Mining relations to be regulated by specific law www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Actions regarding the relations of the mining industry and mineral resources were used to be regulated by Law on Mineral Resources. However, it is deemed that the latter law has been mostly associated with the relations connected to obtaining special licenses for exploration and their payment and fees. Therefore, the Ministry of Mining has begun formulating a bill on mining.

Ulaanbaatar-Darkhan road to be expanded in 2017 www.gogo.mn

Minister of Road and Transport Development D.Ganbat established an agreement on Wednesday with the directors of subordinate divisions and policy departments in order to thoroughly realize the government objectives and actions for road and transport development in 2016-2020.
The agreement consists of 192 plans of actions, to be implemented on the margin of 26 measures of seven objectives.
The government objectives include resuming the construction of roads to reach the Asian Highway Network, connecting the centers of all provinces to the capital city, continuing the construction of the horizontal axis of the Millennium Road project and broadening of Ulaanbaatar-Darkhan auto road.
Also, the continuation of the Tavantolgoi-Gashuunsukhait railroad building, development of the feasibility study and launch of the Khuut-Bichegt railroad construction, start of the feasibility studies and blueprint of the Zuunbayan-Khangi railroad and the Bogdkhan Railroad Project and commencement of the Erdenet-Ovoot railroad construction are intended to take place in 2017.
The Ministry has been working on establishing International Agreement on Road Transport Relations with related authorities of Germany, the Czech Republic and Poland.

Renewables investment in UK will fall 95% over next three years – study www.theguardian.com

Investment in windfarms will fall off a “cliff edge” over the next three years and put the UK’s greenhouse gas reduction targets at risk, a thinktank has found.

More than £1bn of future investment in renewable energy projects disappeared over the course of 2016, the Green Alliance found when it analysed the government’s latest pipeline of major infrastructure plans.

Investment in wind, solar, biomass power and waste-to-energy projects will decline by 95% between 2017 and 2020, it added.

While a slowdown in green energy investment had been expected after ministers cut several subsidy schemes over the last 18 months, the figures lay bare the dramatic extent of the decline.

“This cliff edge needs to be avoided if the UK is to meet its world leading carbon budgets and Paris agreement pledge,” Green Alliance said in its analysis.

Shortly after the EU referendum, the government committed to cutting carbon emissions by 57% by 2030 on 1990 levels, but has so far failed to spell out how it will support low-carbon energy, such as offshore windfarms, beyond 2020.

“Renewables will be cheaper than new fossil power stations by 2025 at the latest if we allow companies to build, learn, and cut their costs. But the government has been holding back the final bit of support needed to make renewables subsidy free. It’s also blocked the cheapest renewables from being built,” said Dustin Benton, acting deputy director at Green Alliance, referring to the government ending subsidies for onshore wind. “Unsurprisingly, the result is a 95% fall in investment.”

The thinktank’s analysis found that high carbon infrastructure, which it defines as fossil fuel power stations, airports and road building, was faring little better. For the first time since 2012, high carbon investment had stopped growing, and will be down by two-thirds by 2020.

“The picture of private sector investment is very clear: it is rapidly moving away from high carbon infrastructure. In contrast, public sector high carbon investment is rising, although slowly,” the authors wrote.

RenewableUK, which represents the wind power industry, said the government needed to set out its vision on energy to enable investor confidence.

Emma Pinchbeck, the group’s executive director, said: “The energy sector is changing. The infrastructure pipeline shows that the private sector understands the smart money is on the renewables industry – that is why they are moving from high carbon assets to low carbon ones.”

But the infrastructure pipeline showed the government had managed to cut £2bn from the cost of decommissioning old nuclear power plants. The thinktank said that was good news as it could free up money to spend on encouraging people to switch to lower carbon heating, which ministers have admitted is progressing slowly.

A government spokesman said: “We are fully committed to a low-carbon future and the Office for Budget Responsibility recently projected that £8.4bn will be spent on renewable projects in the UK in 2020/21.

“We are one of the best countries in the world at tackling climate change with £52bn invested in renewable projects in the UK since 2010. Last November we reaffirmed our commitment to spend £730m of annual support on renewable electricity projects over this parliament.”

