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Quest Means Business

Trump Says He Will Discuss Tomahawk With Zelenskyy; Chinese Airline Protest U.S. Plan To Ban Flights Over Russia; Eamsiri: We Can Compete With Gulf Carriers; Prince Andrew Giving Up Royal Titles After Series Of Scandals; Donald Trump Says China "Forced" Him To Threaten A 100 Percent Tariff; Minor International Founder On Starting Company At 17. Aired 4-5p ET

Aired October 17, 2025 - 16:00   ET

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

[16:00:16]

RICHARD QUEST, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST, "QUEST MEANS BUSINESS": Closing bell ringing on Wall Street back in New York, it is a strong session. The Dow

with exceptionally of a little wobble earlier on in the session. Otherwise, all the three major indices are higher at the end of a busy week. Hitting

the gavel, trading is over. The markets are shaking off banking concerns.

Good evening from Bangkok in Thailand, where I've been speaking to some of the country's very top CEOs.

PAULA NEWTON, CNN INTERNATIONAL HOST: And I am Paula Newton in New York with the latest on President Donald Trump's meeting with Ukraine's

Volodymyr Zelenskyy at The White House.

QUEST: Together, we are with you on Friday, October the 17th. Together, Paula and Richard, we mean business.

NEWTON: Good evening, everyone, and we will be with Richard in a moment. But first, U.S. President Donald Trump says he believes he can end the war

in Ukraine. He said that while hosting Volodymyr Zelenskyy at The White House, Zelenskyy's visit follows a long call yesterday between President

Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Zelenskyy questioned whether Russia is ready to negotiate. He said the U.S. can help him put pressure on the Kremlin through military support. The two

were set to discuss arming Kyiv with tomahawk missiles, a long range weapon capable of striking deep inside Russia.

Trump suggested they are too important for the U.S. to hand over. Listen.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

DONALD TRUMP (R), PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: They are an amazing weapon. They're a very powerful weapon, but they're a very

dangerous weapon and it could mean big escalation. It could mean a lot of bad things can happen.

Tomahawks are a big deal, but one thing I have to say, we want tomahawks also. We don't want to be giving away things that we need to protect our

country.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

NEWTON: Kevin Liptak is in Washington for us and Nick Paton Walsh has been following developments from London.

Kevin, I want to start with you. What has been going on in The White House? The last 24 hours, a lot of activity on this file. But has it really

changed anything from what you've seen so far?

KEVIN LIPTAK, CNN SENIOR WHITE HOUSE REPORTER: Yes, and I think Zelenskyy when he was coming to The White House today, was really of the hope that

President Trump would come along on these tomahawk missiles and there were plenty of signs that the President was warming to this idea, and I think

over the course of at least the public session of this working lunch that has now concluded, we just saw Zelenskyy leave The White House, it was

pretty clear that Zelensky saw those tomahawks essentially slipping through his fingers.

It was pretty clear that the President is not eager to send those, at least in the near term. He says that he thinks that they may have brought

Vladimir Putin to the negotiating table. Of course, they spoke yesterday and they agreed to meet in the near term in Budapest. And when the

President was speaking across the table from Zelenskyy, it was pretty clear that those tomahawks will not be supplied, at least until he meets with

Putin and gets a better sense on whether he is eager to end the war. So I think a pretty notable sort of disappointment, perhaps from Zelenskyy

although I am not sure he would characterize it that way.

The other thing that the President made mention of, and this is not sort of an illegitimate point, which is that these tomahawks are not in limitless

supply. There are some concerns about the supply base in the United States that it hasn't necessarily been able to keep up with what the U.S. has been

providing to Ukraine in terms of other weapons over the course of this conflict, and the President suggesting that the U.S. supplies could be

dwindling if potentially another conflict were to spring up.

And so I think, at least on the tomahawks, it is evident that not much progress was made, and in fact, the President did say that he thinks Putin

now wants to end the war, which is somewhat reminiscent of how the President was sounding before his meeting with Putin in Alaska in August.

He seemed pretty confident that that would result in some sort of peace deal. Of course, time has told us that that was not necessarily the case,

and the President had seemed to be more and more down on Putin over the last several weeks, saying that he thought Putin had disappointed him by

not sort of leveraging their personal relationship to bring an end to this conflict.

There was a very interesting moment in this meeting, though, and I think it was probably telling of the President's mindset in all of this when he was

asked whether he was concerned that Putin was just making a play for time, essentially stringing him along. And the President said, yes, I am

concerned about that, but that "I've been played all my life by the best of them," but that he has come out on the top in the end of all of that.

