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Events

Name	organizer	Where

NEWS

No new cases of COVID-19 in Mongolia www.akipress.com

No new cases of coronavirus infection have been detected in Mongolia in the past 24 hours, the Ministry of Health reports.

Yesterday, 568 tests for COVID-19 were conducted, all the people tested negative.

At present 8 patients are being treated in hospital. Of them 6 have a mild form of disease, and 2 patients have a severe form of disease.

As of September 29, Mongolia's total coronavirus cases stands at 313, all imported.

305 people recovered, 8 remain in hospital.

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Onsite research for gas pipeline project to be conducted www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/. On September 24, Mongolia’s Ambassador to the Russian Federation D. Davaa met with E.V. Burmistrova, Deputy Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee and Director General of Gazprom Export, at the central office of Gazprom in Moscow, Russia. The meeting was attended by the Head of Department 512, Gazprom D.V.Handoga and officials of the Embassy.

Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Mongolia and Gazprom of Russia was signed on December 5, 2019 in Sochi within the framework of the official visit of the Prime Minister of Mongolia U.Khurelsukh to Russia. In regard with it Ambassador D.Davaa and E.V.Burmistrova exchanged views on the actions being taken to forward works to study the possibility to construct gas pipeline from Russia to China through the territory of Mongolia and to conduct the preliminary feasibility study on construction of the gas pipeline.

Moreover, the parties agreed that the Mongolian Embassy would assist specialists of Gazprom and representatives of the Russian side in the joint working group to visit Mongolia to conduct required onsite research.

J. Bolor-Erdene

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Mongolia joins China to become seventh member of Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement www.scmp.com

Mongolia formally acceded to the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA) on Tuesday, becoming the seventh member of the long-standing regional pact.
The APTA, previously known as the Bangkok Agreement, represents Mongolia’s first regional trade agreement with developing countries.
The agreement was founded in 1975 between Bangladesh, India, Laos, South Korea and Sri Lanka, with China joining in 2011.
It is an important milestone in the progress of APTA towards becoming a contemporary regional agreement
Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana
“This is the first expansion of APTA since China’s accession in 2001. It is an important milestone in the progress of APTA towards becoming a contemporary regional agreement,” said Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, United Nations under secretary general and executive secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP).
“Simple and smooth implementation of APTA trade preferences demonstrates its members’ commitment towards utilising trade for sustainable development.”
But while the accession is significant, it does not necessarily signal an instant entry for Mongolia into other trade deals, including the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the world’s largest trade deal due to be signed by the end of the year.

RCEP comprises the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations bloc, and five other countries it has free trade deals with, namely Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, Australia and China.
While existing bilateral free trade deals in the region provided the bedrock for RCEP, APTA is completely separate, trade lawyers and experts said.
But if Mongolia continues to deepen ties with other countries that are in both RCEP and APTA, such as China, its biggest trading partner, South Korea and Laos, these relationships may eventually carve out new inroads into the RCEP for Mongolia, experts added.
With its accession to the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement, Mongolia believes that this will help the country to further expand its trade and economic cooperation with the member nations
Tumur Amarsanaa
Through APTA, however, Mongolia will benefit from reduced tariff barriers as well as enhanced market access to South, Southwest and Southeast Asia, as well as to China.
“With its accession to the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement, Mongolia believes that this will help the country to further expand its trade and economic cooperation with the member nations, contribute to diversification of its economy as well as more active involvement in regional integration processes,” said Tumur Amarsanaa, Mongolia’s ambassador to Thailand.
APTA is currently engaged in the fifth round of negotiations to widen tariff preferences in trade in goods and expand areas of liberalisation in investment, services trade, and trade facilitation.

By:
Andrew Mullen

Andrew Mullen returned to the Post in 2018 as a Production Editor for the China Economy desk having earlier worked as a reporter on the Sport desk. He has previously worked for the Press Association, the BBC and sport marketing company Lagardere Sports in both Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.

Su-Lin Tan

Su-Lin Tan joined the Post in 2020 after the Australian Financial Review where she covered housing and commercial property, Asian business and street talk and investigations. She is a qualified accountant and worked in investment banking and funds management both in London and Sydney before becoming a journalist.

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Secretary Pompeo’s Travel to Japan, Mongolia, and the Republic of Korea www.state.gov

Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo will travel to Tokyo, Japan; Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia; and Seoul, the Republic of Korea (ROK) October 4 to 8.

On October 6 in Tokyo, Secretary Pompeo will participate in the second meeting of the Quad Foreign Ministers of Australia, India, and Japan. He will also have meetings with his Japanese counterparts to discuss issues of mutual concern.

Secretary Pompeo will also visit Ulaanbaatar October 7, and Seoul October 7-8 for meetings with senior officials.

The Secretary will return to Washington D.C. on October 8.

