This BBC podcast is supported by the UK.
Hi, this is Janak Jalil from the Global News Podcast.
As Venezuela's new leader is sworn in after the ousting of President Nicolas Maduro, we delve into who Delcy Rodriguez is and how she could navigate the threats made by Donald Trump and his administration.
Join us to hear the day's top stories from BBC News, delivered twice a day on weekdays, daily at weekends.
Search for the Global News Podcast wherever you get your BBC podcasts.
US oil stocks jump as investors bet upheaval in Venezuela could reshape access to its vast oil reserves.
It's World Business Express from the BBC World Service.
I'm Leanna Byrd.
Iran is introducing a new monthly payment to help with living costs.
And we look at how South Korea overtook the U.S. as the world's second largest cosmetics exporter.
Financial markets, businesses and investors are still digesting the fallout from America's dramatic military intervention in Venezuela over the weekend.
Shares of US oil giants like Chevron and ExxonMobil are soaring after President Trump suggested they can play a lead role in restoring Venezuela's oil industry.
But there's been criticism from China and Iran, traditional allies of Venezuela, and from Spain, which is home to an estimated 600000 Venezuelans, many who have fled the economic troubles in their home country.
So how important is an economic recovery right now for the people of Venezuela?
Patrick Duddy was US ambassador to Venezuela under the presidencies of George W Bush and Barack Obama.
Look at the numbers for Venezuela's GDP contraction.
From 2013, when Maduro took over, to 2023, the national economy in Venezuela contracted contracted about 75.
This is extraordinary.
At the same time, about 8 million Venezuelans fled the country.
Most of them are in Latin America, taxing, obviously, the social services of neighboring countries.
I think a Venezuelan recovery would be not only good for Venezuela, where now 80 of the population lives below the poverty line, but it would be good for the region, as well as for the United States.
How do you think the likes of China Russia Iran, others are going to feel about its economic partner being taken from its country?
Well, they'll clearly not be happy.
I think the country that will be most immediately affected will be Cuba, which has been for years receiving either free or deeply discounted oil from Venezuela.
Indeed, Venezuela has, to a very large extent, been the replacement, if you will, for Soviet support during the Cold War for Cuba.
China at the moment receives about two-thirds to three-quarters of the oil supply that Venezuela is still able to produce and export, despite sanctions.
But that's still a relatively small part of what China requires.
Nevertheless, they will clearly be unhappy.
And I think the Chinese will also regret it if it comes about the end of their ability to use Venezuela as a kind of landing pad in the region.
China is enormously important these days in Latin America and has replaced the United States as the region's largest trading partner, at least in South America.
I think one of the interesting things about Venezuela is it's got these massive oil reserves.
But in terms of globally, it's not actually a huge player when it comes to exporting oil globally.
The Venezuelan oil sector is in terrible shape.
When President Chavez was elected in 1998, they were producing over 3 million barrels a day.
They're producing maybe a million, probably slightly less, and exporting 800,000 to 900,000 barrels.
That is a two-thirds drop in the oil production of the country with the largest reserves in the world.
That was Patrick Duddy, former US ambassador to Venezuela.
With me now, Bill Denning, Chief Investment Officer of the London-based investment company, W1M.
Bill, where is the oil price at now?
Well, it started today a bit weak, but it's actually up a few cents at the moment.
But I think one of the things with the oil price is that it has been pretty weak over the last year or so.
It's down about 20%.
And some of that is on already existing fears that there's sort of some oversupply in the.
So the interesting thing will be whether or not the potential for an increase in the supply from Venezuela can lead to another down leg in the price.
It's probably too early to tell, because it's going to take time to ramp up production again given, as your previous guest was saying, there's been a collapse in production in recent years.
But it has sent gold prices up, hasn't it?
Yes.
Allegedly, this is because of geopolitical risks, but I'm not sure.
I think gold is one of these things that's been doing very well recently.
It's in a genuine bull market and sort of any news story is probably an excuse.
I actually think that if there is more oil produced, the pressure downward on inflation would probably be one of the results of that.
And I think that's statistically not been that good for gold.
So not really sure about gold.
Maybe fool's gold.
Bill Denning from W1M.
Thank you so much for joining us.
And speaking of gold, officials in Malaysia's Kelantan region have begun handing out gold panning licences to allow people to supplement their income.
Priority has been given to impoverished people.
Global gold prices, as we've mentioned, reached record highs in recent months.
Officials said the move was aimed at ensuring gold panning was regulated without the use of environment damaging heavy machinery.
Turning to Iran now, our deadly protests over the state of the economy are entering their ninth day.
At the same time, Iran's government is rolling out a new monthly payment to every citizen, worth about 7.
It will be paid for four months, not in cash, but as credit that can only be spent on certain basic goods in an attempt to ease the economic pressure on households.
Now South Korea's President Lee Jae-myung is in Beijing today for talks with China's leader Xi Jinping, where he's expected to press for closer economic ties to raise the issue of China's unofficial ban on Korean pop culture.
And that includes Korean skincare and cosmetics, better known as K-beauty.
This year, South Korea overtook the United States to become the world's second largest cosmetics exporter, behind only France.
So what's driving that rise?
And how important is culture to the business story?
Our Biz Asia business correspondent, Sir Jana Tiwari, travelled to South Korea to find out more.
Search for Korean skincare on any social media platform and you'll find tens of thousands of videos, posts and reviews.
By moisturizing, you're helping the skin cells to rapidly repair themselves.
Beauty influencer Leah Yu has more than a million followers on YouTube and regularly posts about K-beauty.
She explains why it's so popular.
South Korean technology in terms of the formulation, the texture, the overall experience of the product in skincare has really, really been optimized for social media.
Last year, South Korean companies sold 10 billion worth of beauty products to customers around the world.
And products are so popular globally, they're now stocked in global retailers like Sephora, Boots and Walmart.
I've just entered the factory where products from brands like Laneige and COSRX are being bottled and packaged up.
There are rows and rows of production lines fully automated with just a few workers supervising.
One of the rows is dedicated to Laneige's water sleeping mask.
One unit is sold every 13 seconds somewhere in the world.
That's helped propel its parent company, Amore Pacific, to become South Korea's biggest beauty brand.
Here's CEO Sangwon Kim.
K-beauty did not emerge overnight.
It developed over 20 years alongside the rise of K-culture.
And we believe it's not a trend, but a mainstream movement that will last for a long time.
An elaborate ecosystem in South Korea keeps costs down and means companies can launch products quickly, going from concept to shelf in under six months, something that can take Western brands years.
My pores...
Kira and Marcus are both tourists from the US who are trying out skin procedures at this Seoul clinic.
I think it's almost like a tourist attraction now.
You know, you almost kind of have to try it once you come.
Here it's like really cheap and kind of everybody does it.
This month, the South Korean government officially recognized K-beauty as a strategic national asset.
It's promised policies to help manufacturing and boost exports, a vote of confidence in the industry and an investment to make sure its global glow-up continues to brighten.
Sir and Janet Tuari with that report.
And that's it from World Business Express.
I'm Leanna Byrne.
Thanks so much for listening.
Hi, this is Janak Jalil from the Global News Podcast.
As Venezuela's new leader is sworn in after the ousting of President Nicolas Maduro, we delve into who Delcy Rodriguez is and how she could navigate the threats made by Donald Trump and his administration.
Join us to hear the day's top stories from BBC News, delivered twice a day on weekdays, daily at weekends.
Search for the Global News Podcast wherever you get your BBC podcasts.
