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Aleppo Pounded by Fresh Airstrikes; Barack Obama Visits Greece During Last Overseas Trip; Convenience Stores See Opportunity in Philippines; President Duterte Backs off of Criticism of U.S. After Trump's Election. Aired 8-9a ET

Aired November 15, 2016 - 08:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


[08:00:14] KRISTIE LU STOUT, HOST: I'm Kristie Lu Stout in Hong Kong, and welcome to News Stream.

Now, more questions over team Trump as world leaders scramble to see where they stand with the U.S. president-elect.

The man he will replace at the White House is trying to smooth things over with longstanding allies. A look at Barack Obama's trip to Greece, his

last as commander-in-chief.

And eastern Aleppo pounded by fresh air strikes. We'll have a live report on the crisis in Syria.

Now, the Trump transition is being described by one source as a knife fight. The U.S. president-elect is meeting with the Vice President-elect

Mike Pence soon to go over the short list of cabinet picks. And a source tells CNN that Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor of New York, would rather be

secretary of state than attorney general, and multiple sources say Republican Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama is being considered for a post,

including possibly secretary of defense.

But it is the White House picks Mr. Trump has already made that are causing the most controversy. Now, CNN's Sunlen Serfaty has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

SUNLEN SERFATY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The battle for appointments to President-elect Donald Trump's cabinet being called a "Knife Fight" and

"Buffoonery", according to sources within his transition team. With potential picks for west wing and key national security posts drawing sharp

internal disagreements.

KELLYANNE CONWAY, REPUBLICAN CAMPAIGN MANAGER: I think this week you'll hear some additional appointments.

SERFATY: But today inside Trump Tower, Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence are hunkering down reviewing the list of contenders. The positions to

possibly be nailed down as early as today include Secretaries of State, Education, Commerce, and Treasury.

GLENN BECK, CONSERVATIVE RADIO SHOW HOST: He's a nightmare and he's the chief adviser to the President of the United States now.

SERFATY: This as the appointment of Steve Bannon as Trump's chief strategist continues to draw sharp rebuke, critics citing his close ties to

the alt-right movement known for white nationalism and anti- Semitism.

CONWAY: I work very closely with Mr. Bannon. He's been the general of this campaign. And frankly, people should look at the full resume. I'm

personally offended that you'd think I'd manage a campaign where that would be one of the billion cause. I think it was not.

SERFATY: And new concerns over conflict of interests are emerging with Trump considering seeking top security clearance for his adult children and

son-in-law according to a transition team source.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We'll be in New York and we'll take care of the business.

SERFATY: No paperwork has been filed, but the children could have access to secure communications technology, travel schedules, and secret service

procedures. Mean while, Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin speaking by phone. The two men discussing the need for joint efforts in the fight

against common enemy number one, international terrorism and extremism. All this as deep domestic divisions remain, anti-Trump demonstrators protesting

across the country for the sixth straight day.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now, that was Sunlen Serfaty reporting there.

As you heard in her report, Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin spoke over the phone and while the Kremlin says they discussed ways to normalize their

country's relationship, there may still be steep divides to overcome. And we'll get to Moscow for more on that in just a moment.

But first, Donald Trump has threatened to slap tariffs on Chinese exports to the United

States, all in a bid to create more jobs in America. And CNN's Andrew Stevens visited a Chinese factory that could be on the front line of a

possible trade war.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ANDREW STEVENS, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: In a small nondescript factory in southern China, workers pump out tin cans by the thousand for

the U.S. market. It's boring, repetitive work, but even though it's low tech, the profit margins here are thin, just 10 percent, according to

factory owner Tim Wu (ph), all wiped out if Donald Trump carries out his threat to slap

45 percent tariffs on Chinese exports to the U.S.

How worried are you now about your future?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): If the tariff kicks in, I would be very worried. All our prices increase, but if our clients in the U.S. do

not accept this, we won't be able to continue manufacturing in China.

STEVENS: And that means potentially the 70 people here thrown out of a job.

Deng Guang City (ph) is the heart of this southern Chinese province known as the world's workshop. Factories here are already doing it hard as

China's economic growth slows to a 25 year low. The last thing they want is a trade fight with one of their biggest export markets.

Exports still matter for China, even though Beijing is trying to wean the economy off the export

model, last year nearly $500 billion worth of Chinese goods went to the U.S. alone, all of which could be subjects to punitive tariffs.

