Copper price jumps to highest since 2014 www.mining.com

Mongolia to increase meat exports to Vietnam www.news.mn

The 16th meeting of the Mongolian and Vietnamese intergovernmental commission was held on 8th of August. The agriculture ministers of the two countries participated in the meeting which aims to increase cooperation in trade, the economy, agriculture, health and education.

FAA and International Leadership in Mongolia www.faa.gov

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Administrator Michael P. Huerta, speaking at an Asia-Pacific civil aviation conference in Mongolia today, said that the FAA and its Asia-Pacific counterparts must continue to work together to promote oversight operations and certification systems that will ensure the safety of passengers around the world as demand increases.  

The FAA projects that within 20 years, the total number of passengers traveling between the Asia-Pacific region and the U.S. alone will increase by 120 percent.
“By sharing data and best practices with each other, we’ve proven that safety has no borders,” said Huerta. “It is imperative that we work together to meet this increased demand and deliver the level of safety and service consumers and businesses on both sides of the Pacific expect.”
Aviation leaders gathered at the Asia-Pacific Directors General of Civil Aviation Conference to discuss the future of civil aviation in the Asia-Pacific region. The U.S. has collaborated with the region since establishing a civil aviation office in Tokyo in 1947.
In cooperation with forums such as the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), FAA is working to improve air traffic efficiency in the region. For example, through engagement with ASEAN, FAA is working to emphasize the operational value of cross-border data information sharing between Asian states.
With APEC, the FAA is standardizing and implementing innovative traffic flow management technologies and best practices to allow for separation reductions and smoother traffic flow. The FAA also is supporting regional initiatives to implement more Performance-Based Navigation (PDF) procedures, which shorten flight routes, save time, and reduce emissions.  
Leaders of both regions committed to improving the efficiency of each nation’s aviation systems in a time when new technologies continue to reshape traditional aircraft and air traffic operations.

UNICEF to fund renovation of five kindergartens www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ UNICEF’s ‘Schools for Asia’ program will be implemented in Bayanzurkh district.

Jack Ma no longer richest person in China, as another Ma takes title www.rt.com

Alibaba owner Jack Ma has been stripped of the title of the wealthiest person in China. Ma Huateng, also known as Pony, topped the Forbes’ Chinese list on Monday.

Mazda announces breakthrough in long-coveted engine technology www.reuters.com

TOKYO (Reuters) - Mazda Motor Corp said it would become the world's first automaker to commercialize a much more efficient petrol engine using technology that deep-pocketed rivals have been trying to engineer for decades, a twist in an industry increasingly going electric.

The new compression ignition engine is 20 percent to 30 percent more fuel efficient than the Japanese automaker's current engines and uses a technology that has eluded the likes of Daimler AG and General Motors Co.

Mazda, with a research and development (R&D) budget a fraction of those of major peers, said it plans to sell cars with the new engine from 2019.

"It's a major breakthrough," said Ryoji Miyashita, chairman of automotive engineering company AEMSS Inc.

The announcement places traditional engines at the center of Mazda's strategy and comes just days after Mazda said it will work with Toyota Motor Corp to develop electric vehicles and build a $1.6 billion U.S. assembly plant.

"We think it is an imperative and fundamental job for us to pursue the ideal internal combustion engine," Mazda R&D head Kiyoshi Fujiwara told reporters. "Electrification is necessary but... the internal combustion engine should come first."

A homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI) engine ignites petrol through compression, eliminating spark plugs. Its fuel economy potentially matches that of a diesel engine without high emissions of nitrogen oxides or sooty particulates.

Mazda's engine employs spark plugs under certain conditions, such as at low temperatures, to overcome technical hurdles that have hampered commercialization of the technology.

Mazda Motor President Masamichi Kogai attends a news conference in Tokyo, Japan August 8, 2017.
Kim Kyung-Hoon
Executive Vice President Akira Marumoto called Mazda's engine technology the automaker's "heart".

The engine is called SKYACTIV-X and Mazda had no plans to supply the engine to other carmakers, Marumoto said.

AEMSS' Miyashita said a key issue would be how smooth and responsive the engine is.

"Is it jerky? If so, that would pose a big question when it comes to commercializing this technology." he said. "Hopefully Mazda has an answer to that question."

Mazda also said it would introduce electric vehicles and electric technology in its cars from 2019, focusing on markets that restrict the sale of certain vehicles to limit air pollution or that provide clean sources of electricity.

In addition, it said it aimed to make autonomous-driving technology standard in all of its models by 2025.

Mazda's announced its petrol-engine technology breakthrough on the same day that shares in Japan's GS Yuasa Corp surged after a newspaper reported that it would start producing a lithium battery that would double the range of electric cars as early as 2020.

Mazda's share price closed down 1.3 percent. That compared with a 0.3 percent fall in the benchmark Nikkei 225 index.

Reporting by Sam Nussey and Maki Shiraki; Additional reporting by Norihiko Shirouzu; Editing by Chang-Ran Kim, Christopher Cushing and Neil Fullick

Record automotive investment for Iran www.nhk.or.jp

Automaker Renault will invest hundreds of millions of dollars in Iran to step up local production. The plan is believed to be the largest automotive-related investment in the country's history.

China will get 2,000 more McDonald's restaurants in the next few years www.cnn.com

The world's largest fast food chain announced Tuesday that it plans to open 2,000 new restaurants across the world's most populous nation in just over five years, bringing the total to 4,500.
"China will soon become our largest market outside of the United States," said McDonald's CEO Steve Easterbrook.

Tesla plans to raise $1.5bn to produce new Model 3 www.bbc.com

US electric car manufacturer Tesla plans to raise $1.5bn (£1.15bn) to fund production of its new Model 3 car.

Tesla will raise the money by selling bonds to professional investors, despite the company having $3bn in cash.
The company says it has 518,000 orders for its new car, whose price starts at $35,000.
Initial production of the Model 3 started in July, with a target of 400,000 to be made next year.
Tesla, which also makes batteries and solar panels, has been burning through its cash at a rapid rate.
The company's founder and boss, Elon Musk, said at the vehicle's formal launch in July that making the Model 3 would lead to "six months of manufacturing hell", as it tries to make 100,000 of the cars this year at its California factory.
Some observers have predicted that the company, which has yet to make a profit, will use up at least $2bn this year, hence the need for more cash.
The Tesla bonds will have to be repaid to investors in eight years but the interest rate on offer to investors has not yet been decided.

From mining to big data : Inner Mongolia's economic development www.chinadaily.com.cn

This year is the 70th anniversary of China's North Inner Mongolia autonomous region. In this time, the region's economy has expanded from 537 million yuan ($78 million) in 1947 to 1.86 trillion yuan ($270 billion) in 2016, according to cctv.com.