WEBVTT - Surveillance: Diversification in Botswana with Min. Kenewendo 0:00:09.840 --> 0:00:13.800 Welcome to the Bloomberg Surveillance Podcast. I'm Tom Keane Jailely. 0:00:13.960 --> 0:00:17.560 We bring you insight from the best in economics, finance, investment, 0:00:18.000 --> 0:00:23.520 and international relations. Find Bloomberg Surveillance on Apple Podcasts, SoundCloud, 0:00:23.600 --> 0:00:32.360 Bloomberg dot Com, and of course on the Bloomberg. Of course, 0:00:32.360 --> 0:00:34.920 we can rip up the script with Brian Levet of 0:00:35.000 --> 0:00:37.440 Oppenheimer Funds. I mean, see if a one oh one 0:00:37.880 --> 0:00:41.440 rates start going up and every CFO says to the CEO, 0:00:42.080 --> 0:00:44.760 let's get going. I mean that's what happens, right. So 0:00:44.880 --> 0:00:46.839 rates are going up, but you also have companies with 0:00:46.880 --> 0:00:49.120 a lot of access to cash given the new changes 0:00:49.120 --> 0:00:53.519 in the tax policy, given a prolonged period of economic activity, 0:00:53.680 --> 0:00:56.600 so businesses are utilizing that cash. I think the bigger 0:00:56.680 --> 0:00:59.600 question for investors, when you think about it from a 0:00:59.720 --> 0:01:02.600 broad odd investment strategy, is whether or not this leads 0:01:02.640 --> 0:01:05.840 to new, higher sustained levels of growth in the United States. Uh. 0:01:06.120 --> 0:01:09.080 I'm somewhat skeptical. So while you might see some steepening 0:01:09.120 --> 0:01:11.600 in the yield curve and a rotation as we've seen 0:01:11.640 --> 0:01:14.280 a little bit to the more value oriented stocks, I 0:01:14.319 --> 0:01:17.520 don't think that that's gonna be prolonged. I think ultimately 0:01:17.560 --> 0:01:21.679 the US will slow within this environment, and um, we'll 0:01:21.720 --> 0:01:24.840 go back to the environment of flatter yield curve, more 0:01:24.880 --> 0:01:27.920 growth oriented names out performing well. Brian. If you believe 0:01:27.959 --> 0:01:29.840 that that's the case, where should you put your money? 0:01:29.880 --> 0:01:32.240 Should you be looking to Europe for example? I mean 0:01:32.280 --> 0:01:36.000 European stocks have been languishing the last couple of months. 0:01:36.360 --> 0:01:38.320 I suppose it depends on the time horizon. I mean, 0:01:38.360 --> 0:01:41.080 we probably have a last leg of US strengthen here 0:01:41.080 --> 0:01:44.000 in US dollar support and here. You know, ultimately, if 0:01:44.040 --> 0:01:46.720 you're looking over a five to seven year time period, 0:01:47.280 --> 0:01:50.560 you should consider that US equity returns are likely to 0:01:50.600 --> 0:01:53.160 be more modest than they are outside of the United States. 0:01:53.200 --> 0:01:55.560 And I know a lot of investors after a prolonged 0:01:55.560 --> 0:01:57.720 period of US out performance are gonna have a hard 0:01:57.760 --> 0:02:01.320 time reasoning what qualifies as modest. Because we've got the 0:02:01.480 --> 0:02:04.440 SMP up nine and a half percent this year. Yeah, 0:02:04.480 --> 0:02:07.480 it's been a prolonged period of US you and that's 0:02:07.480 --> 0:02:10.520 not bad. Half ten percent? No, No, I mean, I 0:02:10.520 --> 0:02:13.119 think you're a hero. I think I think US equities 0:02:13.160 --> 0:02:15.360 over the next five to seven years probably returned something 0:02:15.400 --> 0:02:18.480 more like five percent rather than the eight percent average 0:02:18.520 --> 0:02:22.040 that investors have expected. You're likely to do better outside 0:02:22.080 --> 0:02:24.919 the United States, simply given where valuations are and where 0:02:24.960 --> 0:02:27.639 growth is likely to take. I think this is to me, folks, 0:02:27.680 --> 0:02:30.600 one of the arch decisions of Q four and and 0:02:30.720 --> 0:02:33.800 into two thousand nineteen. And I understand, you know the 0:02:33.840 --> 0:02:37.160 international it's a different feel. But Brian, we've all got 0:02:37.160 --> 0:02:40.480 to admit how humbling it's been that the single digit 0:02:40.560 --> 0:02:45.160 crowd has been so wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, for 0:02:45.240 --> 0:02:48.200 pushing ten years. We're