But exporters here aren't panicked yet. Over lunch of prime U.S. steak and Portuguese red wine, these factory owners tell me why.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (through translator): When the products go to the united states and they put on those heavy tariffs, it would not be good for the

ordinary people. The increased prices would hurt them.

UNIDENITFIED FEMALE (through translator): Trade goes both ways. If they suppress us, our country would suppress them, too, and this would be a

vicious circle. I don't think we need to worry too much.

UNIDENITIFIED FEMALE (through translator): It would be a major hit on China, but it might have a bigger impact on America, I think. American

businessmen use us to make their products so they will hurt.

STEVENS: And one key point everyone at the table was keen to make, Donald Trump is a

businessman, and slapping on tariffs, sparking a potential trade war, is just not good business.

Andrew Stevens, CNN, Deng Guang (ph), China.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now, earlier today, Russia's President Vladimir Putin called to congratulate the U.S. president-elect. Let's go straight to Moscow for

more on what was discussed. CNN's Matthew Chance joins us now.

And Matthew, in this phone call between Putin and Donald Trump, what did they say about the

relationship going forward?

MATTHEW CHANCE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, they said that they need to work on it, essentially. I mean, I'm paraphrasing.

Basically the situation between Russia and the United States has been very poor. They've been bumping along the bottom a very rocky patch of the

relationship. We're talking about a new cold war. Both leaders, both President-elect Trump and President Putin of Russia made it clear that that

needs to change, that they need to address that, that deteriorating relationship.

The Kremlin said in its read of the conversation between that other issues need to be addressed like economic ties. This could have been in a bleak

reference to the fact that not only has Russia got a very poor economy at the moment, a very weak economy, but he's under sanctions from the United

States because of its involvement in Ukraine. That's another issue where the two sides, the two leaders agreed to work together on.

They also agreed to work together on what the Kremlin called the common enemy number

one, which is international terrorism, and that's a reference to this idea initially at least about the United States and Russia working together in

Syria to eliminate groups like the Islamic State, this is something that was discussed with the Russians, with the Obama administration, as

well, where they were failed to reach a firm agreement.

But you get the sense that with a Trump White House, with his predisposition towards, you know, a greater, closer relationship with

Russia, and that could really start to make a difference on the ground in Syria, not to everybody's liking, I expect.

But nevertheless, you know, there are lots of, you know, kind of ways in which these two

countries could develop their relations and, indeed, they've already started speaking about doing that.

LU STOUT: So there are these opportunities for cooperation to reset relations, but could there

be a successful reset here? I ask because famously Hillary Clinton when she was secretary of state, she hit that reset button years ago with Sergey

Lavrov in that photo op, that didn't quite pan out. Will things be different under President Trump?

CHANCE: Yeah, and it didn't pan out either under George W. Bush, when, you know, he looked into the eyes of Putin, remember? And that didn't quite

work out eventually either. so S yes, I mean, there is a very checkered past, shall we say, of resets in the relationship between the United States and Russia, and inevitably all

of the issues that stand between Russia and the United States, issues of national interest. And up until now, those interests have been in conflict

with each other: the expansion of NATO, Russia backs the opposite side of the Syrian civil war as does the United States, all other kinds of issues,

as well -- NATO expansion, and things like that.

It could well turn out to be the same this time, as well, but it could also be a pivotal moment where the United States under Donald Trump re-examines

some of its priorities and perhaps does find a way of approaching these problems in a different way. And so, you know, at least initially that's

the assumption that is being made when it comes to how Russians are seeing the Trump presidency. But of course, it could all go very badly wrong, as

it has in the past.

LU STOUT: Yeah, but the relationship is certainly shifting, starting from now. Matthew Chance reporting live for us from Moscow, thank you.

Now, the key U.S. ally South Korea is wasting no time in seeking to build a relationship with the incoming U.S. president. Amid an ongoing political

scandal at home, Seoul says it will send a senior working level delegation to Washington for meetings with Mr. Trump's transition team later this

week. The major issues to be discussed include their alliance, and of course the North Korean nuclear issue.

In the past, Trump has suggested South Korea should consider developing its own nuclear

weapons.

