Engineer geological database commissions www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ An Engineer Geological Data base commissioned on December 18, which included 34 types of information such as mineral resources in the territory of Mongolia, soil moisture, historical, archeological monuments, seismicity and climate.

Coal-mining companies suffer as ministry suspends Tavan Tolgoi coal exports www.theubpost.mn

Coal exporting companies that operate at Tavan Tolgoi mine and transport their coal through the Gashuunsukhait-Gants Mod border crossing have taken a hit in their stocks following a move by the Ministry of Mining to ban the export of coal through the border crossing indefinitely. A 100-kilometer queue of trucks carrying coal from Tavan Tolgoi persisting since July and steadily increasing to 130 kilometers forced the ministry to take action.

Turquoise Hill appoints Stephen Jones as director www.turquoisehill.com

Turquoise Hill Resources today announced the appointment of Stephen Jones to the Company’s Board of Directors effective December 18.

Peter Gillin, Turquoise Hill Chairman, said, “The board welcomes Stephen and we look forward to working with him. We will benefit from his extensive mining experience as well as his in-depth knowledge of Oyu Tolgoi.”
Mr. Jones has more than 20 years of experience working for Rio Tinto in Growth and Innovation, Copper and Coal, Aluminium, Iron Ore as well as Technology and Innovation in Australia, Canada, Mongolia and the U.S. In December 2017, he was appointed Chief Advisor – Surface Mining and Geosciences. Previously, Mr. Jones spent four years working in Mongolia for Oyu Tolgoi LLC, with roles including Chief Operating Officer, Acting Chief Executive Officer and General Manager - Operations. He holds a Bachelor of Engineering (Hons) from the University of Queensland, Australia and a Graduate Diploma in Management from Deakin University, Australia.

Macao, Mongolia sign agreement on transfer of sentenced persons www.gov.mo

The Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) and Mongolia have signed a reciprocal agreement on the transfer of sentenced persons, in order to enhance judicial cooperation between the two sides.

First test flights at Mongolia's new Khushig Valley Airport www.news.mn

The Mongolian Civil Aviation Authority has conducted the first test flights at the Khushig Valley International Airport which is currently under construction The test flights were held on 12-16 December. A Cessna 208 (JU-9993) aircraft owned by ‘Geosan’ LLC was used for the flight along with engineering specialists from the Civil Aviation Authority and Norwegian air traffic control systems leader INDRA NAVIA AS.

President of BOM N. Bayartsaikhan attends SEACEN governor's conference meeting www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Officials led by N.Bayartsaikhan, President of Bank of Mongolia attended at the 53rd Meeting of South East Asian Central Banks (SEACEN) Governors’ Conference/High-Level Seminar which was held on December 15-17 in Bangkok, Thailand.

IMF Executive Board Completes First and Second Reviews under the Extended Arrangement for Mongolia and Approves US$ 79.1 Million Disbursement www.imf.org

Mongolia’s economy is recovering with GDP growth projected to be better than expected. All quantitative targets under the program have been met.

The combination of a strong policy implementation and a supportive external environment has helped the authorities over-perform on all of the quantitative targets under the program.

The authorities are moving ahead with an ambitious structural reform agenda that will help sustain growth over the medium term, promote diversification and competitiveness, and mitigate the boom-bust cycle.

On December 15, 2017, the Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed the first and second reviews of Mongolia’s performance under the program supported by a three-year extended arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF). Completion of the review enables Mongolia to draw the equivalent of SDR 55.912 million (about US$ 79.1 million), bringing total disbursements under the arrangement to SDR 83.868 million (about US$ 118.6 million).

Performance under the program thus far has been strong. Growth in 2017 is projected to reach 3.3 percent, considerably better than forecasted at the time of program approval. The combination of strong policy implementation and a supportive external environment has helped the authorities over-perform on all of the quantitative targets under the program. Performance on structural reforms has also been strong, notwithstanding the delays due to the change in government in September.

Mongolia’s three-year extended arrangement was approved on May 24, 2017, in an amount equivalent to SDR 314.5054 million, or about US$425 million at the time of approval of the arrangement (see Press Release No. 17/193 ). The government’s Economic Recovery Program, supported by the IMF, aims to stabilize the economy, reduce the fiscal deficit and debt, rebuild foreign exchange reserves, introduce measures to mitigate the boom-bust cycle and promote sustainable and inclusive growth.

Following the Executive Board’s discussion of the review, Mr. Mitsuhiro Furusawa, Acting Chair and Deputy Managing Director, said:

“Mongolia’s performance under the Fund-supported program has been positive, despite delays related to political developments. Growth has recovered more strongly than anticipated and confidence is returning, allowing the exchange rate to stabilize, external financing costs to fall, and foreign exchange reserves to recover. The authorities have cut the fiscal deficit and have started structural reforms that would improve the quality of growth going forward.

“All quantitative targets under the program have been met. Fiscal results have been better than expected, supported by stronger revenues and tight expenditure control, and the fiscal deficit this year, at 7.6 percent of GDP, is less than half of what it was in 2016. The recently approved 2017 Supplementary Budget and the 2018 Budget are in line with the program. About half of the revenue overperformance will be saved, thus helping to reduce borrowing and control debt, while the remainder will be used to fund productive spending in line with the government action plan and for a one-off bonus to civil servants. Net international reserves have improved, reflecting strong coal export performance, capital inflows into the bond and money markets, and donor disbursements.

