Fastest Growth In Retail Sales Since 2004

Brisk business for smaller retailers ahead of Christmas helped sales volumes grow at their fastest annual pace since 2004 in December.

Figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) measured 2.6% growth during December to show an annual increase of 5.3% - easily topping the forecasts of economists.

The performance suggests a bigger contribution to GDP growth from consumer spending in the fourth quarter of 2013, after the sector was credited with driving recovery during the previous three months.

However, it will also raise more concerns about consumer debt levels and the extent to which people are digging into savings.

The surge in business for small stores may have been a result of the storms ahead of Christmas - prompting consumers to shop locally.

Debenhams had a poor Xmas despite department stores seeing strong trade

Small stores were found by the ONS to have outperformed their bigger rivals, with the amount spent in them increasing by 8.1% against growth of 2.6% for larger stores, compared with December 2012.

The figures follow news of upbeat trading from the likes of Argos, Halfords, Primark and Next over the festive season, though Marks & Spencer and Debenhams struggled.

The extent of their woes was laid bare by the ONS, which measured department store sales volume growth of 11.7% in December - the highest year-on-year growth since January 2000.

The slew of results from major chains suggested retailers who embraced online and high demand for gadgets and cheap fashion enjoyed robust trading.

The ONS said internet sales increased 11.8% by value compared with the same month last year, with average weekly spending online standing at £675.4m.

The statistical body also reported that the 2.6% growth in sales volumes month-on-month equalled the previous high set in February 2010.

The overall amount spent in shops was up 3.6% compared with the same month last year, with food stores improving by 2.2% and non-food stores by 4.4%.

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16.02 | 0 komentar | Read More

Miliband Promises 'Reckoning' With Big Banks

Is The Banking System Broken?

Updated: 12:36pm UK, Friday 17 January 2014

By Joel Hills, Business Presenter

Folklore at Tesco has it that any internal business pitch to the former boss Sir Terry Leahy which didn't include the word "customer" in the first sentence was bound to end in failure and, on occasion, humiliation.

Sir Terry's time at Tesco is in the process of being reassessed, but there's surely no doubting that the supermarket's spectacular growth in the late 90s was down, in great part, to Tesco's obsession with delivering what customers wanted (no quips about horse burgers, please).

The reason banks are so unpopular, of course, is that they have demonstrably failed to put their customers at the heart of what they do.

In fact they have, on the whole, treated us appallingly.

As Bill Michael of KPMG put it to a group of bank bosses at their annual conference in 2012, far from treating their customers like kings, banks had behaved as if we were "captive geese that can be force-fed, or sold more product to - whether appropriate or not".

Here's the remarkable thing though: the litany of recent scandals and abuses (Payment Protection Insurance, interest rate swaps, Libor-fixing, money laundering, tax avoidance) doesn't seem to have cost the big banks any customers.

Take Barclays. Broadly speaking, the bank has the same number of personal accounts and business accounts today that it did before the financial crisis.

Now the likes of Barclays, Lloyds, RBS and HSBC will tell you that's because ultimately we are all satisfied with the service we are getting from them. Ed Miliband believes it indicates there is something seriously wrong.

The Labour leader's view - that the market isn't functioning properly - is one some of the bosses of smaller banks share.

Last October, a month after the new seven-day switch guarantee was introduced, I chaired a session at the British Bankers' Association's 2013 conference.

Jayne-Anne Gadhia, the chief executive of Virgin Money, complained that the playing field was still horribly skewed in favour of her rivals. 

Paul Lynam, the chief executive of Secure Trust bank, also thinks he's kicking a ball uphill and struggles to steal business from his much bigger rivals as a result.

Interestingly, while both of them share Ed Miliband's diagnosis of the problem, they both also think his prescription of forced branch sales and market share caps are wrong-headed.

Mr Lynam's grumble is that bigger banks can lend more freely than he can because they can borrow more cheaply (they're still too big to fail and therefore continue to enjoy an implicit taxpayer guarantee) and they are not obliged to retain as much capital to protect themselves against losses as he is (Basel rules – don't worry, I'm not going there).

He also believes that the Payments System is deeply flawed.

Now stay with me, please, because his last point is important. Think of the Payments System like the National Grid, but instead of moving gas and electricity around the country the Payments System moves money.

