50

year project to widen and pay 40.000 miles of narrow, dilapidated national l highways with the first leg budgeted at 6and a quarter billion dollars set to be completed by next year. 92 billion dollars will be spent onroads by 2012 mainly on 4 and 6 lanes superhighways. the man driving the project forward is the minister for road transport and highways kamal nath. he was formerly minister of commerce and industry where he gained a reputation as a tough and outspoken operator often criticised by richer nation forbeing overprotective of developing countries. >>friedman: kamal nath, welcome to world business, good to have you with us. you have announced plans for what must be the most ambitious public private partnership in the world in 20092010 to build roads and highways in india. give us a quick facts and figures portrait of that plan. >>nath: well if you plan doing 7000 kilometres of highways every

year for the next five years that means about 20 billion dollars every year for five years. its the largest program in the world, a public private partnership program in the world. this is going to bridge the infrastructure deficit. i do not know whether it will even bridge the new demand that will come up but at least we will come close to bridging the big deficit that we have. we have, today, a phenomenal infrastructure deficit and in this infrastructure deficit, the road deficit is perhaps the highest >>friedman: now is this area of, you are talking about 20 billion dollars a year for 5 years, a hundred billion dollars of infrastructure investment in india. is this the biggest opportunity for international companies investing in india and partnering in india? >>nath: it is a huge opportunities because both starting from consultants to contractors to equipment supplies. one of the major equipment suppliers in construction equipment told me that they were thinking of doubling their capacity 2

mont ago they were telling me they were thinking of doubling their capacity in india. because equipment suppliers, contractors, new technologies. not necessarily new in the world but new for india. so well be looking at good practices, new practices, improved technologies. so in the entire spectrum of this there is again a tremendous need. >>friedman: so this will be an opportunity for european, asian, american companies? >>nath: absolutely, and all of them are really showing a lot of interest in this. >>friedman: now the other side of the coin is that in india, the best laid plans sometimes dont work out becausethe bureaucracy slows them down, or regulations, and all sorts of permits and plans. that happens sometimes. are you worried about that affecting your ability to get the job done here? >>nath: well in government i think its very clear and i think im very clear. either you make rules or you make roads. so if you want to make too many rules youll never make too many roads. weve got to, we have ironed out most

of the things, and i have heard everybody, all the stakeholders, investors, contractors, the issues theyve had. weve removed all of those road blocks, so now i think, the road to highways should be smooth. >>friedman: and finally, india as a member of the g20 seems to be emerging still further. are there any lessons that india should learn about how to be a constructive partner about the g20 alongside china and allthe others. whats your observation? >>nath: well, weve got to make sure we dont fall into the trap of fantasy finance. which was in the western world, where you had all the world of fantasy finance created, which was a system based on evaluations, evaluations creating the paper, the paper creating the liquidity which led to the collapse of the financial system. in the name of reform and liberalization, sometimes there is a temptation to, not only under regulate, but to be

very adventurous. we got to be conservative. >>friedman: india was criticized for years for being too conservative about its banking system, but if i am not mistaken with lehman brothers bust, the us and britain in shatters, indias solid banking system is part of a six and a half growth story this year. so did you make the right mistake? >>nath: well, i have always said, i have always preached on following the best practices of the western world, and i said we will follow the next practices, i think our next practices are holding us in good stead. >>friedman: alright, thanks for joining us. >>nath: thank you >> >> abirached: the midlife crisis has become something of a cliche, when men of a certain age try to recapture their youth by buying flashy sports cars, motorbikes and vintage guitars. but for some, the midlife crisis can mean serious business.

>>rolling thunder, an iconic piece of rock n roll art painted for the grateful dead by alton kelly, now on sale for $100,000. as retirement looms for the baby boomer generation it is not just the classic sports car which is driving these investors to buy a symbol of their lost, and sometimes misspent, youth. bonhams recently held a sale in new york where selected album cover originals raised nearly $1 million. >>maycock: its a fairly niche area but its one i think a lot of people are becoming increasingly interested in.i think theyre beginning to realise now that the rock n roll art that was created to wrap the albumis as important as the piece of vinyl. it may still be a niche market but it ione with some big ticket prices. originals of roger deans covers

for 1970s megaband yes are valued at $ 2.5 million but more accessible to the old fan base arethe limited edition prints. >>dean: a lot of people who bought posters when they were students want to replace them with something more durable and prints are meeting that need. someone who as a student could afford three or four dollars is now happy to pay two or three or four of five or $6000 for a print. >>and its not just about the artwork. just as alluring to frustrated rock wannabeens can be the instruments themselves. the vintage guitar market is also strumming along nicely, as highly strung executives use their idols instruments as the ultimate stress relief. >>trick: most people buy them because they like them and its the only way they can