Now, Donald Trump's campaign rhetoric has caused major jitters abroad, so much so President Obama is using his last overseas trip while in office to

reassure American allies. He's in Greece for meetings with the president and prime minister.

Earlier, Mr. Obama said that he would deliver a message of confidence in the future of Transatlantic ties.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED SATTES: In my conversation with the president-elect, he expressed a great interest in maintaining our core

strategic relationships, and so one of the messages I will be able to deliver is his commitment to NATO.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

LU STOUT: Now, we are expecting a news conference with Mr. Obama and the Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras later this hour. We'll bring it to you

live when it happens. But joining me now from Athens is CNN's Nic Robertson.

Nic, there is a lot on the agenda in this very key visit, but is Donald Trump going to cast a long shadow on this trip?

NIC ROBERTSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Perhaps not so much publicly. We've certainly heard President Obama already speak about how a

unified and strong and prosperous Europe is in the interest of Europe and in the interest of the

United States, that could be interpreted as a message also for President- elect Donald Trump and is reiterated again here today that United States believes that the Transatlantic relationship, as it stands, NATO is

important, important for the security of Europe, and important for the security of the United States.

He's talked about the issues of prosperity and inclusivity, messages that will resonate here in Greece, but also messages perhaps for his replacement

Donald Trump indicating that his policies -- we're expecting him to talk potentially about debt relief for Greece. Certainly, that's something

Greeks would like to hear. So if that is a message for the Greeks, perhaps also a message for Donald Trump.

The message that he's saying is inclusivity, particularly for young people, is important for the prosperity and stability, essentially, of all nations

going forward. So that's what we're going to hear publicly.

Undoubtedly behind the scenes, the leaders here will want to hear what President Obama can or will tell them about what he, President Obama,

expects the transition and the President-elect Donald Trump's presidency to look like. Stability is the most important thing for European leaders

right now, whether it's economic, whether it's security. So anything that they can learn at this early stage before

Donald Trump gets into the White House is going to be important -- Kristie.

LU STOUT: And we are waiting this press conference to take place out of Athens within the hour, waiting President Obama to address these issues,

the transition, also other issues, as well.

But while we have you, you know, President Obama, he is a lame duck president, so he may be

offering his advice about how we could bring Greece out of the debt crisis, but how much effectiveness is he really going to have at the end of the

day?

ROBERTSON: You know, as one gentleman on his way to work here this morning said to me when I asked him, well, President Obama's on his way here, what

do you think? And he said, well, he's left it a bit late. I mean, this is President Obama's last overseas trip as president, and he's also the first

U.S. president to come here since 1999, so there's a sense among the Greeks, perhaps, that if the

United States had a strong message of economic support for Greece and unity for Europe, thetime to deliver it would have been some time ago when the

Greeks were going through that tough debt negotiation period with the European Union.

So there's a sense that, you know, President Obama it's all well and good him coming here

now and saying whatever he's going to say, but it may not have an impact. And if you listen to what President-elect Donald Trump has said in the

past, particularly where that difficult period where Greece was renegotiating the debt with the European Union, Donald Trump had

indicated, well, it's really down to the Europeans to fix it, perhaps Germany can fix it, even Russia he said at the time.

So the hope that Donald Trump may follow through with some of the things President Obama says is a bit of a vain hope here at the moment.

So, it is a little late in the presidency to be coming here, so think some of the Greeks.

LU STOUT: All right, Nic Robertson reporting live for us from Athens. Thank you, Nic.

Now, Russia's minister of economic development has been charged with accepting a bribe.

Now government investigators say that he asked for $2 million to approve an oil company deal to take over a smaller firm. They say he threatened to

create obstacles for the company if he was not paid. The state oil giant at the center of the deal says the takeover complies with Russian law and

the deal is not at risk.

Now, you're watching News Stream. Coming to you live from Hong Kong. And coming up, the fear has come true: bombs are falling once again on war-torn

Aleppo after residents got that warning to leave or die.

Also ahead, 2016 is on track to set a record. What the UN's weather agency is saying about this year's temperatures.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:17:55] LU STOUT: Coming to you live from Hong Kong's Victoria Harbor, you're back watching News Stream.

Now, Egyptian media report a court has overturned a death sentence for the former president of Egypt, Mohamed Morsy, and has ordered a retrial.