If Mr Lynam wants to send a payment on behalf of one of his customers to a customer at another bank he has to use the Payments System. Here's the rub: the Payments System is effectively owned by the big banks and they charge Mr Lynam up to 40 pence to "clear" each transaction. He says the real cost is closer to 1p.

The whole issue of competition in banking is nuanced and fiercely contested, but it is also desperately important that it's resolved.

It is imperative that we all have faith that the banking system is working well and in our interests.

Perhaps Mr Miliband's suggestion of a full, independent competition inquiry, however long, isn't such a bad idea.

After all, the Competition Commission investigation into the supermarket sector in 2008 went some way to sorting fact from myth and, I would argue, helped to restore some public trust in the likes of Tesco. And public trust in our banks has surely never been so low.

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Bingo Hall Burden: MPs Call For Tax Cuts

By Adele Robinson, Sky News Correspondent

The UK's bingo hall business will "stagnate" if the Government does not cut tax on it, campaigners say.

More than 50 MPs are backing calls to reduce duty and bring levies on the game in line with other forms of gambling.

Bingo hall profits are currently taxed at 20% compared with a 15% rate for most other gambling activities.

Campaigners estimate that reducing bingo duty is expected to raise around £40m for the Exchequer over four years.

Miles Baron, from the Bingo Association, says investment is vital for growth.

"By building new clubs and investing in new clubs, attendances would improve that would generate more income, that would generate new taxes, that would employ more people ... this is at the heart of the community, this is a vital and important part of some people's social repertoire."

Campaigners claim gambling taxes are forcing more and more clubs to close

The Government says it would have to carefully consider before reducing the rate because its priority is to cut the budget deficit.

Jim Cunningham, Labour MP for Coventry South, says if more support is not given then the "social service" side of bingo will be lost.

"The implications can be that some of these places may have to close because they're not profitable and if that happens then there is a problem for some of these elderly people, during the day in particular, to find somewhere else to go."

Nearly 400 bingo clubs across England, Scotland and Wales are hosting free bingo games this weekend to support the campaign to cut tax.

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Minimum Wage: Britain 'Can Afford' To Pay More

Britain can afford to increase the amount its lowest-paid workers earn, the Chancellor has announced.

George Osborne said an above-inflation rise in the national minimum wage - currently set at £6.31 an hour - would "secure a recovery for all".

He has not revealed how much the wage could increase by, although he said it would need to rise by more than 10% to £7 an hour to match improvements to the economy.

"I believe Britain can afford an above-inflation increase in the minimum wage, so we restore its real value for people and make sure we have a recovery for all and that work always pays," he told the BBC.

The Chancellor says the minimum wage may need to rise to £7 an hour

Prime Minister David Cameron has also said the Conservatives have taken "difficult decisions" to "fix the economy" and could now afford to put "more money in people's pockets".

However, Labour accused Mr Osborne of "flailing around under pressure", while a Liberal Democrat source said the Chancellor had "dragged his feet" on making an announcement.

Chris Leslie, the Labour Treasury spokesman, said: "The Tories cannot hide from the fact that working people are on average £1,600 a year worse off since they came to office.

"We need action now to earn our way to higher living standards and tackle the cost-of-living crisis."

Any increase to the minimum wage would be set by the Low Pay Commission, which talks to businesses and looks at economic data before making its recommendations.

It has been handed the Government's latest analysis on jobs and the economy and is due to make its suggestions next month.

An increase to the minimum wage would likely take effect in the autumn.

The Federation of Small Businesses backed an increase to the minimum wage but said it should rise by no more than the rate of inflation - currently 2%.

Its national chairman John Allan said: "The Low Pay Commission will recognise that in some industries, such as retail and social care, small businesses operate very fine margins and are still struggling with rising costs in areas such as utilities and business rates.

"At the same time, the recovery remains on a fragile footing in certain regions of the UK."

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Miliband Promises 'Reckoning' With Big Banks

Ed Miliband has promised to force the big five banks to give up "significant" numbers of branches to make way for new competitors if Labour wins the next general election.

In a keynote speech on the economy at the University of London, Mr Miliband will say the financial services industry has been "an incredibly poor servant of the real economy".

He will blame a lack of competition in the sector for misselling scandals and a £56bn drop in lending to business since 2010.

The Labour leader is attempting to flesh out his party's economic policy for the next Parliament.

