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Quest Means Business

Brussels on Lockdown. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired November 23, 2015 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:00]

RICHARD QUEST, HOST: Not huge changes during the course of the first trading day of the week when all was said and down 26 points and we have a

-- oh, look at that, a strong robust gavel to bring trading to a close on Monday. It's the 23rd of November.

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QUEST: A short time ago an item resembling a suicide vest has been discovered in Paris. We'll tell you what the police have discovered. Also

Brussels tonight still in lock down. We find out what the state of high alert means if you're traveling to the EU's capital.

And take two pills for relief from high taxation and call the accountant in the morning. Pfizer ties up a mega merger with Allergan and the tax man

wonders why.

I'm Richard Quest, live in New York where I mean business.

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QUEST: Good evening, our coverage begins tonight with breaking news. An item that appears to be an explosive vest contains explosive TATP and bolts

according to CNN's affiliate, BFM T.V.

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QUEST: It was found in a garbage can in the Paris suburb of Montrogue. BMF T.V. says the explosive is the same time used by the Paris attackers ten

days ago. Our correspondent, Ivan Watson, is in Paris tonight.

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QUEST: Ivan, what do we know about this vest? Was it abandoned or was it awaiting explosion?

IVAN WATSON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: What we know is that the Paris police confirmed to CNN that there was a suspect item found in a

trash can in this neighborhood of Montrogue and subsequently BFM T.V., our affiliate here in France reporting that it does appear to be some kind of a

suicide belt, that it did have the explosive TATP, that's an explosive that was believed to have been used in the other suicide belts on the night of

November 13th.

Also an explosive found in an apartment rented by suspected ISIS members in Belgium in (inaudible) last January in what resulted in a shootout with

Belgian authorities.

So that is an explosive that has been used previously. And reports that it contained some kind of metal bolts which could have been potentially used

as shrapnel Richard.

We know that La Monde, the French newspaper and BFM T.V. say that according to French authorities the phone of Salah Abdeslam, he's one of the suspects

in the Paris attacks, it was tracked to the area of Montrogue after the terror attacks on November 13th.

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WATSON: So it is possible and this is still conjecture, that maybe this was a suicide belt discarded by the fugitive suspect who is still missing after

those terrible atrocities were committed nearly weeks ago. Richard.

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QUEST: Ivan, before we leave you, give me an idea tonight of the mood in Paris because obviously a week on from despicable acts but this constant

security alert ratified even further tonight by the finding of this vest and it seems that the streets are fairly clear.

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WATSON: Well I mean here we are. We're on the edge of Paris. As you can see you know cafes do have patrons, people are going out, they are eating.

They're still going out. The mood is a little more somber many people tell me and many of the cafes are not quite as full as they might be but on a

Monday night you've got - you've got have people out in the restaurants and people moving around in the streets.

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WATSON: So life has not come to a complete halt in this city. It is unusual, we were over at the (Comedie Nationale) and seeing soldiers on

foot patrol in camouflage uniforms walking around with automatic weapons. That's an unusual sight.

We do not see the muscular display of force that you see in Brussels, the capitol of Belgium, a neighbor to France, where schools have been closed

down. There have been warnings, for example, schools in France and parents are urged not to spend a lot of time dropping their children off. The

Administrators of schools have been authorized to search children's backpacks when they go in. But it is not the complete lock down that we

have seen in Brussels. At this point life in France does continue to go on.

QUEST: Ivan Watson, who is in Paris this evening, Ivan, thank you. And later in this program we will be in Brussels where we'll be talking about

exactly those security issues that Ivan was referring to.

[16:05:10]

QUEST: Tonight Pfizer has made good on its plans to dodge the U.S. tax man and clenches the biggest merger of 2015. And one of the -- if not -- I

think it's the second largest merger in history.

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QUEST: Pfizer. Now Pfizer is the maker of drugs such as Viagra and is based in New York. So Pfizer is a New York based company. That much is quite

clear. It has obviously global operations but it is operationally and corporately based in New York.

