BoM issues 1-week bills www.mongolbank.mn

The Bank of Mongolia traded 654.2 billion MNT worth 1-week maturity central bank bill (“CBB”), with weighted average yield of 12.0 percent per annum.

Xanadu Mines confirms three large porphyry targets www.proactiveinvestors.com.au

Xanadu Mines (ASX:XAM) has confirmed that three of its 19 copper-gold and gold targets are new large-scale porphyry prospects within its flagship Kharmagtai project in Mongolia.

Open discussion held on draft monetary policy guidelines www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The Bank of Mongolia (BoM) has completed a drafting of the Monetary Policy Guidelines for 2018 and an open discussion of the drat was held Monday to reflect proposals by experts in finance and economics sector.

Trading report www.mse.mn

On September 25, 2017, 106,408 shares of 30 firms listed as Tier I, II, and III were traded. 15 firms’ shares increased, 11 decreased in price and 4 remained unchanged. Juulchin Dutry Free JSC was the top performer, increasing 11.10 percent, whereas Ar Bayankhangai JSC was the worst performer, decreasing 12.50 percent.

Samsung zips past Toyota to become Asia's top brand www.asia.nikkei.com

Mongolia: The nomads risking it all www.aljazeera.com

"We're the generation that's been abandoned since the end of communism."

Like many other former gold and jade hunters in Mongolia, Lagva is struggling to make a living since mines across the country have been shut down.

Lagva is sitting on a treasure - owning jade stones worth between $14,000 and $19,000 - but he has yet to receive permission to sell the precious stones.

While waiting for the government's permission, Lagva scrapes a living, renting his small, 35-year-old truck to nomadic herdsmen.

Mongolia's vast steppe is home to one of the world's last surviving nomadic cultures. Herding is a way of life for over a third of Mongolians, with many of the nomads living in often-inhospitable regions.

The Darkhad (craftsmen) nomads are some of the world's most self-sufficient people, leading a gruelling life in the north of Mongolia. The herds live off the land, and the nomads live off the milk and meat of their animals.

Their life revolves around finding pasture for the herds, and every spring, in the region of Lake Khovsgol, Minjbayar and his family take almost 250 animals - sheep, goats, yaks - and all their worldly goods on a risky journey.

During the so-called transhumance, entire families play a game of chance with their animals and their health, as they cross iced rivers and travel on narrow roads at an altitude of 2,000 metres. In the icy mountains, the temperature can reach -40C and there is always the threat of wolves attacking the herd.

"The transhumance will take four or five days. It's long and strenuous, but we can't stay here. There's no snow this year. I think it's because of climate change. There's less water, and there will be a drought later on. So there'll be less grass. Since that's what the animals eat, they could be at risk," explains 20-year-old Aza.

The way off life for nomadic herdsmen on the plains of Mongolia has changed little in centuries and life has always been challenging.

"My father was a herdsman", says 60-year-old Minjbayar. "In those days he led his herds towards the USSR. I went along on these journeys from a very young age. Sometimes there were as many as 1,400 animals to move along. There was some really bad weather. We'd sometimes lose our cattle, and they would die of cold or because of the storms."

But while Minjbayar and his familiy continue to brave the transhumance and Mongolia's extreme weather each year, other nomads have taken a different route in their attempt to find a better life for themselves, nearer to the city.

In the past three decades, around 600,000 former herders have migrated to the Mongolian capital Ulaanbaatar - mainly due to the end of Soviet state support and climate change.

Increasingly dry summers have made it harder to grow and harvest grass for the herds, so the animals cannot put on enough weight to survive the winter cold.

More than one million animals died during last year's dzud, a Mongolian term for a severe winter. The 2009-2010 dzud killed about eight million animals in Mongolia, putting the livelihoods of thousands of nomads under threat as well as harming the country's food supply.

If their livestock die during the harsh winters, herders are often forced to move to the city to survive. Many families who live in remote areas also head to the capital in search of better education for their children.