only going to grow five or 0:02:48.240 --> 0:02:51.560 six percent. Maybe we'll get well as long as people 0:02:51.639 --> 0:02:55.920 have that kind of can't you be a contrarian and 0:02:55.960 --> 0:02:59.280 trade against that? Well you could. I mean, we we've 0:02:59.320 --> 0:03:01.200 we've been of the mind that this is the longest 0:03:01.320 --> 0:03:03.560 this was gonna be the longest cycle on record. Investors 0:03:03.560 --> 0:03:05.760 needs to own equities, um, and we were not of 0:03:05.800 --> 0:03:08.960 the view that this was going to be a prolonged 0:03:09.000 --> 0:03:11.400 period of modest returns in the United States. I mean, 0:03:11.440 --> 0:03:14.240 this is secular bull market that started at very low 0:03:14.320 --> 0:03:17.480 valuations and a zero interest rate. Where you are now 0:03:17.680 --> 0:03:20.240 or valuations are higher. I don't think they're excessive, this 0:03:20.280 --> 0:03:24.000 is not. But valuations are higher and the Federal Reserve 0:03:24.080 --> 0:03:26.920 is raising interest rates. So it's a different part of 0:03:26.919 --> 0:03:30.240 the cycle, and you might again get some last leg 0:03:30.280 --> 0:03:33.600 of US strengthen here. But I'm talking more looking out 0:03:33.639 --> 0:03:36.000 over the next five seven years. Think about what happened 0:03:36.040 --> 0:03:38.440 in the late nineties, the the U s c O 0:03:38.520 --> 0:03:42.400 curve was flattening. You've got another great period of of 0:03:42.400 --> 0:03:46.680 of um US equity returns. Ultimately you had a recession 0:03:47.000 --> 0:03:49.560 and in the years like go three oh four, oh five, 0:03:49.600 --> 0:03:54.480 oh six, oh seven, emerging markets outperformed the United States considerably. 0:03:54.520 --> 0:03:56.000 So is that where you want to go right now? 0:03:56.040 --> 0:03:57.920 I mean, you want to look for things that people 0:03:57.960 --> 0:04:01.320 on that the crowd is not interested in buying, So 0:04:01.680 --> 0:04:05.040 move out of US equities, take your profits, pay your taxes, 0:04:05.080 --> 0:04:08.080 and find something better again. I think we're gonna have 0:04:08.120 --> 0:04:10.280 a last leg of dollar strength. What we would we 0:04:10.320 --> 0:04:12.760 would favor is what's going to continue to be in 0:04:12.760 --> 0:04:15.440 our mind, growth in a slow growth world. So people 0:04:15.560 --> 0:04:19.359 viewing this as a new you know, higher sustained growth 0:04:19.360 --> 0:04:21.640 in the United States, and that's gonna persist forever. It's 0:04:21.720 --> 0:04:24.000 not so what kind of stocks, what kind of companies 0:04:24.040 --> 0:04:26.600 are industries? I mean I would favor I would continue 0:04:26.640 --> 0:04:29.960 to favor technology and discretionary in the United States and 0:04:30.040 --> 0:04:32.599 outside of the United States, it's a it's a growth 0:04:32.640 --> 0:04:35.080 story as well. I mean what we're looking at is, 0:04:35.200 --> 0:04:37.600 you know, particularly places like China, which has been on 0:04:37.760 --> 0:04:41.880 loved recently, you're looking at four hundred million millennials that 0:04:41.960 --> 0:04:45.520 are that are shop. It's lunning. I mean, that's bigger 0:04:45.520 --> 0:04:49.440 than the Later America of millennials. Just in China. It's 0:04:49.480 --> 0:04:52.520 bigger than the labor force of the US, Canada, and 0:04:52.560 --> 0:04:55.760 Europe combined. So how do you buy a bear market? 0:04:55.800 --> 0:04:59.960 If we say Shanghai's creator, Shanghai tech is created, how 0:05:00.080 --> 0:05:02.400 when do you know to buy? Or do you just 0:05:03.120 --> 0:05:05.640 with your time frame of five to seven year hold? 0:05:05.720 --> 0:05:07.680 That solves a lot of problems, right, I think too 0:05:07.680 --> 0:05:09.960 often investors are trying to time these things. We need 0:05:10.000 --> 0:05:11.920 to make sure that we we can't do this back 0:05:11.960 --> 0:05:14.680 tober First, we need to make sure we've got our 0:05:14.720 --> 0:05:18.240 policy statements right, we know why we do what we do, 0:05:18.600 --> 0:05:21.000 and if we're looking for long term growth as investors, 0:05:21.000 --> 0:05:22.680 a lot of that's going to be an emerging market. 