It's merging with Allergan which is the company behind Botox, and Allergan is based in Dublin. Put the two together and you end up with a new company

that's called Pfizer it's worth $160 billion and they join forces to become the world's largest pharmaceutical company, obviously ahead of GSK. And the

company will still be known as Pfizer and the operational headquarters will be in New York. But for legal and tax purposes, the corporate headquarters

will be in Ireland.

The result, one of America's biggest companies immigrating in a so-called inversion and it's the latest to leave in search of lower taxation.

Pfizer's Chief Executive, Ian Reid insists the deal makes good business sense.

IAN READ, CHAIRMAN AND CEO, PFIZER: It's about bringing two great companies together. They have good research. They have complimentary pipelines both

in many ways in terms of therapeutic areas and in term of timing.

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QUEST: So that's how Pfizer wished to portray it in the announcement that they put out. But the reality is the deal bring Pfizer's tax rate down

from the 25% it currently pays in the United States to roughly 17% that it pays in Ireland. The Obama administration has denounced these so-called tax

inversions and is trying to make them more difficult.

Despite the criticism and new tougher rules it's been a popular year for inversions. Have a look.

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QUEST: The medical defense maker Medtronic adverted up to (inaudible) went up towards Ireland when it bought its rival.

Burger King did an inversion when it bought Tim Horton's. Burger King was the larger company but suddenly Burger King is now a Canadian company, the

executives say the deal was only for growth. Critics will say tax avoidance will save hundreds of millions of dollars.

New rules from the U.S. Treasury have of course scuppered some deals. Avi walked away from a deal that would have inverted into Shire in the U.K.

Speaking earlier though on this particular deal, the Pfizer deal and the issue of inversion, the Irish Finance Minister said his biggest priority

with these deals is to make sure that jobs weren't lost.

MICHAEL NOONAN, IRISH FINANCE MINISTER: They're obviously doing it for tax advantages because Allergan they have their corporate headquarters in

Ireland and the merged entity now would have its corporate headquarters in Ireland. But we are not pushing for inversion. The idea never promotes

inversion. It's a decision by the two companies.

Our interests will be to ensure that not only are there low job losses but that extra jobs (inaudible).

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QUEST: Joining me now is David Crow, the Senior U.S. Business Correspondent at the Financial Times here in New York. Good to see you sir.

DAVID CROW, SENIOR U.S> BUSINESS CORRESPONDENT, FINANCIAL TIMES: Thanks for having me.

QUEST: This inversion, it's a highly political issue at the moment on both sides of the political aisle. But there's nothing to stop companies doing

it. Is this deal inverted purely because of the tax benefits?

CROW: I don't think this deal would be happening were it not for the tax benefits.

And while there's nothing that the government can do to stop it. That doesn't mean that the political pressure, the climate, the problem that

will come out in the Presidential Campaign, couldn't pose a problem for it further down the line.

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QUEST: By inverting they save from 25 to 17 or so percent. When you said the deal wouldn't be happening - if - you're basically saying if they had

to remain with U.S. then all the other underlying reasons of growth, product mix, distribution, future profit growth counts for naught.

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CROW: Most analyst investors say that Pfizer would be buying something else were it not for the tax benefits.

QUEST: And those tax benefits, how difficult is it to actually stop the inversions? Because the congress and the administration has attempted and

we saw with Abbey and Shire, failed on that.

CROW: The Treasury can sort of tweak the rules if you like but without new laws in congress there's nothing that they can do to stop them. They can

try to frustrate them, they can try to cause a headache for the companies but they cannot physically stop them from doing the inversion.

[16:10:-00]

QUEST: There's an argument that says if Ireland or the U.K. is prepared to let them have a lower tax rate, good on them. Let them do it. It's up to

the U.S. to lower it's - I mean the the top headline tax rate is 35% on corporations. 25% in this particular case.

CROW: I mean there's nobody - nobody, not the companies, not the President, nobody in congress thinks that the U.S. tax system is fit for purpose. The

problem is that Washington is in complete gridlock and there's no way of actually reforming the U.S. tax code. What Obama would say and has said is

you and I can't go to Ireland and put out you know a letter box in Ireland and slash our tax rates so why should Pfizer be allowed to do it instead.

QUEST: Let's talk about this. The candidates are gearing up for next year's Presidential election and the candidates gearing up for this

election were quick to give us their thoughts.