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Opening Remarks At The Ceremony For Mongolia’s Accession To The Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (Delivered by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana) www.unescap.org

Excellency Mr. Tumur Amarsanaa, Ambassador of Mongolia to the Kingdom of Thailand,
Representatives from APTA member Countries.
Ladies and gentlemen,

A very warm welcome to this ceremony for Mongolia’s accession to the Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA). I would like to congratulate on Mongolia’s accession to APTA.

By depositing the instrument of accession today, Mongolia becomes the seventh member of the APTA. I would like congratulate Mongolia and other Participating States on completing all necessary processes to finalize accession of Mongolia to APTA after being engaged in negotiation and ratification processes.

This is the first expansion of APTA after the accession of China back in 2001. It is an important milestone in the progress of APTA towards becoming a contemporary regional agreement.

The accession of Mongolia to APTA will benefit business sector of APTA Participating States through facilitating trade and access to Mongolian market, and certainly vice versa.

The APTA is a preferential regional trade agreement established in 1975 and open for accession by any member countries of ESCAP. The current Participating States are Bangladesh, China, India, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Republic of Korea Sri Lanka and now Mongolia. APTA aims to promote the economic development of its members through the adoption of mutually beneficial trade liberalization measures that contribute to regional trade expansion and economic cooperation. Currently, traders in APTA countries can enjoy preferential tariffs on over 10,000 tariff lines.

Currently, APTA is under its 5th round negotiation to widen tariff preferences in trade in goods and expand areas of liberalisation in investment, trade and services and trade facilitation. APTA is still the only trade agreement connecting the big economies of our region and several APTA participating states. So, it could provide a great market access to developing countries as well as contributing to economic development and regional cooperation through its membership expansion.

With regard to trade facilitation, I would like to also inform all of you that two APTA participating countries - Bangladesh and China - already completed their domestic ratification processes for becoming parties to the Framework Agreement on Facilitation of Cross-border Paperless Trade in Asia and the Pacific. As well as 3 other countries have already acceded or ratified the Framework Agreement, so we expect that the paperless trade agreement may enter into force early next year.

As the Framework Agreement on paperless trade is consistent with APTA’s own framework agreement on trade facilitation - and also since all APTA members have actively participated in the development of the paperless trade facilitation treaty, early accession by other APTA Participating States could help the group accelerate and set implementation priorities for trade digitalization both among themselves and the rest of the region. Therefore, it can facilitate and help to make trade more resilient and ensuring recovery from this pandemic.

Therefore, I would like to encourage Mongolia and other Participating States of APTA to accelerate their accession to the Framework Agreement on Facilitation of Cross-border Paperless Trade. I would like to take this opportunity to thank Republic of Korea for driving this initiative and providing support necessary for the development of the paperless trade facilitation treaty since the beginning.

As secretariat, ESCAP will continue its support for the smooth implementation of APTA in Mongolia. In this conjunction we already planned a workshop in mid-October to help Mongolian stakeholders better understand and how to benefit and take advantage of the trade preferences under the agreement. The capacity building workshop is kindly supported by the Government of Republic of Korea as well as other support from APTA participating states.

I would like to extend our sincerest appreciation to all participating states of APTA for their presence today, for all their support to congratulate Mongolia.

Thank you very much

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Government raises USD 600 million in Nomad bond to repay sovereign debts www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. Minister of Finance of Mongolia Ch.Khurelbaatar today announced that the government of Mongolia together with the Bank of Mongolia has issued 5.5-year ‘Nomad’ sovereign bond with 5.125 percent of annual coupon rate, raising USD 600 million on international stock markets. The trades of the Nomad bond, whose repayment is due in April 2026, have been completed by September 29.

Minister Khurelbaatar explained that the purpose of the Nomad bond is to repay the USD 500 million of the five-year Mazaalai bond, maturity of which is approaching in April 2021. With the new issuance of the Nomad bond, the government has made a debt restructuring on part of the current outstanding sovereign debts, exchanging 10.0875-percent Mazaalai bond debts with the 5.125-percent Nomad bond debts, at almost half the interest payment of the Mazaalai.

He further said that the repayment of another sovereign guaranteed Chinggis bond (Mongolia has repaid USD 500 million of the total USD 1.5 billion debts of Chinggis bond in 2018) has been postponed or rescheduled to lessen the burden on the budget.

“This measure now allows the government to save around USD 26.7 million in bond interest payment annually. The government of Mongolia pays around USD 203 million annually for the interest payment of its sovereign bonds, namely Mazaalai, Chinggis, Gerege and Khuraldai, and thanks to the new Nomad bond, the annual payment for the sovereign bond interests is expected to lower down to USD 176.4 million.”

