National average monthly salary at 955,900 MNT reports NSO www.theubpost.mn

The national average salary as of the first 11 months of 2017 is 955,900 MNT per employee, marking a 71,600 MNT or 8.1 percent increase compared to the same period the previous year.

The NSO added that the average salary for Q3 decreased by 10,700 MNT or 1.1 percent compared to Q2.

Average wages and salaries are calculated based on the report of the Health and Social Insurance General Office and 606,300 people working in 38,000 establishments have paid social insurance fees in the third quarter of 2017. Non-standard employment, which does not pay social insurance and taxes, are not included in the national average salary.

Out of the total employees, 36 percent earned between 500,000 MNT to 900,000 MNT a month, 17.8 percent earned 300,000 to 500,000MNT, 16.6 percent earned 900,000 to 1.3 million MNT. and 11.7 percent earned more than 1.5 million MNT.

Monthly average wages and salaries of employees working in the mining and quarrying sector were the highest at 2.2 million MNT, while the arts, entertainment and recreation sector were lowest at 605,600 MNT.

More than 24,100 unemployed individuals are seeking jobs as of November 2017, a 27.9 decrease compared to 2016, the National Statistics Office said in its report on the social and economic situation of Mongolia. The report also indicated that 68,300 individuals were excluded from the unemployment registry due to inactive job seeking.

At the end of November 2017, the Labor and Social Welfare Services Agencies have registered 34,100 job seekers, of which 24,100 or 70.7p percent were unemployed, and remaining the 10,000 thousand or 29.3 percent were people employed but looking for a new job.

Compared to the same period of the previous year, registered unemployment decreased by 9,300 or by 27.9 percent. Among the total registered unemployed, 13,200 or 54.8 percent were women.

Ulaanbaatar residents accounted for 7,000 or 28.9 percent of the registered unemployed individuals, while the Central region accounted for 5,000 or 20.5 percent, 4,900 or 20.4 percent for the Khangai region, 4,500 or 18.5 percent in the Western region, and 2,800 or 11.7 percent in the Eastern region.

From January to November 2017, the Labor and Social Welfare Services Agencies recorded 81,600 individuals as newly unemployed and 23,600 people as newly hired. Due to inactive job seeking, 68,300 people were excluded from the unemployment registry.

At the end of November 2017, by level of educational attainment, 44.4 percent of the registered unemployed have a high school diploma, 34 percent hold a bachelor’s degree, 6.4 percent attained vocational training, 5.5 percent graduated secondary schools, 5.2 percent completed specialized secondary schools, 2.1 percent graduated primary schools, 1.3 percent have no education, while the remaining 1.1 percent have a master’s degree or higher.

More than half or 61.3 percent of unemployed individuals are young people aged 15 to 34. This rate was by 0.3 to 15.2 percentage points higher than the national average in Umnugovi, Uvs, Orkhon, Khovd, Selenge, Dundgovi, Tuv, Arkhangai, Dornod, Govisumber, Dornogovi, Bulgan and Uvurkhangai provinces, and Ulaanbaatar.

Bitcoin's mysterious creator could become world’s first trillionaire www.rt.com

The mystery man known as Satoshi Nakamoto, who’s believed to be the inventor of bitcoin, could become the richest person on the planet, ahead of Forbes’ list billionaires Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos.

UK to contribute to build geo-database of Mongolia www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/ On December 12, D. Sumiyabazar, Mining and Heavy Industry Minister D.Sumiyabazar met with Catherine Arnold, Ambassador of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to Mongolia.

Gas pipeline to be ready in 3 years www.chinadaily.com.cn

Demand for clean fuel set to increase and may outstrip domestic output

Coal loading at Tavan Tolgoi suspended until border jam clears www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Starting from December 13, Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi JSC, Tavan Tolgoi JSC and Energy Resources LLC have suspended their coal loading at Tavan Tolgoi mine.

China-Mongolia meat trade full of potential www.globaltimes.cn

In a joint press release issued by the foreign ministers of China and Mongolia on December 4, the Chinese government expressed its willingness to give positive consideration to Mongolia's desire to expand its exports of mineral and energy products as well as increasing its beef and mutton exports.

While we are quite familiar with Mongolia's mineral and energy products, not so much attention has been paid to the country's meat exports. In fact, Mongolia in recent years has started to export meat products in order to build up foreign exchange earnings. According to Mongolian media reports, the country has already exported large amounts of meat products to countries including China, Russia, Kazakhstan, Japan, Iran, Vietnam and Qatar, with the annual export volume expanding five times compared to the level in 2013. From the perspective of Mongolia's foreign trade in 2017, the Mongolian government obviously intends to promote its economic growth by means of expanding exports of meat products. Such a development trend deserves our attention.