0:05:23.000 --> 0:05:26.240 What do you do on your I mean, there's all 0:05:26.279 --> 0:05:28.960 the focus on Europe and of course it's overarching theme 0:05:29.000 --> 0:05:33.640 of immigration and migration. But how does Oppenheimer Funds find opportunity, 0:05:33.960 --> 0:05:38.440 particularly in Eastern Europe. That's very different than inn Asia analysis, right, 0:05:38.480 --> 0:05:40.880 I mean, the big story in Europe is going to 0:05:40.920 --> 0:05:42.520 be a lot of the you know, a lot of 0:05:42.520 --> 0:05:45.240 the brand names that we all love UM, So it's 0:05:45.240 --> 0:05:48.719 gonna be a more of a company specific story than 0:05:48.960 --> 0:05:52.279 a broad macro story. Yeah, we had some synchronized growth 0:05:52.560 --> 0:05:56.040 in UM in seventeen. That's more of an abnormality than 0:05:56.080 --> 0:05:57.839 the norm and that a lot of that was based 0:05:57.839 --> 0:06:02.680 on Chinese stimulus. So we shouldn't expect UM significant economic 0:06:02.760 --> 0:06:05.320 growth out of Europe because of the demographic issues, because 0:06:05.360 --> 0:06:07.880 of some of the structural issues in the periphery. But 0:06:07.960 --> 0:06:10.719 it really comes down more to brands and luxury and 0:06:11.680 --> 0:06:14.160 so what are we talking about LVMH. I mean, do 0:06:14.160 --> 0:06:16.400 you want to be buying LVMH because of those four 0:06:16.839 --> 0:06:20.919 million millennials, You probably not want to. Maybe Michael Core's 0:06:21.000 --> 0:06:24.160 you heard the news today, Michael core is buying. That 0:06:25.120 --> 0:06:28.359 is a big growth story UM in the world is 0:06:28.400 --> 0:06:31.400 that citizens in the emerging markets are are starting to 0:06:31.440 --> 0:06:33.360 wear wealth like we do in the United States. Did 0:06:33.400 --> 0:06:36.440 you see how Oh Michael Barr walked into the studio 0:06:36.680 --> 0:06:40.800 different than the Michael Barr. We all need something to 0:06:40.839 --> 0:06:47.080 do with a football. Oh he was just like you were, 0:06:47.160 --> 0:06:51.840 just looking like you know, the distant days, I would 0:06:51.839 --> 0:06:53.919 have played a theme song. How much money did you 0:06:53.960 --> 0:06:56.560 make on this game? You bet like your middle child? Right, 0:06:57.440 --> 0:07:01.400 you know, tell people, come on, I could tell Detroit 0:07:01.480 --> 0:07:05.719 that Detroit Tom Brady, that's all that matter. That's the 0:07:05.720 --> 0:07:07.920 New York Giants won a game, and we're talking about 0:07:07.920 --> 0:07:13.480 Detroit Lions. Well exactly. You see how he wears Detroit 0:07:13.600 --> 0:07:16.720 Lions blue. Not only is it blue, but it's a 0:07:16.800 --> 0:07:22.520 correct Thanksgiving Day blue. I got my red and blue time, Michael, 0:07:22.880 --> 0:07:25.640 like forty of those, forty of these shirts worn just 0:07:25.680 --> 0:07:28.920 to give the Detroit Lions feel. How did they do this? 0:07:29.040 --> 0:07:33.960 So wise? One? Well we look secondary for the Patriots, 0:07:34.240 --> 0:07:37.040 they're not all that great, so careful not good morning 0:07:37.080 --> 0:07:40.000 one of six weeks. I know, listen, and I love 0:07:40.000 --> 0:07:42.320 you guys out in Boston. But like I said, I'm 0:07:42.520 --> 0:07:44.840 a native Detroit and I guess Matt Patrician those a 0:07:44.880 --> 0:07:48.239 little bit about the Patriots. That's where I was heading. 0:07:48.360 --> 0:07:51.920 Is this coaching advantage had to be tangible. Yeah, yeah, 0:07:52.400 --> 0:07:55.840 well we liked the kid that found a ten dollar 0:07:55.920 --> 0:07:58.720 bill on the curb. And it's now a later for everybody, 0:07:59.080 --> 0:08:02.800 and so later on, you know, we'll come back to 0:08:02.880 --> 0:08:09.080 earth the next one. Michael Barre say, good morning SEM 0:08:09.160 --> 0:08:14.600 Boston FM, Washington, Good morning at Bay or PIM. We 0:08:14.680 --> 0:08:16.600 gotta go back to gridlock. This is the week where 0:08:16.640 --> 0:08:19.360 I get cut and chiseled everywhere. Don't worry about it. 0:08:19.440 --> 0:08:23.640 You're tall. Well that's true, but just say hi to 0:08:23.680 --> 0:08:26.240 the came down here. You know, the Sikorski was down 0:08:26.280 --> 0:08:28.360 because of the clouds of the rain, and I took 0:08:28.440 --> 0:08:30.560 the car down Fifth Avenue and you just stop at 0:08:30.560 --> 0:08:33.640 sixty Street. They won't let you buy so a little walking. 