Ed Miliband will set out the Labour Party economic policy

But he risks being overshadowed by Chancellor George Osborne's backing of a significant rise in the national minimum wage.

Mr Miliband will promise to introduce a legal maximum threshold for any bank's share of the market in personal accounts and small business lending, with powers to force the sale of branches and block mergers and acquisitions to prevent it being breached.

Under the proposals, the Competition and Markets Authority would report within six months of the May 2015 general election on the level the threshold should be set at and the timetable for the sell-off of branches, which would be completed by 2020.

He will say: "We need a reckoning with our banking system, not for retribution, but for reform.

"If we carry on as we are, we will end up stuck with the same old banks dominating our high street: the old economy.

"In America, by law, they have a test so that no bank can get too big and dominate the market. We will follow the same principle for Britain and establish for the first time a threshold for the market share any one bank can have of personal accounts and small business lending."

Earlier this week, Bank of England governor Mark Carney said a cap on banks' market share "would not result in substantial improvement to competition".

He told the Commons Treasury Committee: "Just breaking up an institution doesn't necessarily create or enable a more intensive competitive structure."

Business Secretary Vince Cable said he agreed with Mr Miliband's desire for increased competition but insisted that "many of the things he is calling for have actually happened".

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Shell Shares Tumble After Profit Warning

Shares in Royal Dutch Shell dived by more than 4% in early trading after the oil firm warned of a "significant" profit miss.

The company gave provisional, unaudited, figures of net profit of $1.8bn (£1.1bn) for the quarter, down from $6.7bn in the same period a year ago.

Shell blamed a mix of lower than expected production, higher than forecast costs and a worse than expected performance by its refining division.

New chief executive, Ben van Beurden, said the results were "not what I expect from Shell."

Shell's most profitable businesses have not performed as expected

It was his first update to investors - having only taken over the running of the Anglo-Dutch energy major two weeks ago ahead of the retirement of Peter Voser.

He added: "Our focus will be on improving Shell's financial results, achieving better capital efficiency and on continuing to strengthen our operational performance and project delivery."

The company said it had a "high level of maintenance activity" in the final quarter of 2013, disproportionately at its most profitable operations, including where it sells gas it has transformed to liquid form.

Earnings were also hurt by the weaker Australian dollar, its American production activities operating at a loss and by pipeline shutdowns in Niger, where vandalism has damaged output.

The profit warning fed into investor concerns about wider fourth quarter earnings following a slew of results in the US after-hours on Thursday which missed analysts' forecasts.

The news saw Britain's FTSE 100 - where Shell's A and B shares together make up around 8% - open broadly flat, knocking upwards contributions from miners.

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Food Safety: Worst Councils Named And Shamed

Local councils that are failing to ensure food businesses comply with hygiene regulations have been named and shamed by a consumer watchdog.

The investigation into 395 local authorities by Which?, using data obtained from the Food Standards Agency (FSA), revealed more than a third of high and medium-risk food businesses are not complying with safety rules.

The hygiene risk of a business was based on the type of food, the number of consumers at risk, the method of processing and confidence in the management.

Local authority food checks are in decline according to the study

Local authority rankings were based upon criteria such as the number of premises compliant with hygiene requirements, the number of visits performed by council inspectors and the percentage of premises yet to receive a risk rating.

Bexley in London was exposed as the worst-performing local authority, with five further London councils appearing in the bottom 10, including Ealing, Enfield, Harrow, Richmond upon Thames and Southwark.

The study revealed that overall, food testing fell by 6.8% from the previous year, while testing for correct labelling and presentation fell by 16.2%.

The figures showed no hygiene sampling at all was carried out by Bexley, Christchurch, Isles of Scilly, Medway, Tamworth, West Lindsey and West Yorkshire authorities.

Which? executive director Richard Lloyd, said: "No one wants another horse meat fiasco, so it is very worrying that local authority food checks are in decline.

"We want to see a more strategic approach to food law enforcement that makes the best use of limited resources and responds effectively to the huge challenges facing the food supply chain."

But the Local Government Association defended local authorities it said were "working hard" to improve food hygiene standards in the face of government funding cuts.

The Local Government Association's regulation spokesman Nick Worth said: "Random sampling is just one tool available to councils and a reduction in testing does not mean an increased safety risk to the public.

"Targeting high-risk businesses and acting on complaints is a far more effective use of their limited resources and also allows councils to free up responsible businesses from unnecessary inspections and red tape."