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QUEST: First of all, Bernie Sanders tweeted "this merger will be a disaster for Americans that pay the highest prices in the world for prescription

drugs." Hillary Clinton was also critical. "This proposed merger and so call inversions by other companies will leave U.S. taxpayers holding the

bag. We cannot delay cracking down on inversions that erode our tax base." But there's not much they can do about it. It's the way the system is set

up.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

CROW: There's not much they can do about it but the political system does matter. You'll remember that Ian Read tried an inversion once before. He

tried to buy Astra Zeneca in the U.K.

Now there was no rule then, there was no law then either that stopped him from doing so. But in the face of sustained pressure from the British

political class he decided to pull out. And it's a long time until this deal has actually done it. It's right at the back end of next year and

there's a lot of time for things to go wrong. They'll have to have the you know gal to stand up to the political pressure.

QUEST: Thank you for joining us.

CROW: Thank you for having me.

QUEST: Thank you.

Now shares in both Pfizer and Allergan fell in New York.

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QUEST: The stocks were down around 3% at the end of the session. It was a bumpy ride. A look at the broader market and you see the DOW down up, down

up, and finally most of the afternoon was spent down but well off the lows of the day.

We're going to return to the breaking news in this hour at the center of Europe.

It's a ghost town as police are hunting for terrorists and the Belgian Prime Minister says he wants life to get back to normal as soon as

possible. Its Quest Means Business.

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QUEST: Allow me to update you on the latest from Paris. CNN's affiliate BFM T.V. says an article found a short time ago in Paris contains explosives.

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[16:15:09]

QUEST: The very type used by the Paris attackers, 10 days ago. The police say the object which resembles a suicide vest was found in a garbage can.

Meanwhile not far away in Belgium in Brussels they remain - The city remains on partial lock down. One man has been arrested in the area on

Sunday night and has been charged in connection with the Paris attacks. No weapons or explosives have been found in Sunday's raid. And crucially Salah

Abdeslam, a key suspect remains at large.

Speaking a short time ago the Belgian Prime Minister said the capital will remain at the highest terror level until next week.

CNN's Fred Pleitgen is in Brussels tonight and says not surprisingly perhaps people there are on edge.

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FREDERICK PLEITGEN, CNN SENIOR INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: The EU's administrative capital under a defacto state of lockdown. Cops and soldiers

patrol through empty streets as the subway system, schools and many shops remain shut because of the terror alert. Many parents keeping their

children indoors.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: We're trying to go out just in the mornings and with the shopping in the mornings and after that; -- after the night arrives we just

stay at home.

PLEITGEN: Belgian authorities continue to conduct raids hoping to catch Salah Abdeslam believed to have fled here after participating in the Paris

attacks but authorities are also trying to foil what the government believes could be an imminent terror plot

Many business owners are shutting down heeding the government's advice to prevent larger gatherings of people which could be vulnerable to attack.

The police and the military certainly are making their presence felt here on the streets of Belgium's capital. There are military vehicles patrolling

the area and also soldiers on the ground standing guard especially in places that are highly frequented by tourists.

Management of the AB Concert Hall has decided to cancel all shows for the entire week. Also because a music hall was one of the venues hit by

terrorists in the Paris attacks the man in charge says.

DIRK DE CLIPPELEIR, MANAGER, AB CONCERT HALL: We shouldn't take any risks. Not for the public, not for the people who work here, not for the artists

themselves.

PLEITGEN: Soldiers on the streets of a European capital, unthinkable for most only a few weeks ago but now a harsh reality for the residents of

Brussels who are carrying on as best they can hoping the scare will end soon.

Fred Pleitgen, CNN, Brussels.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Now as you saw there the shops, and the Metro, and the schools in the capital are all shut. Most of the raids carried out by police have

focused on the suburb of Molenbeek.

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QUEST: If you can see just over here on our map. While many people in Brussels heeded official warnings to stay indoors, European ministers were

on the other hand out in force. Because also in Brussels on the other side of the city in the headquarters, if you like of Euroland, there's the

(inaudible) building, the Euro group's finance ministers met just a few kilometers away from Molenbeek. Other nonessential meetings have been

cancelled.