Morsy and his co-defendants were accused of collaborating with the Palestinian group Hamas and the Lebanese group Hezbollah to break into

several prisons, freeing thousands. It happened during the 2011 protests of the Arab Spring.

The Syrian city of Aleppo is once again a target.

Now, war planes have resumed heavy air strikes on rebel-held east Aleppo. Ahead of military action, residents received a text message, likely from

the government, this text message told them to leave or die.

I will show you this video. This is a hospital just outside Aleppo that came under attack on

Monday.

Now, for more let's bring in Will Ripley from neighboring Turkey. And we know will's been monitoring and reporting on civilians caught in the

crossfire. And, Will, just as feared, heavy air strikes have returned to eastern Aleppo. What's the latest?

WILL RIPLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And to see that video that a hospital was hit, Kristie, just underscores the impossible situation for people on the

ground there. The Syrian regime is now in what they call the preliminary stages of the final push perhaps on eastern Aleppo. When they say

preliminary, that is very troubling to people on the ground, because already today one Syrian TV correspondent described it as unprecedented

bombing, perhaps dozens of blasts just in the last few hours.

I spoke with a doctor who was expecting an influx of patients into his hospital, but also really fearing for his safety. Doctors in rebel-held

eastern Aleppo risk their lives just by going to work. Their city under siege for nearly five years. Eight hospitals still stand, the ninth

hospital, destroyed in a bombing earlier this year.

HAMZA AL-KHATIB, DOCTOR: When we are at home, then it will be random rockets that will hit our home, but at the hospital, we know that we might

be attacked at any moment.

[08:20:02] RIPLEY: Dr. Hamza al-Khatib says he's one of 31 doctors in the battle-scarred city, 31 for more than a quarter million people.

AL-KHATIB: I guess each doctor at the moment in Aleppo see between 100 to 150 patients each day.

RIPLEY: A day.

AL-KHATIB: Yeah.

RIPLEY: On normal days, he treats the sick, but when the bombs fall, the sick must be turned away as trauma patients, often children, flood the

emergency room.

AL-KHATIB: A young girl, 12 years old, lost her right leg, so that was a shock.

RIPLEY: He also treated a 4-month-old baby for a small cut, shrapnel from a rocket attack. They sent her home.

AL-KHATIB: We were told later that her home was also attacked again the same night, and she lost her life.

RIPLEY: During the most recent month of heavy bombardment, some 500 people died in eastern Aleppo, including one week when 96 children were killed,

which makes him hug his own baby a little tighter.

She's beautiful.

Dr. Hamza lives at the hospital with his wife and 11-month-old daughter.

Have you ever thought that you should leave, that you should try to leave Aleppo?

AL-KHATIB: Being with her in a safer place is very selfish. So I rather to be here with my family treating patients.

RIPLEY: when you tuck her in at night, what do you pray for?

AL-KHATIB: I pray for everything to end. I hope for the siege to be break. I hope for good news in the morning.

RIPLEY: But each morning seems to be more bad news. Winter is coming. Food and medicine is running low, and in the battle for eastern Aleppo, the

worst may be yet to come.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: I am just in awe of the medical workers who choose to remain in Aleppo. They are truly heroes, and they are there to help people survive.

And it is such a struggle, isn't it, Will? The city has been under siege for five years. Air strikes have returned. I mean, how much food and

basic necessities are left in eastern Aleppo?

RIPLEY: Dr. Hamza estimated perhaps a month and a half or two months of medicine and food if supplies are not replenished, and this siege feels

different for people in Aleppo because the fear is a tactic that's been used in the suburbs of Damascus and Homs and other areas

where ground troops, Syrian ground troops surround the entire rebel-held area, they block the supply lines, don't allow food or medicine or

munitions, as well, because obviously rebel fighters are getting their weapons through the same supply lines and they keep bombarding the area.

And essentially people start running out of food and they say you have an option that you can starve to death, get bombed, or we'll put you on buses,

you have to leave your home and go somewhere else.

Winter is coming. People can no longer grow the food many have been relying on to survive through the warmer months of the year, and so this

could be really the final phase, and that's what people are afraid of, Kristie.

LU STOUT: Yeah, Will Ripley reporting on the deep human suffering happening right now in eastern Aleppo. Thank you, Will.