And so the President is still very confident in his deal-making abilities, even though I am not sure that there is anything in Putin's sort of words

or actions over the last several weeks that shows he has any more committed to ending this war than he was just a few months ago.

[16:05:20]

NEWTON: Yes, and that is the problem as far as the President Zelenskyy is concerned.

Nick, you know, on the ground, can you kind of try and give us the state of play here? And I mean, on the battlefield, is there anything happening

there to give either Ukraine or Russia any kind of leverage points at the negotiating table? I mean, we've had a lot of discussion about tomahawks,

but would they actually change the trajectory of this war?

NICK PATON WALSH, CNN CHIEF INTERNATIONAL SECURITY CORRESPONDENT: Yes, I mean, lets deal with tomahawks first up, because, I mean, we've been

hearing President Trump there joked about how when he spoke to Putin yesterday, he joked about do you want me to send thousands of tomahawks?

Well, they haven't got that. At the best, it might take them months to deliver 20, maybe 50 tomahawks that they could potentially spare to

Ukraine, each with a $2 million price tag.

So, you know, we are not talking about weapons that would fundamentally overnight change the dynamic of the war, but obviously for $2 million,

you're going to have to choose your targets very carefully. Another point, too, Ukraine's long range drones can strike as deep into Russia as some

tomahawks would do, although not as effective or fast.

So a lot of complicated calculations around the tomahawks, if they even went, but let's not lose sight of the fact that we now have President

Trump, who always seemed so friendly towards Putin, very clearly using the threat of military force, yes, via a proxy of Europeans buying the weapons

to give to Ukraine to fire, but the threat of military force against Russia, if it doesn't come to the negotiating table.

Now, he may get played again. Yes, certainly. But there is another change, too, I think, which has happened that potentially is also not so much in

Putin's favor. Moscow has thrown pretty much everything it seems to have into a summer offensive that has taken a lot of ground, but it has been

mostly relatively inconsequential villages or open ground or terrain. He hasn't managed to take the key towns that have been in his sights.

Now, he may do in the weeks or months ahead, potentially, but he is leaving this summer offensive much vaunted and feared by Ukraine as it was with

minimal things to show for it to his allies of China, and even, you might argue, India, who are financially backing Russia to some degree, and that's

a complication for Putin because he has to now, I think, assess with the gas shortages from Ukrainian strikes on oil refineries, with his manpower

shortages with the general cost this is taking upon the Russian economy, whether or not he has the capacity to pursue this war still through fall

and winter, with the same intensity, and then try again next summer to achieve the goals that he has not managed to have over the past three

years.

So a lot potentially now pressuring Putin -- Paula.

NEWTON: And looking at a calendar would certainly inform a lot of the decisions going forward on that.

Nick Paton Walsh in London, Kevin Liptak from The White House, grateful to both of you.

Now turning to Wall Street, it eked out a small gain to end the week. President Trump softened his tone on trade, telling Fox Business that an

additional 100 percent tariff on China would be unsustainable, his words. He said China forced him to make that threat.

Now, U.S. stocks clawed back some of Thursday's losses, which were triggered by concerns about the health of credit markets. Jamie Dimon of

JPMorgan Chase ignited fears this week when he referred to those issues as cockroaches and said, look, when you see one, there are likely more, and it

started with the collapse of two companies in the auto sector, First Brands and Tricolor.

Then on Thursday, two regional banks disclosed bad loans that sent their shares down more than 10 percent, and investment bank, Jefferies took a hit

after its CEO said it was defrauded by First Brands.

Now, investors are wondering whether there are -- pardon -- forgive me, the term cockroaches that will come out in these cracks.

Richard Quest joins us now from Bangkok to speak of banks and cockroaches. Richard, I am really curious. I am you know, pretty level headed about

these things. Jamie Dimon is pretty cautious. This does not seem like something that would lead to contagion, just more about market froth,

right, in this kind of an economy.

QUEST: Yes, so what was interesting about what Jamie Dimon said is he said, I probably shouldn't say this. In other words, he was speaking a truth that

dare not speak its name. And the reality is that he knows that there are more of these simply by experience, whether it be 2008, 2016, any financial

crisis that starts off with a canary in the mine, you normally find that there are others somewhere down the road, and that's been borne out by

David Solomon of Goldman Sachs, who said the same thing.

All the bank CEOs are now saying, yep, there are almost certainly other cases out there.

[16:10:10]

But now let's finish that sentence, Paula, but it is not systemic and changes in terms of risk credit premium is nowhere near what it was in

subprime crisis. Therefore, it is not going to take down the house. That's what they are saying.