We can now speak to Olivier Daloze who is the Press Director for Wallonie- Bruxelles Tourism

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QUEST: He joins me now from Brussels. Sir I obviously understand tonight that you have an exceptionally difficult task which in the face of the

security threat pales into insignificance in some respects.

But let me give you one story. A friend of mine who was flying to Brussels tonight on a week's holiday decided instead to go to Italy. You can

understand people making that choice.

OLIVIER DALOZE, PRESS DIRECTOR< WALLONIE-BRUXELLES TOURIS: Well I can't say I don't understand them because of what's happening now but all we hope is

that it will be ending soon. I am confident in the fact that our government is doing what's needed and we feel, in fact, strangely quite

safe now because all the military and all the police in the streets doing their job and trying to protect us.

QUEST: So what more do you think you can now do or is it really just a question of allowing time to pass? Because clearly you know with a

security, a partial lock down meetings cancelled, schools cancelled, (inaudible) cancelled, you're just going to have to ride this out.

DALOZE: Yes, we have to wait and go back to normal after that. Well, it's knowing it's weird.

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[16:20:00]

DALOZE: But talking with people around me we don't really feel scared. We understand it has to be done to find the people, the terrorists and so on,

and to go back to normal life and enjoy life again. But it's the same in Paris but without the explosions.

QUEST: And you talk about normal life. I mean obviously as you'll understand I've been to Brussels many times and enjoyed your fine food and

entertainment. But I wonder what will normal life look like in Brussels after this.

DALOZE: Well enjoying the Christmas markets, eating Belgian waffles, drinking beers, enjoying chocolates and so on. I mean go back (inaudible)

to shops, enjoying restaurants and so on. So go back to what Brussels is like, a living city, a warm welcome city with friendly people from all over

the world, and enjoying each other.

QUEST: And do you think you will have to have a large campaign, an advertising campaign, a PR campaign after this to basically say Brussels is

open for business, Brussels is safe?

DALOZE: I don't know. We will count on you and all the media of course to give the right information when all of this would be over and that Brussels

is safe again. Which it is now with all the forces in the streets. But well yes, will count on you, all the journalists to help us to give back

that message that Brussels is a nice right city to come to.

QUEST: Sir, thank you for joining us this evening, lovely Christmas lights in the background there. Olivier joining me from the Belgian capital in

Brussels. Later in the program we're going to be live in Paris on the other side of the story of course how the threat of attacks is - whether likely

or almost certainly going to hit tourism.

Also an environmental disaster in Brazil, that is getting worse.

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QUEST: The toxic waste that escaped when the dam collapsed is now poisoning rivers and it has even reached the Atlantic Ocean. We'll talk about that.

Quest Means Business, live from New York.

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[16:25:04]

QUEST: Quest Means Business from New York. Mud from Mariana mine disaster in Brazil has now reached the Atlantic Ocean which is 500 kilometers away

from where the dam burst.

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QUEST: Barriers erected along the Doce River failed to contain the sludge. It's been nearly three weeks since the dam holding back waste liquid from

an iron oil mine burst. It flooded into the town of Bento Rodrigues and killed at least 11 people.

Shasta Darlington's in Rio for us.

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QUEST: Shasta, the -- to be clear, do we know the toxicity of this water as it has gone down and into other rivers. There is now real evidence of fish

dying and elevated levels of chemicals.

SHASTA DARLINGTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Richard.

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DARLINGTON: And what we heard from the Environmental Minister is that all of the shores along the river, the water bed these been destroyed and she

is saying it could take 30 years for them to recover. And now of course, as you mentioned it's hit the Atlantic Ocean so the coastline along the state

of Espirto Santo which is rich with marine life and it's actually a key area for turtle sanctuaries, about 9 kilometers of that coastline has also

been covered with this mud, this toxic sludge.

So, on the one hand they don't want the residents drinking it, about 200,000 people have been left without drinking water, it's gooing up the

water systems. To be fair, Samarco which is jointly owned by BHP Billiton and by Brazil's Valley is supplying drinking water. But what you see are

these just incredible images of people lining up to get their bottles of water. To get jugs to cook with.

