China launches crude oil futures trading www.chinadaily.com.cn

SHANGHAI - China on Monday launched trading of the yuan-denominated crude oil futures contracts at the Shanghai International Energy Exchange, which is the first futures listed on China's mainland to overseas investors.

D.Mandakh: Number of foreign investors in Mongolia is increasing www.news.mn

This time we have interviewed Officer of Visa and Permit Department at Mongolian Immigration Agency, Mandakh.D, in order to inform foreign investors in Mongolia and foreign nationals who are willing to invest.

-Who is considered as the foreign investor in Mongolia?

-According to the Law of Mongolia on the Legal Status of Foreign Nationals, a foreign investor is defined as Mongolian citizen living abroad, a foreign national and a stateless person, who is investing in Mongolia. Also, the Investment Law of Mongolia clearly specifies the investor's definition and its rights and responsibilities.

-What kind of visa is issued for foreign investors in conformity with which regulation?

-There are 11 classifications of visas which apply to foreign nationals depending on the purpose of entry to the Mongolian border. For example business, investment, study, tourism, private purpose and so on.

The foreign investors shall enter Mongolia with 'T' visa. A foreign investor and senior management staff to work in a joint venture, branch or its representative office of foreign-invested entity may apply for “T” classification visa. The visa issuance is resolved in accordance with “The regulation on the issuance of Mongolian visa” ratified by the 338th government resolution and “The regulation on a residence of foreign nationals to Mongolia and its registration”, the government resolution numbered 340.

-What are the requirements of your agency to foreign investors? What should the foreign investors concern when applying for an investment visa and residence permit?

Generally, any country requires basic requirement which comprises of the creation of employment, a reality of investment, and a status of tax payments. Under the framework of this standard, our agency’s core requirement from the investors is focused on the actual investment, a creation of new jobs and tax payment history of foreign investors. All those relations are regulated by the government resolutions namely “The regulation on the issuance of Mongolian visa” and “The regulation on a residence of foreign nationals to Mongolia and its registration”.

When the foreign investor applies for investor’s visa and residence permit in Mongolia, it is essential to consider its documents completeness at an initial stage. Any permit or document issued by an authorized organization shall be revised whether the applicant has edited, forged or counterfeited it. You can find the list of documents to comprise which is available at our agency’s official website www.immigration.gov.mn and may contact a call center 1800-1882.

-The government of Mongolia has announced its commitment to attracting foreign investment. Is there any visa facilitation for foreign investors in this regard?

-The foreign investor receives longer residence permit rather than other types of visa applicants. The following things should be concerned to issue or extend residence permit for up to 3 years in compliance with the amendments of 2016 in the Law of Mongolia on Legal Status of Foreign Nationals. Herein: the permit from an authorized institution, an operation of the entity, status of tax payment and letting agreement as well as number of new employment they avail.

Our organization has introduced 'Appointment service” dedicated to foreign investors since 2017, which applies to international standard. By doing so, we have eased the public service which saves the time and energy of foreign nationals. So far, the world has been using technological advances and high speed of internet everywhere.

-Foreign investment has dropped in recent years, though it seems to revive. Could you mention the latest statistics and information?

-The number of foreign investors with a residence permit for the year of 2016 to 2017 has increased. For example, a foreign investor with residence permit is 967 in 2016 whereas 1121 in 2017. The number of residence permit extension is 2178 in 2016 and 2565 in 2017, which means it has increased respectively.

-Do you have any additional notice about the rights and obligations of foreign investors?

-I would like to notify few things related to a request for a residence permit. A foreign investor who requests to get residence permit of Mongolia shall enter with “T” classification visa of an investor and must be registered within 7 working days and apply for the residence permit within 21 calendar days to the Mongolia Immigration Agency right afterward the entry to the Mongolian border. The foreign investor must arrive at Mongolia Immigration Agency by himself/herself or may send his/her accredited delegate with necessary documents to extend the residence permit.

When extending the residence permit, the foreign investor’ status of tax payment and a regularity of action shall be revised, moreover, the entity’s functioning office and implementation of foreign investment in the country shall be reviewed in essential cases by officials of the Mongolia Immigration Agency.

Please consider if the entity is deemed to have no certain function or avoided to pay tax or forged some document shall be the subject to cancel the foreign investor’s residence permit.

Parliament to examine implementation of Oyu Tolgoi agreement www.news.mn

A parliamentary working group has been established for examining the implementation of the Oyu Tolgoi investment agreement by decree of Parliament Speaker M.Enkhbold. The working group will present their conclusions to parliament.

ADB Loan to Help Improve Air Quality, Living Conditions in Ulaanbaatar www.gogo.mn

The Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) Board of Directors has approved a $130 million policy-based loan to help improve public health and enhance the quality of life in Ulaanbaatar by improving the air quality in the increasingly polluted Mongolian capital.

Shenhua profit rises to 5-year high as China curbs boost coal www.mining.com

China Shenhua Energy Co., the country’s biggest coal miner, said profit jumped to the highest level since 2012 as robust demand and government efforts to rein in overcapacity helped bolster prices.

Net income climbed to 47.8 billion yuan ($7.6 billion) from 24.9 billion yuan a year ago, the Beijing-based miner said in a statement Friday to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Revenue rose 35.8 per cent to 248.7 billion yuan. The company, which also runs power stations and railroads, had flagged the profit jump in January.

Coal prices were supercharged last year as China pressed on with efforts to cut overcapacity by shuttering some mines and restricting imports, aiding major producers including Shenhua, Yanzhou Coal Mining Co. and China Coal Energy Co. Demand was also underpinned by robust economic growth. Still, there’s concern the good times will end as prices have eased in recent months and analysts are warning of further declines as mines ramp up output.