“Despite an unsettled political environment, the authorities are moving ahead with ambitious structural reforms that will help sustain growth over the medium term, promote competitiveness and diversification, and mitigate the boom-bust cycle. The rehabilitation and strengthening of the banking system is underway: the results of the comprehensive Asset Quality Review are expected imminently and the Bank of Mongolia is taking steps to improve the regulatory and supervisory framework. Important legal reforms regarding the governance and operations of the Bank of Mongolia, the Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the banks are expected to be passed soon. On the fiscal side, progress is being made in strengthening tax administration, tax policy, and budgetary controls, including through the establishment of a high-level working group on tax policy. To strengthen the social safety net and target pro-poor expenditures toward the most vulnerable, the government is focusing the Child Money Program on less affluent families and using the savings to increase food stamps for the poor.

“With debt still high and the economy still exposed to global commodity developments, it is critical to maintain strong commitment to the program. Sustained implementation of the reform agenda, will help cement solid growth, improve confidence, strengthen fiscal revenues and foreign reserves, and mobilize donor support.”

China's copper, zinc output jumps to 3-year high on higher prices www.mining.com

China's refined copper production in November jumped nearly 10% from the same time last year to 786,000 tonnes, the highest rate in at least three years data from the National Bureau of Statistics showed Monday as smelters make the most of higher copper prices.

For the January – November period this year production is up 6.8% and 2017 should comfortably outpace last year's total of 8.44m tonnes of refined copper production.

China's smelters working at capacity helps to explain the decline in imports of refined metal and still growing concentrate imports.

Shipments of copper concentrate in October increased slightly from last year to total 1.78m tonnes in November, a new monthly record and up nearly 30% from October's disappointing figure. Year to date Chinese concentrate imports are up moderately from last year's record 17m tonnes. Refined copper imports are trending down with recently released data showing cargoes are down some 5% over the first 11 months of 2017 to 4.24m tonnes compared to the same period in 2016. Full year imports in 2016 hit a record 4.94m tonnes.

Chinese zinc production also lept, totalling 603,000 tonnes in November up 7.5% from the same month last year. However year to date zinc output is down 1.3% to 5.65m tonnes. Lead production also rise sharply to 424,000 tonnes for the month. For the first 11 months of the year, lead output is up 4.9% compared to 2016 to 4.52m tonnes.

In brisk trading on Monday in New York Comex copper enjoyed its ninth straight session of gains touching a three-week high of $3.1475 a pound ($6,940 per tonne). Copper is up nearly 25% in 2017 as it continues to recover from six-year lows struck early last year. Zinc prices have followed a 70% surge in 2016 with a nearly 25% gain this to comfortably above $3,000 a tonne. Lead is up 26% year to date.

Iron ore production grows even as imports jump
China's scores of iron ore mining companies produced only 0.2% more crude ore in November, but the year to date figure shows a 6.5% increase in 2017 to 1.16bn tonnes as mines make the most of higher prices and record-breaking steel output. On a 58–65% Fe content basis tonnage is closer to 200m–220m tonnes for the year.

Chinese steel mills battling Beijing's pollution crackdown have changed over to higher quality imported ore as domestic producers struggling with grades around 20% are forced out of the market.

Chinese iron ore mine production peaked at more than 400m tonnes in 2013 representing a third of steelmakers demand. Steel mills are expected to source only around 15% domestically by 2021.

Imports of high-quality iron ore fines and lump ore from Australia, Brazil and South Africa jumped 19% from October to 94.45m tonnes last month. November imports were up 2.8% from a year ago after topping 100m tonnes in a single month for the first time in September.

Total shipments for the first 11 months of the year are up 6% to 990m tonnes putting the country on track to top record imports in 2016 of just over 1 billion

The Northern China import price of 62% Fe content ore jumped 5.2% to the highest since September trading at $74.40 per dry metric tonne on Monday according to data supplied by The Steel Index. Although down sharply from its 2017 high struck in February iron ore has averaged $70.60 since the start of the year compared to $56.50 over the course of 2016.

December 18, 2017 trading report www.mse.mn

On December 18, 2017, 379,532 shares of 27 firms listed as Tier I, II, and III were traded. 14 firms’ shares increased in price, 7 decreased and 6 firms' share unchanged. Silk Net /GFG/ and Jinst Uvs /JIV/ were the top performers, increasing 15.00 percent each, whereas Darkhan Khuns JSC /DHU/ was the worst performer, decreasing 13.29 percent.

EBRD and EU to Strengthen Mongolian Business Associations www.applicatio.com

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) launched a new initiative to strengthen Mongolian Business Membership Organisations (BMOs) today. The initiative is implemented in coordination with the Mongolian Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry and complements similar initiatives implemented in the previous years. The 2017-2019 “Building Effective Business MembershipOrganisations (BMOs) in Mongolia” project is part of the Small Business Initiative of EBRD and funded by the European Union.