It was highlighted that underground lateral development made good progress during 2017, completing 6.1 equivalent kilometres for the year which was in-line with the 2016 Technical Report expectations of the company. During 2017, total underground expansion spending totalled USD 835.7 million, meeting guidance and resulting in total underground project spending since January 1, 2016 of approximately USD 1.1 billion. In the document of financial results, it was noted that Oyu Tolgoi expects to produce 125,000 to 155,000 tonnes of copper and 240,000 to 280,000 ounces of gold in concentrates in 2018. On March 15, 2018, Oyu Tolgoi filed a notice of dispute with the Government of Mongolia for the January 2018 tax assessment.

The competent authorities concerned found out that the dinosaur fossils were smuggled from Mongolia into South Korea and France, the department said in a statement.

A South Korean court has officially ordered returning of the dinosaur fossils, and the French side said the fossils will be returned to its native Mongolia if the country submits a petition for the recovering of the fossils.

The fossils originated from Mongolia's southern Umnugobi Province, which is known for its large numbers of dinosaur findings, according to the Mongolian Paleontological Institute.

Under Mongolian law, significant fossil discoveries cannot be permanently exported or sold to non-Mongolians, even if privately owned.

According to analysts at BMI Research, output for the red metal worldwide will grow an average annual rate of 3.6% over 2018 – 2027 thanks to a number of major projects come online, particularly in Peru and Australia.

As a result, the experts anticipate global copper output to climb from 20.4 million tonnes this year to 28 million tonnes by 2027.

Global copper output is expected to climb from 20.4 million tonnes this year to 28 million tonnes by 2027.
Production in Chile, the world’s top miner of the industrial metal, will return to growth in 2018, following a 4% contraction in 2017 due to strikes and operational disruptions, BMI expects.

The consultancy forecast Chile’s output will increase from 5.4 million tonnes in 2018 to 6.6 million tonnes by 2027, averaging 2.3% annual growth as state-owned miner Codelco moves forward with key developments.

In January, the firm was granted environmental approval for the expansion project at El Teniente, which contributes the most copper to Codelco's production profile. The miner also submitted an environmental impact assessment for a $250 million- expansion at its Andina division.

In addition, mining giant BHP has begun working on a $2.5 billion expansion at its Spence mine, which extend the lifespan of the operation and increase production capacity.

Peru’s copper sector growth will be supported by a strong project pipeline and competitive operating costs, BMI says.

The analysts expect the country's copper output to increase from 2.5 Mt in 2018 to 3.7 Mt by 2027, averaging 4.4% annual growth.

In 2017, MMG Ltd's Las Bambas mine produced 454 kt of copper in its first full year of production, however the firm expects production in 2018 to be between 410 – 430 kt due to lower ore grades as the mine is developed.

The report also highlights projects to come into production in China, the Democratic Republic of Congo and the US, all of which will add to global annual copper production numbers.

BMI’s predictions are supported by a series of other recent studies that highlight the needs of the booming electric vehicles (EVs) sector.

An EV needs about four times more copper than a traditional ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicle, and as much as five times if the charging infrastructure is included.

Following those reports, just by shifting 10m unit sales per year of traditional cars into EVs by 2030 would create an additional copper demand of 100,000 tonnes per year. A more aggressive scenario of 25m EV sales per year sees that figure jump to over 300,000 tonnes.

The Government of the People’s Republic of China will grant USD 1 billion soft loan to Mongolia, USD 300 million of which will be spent on the construction of a new wastewater treatment plant in Ulaanbaatar.

In connection with the upcoming visit of Prime Minister U.Khurelsukh to China on April 9-12, the sides exchanged views on the possibility of commencement of the project within the second half of this year and project finance.

Moreover, the Mongolian Government decided to allocate Chinese non-refundable aids on the establishment of Service centers in ger areas in an effort to reduce the air and soil pollution in the capital city. The project is co-implemented by the Ministry of Construction and Urban Development and the Mayor’s Office.

The Government also plans to realize a 1,008 Temporary Apartment project with a USD 350 million non-refundable aid from the Chinese Government. The sides have fully ensured readiness for the project, and the matter will be addressed during the prime ministerial visit.
Kh.Aminaa

IFC will help the Ministry of Foreign Affairs establish the Mongolia Trade Information Portal, an on-line repository for all trade-related regulations. The project will also help streamline trade and customs regulations, simplify border inspection practices, as well as enhance private sector capacity to meet export requirements in the next five years.

D. Tsogtbaatar, Foreign Minister of Mongolia, said, “Trade facilitation is a cornerstone of the government’s trade and economic development agenda. We believe it will greatly assist Mongolia in reaching our goal of increasing Mongolia’s export. The government of Mongolia appreciates the World Bank Group’s support in reducing trade costs, and simplifying trade procedures, which have been a bottleneck for Mongolian businesses.”

This project is part of the World Bank Group’s holistic approach in Mongolia to support export diversification, especially agri-livestock. The World Bank is assisting exporters by providing export insurance and capacity-building grants through its Export Development Program. This IFC project will also work with industry players to help primary agri-producers to meet export standards. Last year, IFC completed a comprehensive report with recommendations on how Mongolia’s agriculture sector can draw foreign direct investment to enter the global value chain.