So they are coming up with short-term solutions while they really determine what the long term damage will be.

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DARLINGTON: But the anger and frustration are just rising as it goes from drinking water to the dead fish affecting the fishermen, to the

environmental disaster. It just seems like it's one layer of tragedy on top of another, Richard.

QUEST: Is there a feeling as a result of what you just said that the government either is helpless in all of this or it's one of those

situations where there is nothing that can be done? This is something that's going to have to play itself out.

DARLINGTON: Well Richard, there's definitely a feeling that it's too little too late.

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DARLINGTON: You know we've been talking about this for two and a half weeks now. From the very beginning people wanted to know why there wasn't a

warning system in place. If there had been a warning system when those dams burst some of the people who were down on Bento Rodrigues might still be

alive. Their homes would have been destroyed no doubt, but they might still be alive.

They've found now 12 bodies and there's still 11 people missing. So this is also a human tragedy and not just environmental tragedy. And on top of that

they want to know why there weren't more stringent regulations in place. What allowed these dams to become so vulnerable if there couldn't have been

more stringent regulations. That's being discussed in congress. There have been fines levied on Samarco, but we're talking about under $100 million.

They're calling that peanuts considering the Environmental Minister says this is the country's worst environmental disaster ever.

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DARLINGTON: Samarco and its owners have pledged to set up an emergency fund for cleanup and other things but the fine in and of itself is pretty small,

Richard.

QUEST: Shasta, in Rio, thank you.

When we come back, as we continue our coverage, we've already heard about the economic impact in Brussels when it comes to tourism.

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QUEST: Paris of course where the explosions took place and where the security alerts continue. We're going to discuss the economic impact of a

capitol city that finds itself under threat and potentially under siege.

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[16:32:12] QUEST: Hello, I'm Richard Quest. There's more "Quest Means Business" in a moment when the new Argentine president puts on his dancing

shoes to celebrate a big election victory and everybody wonders what the new policies will involve.

And Iran believes it can be a global energy power within the next ten years. You're going to hear from the deputy petroleum minister.

Before all of that, this is CNN and on this network the news always comes first.

An item that appears to be a suicide vest containing bolts and explosives has been found in a garbage can in the south of Paris according to BFMTV,

CNN's affiliate.

It says the explosive was the same as the one used by the Paris attackers ten days ago.

Authorities in Belgium have charged one man in connection with the terrorist attacks in Paris. It follows a series of raids by the police on

Sunday.

No weapons or explosives have been found, neither was Salah Abdeslam, a key suspect in the attacks. The Belgium prime minister has said Brussels will

remain at the highest terror alert level until next week.

France has launched anti-ISIS airstrikes from the aircraft carrier Charles de Gaulle on Monday. Some of the attacks were in support of Iraqi ground

troops who are fighting ISIS in Ramadi and Mosul.

France has already been attacking ISIS from the air, but Monday's strikes were the first to be launched from the carrier.

Mali's president says the world must work together to fight terrorism.

The country is observing a three-day mourning period after Friday's terrorist attack at a luxury hotel. At least 20 people had been killed

when the government stormed the Radisson Blu Hotel.

Two Islamic terror groups have claimed responsibility. The president told CNN's David McKenzie worldwide solidarity is what's needed.

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MALE REPORTER: How will Mali respond to this threat and do you request help from the international community?

IBRAHIM BOUBACAR KEITA, MALI PRESIDENT: Any country would need support and help, and that support and that help have been given to our country since

by the United States, by the French government.

It's only through international solidarity that we'll be able to win and to beat the () monster.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

QUEST: Media reports in Myanmar say that 100 people killed by a landslide at the jade mine now stands at 104.

The landslide happened two days ago when a huge mound of waste material from the mine collapsed onto workers' living quarters are they were

sleeping.

The military is helping with the rescue and recovery operation.

The companies that make Botox and Viagra are coming together in one of the biggest corporate deals in history. Worth $160 billion, the merger of

Allergan and Pfizer will create the world's largest pharmaceutical company.

[16:35:09] The merger requires the approval of shareholders and regulators.

Ten days after the deadly Paris attacks and now there is concern that's being raised over the impact on the French economy.