Now, Iraqi-led forces, they are facing strong resistance in the push to expel ISIS from Mosul, and here you can see paramilitary forces clearing

mines and roadside bombs on a major road. The U.S.-led coalition says ISIS has been hit with some 4,000 bombs, artillery strikes, and missiles since

the battle began nearly a month ago.

More than 54,000 people have been displaced. And more are expected as the fighting draws closer to the center of the city.

Now, if you think that the weather has been warmer this year, you're not imagining things. The UN's weather agency says 2016 will likely be the

hottest year on record. If it is, it would mark the third straight year that record has been broken.

Meteorologist Chad Myers joins us now with more on the story. And Chad, why is this happening?

CHAD MYERS, CNN METEOROLOGIST: Well, I mean, we, obviously, have more carbon dioxide in the air than ever before, the greenhouse gas holding in

heat, and we've melted a lot of sea ice out there, the second lowest extent of sea ice -- I'll show you a picture of that just in the coming minutes.

2016 will likely be warmer than 2015, 2014, '10, '13, and all the we go. 16 of the last 17 years since 2000 have been the hottest years on record.

And this is how it has happened. We've had el Nino. It is a warm part of the world to the western part of the United States, all the way west to

almost Australia, the atmosphere heats up because the water heats up. The way the el Nino changes the pattern and has

changed the pattern in the early part of the year, there's almost no hope that we can cool down enough to be cooler than 2015, which is this red line

here, which was the old record.

See how much we are above. We're above one degree from where they want to be, where we were pre-industrial.

Now, we don't want to be 1.5 or 2.0 degrees Celcius is the limit. After that, there's almost no

stopping it. This is what all these Paris agreements, all these accords are all about.

So, we see the sea ice here behind me. It has melted down to the second lowest extent because of how warm it has been, obviously, in the arctic.

It is all the way from north to south, east to west, Antarctica to Arctic, the sea ice now the second lowest extent, 2016 only surpassed by 2012 --

Kristie.

[08:25:50] LU STOUT: Now, Chad Myers reporting on this year of extremes. Thank you,

Chad.

Now, rescue crews are working to help thousands of people who are stranded after that powerful

earthquake hit New Zealand. Helicopters are being used to air lift those caught in communities that have been cut off.

Alexandra Field has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ALEXANDRA FIELD, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The aftershocks continue and landslides are being reported by the tens of thousands in areas around the

epicenter of Monday's earthquake. New Zealand's prime minister says the government is working to evacuate 140 people who were otherwise entirely

cut off, but thousands of people are still trapped where they are.

The rescue mission now includes helicopters that are being used to evacuate people. Ships have arrived off the coast, and the hardest hit areas are

still in need of food, water, and fuel. Those deliveries, logistically difficult with some roads closed indefinitely.

Surveys of the damage are underway and geologists already predict this area will suffer more earthquakes in the future. Offers to help New Zealand

have come in from U.S. navy, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump called in the aftermath of the 7.8-magnitude earthquake. New Zealand's prime

minister says in the chaos of the aftermath, he missed the call.

The disaster already killed two people.

In Hong Kong, Alexandra Field, CNN.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now, the Philippines president last month said the U.S. alliance was over, but just a day after Donald Trump won the U.S. election, he is

changing his tune. We're going to talk about that just ahead.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(HEADLINES)

[08:30:45] LU STOUT: Now here in Hong Kong, a court has barred two pro- independence lawmakers from taking office. The pair was elected in a citywide vote two months ago, but they used curse words during an oath

taking ceremony and displayed flags with the words Hong Kong is not China.

Last week, Beijing waded into the dispute, ruling that candidates who take the oath in a dishonest manner should be disqualified. And critics say the

move undermines Hong Kong's judicial autonomy.

Now one week on from the U.S. election, many are still wondering how the polls got it so wrong, but a company in South Africa got it right. It

predicted Donald Trump's victory and was also right about the Brexit vote.

David McKenzie has more.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

DAVID MCKENZIE, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: A week later the protests continue, the shock remains. Let down, they say, by the media,

the pollsters, that didn't predict President-elect Trump.

But a small software company in Cape Town, South Africa, did exactly that.

JP KLOPPERS, CEO, BRANDSEYE: Because Trump was a very kind of controversial figure, we had a suspicion how he was kind of resonating with

people, might play out differently to what traditional media were saying.

