1 MONGOLIA MARKS CENTENNIAL WITH A NEW COURSE FOR CHANGE WWW.EASTASIAFORUM.ORG PUBLISHED:2024/12/20      2 E-MART OPENS FIFTH STORE IN ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA, TARGETING K-FOOD CRAZE WWW.BIZ.CHOSUN.COM PUBLISHED:2024/12/20      3 JAPAN AND MONGOLIA FORGE HISTORIC DEFENSE PACT UNDER THIRD NEIGHBOR STRATEGY WWW.ARMYRECOGNITION.COM  PUBLISHED:2024/12/20      4 CENTRAL BANK LOWERS ECONOMIC GROWTH FORECAST TO 5.2% WWW.UBPOST.MN PUBLISHED:2024/12/20      5 L. OYUN-ERDENE: EVERY CITIZEN WILL RECEIVE 350,000 MNT IN DIVIDENDS WWW.GOGO.MN PUBLISHED:2024/12/20      6 THE BILL TO ELIMINATE THE QUOTA FOR FOREIGN WORKERS IN MONGOLIA HAS BEEN SUBMITTED WWW.GOGO.MN PUBLISHED:2024/12/20      7 THE SECOND NATIONAL ONCOLOGY CENTER TO BE CONSTRUCTED IN ULAANBAATAR WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2024/12/20      8 GREEN BOND ISSUED FOR WASTE RECYCLING WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2024/12/19      9 BAGANUUR 50 MW BATTERY STORAGE POWER STATION SUPPLIES ENERGY TO CENTRAL SYSTEM WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2024/12/19      10 THE PENSION AMOUNT INCREASED BY SIX PERCENT WWW.GOGO.MN PUBLISHED:2024/12/19      КОКС ХИМИЙН ҮЙЛДВЭРИЙН БҮТЭЭН БАЙГУУЛАЛТЫГ ИРЭХ ОНЫ ХОЁРДУГААР УЛИРАЛД ЭХЛҮҮЛНЭ WWW.MONTSAME.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/12/20     "ЭРДЭНЭС ТАВАНТОЛГОЙ” ХК-ИЙН ХУВЬЦАА ЭЗЭМШИГЧ ИРГЭН БҮРД 135 МЯНГАН ТӨГРӨГ ӨНӨӨДӨР ОЛГОНО WWW.MONTSAME.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/12/20     ХУРИМТЛАЛЫН САНГИЙН ОРЛОГО 2040 ОНД 38 ИХ НАЯДАД ХҮРЭХ ТӨСӨӨЛӨЛ ГАРСАН WWW.NEWS.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/12/20     “ЭРДЭНЭС ОЮУ ТОЛГОЙ” ХХК-ИАС ХЭРЛЭН ТООНО ТӨСЛИЙГ ӨМНӨГОВЬ АЙМАГТ ТАНИЛЦУУЛЛАА WWW.EAGLE.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/12/20     Л.ОЮУН-ЭРДЭНЭ: ХУРИМТЛАЛЫН САНГААС НЭГ ИРГЭНД 135 МЯНГАН ТӨГРӨГИЙН ХАДГАЛАМЖ ҮҮСЛЭЭ WWW.EAGLE.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/12/20     “ENTRÉE RESOURCES” 2 ЖИЛ ГАРУЙ ҮРГЭЛЖИЛСЭН АРБИТРЫН МАРГААНД ЯЛАЛТ БАЙГУУЛАВ WWW.BLOOMBERGTV.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/12/20     “ORANO MINING”-ИЙН ГЭРЭЭ БОЛОН ГАШУУНСУХАЙТ-ГАНЦМОД БООМТЫН ТӨСЛИЙН АСУУДЛААР ЗАСГИЙН ГАЗАР ХУРАЛДАЖ БАЙНА WWW.BLOOMBERGTV.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/12/20     АЖИЛЧДЫН САРЫН ГОЛЧ ЦАЛИН III УЛИРЛЫН БАЙДЛААР ₮2 САЯ ОРЧИМ БАЙНА WWW.BLOOMBERGTV.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/12/19     PROGRESSIVE EQUITY RESEARCH: 2025 ОН “PETRO MATAD” КОМПАНИД ЭЭЛТЭЙ БАЙХААР БАЙНА WWW.BLOOMBERGTV.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/12/19     2026 ОНЫГ ДУУСТАЛ ГАДААД АЖИЛТНЫ ТОО, ХУВЬ ХЭМЖЭЭГ ХЯЗГААРЛАХГҮЙ БАЙХ ХУУЛИЙН ТӨСӨЛ ӨРГӨН МЭДҮҮЛЭВ WWW.EAGLE.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/12/19    

