News

Events

Name	organizer	Where
"Open to Export" ICC WTO International business award	ICC WTO	London

NEWS

6th Burns Supper in Ulaanbaatar www.mongolianbusinessdatabase.com

Since 2012 Honorary Consul for Mongolia in Scotland in association with the Mongolian British Chamber of Commerce have hosted an annual Burns Supper in Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbaatar. As well as celebrating the life of Robert Burns, Scotland’s National Bard, we reflect on the growing ties between Scotland and Mongolia. In past years we have seen performances from the band of the Mongolian Armed Forces, the Ulaaanbaatar Scottish dance group and renowned Scottish bagpiper Alisdair McCallum.

The 6th Ulaanbaatar Burns Supper will take place on 28th January 2017.
Tickets are now on sale for this event at http://www.mongolianconsul.com/ulan-bator-burns-supper/

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Ulyukayev Arrest Scuppered Japanese Bid for Shares in Russia’s Rosneft www.themoscowtimes.com

The arrest of Russian Economy Minister Alexei Ulyukayev may have killed off a privatization deal being brokered between Japanese investors and Russian oil giant Rosneft, the Dozhd television network reported Thursday.

Japan's state-owned Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC) had earlier expressed interest in buying the Kremlin's 19.5 percent share in Rosneft, an unnamed source told the outlet.

Japanese negotiators were reportedly reassured that Ulyukayev was “absolutely trustworthy” prior to his Nov. 14 arrest on charges of corruption.

The arrest reportedly shook Japanese officials, who Dozhd's source described as having been “extremely cautious.”

The Russian side also had doubts about the Japanese deal, Dozhd reported. Rosneft feared the deal would not be settled before the Kremlin's Dec. 5 deadline.

Rosneft had reportedly faced considerable state pressure to sell the shares before the end of the year and provide a much-needed boost to Russian state coffers.

The Kremlin's 19.5 percent stake in Rosneft was bought by British-Swiss commodities trading firm Glencore and the Qatari Sovereign Wealth Fund for 10.2 billion euros ($11.3 billion).

Rosneft's shares skyrocketed by 5.1 percent to reach 364.5 rubles ($5.75) per share when news of the deal broke on Dec. 8.

Neither JOGMEC's Moscow office’s nor the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry responded to requests for comment.

Rosneft press secretary Mikhail Leontiev told Dozhd that negotiations had been carried out between several companies, but did not comment on a potential deal with JOGMEC.

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Facebook finally gets serious about fighting fake news www.aljazeera.com

Facebook is taking new measures to curb the spread of fake news on its huge and influential social network, focusing on the "worst of the worst" offenders.

The online behemoth is partnering with outside fact-checkers to sort honest news reports from made-up stories that play to people's passions and preconceived notions.

Fake news stories touch on a broad range of subjects, from unproven cancer cures to celebrity hoaxes and backyard Bigfoot sightings. But fake political stories have drawn attention because of the possibility they influenced public perceptions and could have swayed the US presidential election.

There have been other dangerous real-world consequences.

A fake story about a child sex ring at a Washington DC, pizza joint prompted a man to fire an assault rifle inside the restaurant, Comet Ping Pong.

"We do believe that we have an obligation to combat the spread of fake news," said John Hegeman, vice president of product management on news feed, in an interview.

But he added Facebook also takes its role to provide people an open platform seriously, and it is not the company's place to decide what is true or false.

To start, Facebook is making it easier for users to report fake news when they see it, which they can now do in two steps. If enough people report a story as fake, Facebook will pass it to third-party fact-checking organisations that are part of the nonprofit Poynter Institute's International Fact-Checking Network.

The five fact-checking organisations Facebook is currently working with are ABC News, The Associated Press, FactCheck.org, Politifact and Snopes. Facebook says this group is likely to expand.