Spot coal at the Chinese port of Qinhuangdao averaged 36 per cent higher last year and hit 751 yuan in January, the most since 2012, according to China Coal Resource. Prices, which have since eased to 636 yuan as of March 19, may decline about 5 per cent this year, Shanxi-based Fenwei Energy estimates.

Coal Targets

Shenhua targets output this year of 290 million tons after posting a 1.9 per cent rise to 295.4 million for 2017. Coal sales will also slide to 430 million tons, from almost 444 million tons. As the country brings on new “advanced” capacity mines this year, the nation’s overall coal output will likely increase while imports will remain steady, the company said.

Shenhua proposed a final dividend of 0.91 yuan per share for 2017, a far cry from the large special dividend the previous year that sent its shares jumping.

Separately, Yanzhou said Friday that net income jumped more than fourfold to 7.36 billion yuan. Revenue gained almost 48 percent to 151.2 billion yuan, the Shandong-based miner said in a statement.

The company’s coal sales last year rose 29 per cent to 96.8 million tons after new mines in Inner Mongolia started operation and the acquisition of Coal & Allied Industries Ltd. in Australia was completed in September, it said. Net income was also helped by its subsidiary, Yancoal Australia Ltd., swinging to a record profit from a loss the previous year, the company said.

Yanzhou also reported impairments of more than 2.2 billion yuan, including bad debts and depreciation of inventory. A company statement showed the bulk of the writedowns came from almost 1.5 billion yuan in assets held by Inner Mongolia Xintai Coal Mining Co., without providing further details.

China Coal, the country’s largest listed miner after Shenhua, reported net income doubled to 3.49 billion yuan last year. While the producer said China may face coal shortages from time to time, it warned the nation’s consumption will slow.

— With assistance by Jing Yang.

Amended draft laws handed over to the Bank of Mongolia www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The amendments to Law on Central bank, Banking law and Bank Deposit Insurance approved at the 2017-0218 Parliament autumn session were handed over to the Central bank of Mongolia on March 22.

PM sends a message to investment forum participants www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/ On March 22, Prime Minister sent a message to participants of the investment forum ‘Mongolian Minerals and Mining 2018’, being held on March 22-23 in Ulaanbaatar. The message was read by L.Altangerel, advisor to the Prime Minister.

Trump signs tariffs memorandum against China despite strong warnings www.xinhuanet.com

WASHINGTON, March 22 (Xinhua) -- Despite strong warnings from business groups and trade experts, U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed a memorandum that could impose tariffs on up to 60 billion U.S. dollars of imports from China, the latest unilateral move that poses a threat to global trade.

Trump has directed U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer to publish a list of proposed Chinese goods that could be subject to tariffs in 15 days, while the U.S. Treasury Department will have 60 days to propose restrictions on Chinese investment in the United States, according to the presidential memorandum.

The tariffs "could be about 60 billion" dollars, Trump said Thursday at the White House before signing the memorandum. But a senior White House official told reporters earlier in the day that the number would be close to 50 billion dollars.

The memorandum is based on a so-called Section 301 investigation into alleged Chinese intellectual property and technology transfer practices, launched by the Trump administration in August 2017.

China will "take all necessary measures" to defend its rights and interests, an official with the Ministry of Commerce said Thursday, responding to media reports that Washington will soon release results of the investigation.

"China has made clear its position several times that it stands firmly against such unilateral and trade protectionist practices from the U.S. side," the official said.

Section 301, once heavily used in the 1980s and the early 1990s, allows the U.S. president to unilaterally impose tariffs or other trade restrictions on foreign countries. But the United States has rarely used the outdated trade tool since the World Trade Organization (WTO) came into being in 1995.

"It became no longer necessary really for the United States that they have to use that law, because now we have an effective dispute settlement system under the WTO," said Chad Bown, a trade expert and senior fellow at the Washington D.C.-based Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE).

The memorandum follows Trump's recent tariff plan on steel and aluminum imports and January's tariffs levied on imported solar panels and washing machines. These unilateral moves have prompted strong opposition and warnings from business groups around the world.

In a letter to Trump on Sunday, 45 U.S. trade associations, representing retail, technology, agriculture and other consumer-product industries, urged the administration not to move forward its tariff plan on Chinese imports, as it would hurt U.S. consumers and companies.

A group of 25 major U.S. retail companies, including Walmart, Costco and Best Buy, also warned on Monday that any additional broad-based tariff would worsen U.S. inequity and "punish American working families" with higher prices on household basics like clothing, shoes and electronics.

If the Trump administration imposes a 25-percent tariff on information and communications technology imports from China, it would cost the U.S. economy 332 billion dollars over the next 10 years, according to a report recently released by the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, a U.S. technology policy think tank.

"Simply put, tariffs are damaging taxes on American consumers," said Thomas J. Donohue, President and CEO of U.S. Chamber of Commerce, warning the Trump administration's tariff plan could lead to "a destructive trade war" with serious consequences for U.S. economic growth and job creation.

"Tariffs of $30 billion a year would wipe out over a third of the savings American families received from the doubling of the standard deduction in tax reform. If the tariffs reach $60 billion, which has been rumored, the impact would be even more devastating," Donohue said.

Mongolia holds mineral exploration forum to boost mining industry www.xinhuanet.com

Minister D.Sumiyabazar meets EBRD and Deutsche Bank representatives www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ On March 22, Minister of Mining and Heavy Industry D.Sumiyabazar met with Deutsche Bank delegates headed by Heinz-Guenter Bockenheimer, Deutsche Bank Relationship Manager for Asia and Pacific.