Events

Name organizer Where
MBCC “Doing Business with Mongolia seminar and Christmas Receptiom” Dec 10. 2024 London UK MBCCI London UK Goodman LLC

NEWS

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Facebook lurking makes you miserable, says study www.bbc.com


A University of Copenhagen study suggests excessive use of social media can create feelings of envy.
It particularly warns about the negative impact of "lurking" on social media without connecting with anyone.
The study suggests taking a break from using social media.
The study of more than 1,000 participants, mostly women, says that "regular use of social networking such as Facebook can negatively affect your emotional well-being and satisfaction with life".
'Unrealistic social comparisons'
Researchers warn of envy and a "deterioration of mood" from spending too long looking at other people's social media stories, induced by "unrealistic social comparisons".
If this suggests a picture of long irritable hours over a screen, depressed by the boasts and posts of others, then the researchers say that it does not need to be this way.
Actively engaging in conversation and connecting with people on social media seems to be a much more positive experience, suggests the study, published in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behaviour and Social Networking.
This seems to be much less gloomy than "passive" users who spend too long "lurking" on social networking websites without getting involved.
Another approach to improve well-being, says the study, is to stop using social media altogether for a week.
That's if you can resist the temptation to look at all those unbearably smug pictures of skiing holidays...
 
 
 
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Google avoided billions in taxes by funneling money offshore www.rt.com

Alphabet Inc.'s Google managed to save $3.6 billion in 2015 by shifting its profits to a Bermuda shell company, according to filings in the Netherlands. Google used Ireland and the Netherlands as intermediaries.

According to files obtained by Bloomberg, Google used the so-called "Double Irish" and a "Dutch Sandwich" tax avoidance method.

The scheme is complicated. First, Google’s taxes outside the US are sent to Ireland to Google Ireland Limited. Then, the profits are sent to the Netherlands, which is also acknowledged for low corporate taxes.

Then, the money is sent from the Dutch subsidiary to a Bermuda shell company known as Google Ireland Holdings Unlimited, which has no employees but has the rights to Google's intellectual property.

Bloomberg further reported that using the tax avoidance scheme Google sent 40 percent more of its profits in 2015 than in 2014. In total, Google has sheltered $58.3 billion from US taxation, according to parent company Alphabet’s filings.

While Ireland closed the loophole last year, corporations may still enjoy it until 2020.

The report may be of interest to the EU antitrust chief Margrethe Vestager, who has recently been tackling inappropriate behavior of US companies on the European market.

Just on Tuesday, the European Commission found Facebook guilty of providing misleading information before winning approval to buy the WhatsApp messenger in 2014. The company is facing a fine of up to one percent of annual sales.

In August, Apple was fined €13 billion after a European investigation concluded Ireland provided the iPhone maker with a favorable tax rate.

Vestager is also digging into major US corporations like McDonald’s, Starbucks and Chrysler.

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U.S. returns China's Taobao shopping website to market blacklist www.reuters.com

 
The United States on Wednesday returned Taobao, China's most popular consumer-to-consumer shopping website, to its blacklist of "notorious marketplaces" known for the sale of counterfeit goods and violations of intellectual property rights.
 
The move by the U.S. Trade Representative's office against the online bazaar run by Alibaba Group Holding Ltd followed complaints from U.S. and international trade groups for apparel and luxury goods that Taobao was not doing enough to police sales of fakes and pirated products.
 
Inclusion on the blacklist does not carry any direct penalties but is a blow to Alibaba's efforts to shed perceptions its websites are riddled with fakes - a key to gaining a bigger international customer base and taking market share from global competitors such as eBay Inc and Amazon.com.
 
The company expressed disappointment with the move.
 
Taobao was put on the USTR blacklist in 2011 but removed in 2012 after it made efforts to address concerns of intellectual property rights holders and committed to cut the number of pirated and counterfeit goods on its website.
 
In unveiling its 2016 list, USTR acknowledged that Alibaba had taken steps to combat piracy, including addressing the misuse of brand keywords, blurred trademarks in product images and developing technology to prevent counterfeit sellers from reopening under new names.
 
USTR said, however, the current levels of reported counterfeiting and piracy were "unacceptably high," with such goods posing a "grave economic threat" to U.S. creative and innovative industries and posing public health threats in some cases.
 
