At the meeting, Minister D.Sumiyabazar said Deutsche Bank is possible to cooperate with the Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi JSC for issuing later's IPO. Moreover, the Minister informed of lead-up to an upcoming meeting of Mongolia-Germany Intergovernmental Commission.

The same day, Minister D.Sumiyabazar received Nandita Parshad, Managing Director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)’s Energy and Natural Resources.

The parties exchanged views on collaboration in resolving water issue Gobi region is confronted with and on technical assistance projects and measures and ways of cooperation within Gold-2 program. 
B.Batchimeg

The index is calculated based on the speed and direction of economic activity, and analysts say an increase is a sign of a growing economy.

As of March, the market growth index increased and reached its highest point in the last six months. World Economics also highlighted that there was an increase in the business confidence index. In February the index was at 53.4 points, but it approached almost 60 points in March. In 2016, the business confidence index was at 30 points.

The sale would be the second one this week, and in line with Rio’s strategic decision to exit coal to focus on iron ore, copper and aluminum.

The company noted it was in the process of offloading its remaining Australian coal asset — a stake in the Kestrel underground mine.

"We believe this agreement for the sale of Winchester South represents the best option for the future development of the project while delivering attractive value for Rio Tinto," chief executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques said in the statement.

The transaction, subject to Australian regulatory approvals, is expected to close in the second quarter of the year.

Winchester South is a large, undeveloped coal project located in the northern Bowen Basin, roughly 30km south-east of the Moranbah township. It holds 356 million tonnes of coking and thermal coal mineral resources.

According to Whitehaven, the project has the potential for an open cut mine life of 20-30 years with significant exploration potential, ROM coal production of 7.5 million to 15 million tonnes annually and product coal in the range of 3.5 million-7.5 million tonnes a year.

That was despite the much-vaunted rapport between US President Donald Trump and China’s Xi Jinping, following the former’s state visit to Beijing last year. A fortnight ago, Trump announced tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, hitting the EU, Japan and South Korea, as well as China.

“The Chinese side never wants to fight a trade war with anybody, but if we are forced to, we will not hide from it,” Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying warned on Wednesday. Beijing will “definitely take firm and necessary countermeasures to defend its legal rights,” she said, as quoted by China’s Global Times.

Meanwhile, the Commerce Ministry said in a statement that Vice-Minister Wang Shouwen had slammed Trump’s new wave of protectionism at an informal meeting of ministers from 50 World Trade Organization (WTO) member-states in India earlier this week.

“Trade restriction measures will not only hurt the global trade order but also cause serious damage to the multilateral trade system,” Wang said, urging all countries to “support the global multilateral trade system and defend the authority and effectiveness of WTO rules.”

The Commerce ministry welcomed Wednesday’s WTO ruling against Obama-era anti-subsidy tariffs on Chinese goods. The decision “proves that the US side has violated WTO rules, repeatedly abused trade remedy measures, which has seriously damaged the fair and just nature of the international trade environment and weakened the stability of the multilateral trading system,” the statement said.

In the Argentine capital Buenos Aires this week, outgoing People's Bank of China governor Zhou Xiaochuan stressed China’s “continued support for multilateralism” at a summit of G20 finance ministers and central bank governors.

Chinese Premier Li Keqiang told a Tuesday press conference that the two economic powers should talk through their differences rather than impose trade restrictions. “In trade, disputes are always resolved through consultation, negotiation and dialogue. I hope both sides will act rationally rather than emotionally to avoid a trade war,” he said.

Suggestions and proposals of the participants on respective provisions regarding state registration and mass consumption of organic products will be reflected in the draft regulation. By approving this regulation it will be possible to register domestic and import alimentary products with the ‘organic’ and ‘natural’ labels and recall the products with counterfeit labels and non-compliant products from the market.

Moreover, it will be easier for consumers to figure out the origin of the organic products through the registration number and QR code on the label including information on where, when and which company produced it and what requirements the product meet.

“Currently all required organic food production regulations have been approved. Therefore, by approving the regulation on state registration and mass consumption of organic products in 2018, the legal environment for producing organic food will be complete” said Organic food specialist of the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry D.Tungalag.

At the second part of the discussion an expert of the World Bank's Export Promotion Project introduced the opportunities for companies willing to shift into organic production and preparing for export market to participate in the Export Development Project. The project supports non-mining sectors and provides grants up to USD 100 thousand for organic food producers.

B.Misheel

With the kind support of the our Embassy and the CzechTrade Agency, ENELEX, the manufacturer of special electronic devices for mining and power engineering, BELT & SERVICE, transportation conveyor belts and technology units for mines and power engineering, FERRIT, offering comprehensive minerals transportation solutions for all types of mines, INCO ENGINEERING, supplying mining machinery for underground mining, T MACHINERY, producer of mining machinery and hydraulic equipment, as well as, RPS OSTRAVA dedicated to supply-engineering activities in the field of coking factory and minerals purification, energy and biomass processing.

The Embassy of the Czech Republic is cordially inviting you to the specific Czech-Mongolia B2B seminar on April 03 between 15.00-18.00 at Galaxy tower's 10th floor 1003, followed by the cocktail networking.

Please RSVR at 321886 (24) 99018708.

The meeting convened representatives from AmCham member organizations, the Ministry of Finance, and national and international businesses. Minister Khurelbaatar exchanged views with members of the business community and provided updates on the Ministry’s efforts to introduce proposed tax reforms that are focused on securing a favorable business environment and protecting the interests of trustworthy private sector players and taxpayers.

In his keynote address, Minister Khurelbaatar noted, “Today’s Monthly Meeting organized by AmCham is coming at a very timely moment. The proposed amendments to tax legislation are based on recommendations received from international organizations, and they take into account the current economic situation. In addition, the major principles of the proposed amendments relate to creating favorable investment opportunities, increasing employment, focusing on a common taxation policy, supporting trustworthy private sector taxpayers, and certain actions to take for entities and individuals that avoid paying taxes. Within the last 26 days of consultation meetings, over 2,000 proposals and comments have been received, and the ministry is currently working with professional institutions on the processing of all available data. We are planning to submit a final draft of the amendments to Parliament for review by July. The Ministry of Finance will be cooperating with AmCham Mongolia to support their efforts in supporting the private sector and attracting foreign investment.”

Chairman of AmCham Mongolia Mr. Steve Potter, while thanking the Minister for initiating such a transparent consultation process, stated, “Without a healthy and growing private sector, Mongolia will face a stagnant economy, low wages, high unemployment and a lack of funding for critical government services. We support a fair and clear tax regime that enables tax revenues while, at the same time, supports investment to expand existing business and attract new investment. We also understand the need to get the balance right between increasing the tax base and being consistent with the principles of sustainable development and investment stated by the current government. To specifically address the proposed taxation legislation AmCham, together with representatives from BCM, MNMA, and The CEO Club, has set up a special working group to support legislation that recognizes the important role played by the business sector in underpinning the growth of our economy.”