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China: High-Speed Rail Network To Be Doubled

By Mark Stone, China Correspondent, in Beijing

China has announced it will spend £60bn this year in an effort to almost double the size of its high-speed rail network.

The investment forms part of a project which represents the largest and fastest rail expansion programme in the world.

Since 2008, and in the time Britain has taken only to debate the merits of one line - HS2 - which would be just over 100 miles long, China has built 6,000 miles of track, much of it elevated, and invested in 1,000 high-speed trains.

The network is currently almost double the combined length of Europe and Japan's railway networks.

The programme, the government says, forms a key part of the country's drive to modernise, urbanise and pull the Chinese people out of poverty.

Sky News took a ride on the 10am from Shanghai to Beijing. Bang on time, the shiny new bullet train pulled out of the city's Hongqiao station.

The train, 16 carriages long, has three classes: standard, first and business, which resembles the interior of an aeroplane.

China has built 6,000 miles of track since 2008

Sitting in a fully reclining airline-style seat is businessman Paul Zhou.

He said: "Our country is building an entire high-speed rail system and it has made our travel easier.

"It has shortened the journey between cities. It helps a lot on our work and life.

"On the airlines, there are always delays. They are very unreliable.

"I used to travel by plane, but now I almost always use our high-speed trains to go everywhere. They are comfortable, environmentally friendly, and always on time."

Out of the window the Chinese countryside is a blur as the train reaches its cruising speed of 190mph.

China now boasts the world's fastest conventional train. The CRH380A, manufactured by the Qingdao Sifang Company, has a top speed of 237mph, but in test runs it reached 302mph.

The trains run on a network of new lines, many of which are elevated. Together they knit together more than 100 cities across the country.

The country has the world's fastest train with a top speed of 237mph

Each of the cities has a vast new station. Most look more like airport terminals and they are packed - proof that this railway revolution has got China moving.

Another passenger, Zhao Changhua, is an office worker from the city of Jinan. She has just started commuting to Shanghai for work - a distance of 535 miles, but a journey time of just four hours.

She told Sky News: "It's very comfortable. It's convenient and fast. I'm very proud of it.

"It's the result of the fast development of our country's technology. It has given great benefits to our lives.

"This is my second time on a high-speed train, I think it's much easier than taking a plane.

"Airports are far away from the city centre while train stations are closer. So I choose high-speed trains."

The journey from Shanghai, west, then north, to Beijing is 800 miles - the length of the UK. It is completed in four hours, 48 minutes.

In second class, it costs the equivalent of £55, in first it is just under £100 and in business it costs £175.

Outside we see glimpses of rural China carved up by the new lines, but we also spot new cities springing up. It is evidence that the new rail network is stimulating the local economy at every stop.

Designer Roland Boal says the China network is a huge opportunity

Of all the passengers we spoke to, none had a bad word about the service. Most hoped that China could help the UK with its high-speed train development.

Mr Zhou said: "I hope the British government will use Chinese technology, let China help you to build your high-speed railway."

What none of the passengers realise is that the train they are on is actually designed, in part, with the help of a UK firm.

Priestmangoode is a design consultancy based in the UK but with a growing footprint in China. The company has combined the UK's flair for quality design with China's willingness to pay for it.

Roland Boal, head of Priestmangoode's China division, explained that China's "can do" attitude and seemingly bottomless pockets are a huge opportunity.

He told Sky News: "There is a hunger for new and exciting things. China is moving really fast and moving forward.

"There is a certain sense of excitement among people here and I think they want products that reflect that, whether it's a train or a plane.

"If it's a high-speed train, then make it look really fast. Not pared back; make it look fast.

"Western companies need to pay a lot more attention to what's happening here.

The country's high speed network runs on elevated lines

"I get very upset when I hear things like 'of course it broke, it was made in China' or 'I don't buy that company's products because they're made in China'. I think there is such an out-of-date attitude towards the obvious capability of manufacturing in China."

This railway revolution is not without significant controversy, though.

In 2011, two high-speed trains collided. Forty people were killed and 172 others injured.

Had the trains been travelling at full speed, the number of dead would have been significantly higher.

A signalling failure was blamed; the whole project was questioned and almost cancelled.

A further controversy stems from the fact that the technology behind the network is not Chinese.