NEWTON: Yes, it is not 2008 and for that, everyone should be grateful.

I do want to ask you, though, the trade shocks are still profound for these markets. I pointed out to everyone, look, we are so close to record highs

on these markets, anyway.

People are bound towards the end of the year to try and take some money off the table here.

QUEST: They're going to and I think that's again what Jamie Dimon says, the market is ripe for a correction. Whether it is justified is irrelevant. The

way the bull market has risen up, people are going to take some profits. They are going to rebalance. They're going to shift to higher ground.

We talk about trade. I am here in -- I've done a sweep through Asia. You've got Singapore, Kuala Lumpur over in Malaysia and here in Thailand with a 19

percent tariff. So you've got a variety of countries all trying to work out what is the way forward. And what is interesting, I think about it, and we

are going to talk more later in the program, is the intra-Asia trade.

Everybody is now saying intra-Asia trade is the way forward. But Paula, back to what you said on the markets. They have one eye over on the other

side of the Pacific in the United States and are worried of what will happen and how it would affect still here over in Asia.

NEWTON: Yes, and good reason to be worried there.

Richard, over to you in Thailand. We certainly have a great show ahead.

QUEST: Thank you very much indeed. We are going to hear in a moment or two, we are going to hear the conversation with the chief executive of Thai

Airways. Thai Airways is just back on the stock market, but now it is trying to restructure now what it is future direction. Also, we will talk

to the heads of a Thai energy giant and Thailand's largest hotel company. It is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS tonight, both from New York and Bangkok.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:15:01]

NEWTON: So Chinese airlines are protesting a plan from the Trump administration to bar their U.S. flights from flying over Russia. Now, the

Department of Transportation says these quicker routes put American carriers at a disadvantage, since they are currently banned, that is, the

U.S. airlines from flying over Russia.

Now, United Airlines in particular, is pushing to extend this ban to Hong Kong based carriers as well and that includes Cathay Pacific. I want you to

take a look at this flight on Wednesday from Hong Kong to New York and it clearly, as you can see here, went through Russian airspace. You can see it

there, it went through Russia actually, apparently this is not working. But you can see in Russia, there it goes, a little delayed.

Richard, if you're listening, that is "zapreshchennyy" in Russian, forbidden instead, apparently you explain this to me now because I've

looked at these routes at times and it can add an hour or two. Apparently, you've got to go in this direction now, potentially across the Atlantic.

QUEST: And so the interesting part about it is it looks as if it is longer when you put it on the map like that, because of the way the map is

constructed, but actually, it is shorter because its taking the great circle route as opposed to having to go the long way round and that has

been a feature for some time.

What happens is the aircraft, for example, United New York to Hong Kong can actually do it, but it is no longer economic at those sort of extra levels,

which is why British Airways dropped Beijing to London. It was no longer economic. You look, for example, at Shanghai across to New York. That one,

Shanghai to New York, if you look at the non-U.S. carriers, they go over the top again. It is the only and quickest way to do it. It is not economic

to do it the other way, even Beijing to Los Angeles will skirt over the eastern part of Russia, and that is economic to go the long way around,

most certainly is not.

It is one of the big issues that they're talking about airlines here, it is why many airlines are not thinking of opening up, for example, U.S. routes

at the moment.

Now, the chief executive of Thai Airways, who I met earlier in the day, says he wants to compete with the major gulf carriers. I spoke to Chai

Eamsiri here in Bangkok. He has been at his country's flag carrier for decades, but the CEO for the last two-and-a-half years, he has seen it

through bankruptcies and more.

Now, back on the stock market, debt restructured, looking to expand the fleet. And Chai told me his country gives it a unique advantage.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

CHAI EAMSIRI, CEO, THAI AIRWAYS: What is the strength of Thailand and Thai Airways? We have 77 population in Bangkok, which will be our best volume

connecting passengers on the hub will be the additional revenue that we can produce. That means we can fill up aircraft with both target passenger.

Now, direct point to point and also connecting passengers.

QUEST: So what happens on those routes?

EAMSIRI: Yes.

QUEST: Where let's say, for example, a lot of the new aircraft, the 78s, the 350s, the 321 Neos, they are very fuel efficient.

EAMSIRI: Yes.

QUEST: So, suddenly you can run Doha, Phuket, Dubai, Chiang Mai, you can actually bypass your hub.

EAMSIRI: I did the same thing that they did. Dubai-Phuket, Dubai-Chiang Mai. That's a direct traffic. In the other hand, Dubai market is -- they

don't have a local market. They don't have a home market. Why don't Thai Ways cannot compete? Same one stop.