Stories that flunk the fact check won't be removed from Facebook. But they'll be publicly flagged as "disputed", which will force them to appear lower down in people's news feed. Users can click on a link to learn why that is. And if people decide they want to share the story with friends anyway, they can - but they'll get another warning.

By partnering with respected outside organisations and flagging, rather than removing, fake stories, Facebook is sidestepping some of the biggest concerns experts had raised about it exercising its considerable power in this area.

For instance, some worried Facebook might act as a censor - and not a skillful one, either, being an engineer-led company with little experience making complex media ethics decisions.

"They definitely don't have the expertise," said Robyn Caplan, researcher at Data & Society, a nonprofit research institute funded in part by Microsoft and the National Science Foundation.

In an interview before Facebook's announcement, she urged the company to "engage media professionals and organisations that are working on these issues".

Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has said fake news constitutes less than one percent of what's on Facebook , but critics say that's wildly misleading. For a site with nearly two billion users tapping out posts by the millisecond, even one percent is a huge number, especially since the total includes everything that's posted on Facebook - photos, videos, and daily updates in addition to news articles.

In a study released on Thursday, the Pew Research Center found nearly one-quarter of Americans say they have shared a made-up news story, either knowingly or unknowingly. Forty-five percent said the government, politicians, and elected officials bear responsibility for preventing made-up stories from gaining attention.

Forty-two percent put this responsibility on social networking sites and search engines, and a similar percentage on the public itself.

Fake news stories can be quicker to go viral than news stories from traditional sources. That's because they were created for sharing - they are clickable, often inflammatory, and pander to emotional responses.

Mike Caufield, director of blended and networked learning at Washington State University Vancouver, tracked whether real or fake news is more likely to be shared on Facebook.

He compared a made-up story from a fake outlet with articles in local newspapers. The fake story, headlined "FBI Agent Suspected In Hillary Leaks Found Dead In Apparent Murder-Suicide" from the nonexistent Denver Guardian, was shared 1,000 times more than material from the real newspapers.

"To put this in perspective, if you combined the top stories from the Boston Globe, Washington Post, Chicago Tribune, and LA Times, they still had only 5 percent the viewership of an article from a fake news," he wrote in a blog post.

Facebook is emphasising it's only going after the most egregious fake news creators and sites, "the clear hoaxes spread by spammers for their own gain", wrote Adam Mosseri , vice president of product for Facebook's news feed, in a blog post Thursday.

Depriving scammers of money could be effective.

"Google and Facebook are the single two biggest engines for monetization," said Susan Bidel, a senior analyst at Forrester Research focusing on digital publishers. "I don't think you are ever going to completely eradicate it. But it could get down to a manageable level."

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Australian court increases fine over 'misleading' Nurofen www.bbc.com

The UK manufacturer of Nurofen has been hit with an increased fine of A$6m (£3.6m; $4.4m) for misleading customers in Australia.
Australia's Federal Court ruled last year that products marketed as targeting specific pains, such as migraines, were actually identical.
Reckitt Benckiser was fined A$1.7m in April, but Australia's consumer watchdog argued the sum was too low.
The court on Friday agreed to increase the penalty.
"The objective of any penalty in this case must be to ensure that Reckitt Benckiser and other 'would-be wrongdoers' think twice and decide not to act against the strong public interest," the court's justices said in a joint statement.
The pharmaceutical giant was also ordered to pay the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) legal costs.
The ACCC said the company had profited substantially from misleading customers on products including Nurofen Back Pain, Nurofen Period Pain, Nurofen Migraine Pain and Nurofen Tension Headache.
"This is the highest corporate penalty awarded for misleading conduct under the Australian Consumer Law," ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said.