Rosneft Privatization Deal Closed As Italian Financing Comes Through www.themoscowtimes.com

The tumultuous privatization saga of Russia’s largest oil company appears to be drawing to a close.

Credit Suisse bullish on emerging markets in 2017 www.rt.com

Emerging markets are once again an attractive target for investors due to growing middle-class incomes, flexible Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth prospects, as well as very young populations as a base for consumption, according to Credit Suisse.
“We particularly find emerging market debt in hard currency, but also in local currency, as an important part of investment strategy for next year,” said Credit Suisse's global head of investment strategy Nannette Hechler Fayd'herbe as quoted by CNBC.

Brexit: banks consider whether to start moving business out of UK www.theguardian.com

Brexit could have an impact on the City in the coming months as banks decide whether to implement contingency plans to ensure they retain access to the remaining 27 EU member states by moving business out of the UK.

Theresa May, the prime minister, intends to trigger article 50 – the formal process of exiting the EU – in March and some senior officials in the financial district argue that the rest of Europe could lose out if operations are shifted out of London.

The local authority for the financial district, the City of London Corporation, has urged May to arrange transition arrangements “as soon as possible” to allay concerns of businesses which were delaying investment decisions.

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), which is advising several financial services institutions, said announcements could start in late February, when banks publish their preliminary results.

“A number of big banks are finalising plans for announcements they will make [this] year,” he said.

In the run-up to the 23 June referendum, banks warned about the consequences of a vote to leave the EU. US bank JP Morgan said it could move 4,000 of its 19,000 UK workforce. Its main offices are Canary Wharf, Bournemouth and Glasgow. Britain’s biggest bank, HSBC, said it might need to shift about 1,000 staff to existing operations in Paris.

A report for the lobby group CityUK by PwC, calculated that there could be 100,000 fewer jobs by 2020.

Banks may not be able to delay moving of some of their operations to the remaining EU member states – even if the government were to announce a transition period beyond the two years after triggering article 50 – because of the time it takes to get authorisation from regulators and installing new management teams.

The director of policy and strategy at CityUK, said businesses did not want to move. “There’s a real stickiness. People are here for a reason. It’s a good place to do business,’ Gary Campkin said.

“The important thing is to make sure we focus on ensuring decisions aren’t made too early or too quickly and that’s why stability is crucial.”

The Corporation of London has published data showing that financial and professional services firms employ more than 2.2 million people across the UK, not just in the City.

Campkin said: “The important thing is there is clear recognition from the UK and the EU 27 that transition arrangements, bridging arrangements, or an interim period are an important part of the process”.

This involves two arrangements: the first when article 50 is triggered to the point when the UK leaves the EU; the second covers the period from exit to allow businesses time to adapt to the new arrangements.

“This is a negotiation. It’s not just about what the UK wants. The EU 27 needs to think really carefully what’s at stake for them too … That means, whether EU corporates know it directly or not, that they will be getting benefit from access to London,” he said. New York or Singapore could benefit, he added.

Bank of England officials have warned there could be an impact on the wider EU. Sir Jon Cunliffe, deputy governor, has said economies across the EU could lose out and that operations may move to New York, rather than another financial centre in Europe.

Sam Woods, another deputy governor at the Bank, has said the regulator is being kept informed of contingency arrangements being drawn up by City firms.

Anthony Browne, chief executive of the British Bankers’ Association, said all EU member states had a mutual interest in ensuring the period between concluding the UK’s exit from the trade bloc and any new relationship did not result in disruption to businesses and customers.

“Including transitional arrangements in the UK’s withdrawal agreement under article 50 would avoid a cliff-edge moment and ensure an orderly transition post-Brexit,” he said.

Trump attacks General Motors over Mexico Chevy production www.bbc.com

The US president-elect, Donald Trump, has criticised General Motors for making cars built in Mexico available tax-free in the United States.
"General Motors is sending Mexican made model of Chevy Cruze to US car dealers-tax free across border. Make in U.S.A. or pay big border tax!" said the president-elect in a post on Twitter.
Mr Trump has criticised other US industry titans since his election win.
Shares in Lockheed Martin and Boeing fell after attacks from Mr Trump.
The US share markets will open at 14:30 GMT.