In November the French private sector activity it grew at its slowest pace in some three months. The p-circle (ph) PMI was down to 51.3. You

remember over 50 shows growth but just barely.

The service industry in particular has slowed. According to markets, some businesses are already reporting a drop in confidence after the terror

attacks.

CNN's Jim Bittermann now reports on the impact that all this is happening on one of France's - and particularly Paris' - most important economic

engines - the tourism industry.

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JIM BITTERMANN, CNN'S SENIOR EUROPEAN CORRESPONDENT BASED IN PARIS: At the world-famous Bristol Hotel in Paris, the lobby has been unusually quiet and

with reason.

DIDIER LE CALVEZ, CEO, LE BRISTOL HOTEL: Probably business went down 50 percent over the week following the attack, but that's to be expected and

that's understanding.

BITTERMANN: Understandable perhaps because Le Calvez has been through this before. He saw the cancellations come in immediately after the January

attack at Charlie Hebdo.

It took six months to business to come back to normal levels.

At other hotels the story's the same or worse. The tourists have been voting with their feet.

BOUNNI, SURGEON: I was in this hotel and I can tell you that half of the rooms was empty.

ONEAL BULLAH, MUSICIAN: I'm coming from Germany and a lot of people had cancelled their ticket and having fear of traveling to Paris this moment.

BITTERMANN: Across Paris the story is much the same. The Restaurant Association says business is off by nearly 40 percent.

Caterers say they've lost 80 percent of their business as events have been cancelled.

In France those numbers are especially important. Seven percent of the nation's gross domestic product comes from travel and tourism. Hundreds of

thousands of jobs are involved.

Over at the Paris Tourist Office, it's not so much the present as the future that raises concern.

NICOLAS LEFEBVRE, DIRECTOR, PARIS TOURISM OFFICE: What is important is watching will come for Christmas and New Year's Eve which is very important

for the tourist industry in Paris.

BITTERMANN: The government is keenly aware of what a huge hit the tourist sector has and will take from the attacks and called together the

industry's representatives to listen to their woes and see what could be done, especially in the way of a reassuring communication strategy.

MATTHIAS FEKL, DEPUTY TOURISM MINISTER, FRANCE: For those who are in doubt right now, I want to say that they are most welcome here and more than ever

we will be glad to host them. Everything is done for their security here.

BITTERMANN: France is arguable the top travel destination in the world. Some tourists will no doubt visit Paris no matter what.

But the reality is that after two major terrorist attacks this year, the French travel industry is in somewhat fragile shape. Anything further that

makes tourists jittery could have a devastating economic effect.

Jim Bittermann, CNN Paris.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

QUEST: Vanguelas Panayotis is the chief operating officer at Tourism Marketing Company - MKG Group - joins me now from Paris.

Obviously there is always going to be a downturn after an attack like this. Is this downturn that you're seeing much worse than you might have

expected?

VANGUELAS PANAYOTIS, CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER, MKG GROUP: I mean, no one can really expect what could be the downturn.

So I think according to the size and the impact of the attack, we can compare either to what happened in January with the Charlie Hebdo attack or

even 9/11 in New York.

So usually there is a very quick and sharp drop in tourism but it tacks (ph) slowly, slowly back to normal.

QUEST: And what are the concerns that you are hearing about? Is it simply one of, I don't want to go on holiday to Paris because I don't feel safe?

PANAYOTIS: Yes, of course people are very concerned about safety. But let me give you some insight. Right after the attack, the drop was about 35

percent in all the hotel industry in Paris.

But mostly coming from the long-haul clientele being the Asian on one hand and also North America, and those clientele are much more sensitive to

security issues, where in Europe the second biggest inbound tourists in Paris is mostly U.K., Germany or Italy.

And those people are more familiar with the region and they feel slightly more secure so we guess that they're going to come back more quicker than

the long-haul clientele.

[16:40:01]QUEST: Obviously, you know, we never count, if you like, dollars or euros before we count lives. But if you look out to the future, it is

absolutely essential that the government - that the president and the government - does create an air of security and safety or the industry is

not going to recover as fast as it would.