"The ACCC welcomes this decision, having originally submitted that a penalty of $6 million or higher was appropriate given the longstanding and widespread nature of the conduct, and the substantial sales and profit that was made."
In a statement to the BBC, Nurofen said it acknowledged the court's decision but would seek legal advice.
"Nurofen is disappointed by this decision, as it considers that the original penalty of the Federal Court in April was appropriate in all of the circumstances," the statement read.
The court in April ruled that Reckitt Benckiser had contravened Australian consumer law by saying its Nurofen Specific Pain products were each formulated to treat a specific type of pain.
Each product contained the same active ingredient, ibuprofen lysine 342mg.
The company said: "Nurofen did not intend to mislead consumers, however we recognise that we could have done more to assist our consumers in navigating the Nurofen Specific Pain Range."
Earlier this year, Reckitt Benckiser removed a TV advert for one of its products - Nurofen Express. The advert had implied that the capsules directly targeted muscles in the head.
The company has said it will not re-broadcast it, following complaints that the ad was misleading.

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Housing Price Index for old apartments drops by 7.8 percent www.mongolia.gogo.mn

Following is the public report on results of the “Housing Price Index” (HPI) research conducted independently by Tenkhleg Zuuch LLC at the request of Mongol Bank for November 2016.

The research shows that the general index of housing price was at 0.8 percent in November 2016. It shows a decline by 0.3 percent compared to the previous month. The general index dropped by 4.4% compared to the starting period, and by 5.5 % compared to the same month in previous year. Below are the Price index indicators classified by new and old houses.

The new house price index was at 15.7 percent. There is no change compared to the previous month. The index dropped by 2.8% compared to an earlier period of this year, and by 3.3% compared to the same month in previous year.

The old house price index was at 8.1 percent. This shows a decline by 0.8 percent compared to the previous month. The index dropped by 6.7% compared to the earlier period of this year, and by 7.8 % compared to the same month in previous year.

HPI was calculated by applying Hedonic regression methods and the calculation was based on the information available for 4938 old and new houses supplied for sale at the real estate market of Ulaanbaatar for the particular month, reports the Bank of Mongolia. 

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World Bank raises record $75bn to help poorest members www.theguardian.com

The World Bank has pledged to step up the fight against extreme poverty after announcing that tough negotiations with rich countries have left it with a record $75bn (£60bn) for grants and soft loans to its poorest members over the next three years.

Despite budgetary pressures caused by slow growth and austerity, the Washington-based institution said 47 countries had agreed to make donations to the International Development Association – its fund for providing assistance to the least-developed nations.

The bank said that for the first time in IDA’s 56-year history it would be using its strong credit rating to raise money for the fund from the world’s capital markets. A third of the $75bn will be raised in this way, with a third contributed by donor governments and a third coming from the bank’s own resources. The last IDA round raised just under $52bn.

“This is a pivotal step in the movement to end extreme poverty,” the World Bank Group president, Jim Yong Kim, said. “The commitments made by our partners, combined with IDA’s innovations to crowd in the private sector and raise funds from capital markets, will transform the development trajectory of the world’s poorest countries. We are grateful for our partners’ trust in IDA’s ability to deliver results.”

IDA was set up in 1960 and runs on three-year replenishment cycles. The new round – IDA18 – will run from 2017 to 2020 and is intended to support health and nutrition for 400 million people, access to water for 45 million people, training for 9-10 million teachers and immunisations for 130-180 million children.

The bank will not reveal details of the contributions made by individual countries until the new year. Britain was the biggest single donor to the last round of funding (IDA17), followed by the US.

The Department for International Development will maintain funding for IDA at its previous sterling level but, at a time when government aid spending has come under attack, will insist on reforms at the bank to ensure the money is well spent. The development secretary, Priti Patel, has made it clear to Kim that he should be able to explain why, where and how the bank is spending UK taxpayers’ money.

Kyle Peters, the World Bank Group’s interim managing director and co-chair of the IDA18 negotiations, said: “With this innovative package, the world’s poorest countries – especially the most fragile and vulnerable – will get the support they need to grow, create opportunities for people, and make themselves more resilient to shocks and crises.

“IDA’s focus on issues like climate change, gender equality and preventing conflict and violence will also contribute to greater stability and progress around the world.”