"One large motor vehicle manufacturer reported that at least 95 percent of the merchandise bearing its company's brand names and trademarks found on Alibaba platforms is suspected to be counterfeit," USTR said.
 
Alibaba Group President Michael Evans said in a statement the company was "very disappointed" to be put back on the list as it was far more advanced in protecting intellectual property rights than it was four years ago. He added that the decision ignored Alibaba's work to remove more than twice the number of product listings this year than in 2015.
 
"We question whether the USTR acted based on the actual facts or was influenced by the current political climate," Evans said.
 
In Beijing, Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said she did not know the details of the blacklisting, but that in principle China-U.S. trade and business relations should be mutually beneficial and win-win.
 
"If some specific problems arise, we hope that both sides can appropriately resolve them via friendly consultations," she told a daily news briefing.
 
Alibaba touts Taobao as China's largest online shopping destination by gross merchandise volume and among the top five websites in China and top 15 globally.
 
Alibaba shares fell 0.7 percent on the New York Stock Exchange to $89.25.
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Stop holding sleepovers in our stores, Ikea warns pranksters www.theguardian.com

Ikea has warned people not to try to sleep over in its stores when they close, saying they would be considered trespassers and would only end up getting into trouble with the law.

On Wednesday, the Swedish firm’s spokeswoman Johanna Iritz said the firm takes the matter seriously, adding: “we can’t guarantee safety”.

The trend reportedly started when two teenagers spent the night in an Ikea store in Belgium in August this year, then posted a video of their exploits online.

According to the Associated Press, Iritz said Ikea has recorded about 10 such incidents in the past year in the United States, Canada, Britain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Sweden, Japan, Australia and Poland. The agency said it was unclear whether anyone had been prosecuted.

In Chinese stores, sleepers are actually encouraged to try out Ikea furniture. Photograph: Kevin Frayer/Getty Images
In August, Florian Van Hecke and Bram Geirnaert hid in wardrobes in an Ikea store in Belgium – coming out once it had closed. They filmed themselves using the display furniture overnight and finally left the store without being caught. Their video on YouTube was subsequently viewed more than 1.7m times.

The latest incident involved two 14-year-old girls trying to stay over in an Ikea branch in Jönköping, Sweden, last weekend. According to local media, the firm did not report the incident because of the girls’ age.

“Instead, we have spoken with their parents … to resolve the situation. We hope that this trend will slow. We do not see what it is fun about it,” an Ikea spokesman told Aftonbladet.

Speaking on Wednesday, Iritz reiterated that the fun associated with sleeping over in an Ikea store after closing time was “overrated”.

Her statement comes two years after Ikea invited people to stay over in one of its Australian stores as part of a joint publicity stunt with Airbnb. Ikea listed one of its Sydney stores on the homesharing website.

At that time, the firm said the opportunity promised “guests a truly unusual experience, where the Ikea bedroom displays will be transformed into a quirky accommodation option”.

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Carl Icahn to advise Trump on regulatory reform www.bbc.com

 
Billionaire investor Carl Icahn is to advise Donald Trump on regulatory reform.
Mr Trump's transition team said Mr Icahn was "one of President-elect Trump's earliest supporters".
His "help on the strangling regulations that our country is faced with will be invaluable," Mr Trump said.
The US president-elect has been criticised for placing a preponderance of billionaires and millionaires in positions of power.
Mr Icahn said: "I am proud to serve President-elect Trump as a special advisor on regulatory reform."
He said that US business owners have been "crippled by over $1tn in new regulations".
He added: "It's time to break free of excessive regulation and let our entrepreneurs do what they do best: create jobs and support communities."
Mr Icahn will not be a federal employee. He will help choose the next chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Critics have said that Mr Trump's cabinet, which contains a number of billionaires and millionaires, may have different policy priorities on, for example, the minimum wage than the average US citizen.
Drew Courtney of liberal pressure group People for the American Way said:
"Trump is, again, filling the swamp with alligators. Billionaire Icahn knows how to look out for his bottom line, not American workers.
"He's yet another Trump appointee who seeks to profit on the backs of working families."
Defence costs
On Wednesday Mr Trump also had a meeting with Dennis Muilenburg, the chief executive of Boeing, and Marillyn Hewson of Lockheed Martin to talk about the defence firms' charges for US government projects.
"Trying to get the costs down, costs. Primarily the [Lockheed Martin] F-35, we're trying to get the cost down. It's a programme that's very, very expensive," Mr Trump said after the meeting at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.
Since winning the 8 November election, Mr Trump has complained about the companies about projects he said are too expensive, sending defence shares down.
After the meeting, Mr Muilenburg said: "We work on Air Force One because it's important to our country, and we're going to make sure that he [Mr Trump] gets the best capability, and that it's done affordably."
At the beginning of December Mr Trump tweeted that he wanted to cut costs by cancelling the order for new planes to carry the American president, saying Air Force One cost more than $4bn.
A White House spokesman cast doubt on that figure.
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Emir of Kuwait pledged to help Mongolia in times of economic decline www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ On the second day of his official visit to Kuwait, Speaker M.Enkhbold paid a courtesy call on His Highness the Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah. The Speaker of Mongolian Parliament conveyed the greetings of the President of Mongolia to His Highness the Emir and extended heartfelt gratitude for the consistent support for Mongolia in difficult times.