MCKENZIE: They called it for Trump and they predicted Brexit, too.

KLOPPERS: And we kind of used people for what people are great at and machines for what machines are great at and by using that interplay between

the two, we are able to measure sentiment very deeply and using computers, measure it very broadly.

MCKENZIE: BrandsEye zeros in on social media sentiment for clients like Uber and Pizza Hut

by using artificial intelligence to sift through vast amounts of data and crowd sourcing to track sarcasm and interpret slang.

KLOPPERS: He's gained 3,100 positive mentions to 1,500 negative mentions about Trump.

MCKENZIE: It turns out politicians are just like brands.

KLOPPERS: It's one thing knowing that people don't like you because of reason"X," it's another thing to knowing that actually this is twice as

much as your competitor.

MCKENZIE: Looking at battleground states in the U.S., they found people far more passionate for Trump and distrustful of Hillary Clinton.

Now some critics point to social media networks spreading fake news as the reason for the win.

CRAIG RAW, FOUNDER BRANDSEYE: I think that social media really represents what people are saying, and regardless of whether they are reading a story

that is true or false, it nevertheless represents the emotion, and they are going to vote on that emotion.

MCKENZIE: Like it or not, the power may have been in the (inaudible), not in the polling.

David McKenzie, CNN, Capetown, South Africa.

TRUMP: Thank you to Mike Pence.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Now, Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte seems to be trying to bury the hatchet with the U.S. after Donald Trump's election victory. Last

week Mr. Duterte hailed the president-elect, saying long live, and commenting that they are similar because they, quote, both like to swear.

The Philippines president has insulted the U.S. and its president on several occasions. At one point he declared the U.S.-Philippines alliance

was over. But with Trump in office, how different will the relationship be?

Now, joining us now to talk about this is Richard Heydarian. He's an assistant professor at a Philippines De La Salle University and joins us

from Vietnam. Richard, thank you so much for joining us here on News Stream. A lot to get to. But first, a question on Duterte's war on drugs.

Trump is focusing on this America first policy, so is there going to be less wading into the issue, less tension over Duterte's controversial drug

war?

RICHARD KEYDARIAN, DE LA SALLE UNIVERSITY: Well, across Asia, a lot of allied countries are very worried about a Trump presidency. South Korea

held an emergency national security council meeting just after Trump won and the Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe scrambled to get a meeting with

Donald Trump to reassure him on the TransPacific Partnership agreement, but in a strange turn of events, it seems that the Filipino president, or the

Filipino strong man Rodrigo Duterte is somehow more glad about a Trump outcome.

He said immediately after the election outcome in the United States that Donald Trump is someone who's very similar to me, that I'm not going to

quarrel with the United States anymore because Trump is now there, so there is some sort of emerging bromance or at a sense of similarity between those

two guys, Duterte himself said in many ways we're very similar, and let's not forget

for a long time Duterte has been called the Trump of the east.

So the other thing here is that Duterte is already intelligently leveraging Trump's business ties. He appointed Jose Antonio, a real estate developer

in the Philippines, to build a Trump Tower in Manila as a special envoy to Washington, D.C., And his company actually had a 20 percent uptick in his

stocks value right after the election of Donald Trump. So it proved to be a pristine and correct decision to

put a business partner of Donald Trump as a special business and investment envoy to Washington, D.C., to try to leverage that.

But I think above all, what probably attractive as far as Donald Trump is concerned for Duterte is that Donald Trump is known to be more businessman

pragmatic person as opposed to Democrats, including President Obama, who are much more perhaps idealistic and much focused on issues like human

rights or democracy, so I think Duterte feels that under a Trump presidency the U.S. will be less critical of the Philippines' war on drugs and usually

more focused on tangible interaction like business, economics, and investments.

I think that's why Duterte feels that Trump, the outcome of the U.S. election was not so bad after all.

LU STOUT: And the change here, how Duterte's regarding the United States, this is a 360-degree change here. You call this an emerging bromance

between Trump and Duterte. Just a few months ago, Duterte threatened to curb U.S. military activities in the Philippines. Just a few months he

used curse words, a slur to describe the U.S. envoy. So, is all that over now that Donald Trump has been elected?