Peters added that the commitment was a “decisive and inspiring” response to the challenge of achieving the ambitious sustainable development goals for poverty reduction adopted by the international community in 2015.

The bank said it had asked donor countries to match the contributions in national currencies that they made to IDA17 and that in the vast majority of cases the call had been heeded.

Kim believes the extra money will help achieve the two key goals he has set for the bank: eradicating extreme poverty by 2030 and raising the living standards of the bottom 40% of the population in developing countries. The bank says IDA will be able to double the resources to address fragility, conflict and violence as well as additional financing for refugees and countries that host them.

Some of the extra funding will be channelled through the bank’s private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation, a decision that drew criticism from the development charity Oxfam. Nick Galasso, head of Oxfam’s World Bank office, said: “This is great and sorely needed news, when the world faces the crises of inequality and climate change.

“The World Bank is also proposing to dramatically increase the money it gives via the private sector, which would be a bad idea. The bank has a very poor track record in this area, bankrolling corporations that make active use of tax havens and others that have been involved in murderous land grabs. We urge the bank to significantly increase their oversight and protections before a single dollar is invested in this way.”

Jamie Drummond, executive director for global strategy at the One Campaign, said: “We expect more than half of the $75bn committed during this replenishment to flow to Africa over the next three years. Such robust backing for the bank is a real boon for the fight against extreme poverty, hunger, deadly diseases, and the other root causes of forced displacement. It offers an important opportunity as we partner to help countries like Nigeria and Mali tackle extreme poverty, extreme climate, and extreme ideology.”

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Super Mario Run launches on the iPhone and iPad www.bbc.com

Games company Nintendo has rolled out Super Mario Run to iPhones and iPads.

The app marks the first time the firm has created a smartphone game based on its most famous character.

It follows the successful release of Pokemon Go earlier in the year. Nintendo owns a minority stake in the Pokemon Company, but the title was developed by a third party.

Experts predict the new game will also prove popular, but suggest an anti-piracy feature is misguided.

"Mario is one of the best loved and established icons of gaming and I think this is going to be tremendously successful," said Piers Harding-Rolls from the IHS Technology consultancy.

"To open up the full game you have to make an in-app purchase - it's quite big but it is a one-off and I don't think people will think Nintendo is trying to rinse their audience."

But he added that he thought it was a "misstep" to require users to be online in order to play - something the game's producer Shigeru Miyamoto has said was done to limit piracy.

"Some demographics will be wanting to use this as they commute and we know that the coverage in some markets is relatively patchy," said Mr Harding-Rolls.

"Not having offline capability to play will also be an issue for kids travelling in cars."

Build to unlock

Super Mario Run takes the Super Mario Bros format - where the character sprints from left to right, collecting coins, jumping over obstacles and squishing enemies - and tweaks the gameplay to make it easy to play one-handed on a touchscreen.

The free version acts as a brief demo, but paying a £7.99 fee offers full access to three modes:

World Tour - a story mode spanning six worlds, which Mario must travel across to save Princess Peach

Toad Rally - a multiplayer mode, in which players compete to show off challenging moves and collect coins to get the highest score

Kingdom Builder - a creation mode, where players use the coins they have earned elsewhere to add buildings and decorations, some of which unlock bonus characters and other extra content

For now the title is restricted to Apple's iOS platform, but Nintendo has said it will come to Android "at some point in the future".

Nintendo had initially shunned smartphones, preferring to focus on its own hardware.

However, weak sales of its Wii U console and a decline in demand for its 3DS handheld caused the firm to sustain large financial losses, putting it under pressure to change tack.

It launched its first smartphone game, Miitomo, in March to mixed reviews but strong demand.

Then in July, the release of Pokemon Go became a global phenomenon, lifting Nintendo's share price despite the fact it only received a relatively small cut of all sales.

But last month, the firm revealed that two subsequent Pokemon games released for the 3DS - Sun and Moon - had become the fastest-selling titles in its history in Europe and the Americas.