“In other numbers, government budget burden imposed by the total repayment of USD 1.5 billion sovereign debts Mazaalai (USD 500 million), which was issued in April 2016, and Chinggis (USD 1 billion) bonds, issued in December 2012, due in 2021 and 2022 respectively, has now been alleviated or the repayment now has been postponed by 5.5 years” added the Minister.

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'Nationally Appropriate Mitigations Actions in Construction' project concludes www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. On September 29, 'Nationally Appropriate Mitigations Actions in the construction sector of Mongolia (NAMA)', a project designed to assist Mongolia in reducing its greenhouse gas emission (GHG) in the construction sector, organized its closing workshop in Ulaanbaatar.

Representatives from Ministry of Construction and Urban Development (MCUD), Ministry of Environment and Tourism, Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Finance, Capital City Governor’s Office, private sector, NGOs, academia, international organizations, and the project team participated in the workshop. The project is funded by the Global Environmental Facility and implemented by the MCUD and UNDP Mongolia.

The impacts of the climate change on people’s lives and the surrounding environment is imminent and the global net CO2 emissions must drop by at least 45% between 2010 and 2030 to limit the global warming at 1.5°C. Mongolia’s GHG emission is expected to double the 2014 levels by 2030 at the current rate and the largest contributor is energy sector comprising more than 50% of the country’s total GHG emission in which buildings represent the second highest energy consumption.

Since its commencement in 2017, the NAMA project made significant contributions in advancing energy efficiency in the construction sector including inventory methodology and a baseline for GHG emission; the first ever web-based GHG emission inventory and Monitoring, Reporting, and Verification system which were formally adopted by the MCUD; and six pilot projectsы that are projected to save 48 thousand tons of CO2 during its lifetime. The project also contributed to strengthening sector’s human resource capacity through training over 420 professionals and supported creation of over 50 jobs in the energy saving roles.

Ms. Nashida Sattar, Deputy Resident Representative of UNDP Mongolia, stated “Building on these outcomes and our strong partnerships through NAMA project, UNDP Mongolia is continuing its support to the Government of Mongolia in climate change mitigation through our successor project, Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC.) I would like to thank everyone here today for your active engagement and contribution to a successful implementation of the NAMA project. We hope for the same level of collaboration on the new NDC project.”

Background

UNDP is the leading United Nations organization fighting to end the injustice of poverty, inequality, and climate change. Working with our broad network of experts and partners in 170 countries, we help nations to build integrated, lasting solutions for people and planet.

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Rio needs more than a safe pair of hands www.bloomberg.com

Rio Tinto Group may choose to play it safe in its next choice of chief executive officer. With Jean-Sebastien Jacques heading for the exit after the destruction of a sacred Aboriginal site, Australian politicians are also piling on pressure for a local to be given the role. The mining giant should resist the temptation of an old-school solution.

Jacques’s successor will certainly have to rebuild Rio’s credibility after the spectacular failure at Juukan Gorge. Repairing frayed community and government relations will be among the first tasks. It won’t be enough to pick a veteran technocrat for CEO, though, as miners did after the mistakes of the last boom. He or she won’t be able to repeat the trick that saw French-born J-S, as he is widely known, hand back billions to shareholders.

SIGN UP FOR THE IRON ORE DIGEST
The new boss will have to show Rio understands the iron ore business, which accounts for more than 90% of earnings and where prices are softening. Longer-term reconstruction will also involve resolving large, troublesome projects in Guinea and Mongolia, and positioning the company for greener growth. A steady hand on the tiller, while necessary, won’t be sufficient.

Jacques, who took the top job in 2016 at 44, did plenty of things right. Rio has distributed $38 billion in cash returns since that year, including 2020’s interim dividend, and the shares have doubled. He extricated Rio from the Freeport-McMoRan Inc.-operated Grasberg mine in Indonesia. And he sold out of coal at a laudable price, well before peers began to rush for the door — even if the environmental, social and governance halo that came with both of those departures didn’t last.

The outgoing CEO has also left plenty of problems for his replacement, well beyond the public relations disaster in Western Australia. A unit he set up to invest in green-economy materials has yet to make its mark. Mongolia, where Jacques’s role in settling a previous dispute was key to his elevation, remains a technical, financial and political headache. The future of the giant Simandou iron ore mine in Guinea is also unclear. Least defensible of all, he stopped short of putting the miner on a decisively carbon-light track, failing to set targets for lower emissions beyond the company’s own operations.

To make matters worse, his premature departure could hardly have been messier. As a result, a tainted CEO remains in place temporarily, while the chairman and board who will pick his replacement are badly sullied, too. They underestimated the problem and initially backed the forceful Jacques. They also failed to adequately prepare for his succession.

Yet while the Anglo-Australian miner has suffered a reputational hit, its core operation is still producing impressive margins. It’s an enviable position that gives the company room to do more than bask in the iron ore price, even if investors are wary of radical moves — its shares rose after Jacques’s departure, on relief that big investments are off the table for now.