0:08:33.720 --> 0:08:37.480 Never heard anybody. I had to walk three blocks store. Goodness, 0:08:38.080 --> 0:08:41.439 you're gonna wear out the shoe leather on those loafers. Right. 0:08:41.440 --> 0:08:43.560 You want to talk giants football. That's why you haven't 0:08:43.559 --> 0:08:47.079 talked to the last giants football. I do want to 0:08:47.080 --> 0:08:49.320 talk giants. I mean I worked downtown, so the gridlock. 0:08:49.360 --> 0:08:52.120 I can't add much to the conversation. Brian Levitt, thank 0:08:52.160 --> 0:08:54.200 you so much for and I have friends coming up 0:08:54.280 --> 0:09:10.000 one hour on the New York football giants. Right now, 0:09:10.240 --> 0:09:14.120 Vers Yorks joins US with the National Foreign Trade Council 0:09:14.920 --> 0:09:19.199 messaging of course on trade and all uh ruvers. Wonderful 0:09:19.240 --> 0:09:22.079 to have you with us. How fragile is our trade 0:09:22.360 --> 0:09:26.079 right now? Well, obviously we're in a period where we're 0:09:26.160 --> 0:09:29.880 having significant fights with a number of countries. The biggest 0:09:29.880 --> 0:09:33.920 one now, of course, this US China fight. But you know, 0:09:34.040 --> 0:09:38.439 concerning that, we've also had restrictions imposed on a number 0:09:38.440 --> 0:09:42.040 of other countries in sectors like steel, wominum talk about 0:09:42.040 --> 0:09:45.720 doing on tariffs retaliation by those countries. For the time being, 0:09:46.640 --> 0:09:49.680 we've had retaliation on about two hundred and fifty billion 0:09:49.679 --> 0:09:55.680 dollars of US exports. Uh increases on imports, increased tariffs 0:09:55.720 --> 0:09:58.640 on imports. Of course, in the nineteen trillion dollar economy, 0:09:58.720 --> 0:10:02.280 you know, that's not major mat eco economic effects. Economy 0:10:02.320 --> 0:10:05.800 is still strong, but long term there's a lot of 0:10:05.800 --> 0:10:10.479 concern about how this will impact our international trade relations. 0:10:11.160 --> 0:10:13.679 US raising terrace for a number of other countries are 0:10:13.679 --> 0:10:17.160 making deals. Well, it's different this time around. Perhaps, is 0:10:17.240 --> 0:10:21.280 the idea of intermediate processes of all the back and 0:10:21.360 --> 0:10:25.120 forth between nations is I think it's identified that the 0:10:25.160 --> 0:10:28.960 President and his team is simplistic about a true bilateral 0:10:29.000 --> 0:10:32.120 trade debate which involves many different nations that many different 0:10:32.280 --> 0:10:35.680 back and force of a given product. Within your National 0:10:35.760 --> 0:10:39.559 Foreign Trade Council, do you see that UH constituent to 0:10:39.640 --> 0:10:43.640 a constituent, that they're all dealing with these complex processes 0:10:44.000 --> 0:10:48.080 versus the president's simple message. Yeah, I think that's the 0:10:48.120 --> 0:10:51.800 biggest concern. You've hit your You've hit the mark very 0:10:51.840 --> 0:10:55.160 well there, because you know, if you have global rules 0:10:55.320 --> 0:10:58.560 and they're strong and they reflect us kind of market 0:10:58.559 --> 0:11:02.000 based principles, which obviously we're concerned about China not meeting 0:11:02.000 --> 0:11:05.360 those standards. But if you can strengthen the international rules 0:11:05.480 --> 0:11:09.040 multilaterally and business knows what the rules are, they can 0:11:09.080 --> 0:11:11.960 plan their global supply chains. You know, it helps both 0:11:12.000 --> 0:11:15.839 our exports and the costs of our imports. But if 0:11:15.840 --> 0:11:17.800 those rules start to break down and you start having 0:11:17.800 --> 0:11:22.199 a lot of bilateral tit for tat fights and bilateral agreements, 0:11:22.559 --> 0:11:25.920 the rules become murkier. It's a more mercantilist environment for 0:11:26.000 --> 0:11:28.760 companies operate and they're