Nintendo's domestic rival Sony is also making a fresh efforts to create iOS and Android games based on its PlayStation brands.

On Monday, it revealed a new Parappa the Rapper title and an Everybody's Golf game were being developed by its ForwardWorks studio.

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Moscow & Tokyo seal deal to form joint investment fund www.rt.com

Russia and Japan have agreed to create a joint fund to encourage investment in an exclusive economic zone, according to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Trutnev.

The deal was signed between the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and Russia's Far East Investment and Export Agency and the Far East Development Fund on Thursday during the first day of Russian President Vladimir Putin's trip to Japan.

The fund aims to boost cooperation between the countries and encourage Japanese investment in the Russian Far East region and the country in general.

“We signed a memorandum on creating a joint investment platform. Such funds help to set a better stage for investment,” Trutnev said, stressing that Russia is seeking new ways of attracting business.

The 100 billion yen ($901 million) fund will invest in medical and urban development projects as well as upgrades to manufacturing facilities, according to reports in the Japanese media.

The countries will provide roughly equal amounts to the fund so projects can start as early as next year.

President Putin is on a visit to Japan to meet Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Putin’s visit to Japan has been on hold since 2014 and is seen as a breakthrough in Russian-Japanese relations.

Tokyo and Moscow are expected to sign nearly 50 business contracts on the sidelines of the Russian-Japanese business forum the leaders will attend on Friday.

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These are America's biggest trading partners www.cnn.com

President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to upend America's trading relationships, especially with China, Mexico and Canada.
The stakes are huge: A CNNMoney analysis of official trade data shows the three countries do $1.9 trillion in combined trade with the U.S. each year, which is a major chunk of America's $5 trillion in global annual trade.
To put that in perspective, if you stacked 1.9 trillion $1 bills on top of each other, the pile would reach about half way to the moon.
Trump has promised to renegotiate or withdraw from NAFTA -- a free trade deal between the U.S., Canada and Mexico -- and he's threatened to slap tariffs of 45% on Chinese goods. He also said this month he'd introduce high taxes on U.S. companies that move jobs to Mexico.
us canada mexico imports
It's too early to say whether Trump will follow through on his promises. But there's little doubt that doing so would have a massive effect on trade around the world.
As Trump plans his move into the White House, here are the trade statistics you should know, compiled from 2015 data from the Census Bureau and Bureau of Economic Analysis:
China is America's largest trading partner, with annual trade in goods and services worth about $663 billion. Chinese exports to the U.S. totaled nearly $500 billion in 2015 -- more than any other destination.
The value of U.S. trade with Canada is $662 billion, just a smidge less than China. Canada is the largest market for U.S. exports, taking in 15% of America's goods and services, worth $337 billion annually.
Mexico ranks as America's third biggest trading partner, worth $586 billion.
Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom and South Korea round out the next spots. Their combined trade with the U.S. is worth $884 billion per year, significantly more than China.
us china trade
Many nations count on Americans to buy their products. For example, over 60% of all Canadian trade is done with the U.S., according to data from the World Trade Organization. And it takes in over 80% of all Mexican goods.
The U.S. is also the top destination for British and German exports.
CNNMoney's new trade infographic breaks down all the key trading relationships you need to know about:

http://money.cnn.com/…/news/economy/how-us-trade-stacks-up/…

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China's outbound direct investment up 55.3% in Jan-Nov www.chinadaily.com

China's outbound direct investment from the non-financial sector registered around 1.07 trillion yuan ($161.7 billion) in the first 11 months of 2016, up 55.3 percent on a year-on-year basis, data released by the Ministry of Commerce show.

The country's outbound direct investment into Africa reached $2.5 billion in the first 11 months of 2016, increasing 31 percent from the same period last year:

Foreign direct investment that went to China rose 3.9 percent year-on-year to 731.8 billion yuan in the first 11 months this year.

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