EU frees up money for Ukraine

This BBC podcast is supported by ads outside the UK. A $100 billion loan is unlocked for Ukraine, so what difference will it make? It's World Business Express from the BBC World Service. I'm Liana Byrne. We go inside Iran, where people are grappling with a war-hit economy, and made in China used to mean cheap and cheerful, but not anymore. We start with some long-awaited good news for Ukraine. The European Union has unlocked a €90 billion loan for Kiev, which amounts to $100 billion. It's money that's been stuck for months. Hungary had been holding it up, arguing it wasn't receiving Russian oil through a key pipeline that runs across Ukraine. That lineman was damaged after a Russian strike earlier this year. But Kiev says repairs are now complete and oil is flowing again. There's also been a political shift in Budapest with a new, more pro-European government coming in after Viktor Orban's defeat. All of that seems to have cleared the way for this funding to finally move. EU member states are expected to finalise the loan on Thursday. I spoke to Timothy Milovanov, Ukraine's former economy minister and now president of the Kiev School of Economics. I asked him how the 90 billion euros would be used. Out of 90, 60 goes for weapons. And if you look at this year alone, the situation is proportional, but two-thirds go for Ukraine support this year. So two thirds for weapons and two thirds of the entire package this year. Now, this has been stuck for months over a pipeline dispute. Does the fact it's now moving tell us something about how fragile EU unity has been on Ukraine? Absolutely. And I'm relieved to learn that yesterday President Zelensky said that everything about the Druzhba oil pipeline has been resolved and that the EU can move forward. I hope it happens There are very practical implications of the delays There is a lot of procurement of weapons is on post in Ukraine And that means that you know people are dying basically Alongside this, the EU is preparing another round of sanctions on Russia. Does this breakthrough make that politically easier? I think so, yes, because Hungary was a critical country in blocking everything, including sanctions. And sanctions are important to deny Russia revenues and make it more difficult for Russia to wage a war. This is very, very technical almost, almost technological. It's not zero one that you can stop a war with some specific, you know, silver bullet or magic bullet sanction. But you really have to work daily on decreasing their revenues. And finally, on the pipeline itself, are we confident it's genuinely back up and running or could this become a sticking point again? Well, I think it might because Russia can attack it again. That's a vulnerable pipeline is there. You know, it takes a single drone. So you almost have to put air defence across the entire pipeline, which means money. But I hope it's not going to happen soon. That was Timothy Milovanov, Ukraine's former economy minister. Meanwhile, the war in the Middle East rumbles on. At least three container ships are reported to have been targeted by gunfire while trying to transit the Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian reports. In Iran itself, people are struggling with a failing war-torn economy. Our chief international correspondent, Lise Doucette, is in Tehran. She's reporting from Iran on condition that none of her material is used in the BBC's Persian service. These restrictions apply to all international media organisations operating in the country. so it's a warm spring day and we've come to sanay street here in central tehran and the kind of shops you'd find on on streets anywhere corner stores fast food household products here's a shoe shop let's go in there the owner's putting out the awning how is business now it's not really good but we are okay to be here All of in Iran, we are actually not working. The economy is not really good. And we are happy right now. You're happy that you can come back to work? Yeah, yeah, yeah. Do you have many customers? Not really. Now not. Before there was many Before there was many Before many Now not Hello What your name Shala Shala and you got a loaf of bread you've got some hamburger buns, and a list. Here's your shopping list. A bread like this was 35, two months, about three months ago. Now it's three times more. People go through hell right now to be able to pay for a loaf of bread. That was Lise Dusset reporting in Tehran. Now with me now, Ross Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell. Ross, oil, the price of oil back up to above $100? Yes, although the ceasefire has been extended, there's no fresh talks planned between Washington and Tehran and the Straits of Formuz. That major conduit for global oil and gas supply is still closed. So oil back at $100. But interestingly, financial markets still think there will be a peaceful solution that opens up the Straits because delivery of oil in July is $95, in August is $90 and by 2028 it's back down to $75 a barrel. And it's like dominoes. It's having an effect on inflation. Ukraine inflation accelerated 3.3% in March. Yes, we saw the same in the United States last week. Here in the UK this week, that puts pressure on the Bank of England. It's got a difficult decision. The economy is slowing down but inflation is speeding up. So we started the year maybe looking for one or two interest rate cuts in the Bank of England. Now financial markets think there may be one or two increases, but the bank's got to be careful because the economy is still really not doing very much. Very different picture. Ross Mould, Investment Director at AJ Bell. Always a pleasure. Prosecutors in Florida have opened a criminal investigation into OpenAI, looking at whether its chatbot JATGPT played a role in a deadly university shooting last year. They say the attacker had asked it for advice about how to carry out the attacks in the lead up to the killings. The prosecutors say that if ChatGPT were a person, it would be facing murder charges. OpenAI says its technology is not to blame for the man's actions. Now, for years, a product which had made in China, people thought they were cheap, mass-produced goods and not necessarily good quality. But that perception is shifting. A new generation of Chinese brands is emerging, taking on giants like Nike, McDonald's and Starbucks. And one place they're testing that global appeal is Singapore. Our Asia business correspondent Sirnjana Tiwari has been to see how it's working out. Order number 294. Step into Orchard Gateway one of the gleaming walls along Singapore Orchard Road and you find lines of people queuing outside shops with catchy names and candy branding One of them is Molly T founded just four years ago in Shenzhen China Its baby pink-coloured cups are already a fixture on high streets from Sydney to New York. Today, it's operating more than 2,000 stores around the world. This is one of Molly T's biggest outlets outside of China. right here in Singapore. With its rich mix of cultures, consumers with spending power and global brands already here, Singapore has become a testing ground for Chinese companies. Get it right here and the rest of the world beckons. At a Maniso store in central Singapore, customers browse toy characters from movies produced by the likes of Marvel, Disney and Warner Brothers. Miniso now has 8,000 stores across 110 countries, including a flagship one on London's Oxford Street. Vincent Huang, general manager of overseas markets for Miniso, says the brand's origins don't register with customers. Consumers aren't particularly concerned about where the brand comes from. They're more focused on the shopping experience. Here's marketing expert Su Ting Fu. A decade ago, you would see Chinese brands more as cheap. But what we're seeing in terms of the product is superior quality. If these brands can compete and win on the global stage, it won't just reshape business. It could reshape how China is seen around the world. That's Surnjana Tuari in Singapore. And that is it from World Business Express from the BBC World Service. I'm Liana Byrne. Have a great day and thanks so much for listening. Thank you. That's shopify.nl. It's time to see what you can accomplish with Shopify by your side.