“A transparent and modern trade facilitation system will enable Mongolian businesses, especially agribusiness, to trade more easily with their foreign partners, improving Mongolia’s overall export competitiveness,” said Tuyen D. Nguyen, IFC Resident Representative for Mongolia. “The World Bank Group will continue to support the government of Mongolia in its efforts to improve the country’s business environment and diversify exports.”

The agriculture sector is central to Mongolia’s economy, with meat and dairy products contributing 61 percent of livestock output and 7 percent of the country’s GDP.

This project will be delivered by IFC advisory services through the Macroeconomics, Trade & Investment Global Practice of the World Bank Group. 
source: IFC

For instance, at the World Memory Championship 2017 organized by International Association of Memory in Jakarta last year, Mongolia won 57 medals out of 90 in total in kids, junior and adult categories, taking 22,531 points in total.

The Mongolian team has re-set seven world records and participated in 46 mental sports contests in the USA, Sweden, China, Turkey, the Philippines, India, Taiwan, Malaysia, the UK, Singapore, Korea and Indonesia, and won 760 medals so far.

To date, eight athletes qualified to become international grandmasters, nine athletes qualified for the grandmaster title, 13 athletes qualified for the international master title, and five athletes were qualified for the Asian master title.

Mongolia was proposed to organize the World Memory Championship 2018, considering the achievements of the athletes and the development of this sport in Mongolia.

President of the Intellectual Academy Kh.Khatanbaatar talked about it. He said, “We are so glad to be proposed to organize the 28th World Memory Championship in Mongolia. I guess it’s the expression of that Mongolian memory athletes are being acknowledged and valued by the world. Of course, all the best memory athletes take part in the World Memory Championship, which should be organized very well. And it will cost a lot. We couldn’t accept the proposal in the first place due to the financial crisis taking place everywhere.”

He noted that the support of the government will make the decision and said, “I told them that I’ll respond after meeting with officials.”

ORI TV was developed by Mongol TV with an ambition to provide a one-stop destination for its viewers to stream local TV content including live events, sports, entertainment, festivals and local versions of US franchise shows such as The Voice Mongolia, Mongolia's Got Talent and Shark Tank Mongolia. The service is available via subscription, on the web, iOS, and Android.

"Our ambition with ORI TV was to delight our viewers with the best live and on-demand OTT video streaming experience and we knew that only a market leader in OTT TV solutions could power that kind of experience. Therefore, it was an easy decision to select Brightcove because of their OTT Flow solution, which simplified the complexities associated with OTT streaming and accelerated our time to market. Brightcove's OTT Flow came equipped with all of the features we were looking for: ease of use and setup, optimised for any device, stunning user interface, affordable price point, and a strong Asia-based support team," Bat-Erdene Gankhuyag, CEO of Mongol TV, said.

"We are thrilled to be partnering with Mongol TV as our first customer in Mongolia to launch an OTT service in the country. This is another example of a great use case for Brightcove as we expand our customer base across the Asia region,"Ben Morrell, General Manager, Asia, Brightcove, said. "We are seeing a shift in which where broadcasters are starting to package live and on-demand content into their OTT services. Our out-of-the-box OTT Flow solution helped Mongol TV launch its service in record time and with little upfront cost. As a result, broadcasters like Mongol TV can focus on what they do best - bringing the best in TV programming to viewers worldwide."

Brightcove is deeply focused on helping media organizations deliver amazing viewing experiences, as well as increasing revenue and reducing the costs associated with online video. OTT Flow, which enables media organizations like ORI TV to rapidly deploy high-quality live and on-demand video across platforms, addresses all three of these objectives. ORI TV monetizes its SVOD content using subscriber management technology from Cleeng, which OTT Flow utilizes as its subscriber management functionality.

Mr Yi joined the People's Bank of China (PBOC) 20 years ago and has been its deputy governor since 2008.

His appointment is being seen as one of ensured continuity as Beijing continues to try and rein in growing debt and limit risky financial practices.

The announcement was made on the second-last day of the annual sitting of the National People's Congress.

Mr Yi will take over a central bank tasked with the ongoing reform of China's financial landscape, including encouraging foreign investment into the financial markets, and monetary policy reform.

But he will also take over a bank with new powers.

Last week, as part of sweeping changes to China's central government structure, the NPC said China's central bank would have increased control over making new laws and regulations for the banking and insurance sectors.

It was also announced that a newly formed banking and insurance super regulator, formed out of a merger between the Banking Regulatory Commission and the China Insurance Regulatory Commission, would oversee all of China's banking and insurance sector - and would effectively report into the PBOC.

The reforms to the banking and finance regulatory systems will see the PBOC become one of the most powerful bodies in the country.

However, unlike the United States and other large democracies, China's central bank does not operate independently of the government, and so Mr Yi will ultimately report into President Xi Jinping.

At the beginning of the NPC earlier this month, China approved the removal of the two-term limit on the presidency, effectively allowing Xi Jinping to remain in power for life.

Mr Yi has a degree in economics from Beijing University, together with a master's degree and PhD in economics from the University of Illinois, US.