Nobel Peace Prize-winning economist Muhammad Yunus pioneered micro loans as a tool to fight poverty. Now prosecutors in Bangladesh have linked him and his colleagues to a dizzying number of crimes, including embezzlement and laundering millions of dollars. 

Today on The Big Take Asia, host K. Oanh Ha speaks to Bloomberg’s Kai Schultz about the complicated saga and what implications Yunus’s case has for Bangladesh, one of the fastest growing economies. We also hear from Yunus himself, who talks about the rift between him and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and the personal impact of the legal drama.

Read more: Why the Nobel-Laureate Pioneer of Microfinance Risks Life in Jail

Big Money Backs Tiny Loans That Lead to Debt, Despair and Even Suicide

Nobel Peace Prize-winning economist Muhammad Yunus pioneered micro loans as a tool to fight poverty. Now prosecutors in Bangladesh have linked him and his colleagues to a dizzying number of crimes, including embezzlement and laundering millions of dollars. 
Today on The Big Take Asia, host K. Oanh Ha speaks to Bloomberg’s Kai Schultz about the complicated saga and what implications Yunus’s case has for Bangladesh, one of the fastest growing economies. We also hear from Yunus himself, who talks about the rift between him and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, and the personal impact of the legal drama.
Read more: <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2024-07-16/nobel-peace-prize-winner-muhammad-yunus-risks-life-in-a-bangladesh-jail?srnd=undefined">Why the Nobel-Laureate Pioneer of Microfinance Risks Life in Jail</a>
<a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2022-microfinance-banks-profit-off-developing-world/">Big Money Backs Tiny Loans That Lead to Debt, Despair and Even Suicide</a>

We’re taking The Big Take to Asia. Each week, Bloomberg’s Oanh Ha tells a story from the home of the world's most dynamic economies - and the markets, tycoons and businesses that drive the ever-shifting region.

We’re taking The Big Take to Asia. Each week, Bloomberg’s Oanh Ha tells a story from the home of the world's most dynamic economies - and the markets, tycoons and businesses that drive the ever-shifting region.

Big Take Asia

Why This Nobel Prize Winner Faces Life Imprisonment in Bangladesh

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/ff1a894b-3a70-4a47-b849-b1af012e4434/transcript

Vietnamese real estate tycoon Truong My Lan was convicted in April of orchestrating a $12.3 billion fraud. She was sentenced to death by lethal injection, which she is appealing. And this week, the court is expected to hand down another verdict on additional charges.

On today’s Big Take Asia podcast, host K. Oanh Ha speaks to Bloomberg’s John Boudreau about how Lan was able to embezzle so much money for so long, how she went from riches to death row and what her multibillion fraud case means for one of the fastest growing economies in Asia.

Vietnamese real estate tycoon Truong My Lan was convicted in April of orchestrating a $12.3 billion fraud. She was sentenced to death by lethal injection, which she is appealing. And this week, the court is expected to hand down another verdict on additional charges.
On today’s Big Take Asia podcast, host K. Oanh Ha speaks to Bloomberg’s John Boudreau about how Lan was able to embezzle so much money for so long, how she went from riches to death row and what her multibillion fraud case means for one of the fastest growing economies in Asia.

How an Infamous Vietnamese Businesswoman Engineered a $12 Billion Fraud

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/6a4afb0d-89d3-4a12-b6c2-b20a0145b3f3/transcript

Adrian Cheng, the third-generation scion of property dynasty New World Development, seemed poised to take over his family’s $20 billion empire. But last month, in a surprising twist, he was replaced as CEO by someone outside of his family.  

On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha talks to Bloomberg’s Shawna Kwan about the succession drama at New World, the possible ripple effects on other family dynasties in the region, and what it all could mean for the future of one of Hong Kong’s major property developers.

Read more: New World Scion’s Fall Upends Succession at $23 Billion Dynasty

Further listening: $200 Billion, Four Heirs and One Might Indian Empire

Adrian Cheng, the third-generation scion of property dynasty New World Development, seemed poised to take over his family’s $20 billion empire. But last month, in a surprising twist, he was replaced as CEO by someone outside of his family.  
On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha talks to Bloomberg’s Shawna Kwan about the succession drama at New World, the possible ripple effects on other family dynasties in the region, and what it all could mean for the future of one of Hong Kong’s major property developers.
Read more: <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-09-27/new-world-scion-s-fall-upends-succession-at-23-billion-dynasty">New World Scion’s Fall Upends Succession at $23 Billion Dynasty </a>Further listening: <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/%24200-billion-four-heirs-and-one-mighty-indian-empire/id1746141911?i=1000664307126">$200 Billion, Four Heirs and One Might Indian Empire</a>

Inside the Succession Drama at a Hong Kong Property Dynasty

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/831d15f1-74b8-491b-89f8-b203013a5ff3/transcript

With relations between Washington and Beijing at a critical point, US Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz’s time in China has come under scrutiny from Republicans. Walz first went to China as a teacher in 1989 after the Tiananmen Square military crackdown. Over the years, he continued to return to China, even spending his honeymoon there.

On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha talks to Bloomberg’s Daniel Ten Kate and Professor Li Cheng from the University of Hong Kong about what Walz’s track record on China could mean should the Democrats win the election – and whether Walz’s ties with the country would be an asset or liability.

Update: During the vice presidential debate on October 1st, Democratic candidate Tim Walz said he misspoke about being in Hong Kong on June 4, 1989. That’s when the Tiananmen Square protests turned deadly. He didn’t clarify his whereabouts at the time and said that he was in Hong Kong and China in the summer of that year.

Walz has also said he’s traveled to China about 30 times. A Harris-Walz campaign spokesperson said the number of trips Walz took to China is “likely closer to 15.”

We’ve updated the episode to reflect these updates. 

With relations between Washington and Beijing at a critical point, US Democratic Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz’s time in China has come under scrutiny from Republicans. Walz first went to China as a teacher in 1989 after the Tiananmen Square military crackdown. Over the years, he continued to return to China, even spending his honeymoon there.
On today’s Big Take Asia Podcast, host K. Oanh Ha talks to Bloomberg’s Daniel Ten Kate and Professor Li Cheng from the University of Hong Kong about what Walz’s track record on China could mean should the Democrats win the election – and whether Walz’s ties with the country would be an asset or liability.
Update: During the vice presidential debate on October 1st, Democratic candidate Tim Walz said he misspoke about being in Hong Kong on June 4, 1989. That’s when the Tiananmen Square protests turned deadly. He didn’t clarify his whereabouts at the time and said that he was in Hong Kong and China in the summer of that year.
Walz has also said he’s traveled to China about 30 times. A Harris-Walz campaign spokesperson said the number of trips Walz took to China is “likely closer to 15.”
We’ve updated the episode to reflect these updates.

Tim Walz’s Deep China Ties Could Spell Trouble for Democrats

https://api.omny.fm/orgs/e73c998e-6e60-432f-8610-ae210140c5b1/clips/316b6447-aec5-4a04-941a-b1fc01621599/transcript

Why This Nobel Prize Winner Faces Life Imprisonment in Bangladesh

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