not certain where to move their 0:11:28.760 --> 0:11:32.400 supply chains to UH, and that becomes you know, kind 0:11:32.400 --> 0:11:36.800 of a longer term uncertainty that undermines their their their 0:11:36.840 --> 0:11:41.480 competitiveness and their cost structure. Rufus, you are previously Deputy 0:11:41.520 --> 0:11:46.360 Director General of the World Trade Organization also US Ambassador 0:11:46.480 --> 0:11:50.240 to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. Do you 0:11:50.320 --> 0:11:55.520 feel that those various bodies were effective in dealing with 0:11:55.600 --> 0:12:00.800 what many countries have said is unfair trade practices by China. 0:12:00.880 --> 0:12:03.400 And I'm not just talking about pricing, I'm talking about 0:12:03.440 --> 0:12:07.960 things like intellectual property theft. Yeah, I think there's a 0:12:08.000 --> 0:12:11.319 consensus that, you know, the rules have not been as 0:12:11.360 --> 0:12:13.920 effective as we had hoped they would be on China. 0:12:14.240 --> 0:12:16.640 I don't think they're totally ineffective. I mean, China has 0:12:16.679 --> 0:12:20.600 reformed in a number of areas since the nineteen nineties, 0:12:20.640 --> 0:12:24.480 for example, but recently under Sijan thing there's obviously been 0:12:24.559 --> 0:12:28.960 more of a trend towards a harder edged economic nationalist approach, 0:12:29.320 --> 0:12:34.200 things like force technology transfer. Like you say, still very 0:12:34.200 --> 0:12:37.920 big problems in the intellectual property realm. Concerned that even 0:12:37.960 --> 0:12:42.000 the Chinese state is involved in helping companies with theft 0:12:42.040 --> 0:12:45.440 of trade secrets and things like that. So clearly we're 0:12:45.480 --> 0:12:48.640 not satisfied with how the rules are working. But the 0:12:48.720 --> 0:12:52.240 question becomes how do we best get China to begin 0:12:52.360 --> 0:12:56.120 to abide by those rough as the President has just 0:12:56.160 --> 0:12:59.800 started speaking at the United Nations with Secretary and that 0:13:00.000 --> 0:13:02.440 sort of Hailey rather and Secretary of State Pompeo and 0:13:02.800 --> 0:13:05.720 Mr Bolton sitting next to them, what should he say 0:13:05.800 --> 0:13:10.800 to the U n about trade? Well, hopefully from our 0:13:10.880 --> 0:13:12.720 point of view, he would say, we want to work 0:13:12.720 --> 0:13:16.160 with a number of countries in strengthening rules and disciplines 0:13:16.520 --> 0:13:18.920 and do it in a way that's convincing enough that 0:13:19.000 --> 0:13:21.559 we gained the support of Japan, of Europe, of other 0:13:21.600 --> 0:13:26.720 Asian countries. Uh impressing China to play more within the 0:13:26.840 --> 0:13:30.760 rule book of of sort of you know, market principles. 0:13:30.800 --> 0:13:33.080 But I'm fearful that it's going in the other direction, 0:13:33.160 --> 0:13:35.360 that he's starting a bilateral fight with kind at the 0:13:35.400 --> 0:13:38.480 same time that we're fighting with the Europeans over automobiles 0:13:38.520 --> 0:13:43.080 in Canada and Mexico. We're not building the global coalition. 0:13:43.480 --> 0:13:46.440 Mr Years, So thank you so much, greatly, greatly appreciate that. 0:13:47.080 --> 0:13:50.320 This morning, Rufus, he said, the National Foreign Trade Council, 0:14:00.000 --> 0:14:02.280 if you move north from Pretoria and we begin really 0:14:02.280 --> 0:14:06.360 our coverage here of United Nations week across South Africa 0:14:06.520 --> 0:14:09.440 and into Botswana and pim I I said this earlier 0:14:09.480 --> 0:14:12.319 to the Minister. I've never known anyone who's going to 0:14:12.400 --> 0:14:15.680 Botswana that was just not absolutely blown away by the 0:14:15.720 --> 0:14:20.760 beauty of the country, the wildlife, Kalahari desert. Yeah. I mean, 0:14:20.800 --> 0:14:23.400 I'm waiting for someone to give me a negative vibe 0:14:23.520 --> 0:14:26.760 in Botswana and hasn't happened. And also since nineteen sixty 0:14:26.880 --> 0:14:32.120 six after its independence from Britain has been a well 0:14:32.320 --> 0:14:37.080 run electoral based democracy and there it is. And that's 0:14:37.120 --> 0:14:39.800 two and a half to earn a quarter million people. 