Petro Matad completes 3D survey in Mongolia's Tugrug basin www.worldoil.com

LONDON -- Further to the Company’s announcement on Oct. 4, 2017, Petro Matad, the AIM quoted Mongolian oil explorer has provided an update on its 3D seismic acquisition program.

China, Mongolia aim to take ties to new level www.globaltimes.cn

China is now Mongolia's largest trading partner and its second-largest source of foreign investment. The two countries recorded bilateral trade of $4.96 billion in 2016, and although the full-year figures for 2017 have yet to be revealed, trade had already jumped by 44.2 percent year-on-year to $3.1 billion in the first half of last year.

During last year's Belt and Road (B&R) Forum for International Cooperation in Beijing, the leaders of the two countries reached a consensus to effectively dovetail the B&R initiative with Mongolia's Prairie Road development initiative. The two sides also signed an array of agreements on economic and trade cooperation.

The second China-Mongolia Expo was also held in September, with a total of 37 projects signed between the two countries. The projects, covering energy, agriculture, big data and cloud computing, involved investment totalling 36.4 billion yuan ($5.58 billion). In addition, Mongolian coal exports to China, mainly through the Ganqimaodu Port in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, saw a substantial increase in 2017.

In a nutshell, the two countries have made great progress in bilateral economic and trade cooperation over the past year, laying the foundations for closer economic ties in 2018.

The two nations have set a target of increasing bilateral trade to $10 billion by 2020, which will require efforts from both governments to boost trade and economic cooperation. Since the Mongolian People's Party swept back to power in 2016, Mongolia has moved to cut budget deficits, boost foreign investment and push for mega mining projects in the hope of overcoming its recent economic crisis. To ensure that such measures can come to fruition, Mongolia should seek closer trade and economic cooperation with China.

Official state visits to China by Mongolian President Khaltmaagiin Battulga and Prime Minister Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh are expected to take place this year, according to media reports. These will be their first China visits since taking office, and if the visits go as planned, a firmer political foundation will be built for bilateral trade and economic cooperation, and plans for further cooperation down the road will be made much clearer.

It is expected that trade and economic cooperation between the two nations will revolve around four main aspects in 2018.

First, the priority areas for bilateral cooperation will likely make headway. The initiatives designed to enhance connectivity between the two nations - notably some mega projects, and the launch of a joint feasibility study for a Sino-Mongolian free trade zone - will be of importance for deepening bilateral trade and economic cooperation and will play a big part in creating synergy between the two countries' development strategies. Discussions about how progress can be made in these areas are expected to be a priority for high-level talks and meetings between the two countries this year.

Second, China will continue to lend money and provide financial aid for Mongolia. Financial help from China can already be seen playing an active role in easing Mongolia's economic crisis. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi held talks with his Mongolian counterpart Damdin Tsogtbaatar in Beijing in December, stating that China will continue its support for Mongolia with ramped-up implementation of financial aid for the country and a preferential export buyer's credit project. The continuation of China's financial assistance for Mongolia in 2018 will certainly be a focal area for cooperation between the two governments.

Third, there will be strengthened efforts to build the China-Mongolia cross-border economic cooperation zone. There are signs that Mongolia's newly elected government has attached importance to building the zone. The Mongolian side's proactive moves, it is believed, will foster greater bilateral cooperation on this project.

Last but not least, trade disputes between the two countries, primarily concerning Mongolia's exports of coal and meat to China, will call for enhanced communication between the two nations so as to pave the way for wider trade and economic cooperation in 2018.

Mongolia opens criminal case on clean air funds www.news.mn

It is well known that Ulaanbaatar's winter air quality ranks among the world's worst. Nearly half of Mongolia's population now lives in Ulaanbaatar and the public health crisis has reached critical proportions. Acrid coal smoke from 200 thousand ‘ger’ stoves and nitrogen dioxide from 400 thousand cars in Ulaanbaatar are blamed for air-pollution. In recent years, Mongolia has spent a total of MNT 119 billion and 779 million from State Budget and MNT 87 billion 185 million from international investments; MNT 147 billion in 2012-2016. The Clear Air Funds have been responsible for coordinating much off the money. However. serious transparency issues have emerged and the Clear Air Funds have been closed down and the Mongolian Police has been investigating the spending of the Clear Air Funds and opened case for discovering where MNT 3.4 billion went?

Mongolia exports 33.320.3 thousand tons of coal in 2017 www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ A monthly press conference ‘Transparent and responsible mining’ was organized by Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry on January 11.

Volvo to develop autonomous buses in Singapore www.nhk.or.jp

Swedish auto firm Volvo will develop autonomous electric buses in Singapore in partnership with local entities, including a national university.

Rio Tinto pulls offer for stake in world’s largest lithium miner www.mining.com

Global miner Rio Tinto (ASX, LON:RIO) is said to have ditched plans to own a stake in Chile’s Chemical and Mining Society (SQM), the world's largest lithium producer, due to a mix of tricky politics and the fact that such miner is currently the target of several claims.

Apple's iCloud move to China raises concerns www.nhk.or.jp

US IT giant Apple announced on Tuesday it is going to move the base of its data-storage services used by Chinese customers to China.