QUEST: They are bigger. They are bigger, they have more aircraft. They can kill you on capacity and they can kill you on price.

EAMSIRI: But we have a better cost control. We will be the low cost carrier, but we will be the full service airline.

QUEST: Do you still enjoy it?

EAMSIRI: Yes, I am always amazed when I walk, especially underneath the aircraft.

QUEST: Yes.

EAMSIRI: That's how -- we can imagine that this 300-ton machine can fly up to the air.

QUEST: This is your 777s, which you're going to refit.

EAMSIRI: Yep.

QUEST: I assume single suite with a door?

EAMSIRI: Yes, yes, yes.

QUEST: Everybody is doing that.

EAMSIRI: Yes. We lead off with 14 of them.

QUEST: Yes.

EAMSIRI: Starting in the middle of '27.

QUEST: Right.

EAMSIRI: Less than two years from now.

QUEST: So the key is to get it done as fast as possible.

EAMSIRI: Yes, yes. But, this aircraft also -- we cannot do it all at the same time.

QUEST: Right. Now, what you're planning to do here in the front of it.

EAMSIRI: Yes. So the front, the first front row will be the business class.

[16:20:20]

QUEST: Yes.

EAMSIRI: Plus, we have named it yet, what we will be, but the difference is the, the first row will be more legroom, longer, bigger and bigger screen.

QUEST: So this is what --

EAMSIRI: That is a choice for the passenger.

QUEST: One of the questions asked is if you've been at this airline for a long time.

EAMSIRI: Yes, 40 years.

QUEST: That's a plus.

EAMSIRI: Yes.

QUEST: It means you know everything about it. But it is also a minus because you were part of the senior management that made all the mistakes.

EAMSIRI: Yes.

QUEST: So why are you the right person now to suddenly see the light of the new way forward?

EAMSIRI: I actually am not -- I can say I am part of the company, but I am not a part of the senior management at that time.

QUEST: So do you feel since you were CFO before and you were saying, do you feel like a man unleashed, a man free who can now do all the things that

you saw and you would say in the coffee room, why the hell aren't we doing this? We should --

EAMSIRI: This is my chance. This is my chance. This is our chance to do it because I see it true for 40 years, especially during the past 15 years, in

the past, even worse, then we think this is our chance, not only myself, my team, also.

We go through those difficult times. Then the past four years. This is a chance that we have a freedom to run our own company by ourselves. No

interference from the outside. That's why we can bring it back today.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

QUEST: The CEO of Thai Airways, "this is my chance," is his call.

It is QUEST MEANS BUSINESS tonight, Bangkok and New York and when we return, London, don't call him Duke of York anymore. Prince Andrew says he

is giving up that title after years of scandals. CNN's Max Foster will explain all.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:25:33]

NEWTON: Hello, I am Paula Newton, and there is more QUEST MEANS BUSINESS in a moment when we will discuss what comes next for President Trump's former

National Security advisor, John Bolton, after his court appearance today, and we will be back in Bangkok with Richard. He has been speaking with the

founder of Minor Hotels about the slowdown in Thai tourism.

But before that, the headlines this hour.

U.S. President Donald Trump says he hopes to bring an end to Russia's war on Ukraine without the use of tomahawk missiles. Mr. Trump was meeting with

his Ukrainian counterpart, Volodymyr Zelenskyy at The White House. Mr. Zelenskyy says bilateral security guarantees are the "most important thing"

for people in Ukraine.

U.S. officials tell CNN two survivors of a strike on an alleged drug boat in the Caribbean are now in military custody. The strike is at least the

sixth of its kind since the start of September. The U.S. has been targeting alleged smuggling vessels linked to Venezuela. Sources tell CNN, the Trump

administration has written a classified legal opinion that justifies lethal strikes on drug cartels.

Britain's Prince Andrew says he is giving up his Royal titles after a series of scandals. He says he has discussed the matter with his brother,

King Charles. Prince Andrew has faced mounting pressure over his relationship with Jeffrey Epstein and his links to an alleged Chinese spy.

He denies the accusations against him.

More than $11 billion of projects that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is being put on hold. The Director of the Office of Management and Budget,

Russell Vought says it is due to the ongoing government shutdown. He says the lower priority projects include those in Democratic cities, New York,

San Francisco and Boston.

