Central bank delegates to attend IMF and World Bank spring meeting www.montsame.mn

Trump takes first step toward H-1B reform www.cnn.com

President Trump has set the wheels in motion for H-1B visa reform.
On Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order that directed federal agencies to implement a "Buy American, Hire American" strategy. The order included a section geared at immigration reform.
The order tasked four department heads (including the Secretary of Labor, who has yet to be confirmed) to suggest reforms to ensure H-1B visas are given to the "most-skilled or highest paid" petitioners. Additionally, it asked them to propose new rules and guidance for preventing fraud and abuse of work visas.
Trump made it clear that he doesn't agree with fact that H-1Bs are currently doled out under a lottery system.
"Right now, H-1B visas are awarded in a totally random lottery -- and that's wrong," he said on Tuesday in Wisconsin, where he signed the order.
There's an annual quota of 85,000 new H-1B visas (with 20,000 reserved for master's degree holders). Applications opened on April 3 and closed five days later. It was the fifth consecutive year that the cap was met within five days. This year, 199,000 applications were received.
It's unclear what exactly the four agencies department heads (State, Justice, Labor and Homeland Security) will be able to accomplish administratively and what will be need to done through congressional legislation.

"Although released with ceremonial flair, the order will have no immediate impact on H-1Bs," Betsy Lawrence, the director of government relations for the American Immigration Lawyers Association, told CNNTech. "Many of the changes to the H-1B program contemplated by the administration would require legislative action or rulemaking and would take time to go through the necessary processes."
There have been several bills introduced in recent months to reform the H-1B visa system, including a bipartisan bill from Senators Chuck Grassley and Dick Durbin who have been pushing to revamp the program for years. Their bill proposed eliminating the lottery in favor of a "preference system" so that foreign students educated in the U.S. would get priority. It would give a "leg up" to advanced degree holders, those being paid a high wage and those with valuable skills.
This proposal aligns with Trump's H-1B rhetoric.
"I'm grateful that President Trump has taken my suggestions to heart by taking steps today to protect American workers and preserve limited H-1B visas for truly qualified, high-skilled foreign workers," said Grassley in a statement.
H-1B visas are used to fill the U.S. skills gap, but critics, including the Trump administration have voiced concern about abuse of the program. In some cases, outsourcing firms flood the system with applicants, obtaining visas for foreign workers and then contracting them out to tech companies. American jobs are sometimes replaced in the process.
Attorney Sara Blackwell, who advocates for American workers replaced by foreigner visa holders, said she's "hopeful."
"I'm glad President Trump is acknowledging the serious problem."
Unlike the draft executive order leaked in January, the order signed Tuesday did not set out deadlines, although it did ask for proposals "as soon as practicable."
"I'm not worried immediately about my clients -- but I am worried about what's to come," Tahmina Watson, of Watson Immigration Law, said.

Russia lifts Far East visa requirements for 18 countries to boost tourism & development www.rt.com

AmCham: China's growth will give globe a big boost www.chinadaily.com

The robust growth of the Chinese economy in the first quarter is a positive sign for the global economy, the head of a US business lobbying group said on Tuesday, calling for further progress in bilateral trade and investment relations.