Cabinet meeting in brief www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The Cabinet made following decisions at its regular meeting on January 10.
The Cabinet adopted a National Program on Livestock and Animal Health. The program deals with comprehensive actions to prevent from, restrict the spread of and disinfect livestock and animal contagious diseases; maintenance of contagious disease-free status; supply of safe food to the population and quality raw material to processing plants; and export of animal-origin raw materials and products.
The Cabinet decided to submit to the Parliament a draft bill on Mongolia-Germany Agreement on Financial Cooperation - Energy Efficiency Programme and Additional Loan and Second Project Agreement.
The Cabinet resolved to submit to the Parliament a draft resolution on the Number, Composition and Geographical Location of Foreign Immigrants for the period 2018-2020. According to the draft resolution, the number of foreign immigrants should not exceed 100 per year.
The Cabinet discussed a draft bill on ratification of Mongolia-Russia-China Agreement on International Road Transport along the Asian Highway Network and decided to submit it to the Parliament.
The Cabinet discussed the possibility of opening a Consulate in Manzhouli, China and agreed to consult with corresponding Parliamentary Standing Committees. By double count, 174 thousand Mongolians traveled to the city in 2016, and 170 thousand in 2017.
The Cabinet decided to submit to the Parliament a draft bill on State Aviation Law.
The Cabinet discussed granting of awards and titles to agricultural workers on the occasion of Lunar New Year. According to submissions sent from provinces, 128 herders have fulfilled the criteria for ‘State Best Herder’ title, ’11 herders ‘Twice winner of State Best Herder’ title, 13 herders ‘State Best Dairymaid’, 5 farmers ‘State Best Farmer’, 10 entities ‘State Leading Agrarian Organization’ and 27 individuals ‘State Best Agrarian’.
Kh.Aminaa

Some state-owned enterprises to be shut down www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The Cabinet resolved to shut down and reorganize some state-owned enterprises in order to improve their management and reduce unnecessary budget expenditure on January 10.

Mongolia Energy Corporation Ltd (MOAEF) Near-Term Moving Average Signal Update www.aikenadvocate.com

The recent price of 0.0200 for shares of Mongolia Energy Corporation Ltd (MOAEF) has put the price level below the Balance Step, indicating a near-term bearish pattern developing. Calculated from the last five balance points, the Balance Step indicator can help determine whether a bullish or bearish trend is developing near-term.

Investors may be wondering how to tackle the markets at current levels. Many investors may feel like they have missed out on the markets getting to where they are today. It may be a case of missed trades or being too cautious, but a stellar forward thinking strategy may be just what is needed to get back on track. Studying various sectors may help provide some insight on where to go from here. Investors may become very familiar and comfortable with a certain sector, and they may be completely missing out on opportunities from other fast growing sectors. Investors may also need to take a long-term approach which may include creating a diversified portfolio that takes many different factors into consideration. With the enormous amount of uncertainty that follows the global investing world on a daily basis, it may be helpful for investors to be able to keep their emotions in check. Studying the hard data may prove to be very useful when trying to separate truth from fiction in the equity markets.

Investors may be taking a look at some additional technical numbers on shares of Mongolia Energy Corporation Ltd (MOAEF) in order to get a fuller picture. The 14-day RSI is currently spotted at 41.05, the 7-day is at 39.20, and the 3-day is sitting at 37.20. The RSI, or Relative Strength Index, is a widely used technical momentum indicator that compares price movement over time. The RSI was created by J. Welles Wilder who was striving to measure whether or not a stock was overbought or oversold. The RSI may be useful for spotting abnormal price activity and volatility. The RSI oscillates on a scale from 0 to 100. The normal reading of a stock will fall in the range of 30 to 70. A reading over 70 would indicate that the stock is overbought, and possibly overvalued. A reading under 30 may indicate that the stock is oversold, and possibly undervalued.

In terms of CCI levels, Mongolia Energy Corporation Ltd (MOAEF) currently has a 14-day Commodity Channel Index (CCI) of -15.67. Investors and traders may use this indicator to help spot price reversals, price extremes, and the strength of a trend. Many investors will use the CCI in conjunction with other indicators when evaluating a trade. The CCI may be used to spot if a stock is entering overbought (+100) and oversold (-100) territory. The 14-day ADX is 25.04. Many technical chart analysts believe that an ADX reading over 25 would suggest a strong trend. A level under 20 would indicate no trend, and a reading from 20-25 would suggest that there is no clear trend signal. The ADX is typically plotted along with two other directional movement indicator lines, the Plus Directional Indicator (+DI) and Minus Directional Indicator (-DI). Some analysts believe that the ADX is one of the best trend strength indicators available.

Investors may be studying other technical indicators like the Williams Percent Range or Williams %R. The Williams %R is a momentum indicator that helps measure oversold and overbought levels. This indicator compares the closing price of a stock in relation to the highs and lows over a certain time period. A common look back period is 14 days. Mongolia Energy Corporation Ltd (MOAEF)’s Williams %R presently stands at -55.41. The Williams %R oscillates in a range from 0 to -100. A reading between 0 and -20 would indicate an overbought situation. A reading from -80 to -100 would indicate an oversold situation. Looking at some moving average levels on shares of Mongolia Energy Corporation Ltd (MOAEF), the 200-day is at 0.03, the 50-day is 0.03, and the 7-day is sitting at 0.02. Moving averages can help identify trends and price reversals. They may also be used to help spot support and resistance levels. Moving averages are considered to be lagging indicators meaning that they confirm trends. A certain stock may be considered to be on an uptrend if trading above a moving average and the average is sloping upward. On the other side, a stock may be considered to be in a downtrend if trading below the moving average and sloping downward.