Donald Trump's former National Security advisor appeared in court on this day after his indictment. John Bolton pleaded not guilty to 18 counts

relating to the unlawful handling of classified information. He is accused, in part, of sharing information through Google Mail and AOL. Bolton served

in the first Trump administration and has since become an outspoken critic of the President, who has called Bolton a "bad Person."

Senior justice correspondent, Evan Perez joins me now.

You have been following this case for such a long time. I mean, Evan, there are two issues here, right? Not just the political relationship between the

President and his former National Security advisor, but materially, what did we learn about this indictment?

EVAN PEREZ, CNN SENIOR JUSTICE CORRESPONDENT: Well, we know that these are very serious allegations, but prosecutors have cited here in this 26-page

indictment, are examples of what they say were John Bolton writing notes coming out of meetings at the Situation Room, for instance; coming out of

briefings with Intelligence officials and then writing himself diary entries that he sent not only to himself on his AOL and his Google Mail

accounts, but also to his wife and his daughter, who are, of course, are not authorized to possess some of this sensitive information that he had

access to as a National Security advisor for President Trump in his first term.

And so, they cite a lot of these instances, including discussions of covert operations and Intelligence briefings on foreign leaders. All of this to

show that John Bolton, in his 40 years of public service in the U.S. government, knew that these were materials that did not belong in an

insecure place like an AOL account, for instance.

And that is where this case began back in 2022, when -- back in 2021, rather, when the Iranians are believed to have hacked his account, they

even taunted him, saying that that they were going to release sensitive information from his e-mail and that it would become a bigger scandal than

the Hillary Clinton e-mail scandal.

Now, the FBI and the Justice Department have been investigating this again since that time during the Biden administration, and now, they have finally

brought this case. That's what makes this something that's a bit different from some of the cases that you've seen in the last few weeks, where cases

brought against James Comey, the former FBI director, and Letitia James, who is the Attorney General in New York.

There you saw career officials, career prosecutors, essentially distanced themselves. They didn't want anything to do with these cases. In this case,

we saw prosecutors who have been working on this case for now three years being there in court because they believe that there are serious cases --

there are serious allegations here that would be brought against John Bolton.

We don't know when the trial is going to be. The judge did not set a trial today, but they did restrict his travel. They said he has to seek

permission before he takes any international trips in the coming months -- Paula.

[16:30:41]

NEWTON: Evan Perez, thank you so much for the update. Appreciate it.

PEREZ: Thank you.

NEWTON: Now, Britain's Prince Andrew is giving up his royal titles after a series of scandals. CNN Royal Correspondent Max Foster joins me now.

I mean, Max, can you fill us in on those of us who don't follow the ins and outs of this, and we're familiar with the scandals he's been involved in,

obviously involving Jeffrey Epstein. He denies all allegations. But what does this mean to his role in the royal family? Will there be any now?

MAX FOSTER, CNN ROYAL CORRESPONDENT: I think any public role, any public prestige, any honors that he had, has all gone away now, he's going to

completely vanish from public life, unless he's caught by paparazzi, effectively.

So, after he did an interview with the BBC where he described having a relationship with Jeffrey Epstein, but denying any involvement in any of

the allegations surrounding the criminal allegations surrounding Jeffrey Epstein and, indeed, Prince Andrew. It all backfired.

But within that interview, he actually talked about this photo of him and Jeffrey Epstein in Central Park in New York, and say, you know, I broke all

ties with him then. Then just a few weeks ago, we saw an e-mail that was attained by The Sun in the Daily Mail from Prince Andrew to Epstein talking

about how they were in it together, which actually came after that photo in New York.

So, his story has become less consistent. It won't go away. Virginia Giuffre who's his main accuser, has written a book. And I think the royal

family got to the point where this scandal, they realize it just isn't going to go away. It's damaging to their public work and their public

profile, and they needed to do something to deal with this.

So, discussions happened, and he's basically -- he hasn't given up the titles. He still retains all the titles, but he's agreed not to use any of

them, apart from Prince Andrew, which is a birthright. He's going to retain that, but Duke of York is something he'll still keep, but he won't use

anymore. And he's not invited to Christmas either, so he won't be seen there. Won't be seen anywhere.

NEWTON: That is significant. Max, I want to ask you, you know, we're kind of acting as if perhaps Prince Andrew, he made this decision. But is this -

- was he pushed or, you know, do you get a sense of what's going on in this family right now?

FOSTER: Yes, so the statement was from Prince Andrew, saying that he's concluded that the continued accusations about him distract from the work

of his majesty and the royal family. So, he decided that he was going to do this.

But when you speak to royal sources, there were discussions. They involved Prince William as well, other members of the royal family. Then they had

these discussions, and then you hear that King Charles was glad at the outcome.