0:14:40.080 --> 0:14:45.280 Someone messaging the Botswana word is boholo kind of window. Uh. 0:14:45.480 --> 0:14:49.600 She is up Botswana Minister of Investment, Trade in Industry 0:14:49.640 --> 0:14:52.000 and joins us from New York where she is here 0:14:52.240 --> 0:14:54.720 for the week. What do you hope to accomplished, Minister 0:14:55.160 --> 0:14:57.400 as you come to UH in New York? What do 0:14:57.440 --> 0:15:01.280 you want to accomplish for your Botswana? Thank you very 0:15:01.320 --> 0:15:03.200 much and a very good morning to earth of you. 0:15:04.360 --> 0:15:10.000 We are here to share the Bozana story. We are 0:15:10.040 --> 0:15:14.600 having by a lot of bilateral meetings, but most importantly 0:15:14.760 --> 0:15:18.000 we want to ensure that by the time we leave 0:15:18.080 --> 0:15:22.320 New York we have left Bosana in people's minds and 0:15:22.360 --> 0:15:25.720 in people's tongues that you're talking about it and where 0:15:25.840 --> 0:15:29.360 of our story and that those that would like to 0:15:29.360 --> 0:15:31.400 come in and invest in Bosana because it is a 0:15:31.480 --> 0:15:38.440 fantastic investment destination and an even more fantastic tourism destination. 0:15:38.520 --> 0:15:40.960 I know that, and I hope that no one will 0:15:41.000 --> 0:15:43.720 ever give a negative review about the visit to Bosana. 0:15:44.360 --> 0:15:46.640 I'm wondering, Minister, if you could just share a little 0:15:46.680 --> 0:15:51.320 bit of your background so people can understand your perspective. 0:15:52.000 --> 0:15:57.120 You are the youngest minister ever in Botswana's cabinet. Congratulations, 0:15:57.680 --> 0:16:01.560 thank you very much. I am youngest minister in Bozonna's 0:16:01.600 --> 0:16:06.640 cabinet and I joined parliament two years ago and I 0:16:06.720 --> 0:16:09.440 have been given this responsibility of head in the Ministry 0:16:09.440 --> 0:16:12.480 of Investment, Trade and Industry. And I am from one 0:16:12.520 --> 0:16:16.320 of the most remote areas in Bosana, but very much 0:16:16.920 --> 0:16:20.440 a very beautiful part of Bazana along the river. And 0:16:20.800 --> 0:16:25.720 I pride myself with my heritage and having been a 0:16:25.840 --> 0:16:28.240 diamond baby. And in that I mean you know, I 0:16:28.560 --> 0:16:31.120 was born in a government hospital, went to government school, 0:16:31.440 --> 0:16:33.720 I was sent to university by the government and I 0:16:33.760 --> 0:16:38.520 think I'm very much the Bozona diamond story. Can you 0:16:38.600 --> 0:16:42.520 tell people a little bit about the economy of Botswana 0:16:42.600 --> 0:16:45.840 and how it has changed over your thirty one years 0:16:46.040 --> 0:16:51.160 and the competition that exists not just in natural resources 0:16:51.320 --> 0:16:53.760 but in the banking industry, and how that has helped 0:16:53.800 --> 0:16:58.880 the economy of Botswana. Right well, about thirty years or 0:16:58.920 --> 0:17:02.840 thirty one years ago or Bosana was heavily dependent on 0:17:03.200 --> 0:17:06.560 our agricultural base. It used to contribute to well over 0:17:06.600 --> 0:17:10.199 fifty percent of our very small g d P. But 0:17:10.600 --> 0:17:14.240 there was a rev up in the economy when diamond 0:17:16.119 --> 0:17:21.199 revenue started increasing and then we became heavily dependent on 0:17:21.240 --> 0:17:24.399 our diamonds. We produced and I'd like to say the 0:17:24.440 --> 0:17:28.720 world's best diamonds um And we have since managed to 0:17:28.840 --> 0:17:32.879 diversify to some extent into financial services and the banking 0:17:32.920 --> 0:17:37.760 industry has really driven very good growth in the economy 0:17:37.800 --> 0:17:42.600 and we are seeing investment and good productive sectors that 0:17:43.000 --> 0:17:46.119 we are hoping will continue to increase the wealth in 0:17:46.160 --> 0:17:50.240 Boslana end uplift the lives of Bosana. But most importantly, 0:17:50.800 --> 0:17:55.120 the opportunities remained vast and we're aiming at increasing our 0:17:55.520 --> 0:17:58.520 GDP growth from four percent to eight percent, so that 0:17:58.600 --> 0:18:01.679 we can see that transition from a middle income country 0:18:01.720 --> 0:18:04.880 to a high income country by twenty thirty six. Can 0:18:04.920 --> 0:18:09.680 I interrupt the show to just the standout effort you did, 0:18:09.760 --> 0:18:14.120 which you were single handedly, Uh, you got it done, minister. 