PANAYOTIS: First of all, let me remind you that 30th of November there is this climate summit in Paris, and this is what happened also after general

initially (ph) Charlie Hebdo attack they held Fashion Week in Paris.

So after two weeks - two weeks after - the Charlie Hebdo attack, the Fashion Week and the impact was almost nonvisible on the hotel industry.

So, no, we're expecting that on the 30th of November, there will be a lot of delegation - obviously slightly less than one expected - but still it

will give us some fresh air on the industry.

But also keep in mind that there is a lot of business travelers coming to Paris -

QUEST: Vanguelas, --

PANAYOTIS: -- and those might come more quicker.

QUEST: -- right, but what is the one thing now that the travel and tourism industry wants from the government?

PANAYOTIS: I think definitely they need to get some help to have some fresh cash coming in their industry. So most probably maybe some tax cuts

or some saving on the charges to run the hotels, so just to overcome this period which is a very tough period.

And also to keep a very high level of security so to make everyone feel very comfortable going around in Paris and also please remind you that

there were no tourist sites that were attacked.

That was the French who were attacked during this terrorist attack and seen that kind of way of life (ph) there were no - the Eiffel Tower was safe,

the museum was safe and actually they just opened two or three days after the attack.

QUEST: Thank you, sir. Thank you for joining us from a beautiful-looking Paris this evening.

PANAYOTIS: Welcome.

QUEST: In a moment Iran's deputy oil minister says the country could be shipping its gas to Europe within the next ten years. "Quest Means

Business."

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QUEST: Russia and Iran are hoping to forge closer ties on security and energy as Vladimir Putin visits Iran for the first time in some eight

years.

[16:45:03] The Russian president met the Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Monday and then they attended a summit of gas exporting

countries.

Iran's deputy oil minister told John Defterios his country could be a major energy player in the next decade, even rivaling Saudi Arabia and Russia.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

AMIR HOSSEIN ZAMANINIA, DEPUTY MINISTER OF PETROLEUM, IRAN: I believe that we have a lot of areas that we are studying and there is great potentials -

much more than South Pars.

And within ten years our production will be high and much higher I think than what Qatar is producing now.

JOHN DEFTERIOS, CNN EMERGING MARKETS EDITOR: So it's a priority in terms of your export markets are the near neighbors - Turkey, perhaps Iraq and

the Gulf States for the next five years?

ZAMANINIA: Yes. Persian Gulf countries are neighbors, to the south of Persian Gulf they're own potential market for Iranian gas except for Qatar

of course.

Pakistan, India with pipeline and then when we have access to LMG, farther places like Europe are going to be some of our markets, and of course

Southeast Asia.

DEFTERIOS: Let's talk about Europe. With your reserves, could you challenge in a sense Russia over the next seven to ten years to be the

counter-supplier so Russia doesn't have that stronghold over the European Union market?

ZAMANINIA: We tend to think that we can work together and find market, there will be increased demand for gas and Iran can find its market

consistent with the reserve that we have.

DEFTERIOS: That sounds very politically correct. You'll be a player in the European Union then within a decade is what you're suggesting?

ZAMANINIA: That is what I am suggesting, that we'll be in a position to supply gas to Europe if the price is right.

DEFTERIOS: How does this relationship which you suggest between Saudi Arabia and Iran benefit from energy? Can you actually see yourselves in

partnership with Saudi Arabia when it comes to natural gas?

ZAMANINIA: Everything's possible in interstate relations. Iran and Saudi Arabia are two Muslim countries, there are differences about priorities in

the region, and I think a process need to start to speak to one another and to partner in preserving and enhancing peace and security in the region.

But these are issues that may take some time. Energy is something else.

We have no immediate plan now for energy or supply of gas to Saudi Arabia, but that is a potential that can have ripple effect for other areas of

interstate relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia.

DEFTERIOS: You worry about how tense the language is between Saudi Arabia and Iran. It's almost on a daily basis we've see this, particularly when

it comes to Syria.