So, that implies that, going into these discussions, he wanted a certain outcome. So, read into that what you will, but it was pretty clear from all

the sources I've spoken to that this was, I don't necessarily know if it was driven by William or Charles, but this is something that they both

wanted.

NEWTON: Yes, they definitely need the story out of the headlines, and want the family, obviously, to go on with their royal duties without the

controversy.

Max Foster, really grateful to you. Appreciate it.

Now, after the break, we will go back to our Richard Quest, who is in Thailand. Richard, what's coming up?

QUEST: We'll be talking, Paula, to one of the chief executives of a major energy producer, as well as the founder of Minor International, who started

the hotel group when he was 17. You get it, minor. That's why it's called the Minor Group. We'll discuss all of that after the break.

By the way, it's 3:30 in the morning here in Bangkok. It's all after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:37:36]

QUEST: Welcome back to Bangkok, where it is, as you can see, 3:37 in the morning, the traffic is still moving. The train still going. It is warm and

toasty. Never gets -- as you probably know, is always pretty much the same.

And if you're wondering where I am in Bangkok at the moment, we're actually on the 22nd floor of the new Ritz Carlton Hotel, which has just been opened

by about less than a year or so, and a spectacular view of the park over there, the big buildings. It's all pretty a bit dark at this time of night

at the Ritz Carlton.

Now then, President Trump is walking back his threat to hit China with new 100 tariffs. He told Fox Business that Beijing had forced him to react to

its new restrictions on rare earth exports that were going to damage the United States economy.

Mr. Trump conceded at 100 percent tariff would be unsustainable and would certainly only be a short-term measure. He confirmed plans to meet with

China's leader Xi Jinping at the APEC Economic Forum in South Korea.

Putting it into perspective, the head of Thailand's top natural gas producer has told me Bangkok can remain neutral between the U.S. and China.

It does not have to take sides as each side tries to force it into a corner one way or other.

PTTEP is the subsidiary of Thailand's state owned energy firm. The chief executive Montri Rawanchaikul says his company trades with both countries,

and so keeping important relations with both of them is crucial for Thailand's economy.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

MONTRI RAWANCHAIKUL, CEO, PTTEP: We're not only looking at exploration production for resource, but we're looking at protection of the energy

security to Thailand.

Thailand economy rely on energy security. People take it for granted. You know, GDP saying, you know, if you don't have the economy of the energy

security at all, you probably look at $10 million lost easily. You need to import energy. You need to import LNG, to repress domestic gas.

So, our role is to find domestic gas to supply to the country (INAUDIBLE) and to bring in, you know, neighboring countries amplify gas.

And tougher challenge, we also listen to the stock market. Our shareholders would like to see return. So, you oversee investment, you need to gain a

good return.

[16:40:09]

So, we got two roles, energy security to Thailand and oversee investment.

QUEST: And then you add in one, because the energy industry, fossil fuel is very, very familiar with geopolitical and strategic risk.

RAWANCHAIKUL: Indeed.

QUEST: And Thailand has got a few of those, whether it be the skirmishes of Thailand-Cambodia or the forthcoming election and changes of government.

RAWANCHAIKUL: Its volatility, its fluctuation on the energy price depends on a lot of geopolitical influence.

You see Russia and Ukraine. You see shortage of gas in Europe. You see the surplus supply from Qatar. You see the new energy coming from U.S. So, it's

unpredictable.

QUEST: What about there'll be an election in the next six months, to some extent, you know, you'll live with whatever the result is, but the changes

of government that have taken place over the last five years, the sheer number of prime ministers or governments makes it very difficult to get

policy certainty or not.

RAWANCHAIKUL: For us as the upstream player, we produce gas. It's not impacting on us, but I'm looking at the Thailand as a whole. Thailand as a

country, we need to import 40 percent of the gas.

So, if you don't have security of the import of the gas in terms of contracts or community, you put yourself risk.

And to look at it, you know, 10 years from now, the gas that we produce, indigenous gas declining big time, because we've been producing for 40

years is declining, so you need to import more gas.

So, the question is, what would be the balance of the importing gas on contracted firm or spot market?

QUEST: We heard a lot, and we've heard a lot about the agility and the ability of Thailand to adapt with a 19 percent tariff rate with the U.S.,

and difficult supply chain and tariff issues with the U.S.

RAWANCHAIKUL: Yes.

QUEST: Is the country sitting comfortably?