One option to signal willingness to change is to pick an outsider, preferably one with operational expertise to appease investors, but also enough familiarity with Rio to grapple with the culture and its problems. That could be rail freight operator Aurizon Holdings Ltd.’s Andrew Harding, a former Rio iron ore boss passed over for the top job in 2016, if his Pilbara record holds up after Juukan Gorge.

Otherwise, gold miner Newmont Corp.’s Tom Palmer, who previously worked in iron ore, or Newcrest Mining Ltd.’s Sandeep Biswas. Better yet, Rio could pick a female leader. Worthy candidates include Zoe Yujnovich, a one-time boss of Rio’s Canadian iron ore venture, before she left for Royal Dutch Shell Plc in 2014.

Outsiders can be slow to bring on board, though, and Rio cannot afford to wait six or 12 months. Insiders, then, come into view.

The new chief will have to rebuild bridges. Besides Western Australia, this matters in Mongolia, where Rio is in arbitration over tax payments. In Guinea, there is an election on the horizon. That may point to Mongolian-born Bold Baatar, who has been involved with the Oyu Tolgoi operation and is now in charge of Simandou, as part of energy and minerals. 

Former bankers make deal-wary shareholders uneasy, though. That suggests instead aluminum boss Alf Barrios, who has led a turnaround and proved he can tune in to clients’ green demands. China, a key consumer of Rio’s iron ore and other metals, has just promised to be carbon neutral by 2060, a warning worth heeding. Change isn’t easy, as BP Plc has shown. Adapting to the zero-emissions reality will be less dramatic for Rio, but no less necessary.

One person can’t fix all these things, of course. A final step will be to refresh Rio’s underwhelming board, particularly with ESG and community relations experience, given mining in the Pilbara won’t be the same in the next decade and beyond. There’s room here for that extra Australian voice that Canberra is demanding, perhaps in the chairman’s spot. 

Jacques’s abrupt departure has offered the world’s second-largest miner a chance to course-correct. Rio would be foolish not to take it.

(By Clara Ferreira Marques)

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Mongolia wins 4th gold medal from International Mathematical Olympiad www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. The 61st International Mathematical Olympiad was held online on September 21-22. At this year’s olympiad, O.Misheel had great success, winning the gold medal. In the history of the Olympiad, it is the 4th gold medal by Mongolian students.

Under the coaching of B.Batbayasgalan and U.Batzorig, a total of 6 students participated in the Olympiad, namely M.Unubold (School No.1), O.Misheel (Shine Mongol school), A.Nyamdavaa (Sant school), B.Khantushig (School No.11), B.Batsambuu (Olonlog school), and D.Enerelt (Sant school). With two silver medals won by M.Unubold and A.Nyamdavaa and a bronze medal won by B.Khantushig alongside O.Misheel winning the gold, the Mongolian students ranked 29th as a team.

M.Unubold won the 3rd gold medal for Mongolia from the International Mathematical Olympiad in 2019, whereas A.Nyamdavaa has also recently won the first ever gold medal for Mongolia from the International Olympiad in Informatics this year.

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Khovd Eco Cement Plant to satisfy western region's demand www.montsame.mn

Khovd /MONTSAME/ The construction of Khovd Eco Cement Plant with a planned annual capacity of 300 thousand tons is currently 60 percent complete. A group led by Speaker of the State Great Khural G.Zandanshatar recently visited the construction site in the aimag's Buyant soum.

Ten local companies with 450 workers are building 32 separate structures of the large project. The plant can supply low-priced cement to the five western aimags which buy cement double the price in Ulaanbaatar for their yearly use of around 220 thousand tons of cement in total.

The plant is also expected to reduce apartment prices by 30-40 percent, create 2,000 new jobs, improve citizens’ living environment, and open up opportunities for major development projects. More specifically, with the opening of the plant, the average price for apartment in the western region will decrease from MNT 1.1 million per square meter to MNT 850-870 thousand.

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Category

Events

NEWS

No new cases of COVID-19 in Mongolia www.akipress.com

Onsite research for gas pipeline project to be conducted www.montsame.mn

Mongolia joins China to become seventh member of Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement www.scmp.com

Secretary Pompeo’s Travel to Japan, Mongolia, and the Republic of Korea www.state.gov

Opening Remarks At The Ceremony For Mongolia’s Accession To The Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (Delivered by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana) www.unescap.org

Government raises USD 600 million in Nomad bond to repay sovereign debts www.montsame.mn

'Nationally Appropriate Mitigations Actions in Construction' project concludes www.montsame.mn

Rio needs more than a safe pair of hands www.bloomberg.com

Mongolia wins 4th gold medal from International Mathematical Olympiad www.montsame.mn

Khovd Eco Cement Plant to satisfy western region's demand www.montsame.mn

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