In the early stages of the project, China bought high-speed train sets and technology from Canada's Bombardier, Japan's Kawasaki, Germany's Siemens and France's Alstom.

Chinese engineers then combined these technologies and produced their own trains.

Corruption has also plagued the project. In July last year, the country's railways minister, Liu Zhijun, was jailed for corruption, bribery and abuse of power. His demise brought the financial cost into focus.

At the last count, the existing project had cost £24bn through Chinese government loans, according to figures published in the Chinese state media.

The government hopes to recoup some of those costs by selling its success abroad.

China is in talks with countries including Romania, Georgia, Thailand, Burma and several in South America.

There is also a desire to help the US and the UK with their own projects.

The Chinese government, which runs the network through its Ministry of Transportation, declined our request for an interview for this report and refused Sky News all official access to their trains and stations. No reason was given.

The report was compiled without their agreement.

However, speaking to the Chinese media, and addressing the safety concerns, Deng Xiaojun, deputy chief engineer of Qingdao Sifang, one of the state-owned locomotive manufacturers, said that the trains are designed according to international standards and in some areas even stricter.

He told China's Xinhua news agency: "We have a rounded mechanism to ensure the train's safety operation."

Back on the train, and on time - almost to the second - the 10am from Shanghai pulls into Beijing South station. 

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Charter Bids $62bn For Time Warner Cable

Cable TV operator Charter Communications is planning to go direct to shareholders of Time Warner Cable in a bid to buy its larger rival in a deal worth over $62bn (£38bn), when debt is included.

The company said it was prepared to make an offer to investors after determining there was "no genuine intent" from Time Warner Cable's management to engage in merger talks.

Charter Communications said it has made repeated overtures to Time Warner for more than six months and had previously planned an offer below $135 per share, including $83-per-share in cash.

That values Time Warner at up to $38bn but the company had responded that the sum undervalued its business, Charter said.

Its statement said: "Time Warner Cable's response led Charter to determine there is no genuine intent from Time Warner Cable's management and Board of Directors to engage in a merger agreement, and that it is prudent to bring the matter to shareholders directly." 

Charter said in a letter to Time Warner Cable that the company had unrealistic price expectations and Goldman Sachs and Liontree Advisors were lead advisers on its bid.

Time Warner shares were up slightly from their closing price to $134.60 in after-hours market trades.

US cable television and internet titan Comcast is also seen as potential suitor of Time Warner Cable, which has been losing TV customers in a competitive US market.

A tie-up with Charter would create the third-largest pay TV operator.

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China Bets Big On 'Iron Bird' Of The Skies

By Mark Stone, China Correspondent in Shanghai

In a vast hanger on the outskirts of Shanghai, the banging of hammers and screeching of drills indicates a company in a hurry.

Sky News has been granted exclusive access to the headquarters of Comac - China's answer to Airbus and Boeing. The vast campus forms the heart of China's attempt to take on the aviation giants.

Comac was only founded five years ago and yet it has already produced one passenger jet and, within a decade, it hopes to be selling planes to western airlines including Ryanair and British Airways.

Jack Lee, a Comac executive, says: "This is a really exciting event for China. This is the first time in China's history that we have manufactured (passenger) aircraft by Chinese people.

"It's a challenge ahead of us. We already laid out our plan. The schedule is tight. We must fight for this schedule and fight for this milestone."

Mr Lee and I are sitting in the cockpit of a full-size model of the C919, Comac's equivalent to the workhorses of the skies, Boeing's 737 and Airbus' A320. This is the plane which Comac hopes will launch its global success.

The 'iron bird' test platform fuselage simulator at the Comac hanger

Mr Lee is Chinese by birth, but has spent most of his life living and working in the United States. His expertise from his previous career at General Electric and Raytheon are vital to the success of Comac.

The company is learning from mistakes and design failures made over decades by Boeing and Airbus in an attempt to get itself ahead.

"The advantage is that we have already learnt something from previous successful experiences or failures," says Mr Lee. "Lots of people here come from overseas and they bring lots of knowledge and talent.

"Also, there's lots of workers here and they work very hard."

The company is owned by the Chinese state who are as keen as Mr Lee that it is a success. The government recently pumped $3bn into the company and it has promised even more.

Taking on Boeing and Airbus is as much a project of national pride as it is a business necessity.