0:18:14.880 --> 0:18:18.520 Kind of window that the Duchess of Sussex has on 0:18:18.680 --> 0:18:22.199 her left hand abouts Wana diamond. Is it true that 0:18:22.760 --> 0:18:25.920 Princess Megan has a Botswana diamond on her left hand? 0:18:27.320 --> 0:18:30.040 She she she does have a Bosona diamond on her 0:18:30.119 --> 0:18:32.640 left hand, and we're very proud of that, and we're 0:18:32.760 --> 0:18:36.439 very proud that we've played a part in that love story. 0:18:37.280 --> 0:18:40.000 In that day it said that they fell in love 0:18:40.040 --> 0:18:43.800 in Bosona and most importantly and where I'm from, so 0:18:43.920 --> 0:18:49.480 I feel very proud to have contributed. I saw you 0:18:49.560 --> 0:18:52.240 at the wedding. I understand that. But seriously, this is 0:18:52.320 --> 0:18:57.760 Kimberly Process certification and it's about conflict free diamonds. How 0:18:57.800 --> 0:19:01.960 does bots want to do that? The conflict free diamonds, 0:19:02.040 --> 0:19:05.080 And what we keep saying is a piece as so much, 0:19:05.560 --> 0:19:10.639 very much and economic issue. And when you are able 0:19:10.720 --> 0:19:13.720 to keep increasing the piece of cake and the pressures 0:19:13.840 --> 0:19:17.840 on that national cake are not that strong, then you 0:19:17.960 --> 0:19:22.439 have stability, and that stability comes from good governance and 0:19:22.520 --> 0:19:26.840 being able to provide equitable distribution of our resources. And 0:19:27.440 --> 0:19:30.919 over the years we've managed to reinvest the rents that 0:19:30.960 --> 0:19:33.720 we're getting from our diamonds, so that that very much 0:19:33.800 --> 0:19:36.879 people centered and they are not blood diamonds. And like 0:19:36.960 --> 0:19:40.560 I said earlier, i am a Bazona diamond. Sorry, and 0:19:40.680 --> 0:19:45.280 so many other Bazana share that history with me. Now, 0:19:45.440 --> 0:19:49.760 just to note that democratic self government in Botswana was 0:19:49.920 --> 0:19:54.960 established in the mid sixties and it has continued. What 0:19:55.040 --> 0:19:58.120 would you say to business leaders that may want to 0:19:58.160 --> 0:20:02.360 participate in the growing tool is some industry in Botswana? 0:20:02.440 --> 0:20:06.400 What kind of incentives and what kind of government support 0:20:07.000 --> 0:20:12.160 is there for foreign investment? Well, we you're right to say, 0:20:12.520 --> 0:20:16.000 we've had in democracy since nineteen sixty six, and we 0:20:16.040 --> 0:20:19.200 are proud to say that we have the longest running 0:20:19.280 --> 0:20:25.119 stable democracy in the continent and an open economy without 0:20:25.200 --> 0:20:28.000 any exchange controls. And we have a lot of incentives, 0:20:28.160 --> 0:20:33.720 including corporate text at five percent for some industries and 0:20:33.760 --> 0:20:37.359 ten per cent for others. And we have land banks, 0:20:37.359 --> 0:20:41.360 particularly in my ministry, to facilitate investors that come in 0:20:41.880 --> 0:20:44.440 to ensure that they are able to set up, and 0:20:44.720 --> 0:20:47.879 we also have an office at one stop shop that 0:20:48.560 --> 0:20:52.720 facilitates from registering all the way to markets. And we 0:20:53.720 --> 0:20:58.879 consider ourselves a very well centered economy that is lend 0:20:58.920 --> 0:21:02.080 linked to the rest of the region. And we are 0:21:02.119 --> 0:21:07.280 able to facilitate trade two countries like Zambia, Zimbabwe and Golambia. 