He recalled that Kuwait has rendered financial assistance of USD 500.0 thousand during dzud of 2000-2001 winter and aid for eliminating the damages caused by last summer’s flood in Bayan-Olgii.

The Speaker also underlined that, while noting the bilateral political and economic relations has been progressing rapidly within the last couple decades, the people of Mongolia are always grateful for the developments constructed on the financing of Kuwait, such as the road constructions and the project on Taishir’s Hydropower Plant. “The research center, initiated by Your Highness has been operating in Ulaanbaatar with success and is conducting the feasibility study for expansion project of Undurkhaan Airport”, added Mr Enkhbold.

As Your Highness is well acquainted with Mongolia, he said, we have sea of cooperation opportunities in mining, agriculture, tourism, construction and infrastructure.

Chairman of the SGK M.Enkhbold added that the new cabinet has been working for attracting more foreign investment, protecting investors’ interests and sophisticating the legal and business grounds for promoting international investments to Mongolia.

In turn, Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah said “We always appreciate Mongolia’s support for Kuwait in times of Iraq war. Please make Yourself at home. Although the weather has been stern for the recent days in our country, I believe this is nothing for Mongolians. Please convey my gratitude along with my greetings to the President of Mongolia”.

Expressing his hope that the issues of loan and financial assistance by the Kuwiat Fund would be settled with positive results, the Emir noted that Kuwait itself has been facing some economic decline in regard to the fall of oil price. “Nevertheless, our side will be willing to give a helping hand to our Mongolian friends”, he went on. His Highness the Emir said that he recognizes the Speaker’s visit to his country of great importance as it is crucial to strengthen cooperation and friendship between the peoples and the legislative bodies.

At the end this meeting, His Highness the Emir wished prosperity to the growth of Mongolia and wellbeing and happiness to the people.

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After meeting with Trump, Boeing CEO says Air Force One will cost less than $4 billion www.businessinsider.com

 

WASHINGTON, DC — US President-elect Donald Trump on Wednesday met the CEOs of defense contracting giants Boeing and Lockheed Martin, whose programs he has criticized in recent weeks.

Boeing CEO Dennis Muilenburg — whose company is under contract with the US Air Force to develop and manufacture the next presidential aircraft fleet — said the price will be less than a near-$4 billion estimate.

"We're going to get it done for less than that, and we're committed to working together to make sure that happens," Muilenburg said after meeting at Trump's Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida.

"I was able to give the president-elect my personal commitment on behalf of the Boeing Company. This is a business that's important to us. We work on Air Force One because it's important to our country and we're going to make sure that he gets the best capability and that it's done affordably."

Trump described the cost for Boeing's Air Force contract to develop the next presidential fleet as "out of control" in a December 6 tweet.

"The $4 billion is a theoretical estimate of the life of the program, which is approximately 30 years," a Department of Defense spokesman told Business Insider.

Considering the US Air Force contract with Boeing is in very early stages, it is entirely possible for that figure to be adjusted, the spokesman added.

Trump also met with Lockheed Martin CEO Marillyn Hewson on Wednesday.

On December 12, Trump said the cost for Lockheed Martin's fifth-generation stealth F-35 Lightning II jet was also "out of control."

The message sent Lockheed Martin's stock down from $251 at the opening bell to $245.50, before it rebounded to a little more than $253 a share.

"We're trying to get costs down ... primarily the F-35, we're trying to get the cost down. It's a program that is very, very expensive," Trump said after meeting with several generals and admirals on Wednesday.

Trump said the negotiations with Lockheed Martin were "just beginning" and described it as "a little bit of a dance."