"I've never been to Ulaanbaatar", says Aza, "But I'd like to go to see what a city's like. I'll definitely send my child there to study. I don't want him to be a herdsman. It's too tough."

In response to the deteriorating situation, Mongolia's National Emergency Management Agency partnered with the UN development programme and NGOs to support Mongolia's struggling nomads.

In January 2017, the UN announced that it has allocated $1.1m to help herders access essential items such as food, fuel and basic medications by providing cash grants as well as animal feed packages and veterinary first aid kits to minimise the loss of livestock as their main source of food and income.

Source: Al Jazeera

E-mart to open second store in Mongolia www.theinvestor.co.kr

[THE INVESTOR] E-mart, the nation’s No. 1 discount supermarket chain owned by Shinsegae Group, said on Sept. 25 it is opening its second store in Mongolia this week as part of efforts to expand its presence in Asia amid growing uncertainties in China.

Weekly trading report www.mse.mn

During the week spanning September 18 to September 22, 2017, MNT 18,152,438,161.10 worth of securities were traded through 5 trading sessions on the MSE. The daily average MNT volume was 3.6 billion.

Chinese FM: China willing to develop healthy and stable relations with good neighborliness and friendliness with Mongolia www.akipress.com

AKIPRESS.COM - Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi met with his Mongolian counterpart Tsend Munkh-Orgil September 20 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, the Chinese foreign ministry said Monday. 
Wang Yi expressed that China and Mongolia are friendly neighboring countries connecting by rivers and mountains. China has always treated Mongolia with goodwill and sincerity, and is willing to develop healthy and stable relations with good neighborliness and friendliness with Mongolia. Both countries enjoy high complementation in economic structure and huge cooperative potential.

FM Ts.Munkh-Orgil: We strongly oppose the DPRK`s acts of destabilizing regional security www.gogo.mn

ULAANBAATAR (GoGo Mongolia) - We deliver you the highlights of a statement by Foreign Minister of Mongolia Ts.Munkh-Ogril at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. 
Among global development priorities, the special needs of landlocked developing countries come front and centre for Mongolia.
Enhancing connectivity is an urgent priority that all landlocked developing economies share.
In order to improve market access to main trading partners, Mongolia is studying the feasibility of free trade agreements with the Eurasian Economic Union, the People`s Republic of China and the Republic of Korea. An Economic Partnership Agreement is already in place with Japan.
Mongolia is keen to further work together with our two neighbors and other partners to improve rail, road, air, energy networks and pipeline infrastructure and increase access to the sea.
Mongolia`s State Policy on Energy, adopted in 2015, set an ambitious goal to produce 30 percent of its energy demand from renewable resources by 2030. Our solar and wind resources are estimated at 7000 TW and 5000 TW respectively.
We are working with our partners to implement the Gobi Tech and the Asian Super Grid projects to supply renewable energy for the Northeast Asia.
Timely and effective implementation of the sustainable development agenda cannot be achieved without peace and security. However, peace is being threatened on a number of fronts.
Mongolia is deeply concerned with the escalating tension in Northeast Asia. We strongly oppose the DPRK`s acts of destabilizing regional security by conducting repeated nuclear tests and ballistic missile launches in defiance of the international community`s will and in violation of the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council. As a country with 25-year-old nuclear-weapon-free zone status, Mongolia reiterates its principled position that the Korean Peninsula must be nuclear-weapon-free. We urge the Parties concerned to refrain from actions that could heighten the tension in Northeast Asia and resolve the issue through peaceful means.
It is beyond doubt that the only way to resolve the Korean Peninsula`s nuclear issue is through dialogue. One of the avenues of dialogue could be the Ulaanbaatar dialogue on Northeast Asian Security initiated by Mongolia in 2013. We organized its 4th International Conference in UIaanbaatar last June. Compared to previous three conferences held at Track 2 level, this year`s we held it at Track 1.5 Lebel. The dialogue discusses not only security issues in Northeast Asia but also potential projects in the energy and environmental sectors. As such, the Ulaanbaatar Dialogue is an open dialogue mechanism that ensures the participation of all countries in Northeast Asia.