ZAMANINIA: It's sad, it's sad that the dialogue is taking a downturn and it's becoming harsher. But I think Iran as a major country in the region

need to manage the situation and we are.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

QUEST: Argentina's new president might not be the only one dancing after his election victory on Sunday. Even Wall Street hedge funds are feeling

optimistic - that's a party for you - about his promise to revive the country's economy. We've got that story after you have a moment to ponder

"Make, Create, Innovate."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:51:34] (CELEBRATION MUSIC PLAYING)

QUEST: That's Argentina's new president. He can certainly move. Anyway, he's promising to bring order to the country's troubled economy after of

course he's shown the fancy work that he can do.

Mauricio Macri scored a surprise victory in Sunday's election. In the past decade Argentina's endured debt crisis, massive inflation, disappointing

economic growth.

Now Macri is promising to get the country back on track.

(BEGIN VIDEOCLIP)

MAURICIO MACRI, ARGENTINIAN PRESIDENT ELECT, VIA INTERPRETER: We believe in an Argentina that is orderly and that really generates conditions so

that it can start growing again and investment comes back.

There is only going to be one kind of currency where the central bank intervenes in an orderly fashion so that it is managed in steps, as it

should be.

(END VIDEOCLIP)

QUEST: Macri says reforms will take time and he's planning to rewrite the rules of the Argentinian economy. Calling on the central bank officials to

step down, he wants to install his own people.

The liberalizing the economy including closer ties with the United States.

And of course his key priority is dealing with the hedge funds investors who have won various court cases. Miguel Kiguel was the undersecretary of

finance in Argentina in the 1990s. He joins me now via Skype from Buenos Aires.

Sir, good to see you. Thank you. How radical - how radical and how quickly do you think Macri needs to move to get a grip on an economy that

most people believe is deteriorating rapidly?

MIGUEL KIGUEL, FORMER UNDERSECRETARY OF FINANCE, ARGENTINA: I mean, there are many angles into Argentina's economy.

I think that there is some issues that will take time to solve - for instance Argentina has a large budget deficit at the moment of over 7

percent of GDP and that will not be easy to cure it, it will take time.

But I think - and then you know Argentina has rampant inflation at around 30 percent per annum. But these are things that will take to solve.

I mean, it's very difficult to think that you can solve these issues overnight.

On the other hand, there are other aspects that Argentina needs to tackle very quickly. First, you have the issue of the debt. As you mentioned,

Argentina's in default. It urgently needs money to restore reserves, and I think that, you know, that should be a priority - one of the priorities -

of Macri's government.

The other is the exchange rate because you know the currency's strongly overvalued in Argentina --

QUEST: Right -

KIGUEL: -- and it's out of policies that have been misleading and especially now in an environment in which Brazil, our main trading partner,

had depreciated the currency.

QUEST: So whichever way you look at it, and if you're talking about a depreciation of the currency, you're talking about a cutting of the debt.

Even in dealing with inflation which one assumes will be done with traditional higher interest rates and fiscal spending cuts, Argentinians,

are they ready for the harder austerity that will have to come to put this economy back on track.

KIGUEL: I think first that Argentinians by and large are not aware of the complexity and the difficulty that Macri will encounter.

[16:55:07] I think that they still think that if you look at, for instance, consumer confidence in Argentina continues to be very high.

Expected inflation - the last figure we have is around 20 percent - when we know next year it's going to be much higher than that.

So I think that they're not really ready to get the bad news, but on the other hand I would say that chances are that this time the adjustment that

is needed in Argentina will not be off (ph) recessionally (ph)as in previous years because there's a hope that Argentina can get the investment

that it didn't get over these years and that it can get a capital influx that Argentina hasn't gotten in the last four to seven/47 (ph) years.

QUEST: Sir, thank you. We'll talk more about it as the economy moves forward. We will have a "Profitable Moment" after the break. "Quest Means

Business."

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: Tonight's "Profitable Moment." It's really quite simple - if the U.S. doesn't like tax inversion with corporate mergers, then they need to

change the rules.

But don't blame the companies for doing it. As a famous English judge once said, "It is every man's duty to avoid paying taxes. It is no man's duty

to evade paying." All Pfizer's doing is avoiding.

And that's "Quest Means Business" for this Monday night. I'm Richard Quest in New York.

Whatever you're up to in the hours ahead, -- (RINGS BELL) I do hope it's profitable, and I'll see you tomorrow.

END