IMF says pace of global economic growth is picking up www.bbc.com

The world economy seems to be gaining momentum, according the chief economist of the International Monetary Fund.
Writing in the IMF's new World Economic Outlook, Maurice Obstfeldt said "we could be at a turning point".
The report forecasts global growth this year of 3.5%, up from 3.1% predicted in 2016.
The UK's economy is forecast to expand by 2% this year, stronger growth than any of the major developed economies apart from the US.
The prediction for Britain this year is now only marginally below what the IMF predicted a year ago, its last full forecast before the Brexit referendum.
The figure then was 2.2%. The revised forecast reinforces the picture of the British economy's performance being little affected by the aftermath of the referendum, contrary to the expectations of the IMF and many independent economists. The IMF does, however, expect the longer term impact on Britain to be adverse.
The IMF also warns of headwinds that could weaken its global projections. The organisation highlights the possibility of protectionism and what the report calls "trade warfare".
However, the dominant tone of the report is rather sunnier than it has been for some time. For much of the period since the financial crisis of 2008 the IMF has worried that the recovery was failing to generate momentum.
Dispelling fears
This time the IMF sees buoyant financial markets and "a long awaited cyclical recovery in manufacturing and trade".
The rebound in the prices of commodities has also helped dispel fears of deflation, or falling prices, which has been seen as a danger, especially in the developed world. Deflation can, in some circumstances, aggravate economic weakness.
The forecast for this year would be a marked improvement on last year's 3.1%.
It's striking that in the forecast for the larger economies, there are none predicted to suffer a decline in economic activity this year or next.
Even Brazil and Russia, two countries that have suffered from the fallout of international and domestic political difficulties, are forecast to see growth this year, although it's not particularly strong.
China first quarter growth hits 6.9%
Eurozone growth 'nears six-year high'
Inevitably, the IMF identifies possible risks that could weaken its main forecasts. In particular, the report refers to increasing "pressures for inward looking policies in the advanced economies".
The report notes the loss of what it calls middle-skilled jobs in advanced economies as a result of technological change since the early 1990s. There is controversy about to what extent increased global trade might have contributed to those losses.
Combined with the slow recovery from recent economic crises, this has affected people on lower incomes and led to growing disillusionment with globalisation the, IMF says.
The report warns that this could trigger more protectionist policy actions on trade and immigration.
UK growth strengthens
Mr Obstfeldt writes: "Capitulating to those pressures would result in a self-inflicted wound, leading to higher prices for consumers and businesses, lower productivity, and therefore, lower overall real income for households."
The report also says that the increased fragmentation of production processes across countries aggravates the potential economic damage.
The forecast for Britain has been revised up markedly for this year - to growth of 2%, from 1.6% predicted in 2016. That is a stronger than any of the leading developed economies apart from the US, whose growth is forecast to be 2.3%.
The revision for the UK reflects what the report calls the "stronger-than-expected performance of the UK economy since the June Brexit vote".
But the IMF still expects negative effects from leaving the EU including "reduced consumer purchasing power following the pound's depreciation and its gradual pass-through to prices and the impact of uncertainty on private investment".
It also says that longer term prospects have been diminished because of the expected increase in barriers to trade and migration and the potential impact on the UK's financial services.
One decidedly weak area is Africa, for which the IMF describes the outlook as subdued. For sub-Saharan Africa, economic growth is likely to only moderately exceed population growth. That means correspondingly only moderate progress in raising average living standards in the region.
Although commodity prices such as oil have rebounded from recent troughs, they are still relatively low. The Fund says that is holding back growth in oil-producing nations in Africa such as Nigeria and Angola.

Australia to introduce stricter rules on working visas www.bbc.com

Australia will introduce stricter visa requirements for skilled workers from overseas, the government said.
PM Malcolm Turnbull said the current 457 visa programme will be abolished to prioritise Australian nationals.
In its place, two new temporary visas will carry additional requirements and draw from a smaller list of eligible professions.
The 457 scheme had attracted criticism that Australian workers were losing out to foreign counterparts.
"The new system will be manifestly, rigorously, resolutely conducted in the national interest," Mr Turnbull said on Tuesday.
According to government statistics, 95,758 people were living in Australia on 457 visas last year, with the highest proportion coming from India (24.6%), the UK (19.5%) and China (5.8%).
What was the 457 visa?
A four-year business visa which allowed people to live in Australia with their immediate family.
It was designed to fill gaps in skilled labour but it had been criticised as being too accessible.
In 2016, the most 457s were granted to cooks, developers, programmers and medical workers
What are the changes?
Mr Turnbull said the current four-year 457 system will be replaced by visas lasting two or four years.

Non-performing loans decrease by 3.2 per cent www.en.montsame.mn

Children on Mongolians living abroad to be registered as Mongolian citizen www.en.montsame.mn

Deputy Prime Minister meets World Bank delegates www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Deputy Prime Minister U.Khurelsukh received Mona Haddad, Practice Manager for East Asia and the Pacific in the World Bank Group’s Trade and Competitiveness Global Practice on April 17, Monday to discuss the Group's new project in Mongolia.

BoM issues 1-week bills www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The Bank of Mongolia issued 1 week bills worth MNT 467.3 billion at a weighted interest rate of 14.0 percent per annum.
1 - week CBBs, a main monetary policy instrument of BoM, plays an important role on managing the reserves of the banks. This CBB rate represents BoM’s policy rate guides interbank money market. In July 2007, the CBB with stable rate and unlimited bidding was introduced with auctions to be held on every Wednesday. This really had attracted the banks’ interests providing the possibility for the banks to place their excess reserve in short term asset. There has been a substantial change in the way banks manage their reserves since then. For the favorable adjustment of CBB rate and loan principle along with the well balance of togrog and foreign exchange, 1 - week CBB has been held in a type of competing by rate since May 2005. The auction average rate is the targeted rate variables in +/-2 percent from the policy rate and it frames to make the interbank rate as the operational target in midterm.