KEYDARIAN: Well, so far what we have seen from Duterte is more bluster than actually policy. I mean, he threatened to expel American special

forces, to end all joint exercises, to end security agreements, but so far we have seen that much of his threats have not materialized in policy and

now that you have Donald Trump actually beginning not to engage in tirades against the United

States.

The other day, he had a speech whereby he actually made tirades against the United Nations and Europe, but guess what, he didn't mention the United

States anymore. So, many people are saying he looks forward to a Trump presidency and looks for to a much more robust ties with the United

States under a Donald Trump presidency, but I think a lot in the Philippines were disappointed that Hillary Clinton did not win, because

Hillary Clinton when was a secretary of the state of the United States, she pushed for more American assistance to the Philippines, especially amid the

disputes in the South China Sea with China.

So now there's concerns amongst some strategists in the Philippines that because Donald Trump wants to focus more on domestic issues, he wants to

make America great again, and on many occasions he questioned America's military commitments to NATO allies, Japan and

Korea, probably he'll be not very helpful to the Philippines in the South China Sea and of course the bigger concern with Donald Trump is

temperament.

In the Philippines, there were concerns with temperament and rhetoric of Duterte, now there's going to also similar concern when it comes to Donald

Trump.

LU STOUT: All right, we'll leave it at that. Thank you very much for joining us on the program and sharing your insight with us, very compelling

stuff.

Take care.

Now, you're watching News Stream coming to you live from Hong Kong. We'll be back right after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[08:40:21] LU STOUT: Now, the Japanese convenience store chain Lawson has been growing rapidly and it expects to see more shops open abroad than at

home within a decade. Now, in this edition of Road to ASEAN, we travel to the Philippines to see why the company feels Southeast Asia is

its best bet for expansion.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: Manila: sprawling, congested, and changing fast. But amidst the commotion of this megacity, two icons of Filipino life stand out. On one

hand, the Jeepney, a colorful kitschy means of transportation. On the other, the Sorry, Sorry (ph) store -- mom and pop shops, often set up in

homes, where you can buy items in packets and on credit.

Found in almost every neighborhood, there's an estimated 800,000 of these Sorry, Sorry (ph) stores spread across the Philippines, but as the Filipino

economy grows, so, too, does the demand for more formalized convenience stores, and Japanese players like 7-Eleven and Mini Stop have been quick to

take note.

The latest newcomer to the Philippines is Lawson, Japan's second biggest convenience store brand.

JOHN HOUSE, LAWSON: We're currently in our flagship store.

LU STOUT: John House says Lawson aims to open 500 stores in the Philippines by 2020. There are currently 25, all located in Manila.

HOUSE: We partnered with Lawson specifically because they are a strong Japanese convenience store brand. We have special products that's only

found in the Philippines, so we have this charcoal bamboo soft serve ice cream that's only available here.

The other is Karinderia concept. Karinderia it's a local term for eatery in the Philippines.

LU STOUT: In its overseas expansion, Lawson is eyeing ASEAN as a key region of growth and the Philippines represents one of its biggest

opportunities. According to Nielsen, the country has just a fraction of the convenience stores per capita compared

to most other Asian countries. In saturated markets like Taiwan, there are upwards of 2,000 people per convenience store. In the Philippines, there

are more than 30,000 people per store.

HOUSE: The total stores in the Philippines is maybe just 2,000. In other markets in Asia, they

probably have 8,000 stores or 10,000 stores.

We feel it's a good opportunity, Philippines, the growing population, a lot more middle income workforce coming in. People on the go, which is the

target market for convenience stores.

LU STOUT: For consumer analysts, like Mark Angeles, the convenience store boom in recent

years is a sign of growth.

MARK ANGELES, MARKET ANALYST: It indicates disposable income is growing rapidly here in the Philippines.

You need two things to grow the CBS (ph). One is disposable income, two is the urbanization, and that in my view might take a long time.

LU STOUT: So, while sorry-sorry (ph) stores may not be going anywhere soon, companies like Lawson are betting that more Filipinos may one day opt

for what's convenient.

ANGELES: At one point the sorry-sorry (ph) store owner will have to evolve. I think the sorry-sorry (ph) are sustainable for now. But in the

long run, when disposable incomes are rising, they will have to shift to something more like a convenience store.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

LU STOUT: There are opportunities everywhere. And that is News Stream. I'm Kristie Lu Stout.

END