RAWANCHAIKUL: Yes and no. Export market, we have some difficulties because you have the tariff importing markets. We don't have much to import, you

know, particularly in gas, but yes, later on, when you put in LNG, importing from U.S., you can balance it out, because when you're importing,

you can think about, you know, the compensation you have with the tariff.

QUEST: Do you see a situation where Thailand has to make a choice between, for want of a better word, China and the U.S.?

RAWANCHAIKUL: I don't. I think we live in neutral because we do trade with China. We do trade with U.S. China also need a lot of energy supply.

Thailand also need a lot of energy supply. But where it comes from, that's the big things.

QUEST: You're optimistic.

RAWANCHAIKUL: I am.

QUEST: Smiling.

RAWANCHAIKUL: I'd like to be --

QUEST: What were you telling me about the smile?

RAWANCHAIKUL: We're the Land of Smile. I live in a Land of Smile. I live in Thailand. Thailand is Land of Smile. Whatever it is, you know, you suffer,

you smile because you believe that one day you're going to solve the problem no matter what.

QUEST: And then you smile.

RAWANCHAIKUL: Yes, and you smile.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: The Land of Smile, and they believe it, and they practice it here in Thailand.

Now let's go across to Africa, where the way people are moving goods and travel is being transformed. The transportation sector has been ambitious

plans to become greener and more sustainable across the continent.

So, to Tunisia, one startup is taking up the challenge, using the power of the sun. "CONNECTING AFRICA's" Eleni Giokos is going to show us.

(CONNECTING AFRICA)

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

[16:46:32]

QUEST: That is absolutely fascinating. "CONNECTING AFRICA" with the sun, of course, works in so many different places.

As Paula, you and I continue our discussions on economics and business tonight, I'll be talking to the head of minor international, absolute

legend of the hospitality, which of course, in this part of the world, he's seen Thailand through its ups and downs. And he tells me the country will

emerge stronger from its current tourism slowdown.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

QUEST: I keep hoping we're going to see a train going across the middle there. The traffic is still moving 24 hours a day. There's always something

going on here in Bangkok, quite an extraordinary city.

I think I've told you it's coming up to 10 to 4:00 in the morning on -- what day are we? Saturday. Yes, Saturday morning. You have to sometimes

actually have fingers and toes and work it out.

[16:50:03]

Now, Thailand itself will -- is just a country known for its hospitality, the Land of Smiles, as we heard earlier, and it is absolutely a tourist hub

for decades, both from Australia, from Europe and now more travels from the United States.

The numbers are quite extraordinary, 34, 35, 36 million. It hits a peak of 37 million. But the issue is whether, as other resorts coming on trapped up

like Vietnam, is Thailand losing its allure. Been there, done it, bought the t-shirt, seen the movie.

The country has said earlier it expects 33 million passengers and visitors to arrive here over the next year.

Bill Heinecke has seen the country through its ups and downs. He's the chair of Minor International, which manages hotel brands, restaurants and

even a private jet company. Well, he joined me about and he thought me about one of the courses. The brand is the Anantara range of brands of

hotels which is which is expanding globally at a fast pace. I asked Bill the name of the company.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

WILLIAM HEINECKE, FOUNDER AND CHAIR, MINOR INTERNATIONAL: I didn't go to university. I started the company when I was 17, and had to go to a lawyer

to get some advice on what to call the company. And I was at a loss for words, and he said, well, are you still a minor? And I said, yes, I'm

still, you know, I'm 17. So, he said, well, that's it. We'll call it Minor. That's the name of the company.

QUEST: What made you want to start a hospitality slash retail group in the first place?

HEINECKE: I think it was an area that didn't require a lot of education. Shall we say, I didn't go into telecommunications or engineering, so food

and hospitality was a very easy one to penetrate.

QUEST: If I look at the range of businesses that you have, they span the spectrum from restaurants to hotels to retail and all these different

aspects of it. Is there a thread?

HEINECKE: Yes, the thread is my passion. You know, I like to fly. So, we have the largest private jet company. I love hotels. I love developing

hotels. I love operating hotels. So, that's why we have so many hotels. I love food. I love restaurants. So, we have 3,000 restaurants.

QUEST: Quite often, investing in a passion is a highly risky business, because you fall in love with the investments.

HEINECKE: That's correct, but I think in this particular case, we're a public company, so we're very focused on the return for our shareholders,

and we've made it pay. But it's easier to work on something that you're passionate about.

QUEST: And you're based in Thailand. When we look at the Thai economy at the moment, there are huge both economic and political challenges.

HEINECKE: Absolutely.

QUEST: Let's be charitable in this. Why should one be optimistic about it?

