joining us exclusively here on "worldwide exchange" is tidjane thiam, the ceo at prudential.d morning. >> i peru you slept comfortably last night after your fairly bullish forecast about the rest of the year. >> yes, i had a good night. better than last time. last time i was here we were announcing scb. that was being negotiated through the night. i was more tired. good numbers. region, 20% increase in asia, 67% increase in the u.s. 90% increase in the uk. >> as i said, that's down to three big bulk annuity deals. if you take those out, what's the -- >> our retail picture is down about 11%. the good thing about being a diversified group, we always talked about the diversificati n diversification. profit is up 90%. we're quite pleased with that. if i may add a word about asia, i looked this morning, 20% increase. that's 19 quarters in a row above 16% in asia. so our team in asia deserves a lot of credit. >> you've talked about the key focus sa your asian franchise, personal wealth in south korea, japan, singapore. what's happening with your operating profits? in this region. >