0:21:07.840 --> 0:21:12.000 That's our neighbors and we we we see to it. 0:21:12.680 --> 0:21:16.240 That's all um foreign investors that come in. As a 0:21:16.320 --> 0:21:19.760 government we rule out that red COPT Minister, thank you 0:21:19.800 --> 0:21:22.840 so much. As we look at the United Nations week 0:21:22.880 --> 0:21:27.199 in the Bloomberg form, Botswana's Minister of Investment, Trade and 0:21:27.400 --> 0:21:42.960 Industry Bhola kind of window joins us this morning. We 0:21:43.119 --> 0:21:47.280 now turned what is completely and totally in entirely consumed 0:21:47.880 --> 0:21:51.720 the Beltway, and that is the Kavanaugh hearings plural that 0:21:51.840 --> 0:21:56.160 we're moving forward and rather than the politics and all that, 0:21:56.240 --> 0:21:59.720 we talk about the long term damage or I guess 0:21:59.720 --> 0:22:02.600 it's stands to be fair of the Supreme Court. There's 0:22:02.680 --> 0:22:06.240 no one better to do that within Greg's store of Bloomberg, 0:22:06.320 --> 0:22:10.679 a student and reporter of all Supreme Court. Gregg, is 0:22:10.720 --> 0:22:13.439 there any damage that will come out of this to 0:22:13.560 --> 0:22:18.520 this most important American institution. Oh, absolutely, Tom, And that's 0:22:18.560 --> 0:22:21.840 really no matter how this comes up comes out. The 0:22:21.840 --> 0:22:25.720 Court has tried to over the decades keep itself out 0:22:25.720 --> 0:22:28.240 of politics. It has been harder and harder to do 0:22:28.320 --> 0:22:32.920 that as court appointments have become more political. This nomination 0:22:32.920 --> 0:22:37.080 at Brett Havanaugh was already intensely political beforehand. Uh. Now 0:22:37.200 --> 0:22:40.879 you have this specter of of the sexual assault allegations 0:22:41.720 --> 0:22:45.320 against him. If he is confirmed, it will be probably 0:22:45.400 --> 0:22:50.120 with entirely Republican votes. Uh. And there will be opponents 0:22:50.160 --> 0:22:52.720 will say a big cloud over him. If he is 0:22:52.760 --> 0:22:56.080 not concerned, we're gonna have a whole another fight coming 0:22:56.160 --> 0:22:59.480 up soon. Does it go into let's say he is confirmed. 0:22:59.480 --> 0:23:03.280 Does it go into the operations of the Supreme Court. 0:23:03.680 --> 0:23:07.200 Does this whole debate in fact, the choosing of cases, 0:23:07.280 --> 0:23:12.320 the debate of cases, the outcome of cases. It could, 0:23:12.359 --> 0:23:14.239 but a lot of that depends on something we don't know, 0:23:14.280 --> 0:23:16.920 which is what effect is this having on Brett Kavanaugh 0:23:17.000 --> 0:23:20.720 if he is confirmed. Um. You know, personally, we've seen 0:23:20.840 --> 0:23:24.080 with uh, some of the other Justices Clarence Thomas, certainly 0:23:24.440 --> 0:23:28.879 Justice sam Alito as well, who had somewhat difficult confirmation fights. 0:23:28.880 --> 0:23:31.000 That they've gone on the court and they have really 0:23:31.119 --> 0:23:35.040 dug in. Uh As as you know, they were always 0:23:35.040 --> 0:23:38.000 going to be conservative justices, but but uh, you know, 0:23:38.000 --> 0:23:40.720 it's possible they are are even more conservative now. It 0:23:40.760 --> 0:23:42.920 could happen to Brett Kavanaugh too, if he has confirmed. 0:23:43.040 --> 0:23:46.080 We we don't really know now. One other possibility is 0:23:46.119 --> 0:23:48.760 that some of the other justices, like Chief Justice John Roberts, 0:23:49.040 --> 0:23:51.560 may say that, at least for the time being, we 0:23:51.600 --> 0:23:53.880 need to try to not get ourselves in the middle 0:23:53.920 --> 0:23:57.040 of controversial and take fewer really controversial cases so that 0:23:57.080 --> 0:23:59.600 we can kind of lay low a little bit um 0:24:00.119 --> 0:24:03.000 and get ourselves out of the political spotlight. Greg Store, 0:24:03.080 --> 0:24:06.760 talking about the political spotlight, can you give us an 0:24:06.880 --> 0:24:12.679 update on what Senator Diane Feinstein notified the FBI about 0:24:12.800 --> 0:24:17.640 and how this plays into the ongoing hearings. The uh, 0:24:17.760 --> 0:24:21.080 you know, I may not have the very latest information 0:24:21.160 --> 0:24:26.080 on that. Um. She she has called for an FBI investigation. Uh, 0:24:26.320 --> 0:24:29.119 these new allegations that were published in The New Yorker 0:24:29.280 --> 0:24:34.640 last night, the um uh you know, Democrats have been 0:24:35.119 --> 0:24:39.040 saying throughout that they want an FBI investigation of the 0:24:39.080 --> 0:24:45.359