For China, taking on Boeing and Airbus is a project of national pride

"There are a few reasons," adds Mr Lee. "The first is that there are tremendous market needs. In the future we need more and more airlines and aircraft to serve our people.

"Also, we like to use aircraft industry as our sign to improve - because the aircraft industry is very complex - so the aircraft industry brings the whole Chinese industry to a higher level."

The C919 is the key to their success. The company initially gave itself six years to design, build and sell the C919. It should have been in our skies in 2014.

That deadline has now been pushed to the right a little. Staff have been asked to work longer hours to ensure it will be in the sky by 2015.

To the untrained eye, the C919 looks almost identical to the Airbus A320. It has the same wingspan and is almost the same length.

The new passenger jet will seat 190 passengers

Many of the components are the same too. The difference is that the C919 was designed and put together entirely in China by Chinese hands.

It seats 190 passengers, and if the real thing is anything like the replica we are in, the cabin will have a modern, airy feel. It feels a bit like a smaller version of Boeing's Dreamliner.

That's no surprise either, because Comac has learnt lots from the troubled Dreamliner project. They have cherry-picked all that worked and avoided the aspects which did not.

On the ground outside the replica C919 is the evidence this plane is essentially an outsourced airliner even if it is designed and built in China.

The massive wooden crates containing airline parts have been shipped from Europe and America. One has come from Miami, another from Germany.

The jet's engine interface control unit is likely to be made by a UK firm

The C919's power-supply system is made by America's UTC Aerospace; the on-board entertainment will be provided by Thales of France and the Engine Interface Control Unit will probably be made by a UK company called Meggitt.

Mr Lee is keen to talk about safety. It is, he says, natural that people will have concerns about Chinese-made passenger jets. After all, historically at least, China's record on safety and quality is not great.

"These will be as safe as any other aircraft in the sky - Boeing or Airbus," he insists, repeating himself. "The safety level is the same as other aircraft that fly in the sky. So very safe."

It is true that in order to fly, Comac will need to get approval from the US Federal Aviation Administration and the Chinese equivalent, the CAAC.

If the C919 passes those tests, then there is only one other obstacle in the way of success for Comac.

Even without American Federal Aviation approval, Comac can still sell its planes in the massive domestic market. The state-run Chinese airlines will probably be pushed to buy a Chinese-made plane.

Many of the C919's components are similar to those used by Airbus

But in order to succeed with the C919 abroad, Comac must make it cheaper and more efficient than the Boeing and Airbus equivalents. Mr Lee believes it will be, which is why there are already 400 orders for the C919.

There is no published price for the C919 yet, but speculation suggests it will be about $75m, which is $10m less than a B737 or an A320.

That has pricked the ears of one savvy Airline boss from Ireland - Ryanair CEO Michael O'Leary. At the 2011 Paris Airshow, Mr O'Leary signed a cooperation deal with Comac. He hopes the company will build him a bespoke passenger jet which will increase his profits.

Aviation rules stipulate that airlines must provide one flight attendant for every 50 passengers. So a plane with 200 passengers on board must have at least four flight attendants.

However, a plane with just 199 seats in it can legally have three flight attendants on board. Ryanair is reportedly interested in Comac's willingness to build a 199 seater jet.

Ryanair boss Michael O'Leary has signed a co-operation deal with Comac

On safety and passengers' willingness to fly on a jet made in China, Mr O'Leary is unconcerned, pointing out in a recent interview that 99% of his customers have no idea what model or make of plane they are travelling in.

Airbus has already shown its commitment to and belief in China. In 2009 it opened an assembly plant in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin. Chinese-constructed versions of its A320 have been rolling off the production line ever since.

The manager of the plant, German executive Andreas Ockel, gave Sky News an exclusive look inside the plant. He explained that China's aviation industry is now so huge, it is vital for Airbus to have a physical footprint here.

And on safety, he insists, the planes are identical, wherever they are put together.

"When you build an aircraft, safety is about what is designed into the process and into the aircraft itself," Mr Ockel says.

"What we have here is a process that's exactly the same as we have in Europe. You will not be able to differentiate a plane that comes out of here from any plane that comes out of Hamburg or Toulouse."

Back at the Comac plant, Mr Lee hints at just how far China has come in such a short time.

"I can't imagine," he says. "So few years, such tremendous changes, I couldn't have imagined it. And of course the next 30 years? Who knows!?"

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