During the 16th session of the Vietnam-Mongolia Inter-Governmental Committee for Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation, held in August in Ulan Bator, capital of Mongolia, both countries reached an agreement on meat exports. Mongolia will export 200 tons of goat meat to Vietnam between 2017 and 2018. The two governments believe that the signing of export agreements on livestock products will be a great boost to the goal of achieving bilateral trade of $70 million by 2020.

Also in August, when a Saudi Arabian government delegation visited Mongolia, both parties conducted extensive discussions on the establishment of a joint-venture meat processing plant and a relevant working team.

In November, during a political consultation meeting between Mongolia and Paraguay, Mongolia showed great interest in Paraguay's experience in beef exports and expressed a desire to strengthen bilateral exchanges and cooperation in relevant fields.

In my opinion, there are several reasons behind Mongolia's growing focus on meat product exports and cooperation in its foreign trade. First, Mongolia's meat production is significant. At present, the country's livestock industry can not only fully meet the domestic demand for meat products, but also has the potential for exports. Statistics show that Mongolia's total livestock herd reached 55.97 million at the end of 2015, and the figure reached 61 million at the end of 2016. The country's current consumption of meat is roughly 11 million livestock per year, with 6 to 9 million livestock available for meat exports. 

Second, the government has the need for diversified economic development. For a long time, Mongolia's mineral exports accounted for about 80 percent of its total export value. In comparison, its exports of animal and livestock products was so low that the value was nearly negligible. Mongolia's foreign trade has been heavily dependent on its mining industry, leading to imbalanced development of its industrial structure. Its economic development also appears unstable, and is vulnerable to fluctuations in global market demand for minerals and prices. Thus, in order to promote more diversified economic development, the Mongolian government has started to tap into the potential of meat exports.

Mongolia will continue to vigorously promote its meat exports in the future, but it should be noted that the country's actual meat export volume has always failed to meet the target, with its 2015 exports only reaching 3.8 percent of the planned export volume. 

Due to some bottleneck factors, Mongolia still faces many uncertainties in exporting meat products. First, the quality and safety of its meat products is not guaranteed, which directly affects its export prospects given the relatively low level of prevention and control of livestock diseases in the country. Second, its raw meat processing capacity is limited. Official data shows that there are more than 40 meat processing factories in Mongolia, but only 10 have strong productivity and most of them do not operate year-round. Finally, the structure of its livestock also constrains exports. At present, horse meat is what the international market demands the most from Mongolia, and Russia and China also mainly import beef and horse meat from Mongolia. But sheep and goats account for nearly 90 percent of the country's livestock herd, with horses and cattle accounting for only 10 percent.

Mongolia's intention to enhance exports of its meat products and its lack of relevant capacity provides a large amount of potential for cooperation with China. The two countries can expand their trade in meat products by establishing joint-venture meat processing plants or increasing or expanding cold-chain logistics zones for meat trade and processing in their border areas. Also, both parties can strengthen cooperation on prevention and control of livestock diseases and the development of relevant vaccines. In addition, China should attach great importance to technical aid for Mongolia in the prevention and control of foot-and-mouth disease and other livestock diseases, which would provide a great boost to bilateral ties.

Mongolia Vows Action to Get Off European Union Tax Haven Blacklist www.nytimes.com

ULAANBAATAR — Mongolia needs to take action at "all levels of government" to get itself removed from a European Union blacklist of tax havens, its foreign minister said, following talks with European counterparts.

EBRD lends US$ 8 million to Mongolian pharmaceutical manufacturer www.ebrd.com

The EBRD is lending US$ 8 million to Monos Holding LLC – a holding company of Monos Group, a leading pharmaceutical conglomerate in Mongolia – to help the firm invest in new equipment to expand manufacturing capacity, develop training, and reorganise long-term capital financing to support its wholesale business.

Credit rating on MMC raised www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Long-term credit rating on Mongolian Mining Corporation (ММС) or Energy Resources LLC raised to ‘B-’ from ‘D’ and revised to ‘Stable’ by S&P Global Ratings. In other words the company’s operation and financial condition has been evaluated positively.

December 13, 2017 trading report www.mse.mn

On December 13, 2017, 854,159 shares of 22 firms listed as Tier I, II, and III were traded. 6 firms’ shares increased in price, 12 decreased and 4 remained unchanged. Khunnu Management /HBZ/ was the top performer, increasing 14.99 percent, whereas E-Trans Logistics JSC /ETR/ was the worst performer, decreasing 14.90 percent.