switch off and get away from all the problems have got to deal with the day and they just enjoy it. >>and in our financially uncertain times vintage guitars have certainly proved a good investment. insome cases rtain types of guitar have gone up 30 to 40% a year. for some however, reconnecting with their rock n roll past may not be quite the ride that they are looking for. some need something alittle more visceral. >>milns: youve had your kids, youve paid off your mortgage and now its time to invest in something for yourself, and what could better than the mother of all midlife crisis buys, the harleydavidson. >>warr: there is a bit of that. harley have been around such a long time and a lot of these guys can refer back to perhaps a moment in their past in their youth when they might have hankered after a harley

ormaybe even had one. ... i think theres a lot of nostalgia at play. it is certainly a driving factor for many a harley owner. >>peacock: people of my age grew up on easy rider and that was sort of the bike that you know you always saw inthe shops and you wanted. and eventually when you get older you got enough money to afford it and youre sort of buying into that sort of nostalgia. >>so, it seems that whether you get your kicks from big bikes, original artwork or reproducing riffs, the midlife crisis market is very gratefully far from dead. >>for any aspiring mark knflers, a gibson les paul from the late 50s is today worth in excess of $250,000. >>aero gp has been described as the formula one of the skies...a sport where pilots compete in a series of disciplines designed to test their skills to the limit. its dangerous, sptacular but has yet to truly grab the publics

imagination. however, that may be changing. >>i was out in the desert the other day. ...all alone...all alone....except for thosaircraft goingnuts in the sky above me... >>aircraft competing in the aero gp...an aerobatic series that, since 2005, has been making a somewhat low profile assault on the sporting world... >>zaltman: its a slow burner, so were just slowly creeping up into the mainstream of the sporting world which is where we belong and were making some good progress...if i had known how much work it was going to be at the beginning, who knows. but you just keep at it. >>the al ain airshow marked the sixth appearance for a sport that combines dogfighting... ... target bombing... ...and side by side racing at speeds of up to 500km/h....

aerogp is far from risk free...one pilot was killed in a collision in malta in 2006...and those who take part, know theyre playing for keeps... >>veres: it did not happen up to now on this contest but on the previous ones we had some hot moments...i have to tell that.... >>cooper: you know you touch the ground and anyone else in one of these and its very likely that itll hurt. >>but why take their word for it? i was keen to get a first hand experience of the thrills of aerogp....at least i was until we started going through the bailing out procedure... >>young: cos your bodys going to follow your head. dive underneath the tail and when youre clear youve got the rest of your life to figure the ne part out. >>and with that, we were up...and away.... >>we can fly it rightside up or upside down just like that. isnt that pretty cool?

>>jong: yeah when am i going to black out? >>youre not going to black out >>now chaps doing serious aerobatics can hit their bodies with 14gs, or 14 times the force of gravity. theyll do about 10gs when racing... we were only hitting around 5gs...but that was quite enough for me... >>jong: are we going straight up at the moment? >>no were going on about a 45 degree angle. >>jong: waah! thats probably ... >>jong: i dont know why but im starting to feel mildly nauseous. but hopefully we can hold it together. in situations like this, its often best to think of anything other than wre you are, or where yourbreakfast may soon be... >>so i cast my mind back to the day before, when id asked mr zaltman whether his entrepreneurial vision was actually paying off... >>jong: are you making money? >>zaltman: we are in fact, and im very proud of the fact that were finally making money. thats a big milestone for us.

>>in fact air shows e excellent places to find all manner of entrepreneurs... from chaps who are running wing walking acts to travelling stunt car shows, to experts in aerial video...with hundred thousand dollar model choppers whh can film everything from surfing, to wildlife...... back in the air meanwhile, just 15 meters off the ground: >>jong: theres not a huge margin for error here is there? theres no margin for error here. >>so heaven knows what its like when there are other planes in close proximity... >>cooper: there are certain rules and agreements between the pilots as to certain types of manoeuvres that youwont carry out. so aggressive and sort of chopping type movements and direction changes are out really. each aerogp costs around 1.5m dollars to stage...and even though it may be growing slowly... the manbehind the idea, has no doubt, his baby is just going to get bigger and bigger... >>jong: the sky is the limit. >>zaltman: the sky is the limit. the sky is not the limit. were going higher.

>>and good luck to him. as for my antics in the sky, well, my cameraman had got so dizzy just filming us that like me, he couldnt quite focus properly when we touched down...so just take my word for it...it had been exhilarating, a little nauseating, extremely sweaty, and ultimately, more than enough to make one appreciate being back on solid ground... >> abirached: thats it for this weeks world business. thanks for watching. well see you again at the same time next week.