The F-35, valued at an acquisition cost of $379 billion, has become one of the most challenged programs in the history of the Department of Defense. It has experienced setbacks that include faulty ejection seats, software delays, and helmet-display issues.

"This program is not out of control," Lt. Gen. Chris Bogdan, head of the F-35 Joint Program Office, said during a December 19 briefing with reporters, just days after Trump tweeted criticism of the program.

"If given the opportunity I would like to try and explain to the new administration that this is a vastly different program from 2011," Bogdan said. "I'll just lay the facts out on the table and I'll let them make their own judgments because I don't think the program cost wise is out of control nor do I think that it's out of control schedule wise."

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Mongolia Vows No More Dalai Lama Visits After China Turns Screws www.bloombergtv.mn

Mongolia’s government pledged to extend no more invitations to the Dalai Lama after China signaled that a trip last month by the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader could derail ties.

“The Dalai Lama’s visit by the invitation of Gandan Monastery negatively affected two countries and these two countries have a misunderstanding,” Mongolian Foreign Minister Munkh-Orgil Tsend told the Onoodor newspaper Wednesday. “The government feels sorry for this,’’ he said, adding that the Dalai Lama “probably won’t be visiting Mongolia again during this administration.’’

The Mongolian foreign ministry declined to provide further information when asked about the minister’s comments.

China called off talks with Mongolian senior officials after the Dalai Lama’s four-day visit to Ulaanbaatar beginning Nov. 18. Mongolia has been seeking soft loans from sources including China and the International Monetary Fund as it struggles with a $1 billion budget gap and looming debt repayments.

A traditionally Buddhist nation that has deep historical ties to Tibet, Mongolia has hosted the current Dalai several times since 1979. Past visits have been met with reprisals from Beijing, which considers the Dalai Lama to be a separatist leader and routinely condemns nations that give him a platform to speak.

Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Hua Chunying said at a regular news briefing Wednesday in Beijing that China “attaches great importance to the explicit statement made by the Mongolian foreign minister.”

“China’s stand on Tibet-related issues is firm and clear,” Hua said. “We hope that Mongolia will truly learn lessons from this incident, truly respect the core interests of China, honor its promise and make efforts to improve the relations between China and Mongolia.”

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China-Russia trade to expand despite world economic slowdown: Chinese ambassador www.chinadaily.com.cn

 
MOSCOW - China has been Russia's top trading partner for six successive years, and bilateral cooperation is set to further grow despite slowing global growth, Chinese Ambassador to Russia Li Hui has said.
 
Russia was one of China's main suppliers of energy, and electro-mechanical and high-tech products, and even the continuing decline in world commodity prices did not prevent the stable improvement of bilateral cooperation, Li said in a recent interview with the Interfax news agency.
 
The pairing of the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative with the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union, agreed between leaders of both nations in 2015, would create favorable conditions for their over-all cooperation in various sectors, he said.
 
The Belt and Road Initiative comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and aspires to build a trade and infrastructure network connecting Asia with Europe and Africa along the ancient Silk Road routes. The EEU groups Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia.
 
According to Li, China's direct investment in Russia has already exceeded $10 billion, and the two countries have planned 66 priority projects for a total of 90 billion dollars.
 
Cooperation is developing in such sectors as nuclear energy, electric power, chemical industry, agriculture, mining, among others, he added.
 
The ambassador hoped that China and Russia would develop new forms of trade and find new ways of growth.
 
The energy sector has been one of the priorities for the two countries.
 
In 2016, the construction of the Eastern Route pipeline proceeded smoothly, and it is expected to start supplies to China in 2018, providing the country with 38 billion cubic meters of natural gas a year, Li said.
 
Relevant parties have also been actively engaged in consultations on the construction of the Western Route pipeline, which may double gas supplies to China in the future, and a number of other large objects, said the ambassador.
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Honda, Google tie up to develop self-driving car www3.nhk.or.jp

 
Japanese auto firm Honda says it is planning to conduct a joint study with a US affiliate of IT giant Google to develop self-driving car technology.
 
Honda plans to equip its products with sensors and software developed by Waymo and conduct test-runs on highways in the United States.
 
Honda has been developing the technology almost entirely on its own. It wants to take the lead in global competition by linking up with Google, which has advanced IT technology.
 
Google has already been cooperating with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Tie-ups with auto companies would give Google potential dominance in the area of self-driving software.
 
The tie-up is likely to accelerate competition with Toyota, Nissan, and other firms in the development of self-driving car technology.
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