Acting CEO of Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi JSC B. Gankhuyag reported that the company sells coking coal from Baruun Tsankhi for 68.1 USD per ton and energy coal for 12 to 16 USD per ton. ETT has proposed raising Chalco's price for coal to 62 USD, and is planning to make a new deal with the company on May 10.

B. Gankhuyag also noted that ETT will explore the possibility of enriching its coal at the Energy Resources plant in the second quarter of 2018. ETT exported 8.5 million tons of coal in 2017, accounting for 25 percent of the nation's coal export volume.

This means an increase in the number of camel by 47.9 thousand, horse by 216 thousand, cattle by 506.9 thousand, sheep by 7 million 697 thousand and goat by 5 million 460 thousand. The number of offspring increased by 2.7 million against the previous week.
Kh.Aminaa

“Heating is a number one issue in the district with the Nalaikh Thermal Power Plant overworking its capacity. Since the demand increases every year, we are developing a project to expand the power plant,” he said.

As for apartment re-planning, there are 101 buildings and facilities built with engineering design and 32 two-storey buildings that were built between 1956-1957. “Dwelling in these buildings was prohibited by the General Agency for Specialized Inspection in 2014. This is a worrisome matter that the residents still live in these buildings today,” the Governor said.

Nalaikh district has a population of 37 thousand, majority of which are youths. “If we ensure the economic independence of Nalaikh district and establish an industrial and technological park, we could create 1,500 new jobs, increase the production of construction material twice on the national level and significantly benefit,” he highlighted.
Kh.Aminaa

The Swiss giant, which boasts Nescafe and Nespresso amongst its brands, will have the right to market Starbucks' coffee in retail outlets outside the cafe chain.

That part of the business currently generates $2bn in annual sales.

The deal means Nespresso machine owners will be able to buy Starbucks coffee branded pods for use at home.

Consumers will also find Starbucks coffee beans, ground and instant coffee more readily available as Nestle, the world's largest food and drinks company, uses its vast distribution network to market Starbucks products worldwide.

Nestle's name will not appear alongside Starbucks's, but the deal could still help Nestle strengthen its US business, thanks to the powerful High Street coffee brand.

Boil it all down and this is a giant licensing arrangement, whereby Nestle is allowed to sell Starbucks products through Nestle distribution channels.

That means you'll see a lot more Starbucks branded coffee pods for use in Nespresso or Dolce Gusto devices which are all the rage - thanks in part to those George Clooney adverts.

Starbucks will continue to buy the raw (green) coffee beans from farmers but now Nestle will step in and roast and prepare those beans for consumers under strict Starbucks licensing rules. Nestle will not acquire any Starbucks infrastructure nor will any Nestle products appear in Starbucks coffee shops.

For that arrangement, Nestle is paying $7bn because it believes Starbucks products will appeal to premium coffee lovers around the world.

Despite the price tag, Nestle shareholders appear to like the deal. Nestle shares rose 1.5% today. While Starbucks investors kind of shrugged.

Mark Schneider, who in 2016 became the first outsider to run Nestle in almost 100 years, is attempting to boost the company's profit through expansion.

Last year, Nestle paid an estimated $425m for a 68% stake in Blue Bottle Coffee, a California-based company that sells coffee to customers online and has a number of shops in the US and Japan.

Kona Haque, of the commodities trading company ED&F Man said Nestle was aiming to further strengthen its position in the US market through this latest deal.

"At the moment Nestle is very much known for its instant coffee. This is an opportunity to go into roast and ground which for today's millennials is a big growing trend," she said.

Mr Schneider described the "global coffee alliance" with Starbucks as "a great day for coffee lovers around the world".

Nestle said 500 Starbucks employees will transfer over to its business but they will continue to be located in Seattle, which has been the group's headquarters for the last 47 years.

The company recently sold its US sweets and chocolate business, including brands such as Crunch and Butterfinger, to Ferrero Group for 2.7bn Swiss francs (£1.9bn).

The value of China's imports from Belt and Road countries stood at $666 billion in 2017, an increase of 20 percent year-on-year, or 39 percent of China's total imports value, according to a report compiled by the State Information Center, a State Council think tank.

In the same year, China's exports to those countries came in at $774.26 billion, a rise of 8.5 percent year-on-year. The growth of imports outpaced exports for the first time since the Belt and Road Initiative was proposed five years ago.

China's combined trade with those countries reached $1.44 trillion, up 13.4 percent year-on-year, 5.9 percentage points faster than China's overall trade growth.

The Belt and Road Initiative was proposed by China in 2013 to boost trade and investment among countries along the ancient Silk Road trade routes from Asia to Europe and Africa.