HEINECKE: I think because it's Thailand, Thailand has a nerving way of being able to get through these difficult challenges and come out much

stronger.

So, I look at this as having. Lived here for 60 years. I see this as just a bit of a hiccup, and I hope to see us get our growth back.

You know, right now, Vietnam has passed us. Tourism numbers are down, and that's one of the fundamental strengths of Thailand, has been tourism.

QUEST: Which is all which has been steadily growing, with the exception of the pandemic. Is there something structurally wrong, or is it just

cyclical?

HEINECKE: I think it's a little bit of both. You know, Thailand has always been a favorite of the Asian markets because it's a short haul destination.

But of course, as the bot has gotten much stronger, stronger than the euro, stronger than the U.S. dollar and that's made Thailand a bit expensive, and

plus the fact that it is such a popular destination that now many of the Chinese tend to want to go a little bit further afield. So, they're going

to Japan. They're going to Europe even.

QUEST: And that is one of the issues, in a sense, with Thailand having to rediscover its tourism offering.

HEINECKE: That's correct.

QUEST: It's a bit like Spain had to do when it became over done with the British and German and Northern European tourists. It had to either find

higher quality, different products, different sort of F&B, full board family stays, all that. Thailand seems to be going through that challenge

at the moment.

HEINECKE: Absolutely, they're looking for new markets. Are looking for higher end travelers. You know, it's -- they want the quality rather than

the quantity.

But at least this is the right moment, because we're seeing a complete change by the consumer that they're going less into shopping and more into

premium travel, as we talked about.

QUEST: Your top run the Anantara. Every time I start saying it, I never remember.

HEINECKE: It's Anantara.

QUEST: Where do they come from?

HEINECKE: Well, it means, it's a Sanskrit word that means ever flowing water, water without end.

[16:55:00]

QUEST: Anantara. The Anantara group or collection, is growing, and it's growing into a more, into it -- into a luxury space that's quite crowded.

HEINECKE: Yes, it is very crowded.

QUEST: We were everything from Peninsula, Ritz Carltons, Four Seasons. Now, that's new -- newest one shouldn't enter those space.

HEINECKE: But I think we're a little different. You know, we've taken sort of Asian hospitality, and, more especially, Thai hospitality, which is what

Thailand is so strong at.

And we have hotel in Nice, we've got one in Rome. We've got we're in Dublin, you know, we're in addition to all of our strong footprint in the

Middle East and Asia, so we've got 10 Anantara hotels today in Europe.

QUEST: What is your not your favorite place to travel, but your favorite experience of travel? What's the moment -- we were talking about it at

dinner. What's the moment that you really happens in -- what happens inside, Bill, when you get home?

HEINECKE: I think for me, it's about diving or flying. And all my passions are dealing with cars driving through Europe.

You know, I keep a collection of old Ferraris, and I love to drive them in the south of France and in Italy. And that's one of the great thrills. And

enjoy a you know, good food, good wine, great weather, top down.

QUEST: What's not to love?

HEINECKE: Exactly.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

QUEST: Interestingly, just listening to Bill there at the Anantara, we did the QUEST MEANS BUSINESS at the Anantara, I think it was in Nice and I've

just been told it was the Anantara in Dublin where we did it.

So, keep a look and see where they're going next, and that's where we'll probably be going on QUEST MEANS BUSINESS.

Ttonight, though I'm in Bangkok. Last month, it was Bilbao for a "WORLD OF WONDER," and you can see "QUEST'S WORLD OF WONDER" from Bilbao this

weekend. When can you watch it? It'll air tomorrow at 3:30 in New York. 8:30 in London. Sunday, again and again. Oh, look at that. You can see it

work out where it is in your part of the world. QUEST MEANS BUSINESS again on Monday and Tuesday. "WORLD OF WONDER" in Bilbao. Paula, the markets have

been frothy.

NEWTON: Absolutely, they have even today and this week, we'll have a final check of those markets. Wall Street, as Richard said, frothy after really a

bit of a bumpy week. Investors moving past Thursday's concerns over the credit markets, though. The Dow gained 238 points, snp5 and the NASDAQ, as

you can see, they're up better than half a percent.

Now, despite that volatile week, all the major indices, and this is the point, came out of it half a percent higher. This we can go into a

cockroach free weekend, Richard. God bless.

QUEST: Thank you. Paula Newton who is in New York. I'm Richard Quest in Bangkok in Thailand. From everybody, whatever you're up to in the hours

ahead, I hope it is profitable. Good night from Bangkok.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

END