MNT 20 billion was invested in mining industries in 2016 www.gogo.mn

More than 20 mining deposits were put into operation, 800 jobs were created and MNT 20 billion was invested in Mongolian mining sector in 2016, the Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry reports. 
According to the state budget performance in 2016, 19 tons of gold, 33 million tons of coal, 7.5 million tons of iron ore, 1.1 million tons of oil and 200 thousand tons of fluorite are expected to be exported. 
The Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry added that 1.4 million tons of copper concentrate, 4700 tons of molybdenum concentrate and 100 thousand tons of zinc concentrate will be produced and exported. 
Ultimately, mining sector accounts for 85 percent of Mongolian exports, 63 percent of industrial products, 18 percent of GDP and one-fourth of national revenue.

State Commission launches inspection at new airport www.gogo.mn

Construction of The New Ulaanbaatar International Airport (NUBIA) is currently underway in Khushig Valley, Tuv Aimag, a location 52 km south of the capital city. Starting from the first working day of new year 2017, January 2, a 57-member State Commission launched its inspection at the airport to complete the Mongolian Government’s acceptance of the construction works.
On December 21-28, technical inspection of the project was conducted by a designated technical committee of 104 personnel. As a result of the technical inspection, some 23 objects and facilities constructed by Japanese side were handed over to the Mongolian side.

Wall St stays bullish on Alibaba www.chinadaily.com

Wall Street remains bullish about China's internet giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd amid a spate of stock selling by its principal stakeholders in the past six months.

Among the latest moves was the share sale plan adopted by Joe Tsai, which allows the firm's executive vice-chairman to sell up to 6.5 million shares of the company's stock through October.

The shares represent approximately 8 percent of Tsai's holdings, the company said in a filing to the United States Securities and Exchange Commission last month.

Tsai's affiliated entities, including the Joe and Clara Tsai Foundation, Parufam Ltd and MFG II Ltd, have adopted the prearranged sale plan in accordance with Rule 10b5-1 of the SEC Act of 1934, the statement said.

Based on Alibaba's annual report in March, Tsai holds a 3.2 percent stake in the company.

Alibaba Chairman Jack Ma unlocked 5 percent of shares under his beneficiary ownership through a similar plan in September, allowing for the sale of up to 9.9 million shares over a 12-month period commencing in September 2016.

These plans have been put in place to meet philanthropic commitments and for ordinary wealth planning purposes, the company told China Daily on Monday.

In 2014, the duo established a charitable trust that is designed to be funded by share options they own, representing around 2 percent of the shares in the company, Alibaba said.

"Rule 10b5-1 allows major holders to sell a predetermined number of shares at a predetermined time, as long as the sale isn't set to bring about major effects to the company. Many corporate executives use such plan to avoid accusations of insider trading," said Ling Xiao, partner of Hui Ye Law Firm specializing in overseas investment and financing.

The e-commerce giant's largest shareholder Softbank Group Corp said it would sell $7.9 billion of its shares in June, marking the first such sale since the Japanese company began investing in Alibaba in 2000. Its holding in Alibaba were reduced to around 28 percent, from 32.4 percent as of June 2016.

But a potential snowball effect shorting Alibaba is unlikely to occur. In November, rating agency Fitch Ratings Inc affirmed Alibaba at A+ with a stable outlook, and Morgan Stanley gave a "Buy" rating last month and a $130 price target, more than 40 percent up from its current price.

"We believe that Alibaba is in the early stages of unlocking the value from what we view as its most valuable asset－a rich database that continues to accumulate from its well-controlled and extensive closed-loop ecosystem, through advances in data technology," Morgan Stanley's Grace Chen and her team said in a report in December.

Selloffs don't necessarily reflect a shift in confidence among major investors, according to an analyst tracking Alibaba stocks at an investment bank who wished to remain anonymous. The institution also maintains a buy rating and had raised its target price to more than $130.

"In the case of Softbank Group Corp, the selloff is targeted at trimming debts and saving up to acquire the semiconductor and software design company ARM Holdings Plc," said the analyst.