China's trade with Central Asia countries grew at the fastest rate, followed by Eastern Europe. Countries including Republic of Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, India and Russia rank among China's top 10 trading partners along the routes, contributing nearly 70 percent of China's trade with Belt and Road countries.

China mainly sells mechanical and electrical products to Belt and Road countries, and imports mechanical and electrical products as well as fossil fuel from them, the report said.

Chinese private companies do the biggest chunk of trade, followed by foreign-invested companies and State-owned firms.

Yu Shiyang, director of the department of big data development under the State Information Center, said that amid rising protectionism by some countries, China's trade with Belt and Road countries had risen at a brisk pace, showing the initiative was being implemented well, featuring free trade flow.

The report covers 71 countries along the Belt and Road summarizing the current trade picture and projecting future trends.

Milk processing small plants named 'Ger kitchen’ are planned to be built in six soums in scope of UNFAO technical cooperation program ‘Improving Local Dairy Processing through promoting women’ (TCP/MON/3606), the subproject of the abovementioned project.

Each milk processing small plant will have daily capacity of processing up to 500 liter milk and producing 5-6 types of dairy products using up-to-date technology. Operation of a plant is expected to provide ten people with jobs and to make annual sale of MNT 127.9 million, earning MNT 7.1 million net profit.

Furthermore, 12 people who involved in teacher training conducted trainings to more than 120 women from six local milk processing groups on methods and practices to process traditional dairy products that meet food standards and sanitary requirements using ‘Ger kitchen’ equipment. The project is making contribution to develop production of diary products in rural area, to introduce modern technology and to increas types of products.

B.Batchimeg

Foreign trade balance resulted USD 352 million in profit as total export is currently higher than its import thanks to raw materials export. Therefore, goods account totalled USD 260.9 million.

In other words, while the goods account was profitable, the services account had USD 347.6 million deficit. In connection to tourists’ spendings, the outflow of foreign currency increased, which had impact on services account. In addition, balance of primary income account, which registers in and outflow of cash related to salaries and investment, had a deficit of MNT 386.4 million. This shows that outflow is dominant in the primary income account.

But the balance of financial accounts, which involves transaction of direct and portfolio investments, resulted with USD 332.2 million gains. In other words, financing of such amount was obtained from outside sources in the first three months. Furthermore, the private sector brought in a total of USD 552.9 million FDI, including debt instruments, in the first quarter of this year.

Minister of Construction and Urban Development Badelkhan Khavdislam informed that the ministry is planning to grant MNT 220 billion mortgage loan from the repayment of BoM and MNT 120 billion from the State Budget. The State Budget funding is granted quarterly for the loan, while the BoM monthly transfers the finances. However, the mortgage loan is under deficit, the Minister noted. Therefore, a new regulation for the loan has been formulated and submitted to the Cabinet in order to increase accessibility. According to an estimate, the current financial sources of the mortgage program can only cover 5-6 thousand households.

The ministry signed contracts with over 300 companies and individuals for granting 16.5 thousand seeds.

According to an estimation, a total of 7800 tons of diesel fuel is required for normal cultivation process this year. Under the agreement signed between the Fund for Cultivation Support (FCS) and NIC LLC, 3500 tons of fuel is being granted with 50 percent prepayment loan through local gas stations. The fuel price was established at MNT 1720-1800 per ton for wholesale and MNT 1949-2080 per ton for retail.

As reported by the ministry, a total of 3230 tractors, 2254 seeders for wheat, 5424 soil processing equipment, potato and vegetables cultivation seeders are required for the 2018 spring cultivation. The Ministry is organizing a purchase of agricultural and watering equipment from the fund of Chinese Government soft loan under relevant rules. In cooperation with the Development Bank of Mongolia, the ministry is implementing Agricultural Equipment Leasing project and conducting talks on purchasing agricultural equipment from Russia, Belarus and Germany.

Furthermore, the ministry has formulated a draft bill on customs duty exemption of agricultural equipment, fertilizer and plant protection products. Presently, proposals on the bill are being collected from stakeholders of the industry. The draft will soon be submitted to the Cabinet for discussion. In addition, the FCS is granting agricultural equipment including mid-size tractors with a loan that has 7-9 years maturity and 10 percent prepayment.

As of today, cellars throughout the country are capable of storing 56 percent of harvested potato and vegetables for the population needs. Therefore, the ministry is making efforts in increasing the capacity of storages, which include a project on establishing an elevator with a capacity of 15 thousand tons in Selenge with Russian soft loan, and cellars for storing potatoes and vegetables in Selenge, Bayan-Olgii and Khovd aimags with MNT 1.2 billion financing from the State Budget. In addition, Fruits and Berries, and Vegetables national programs were approved by the Cabinet early this spring.