1 MONGOLIA DRAGGED ITS WILD HORSES BACK FROM EXTINCTION – CAN IT SAVE THE REST OF ITS WILDLIFE? WWW.THEGUARDIAN.COM PUBLISHED:2024/01/13      2 FOUR KILLED BY HEAVY SNOW IN MONGOLIA WWW.XINHUANET.COM PUBLISHED:2024/01/13      3 CHINA-MADE BUSES TO HIT THE ROAD IN MONGOLIA'S CAPITAL WWW.XINHUANET.COM PUBLISHED:2024/01/13      4 MONGOLIA'S GDP EXPECTED TO GROW BY 6.2% IN 2024 - WORLD BANK WWW.AKIPRESS.COM PUBLISHED:2024/01/13      5 CHINA'S IMPORTS OF MONGOLIAN COAL SET TO RISE AS TRANSPORT IMPROVES WWW.REUTERS.COM PUBLISHED:2024/01/13      6 RUSSIA BOOSTS FUEL EXPORTS TO CENTRAL ASIA, AFGHANISTAN AND MONGOLIA IN 2023 WWW.REUTERS.COM PUBLISHED:2024/01/13      7 MONGOLIA'S INFLATION DOWN TO 7.9 PCT WWW.XINHUANET.COM PUBLISHED:2024/01/11      8 PRESIDENT OF MONGOLIA INVITED HEADS OF STATE OF TWO NEIGHBORING COUNTRIES WWW.GOGO.MN PUBLISHED:2024/01/11      9 63.2 PERCENT OF MILK AND DAIRY PRODUCTS DOMESTICALLY SOURCED WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2024/01/11      10 ELECTRIC VEHICLE CHARGING STATIONS TO BE BUILT AT 25 LOCATIONS IN ULAANBAATAR WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2024/01/11      ИНФЛЯЦЫН ТҮВШИН 7.9 ХУВЬТАЙ ГАРЛАА WWW.EAGLE.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/01/14     АЮУЛТ ҮЗЭГДЭЛ, ОСЛЫН ТОХИОЛДОЛ ӨМНӨХ ОНООС 4.3 ХУВИАР ӨСЖЭЭ WWW.EAGLE.MN  НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/01/14     ОЛОН УЛСЫН ЗАХ ЗЭЭЛЭЭС 225 САЯ АМ.ДОЛЛАРЫН БОНДЫГ АМЖИЛТТАЙ АРИЛЖААЛЛАА WWW.IKON.MN  НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/01/14     "МОНГОЛЫН ХӨРӨНГИЙН БИРЖ" ХК НЭГ ЖИЛИЙН ХУГАЦААНД 15.1 САЯ ТОНН НҮҮРСИЙГ ₮7.4 ИХ НАЯДААР АРИЛЖЖЭЭ WWW.IKON.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/01/14     ИНФЛЯЦЫГ ТОГТВОРЖУУЛАХАД ЧИГЛЭСЭН МӨНГӨНИЙ БОДЛОГО ХЭРЭГЖҮҮЛНЭ WWW.MONTSAME.MN  НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/01/14     ИРЭЭДҮЙН БЭЛЭН БАЙДЛЫН ИНДЕКСЭЭР МОНГОЛ УЛС 124 УЛСААС 75 ДУГААРТ ЭРЭМБЭЛЭГДЭВ WWW.BLOOMBERGTV.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/01/14     XII САРД ШИНЭ ОРОН СУУЦНЫ ҮНИЙН ӨСӨЛТИЙН ХУРД ҮЛ ЯЛИГ СААРЧ, 9.9 ХУВЬ БОЛОВ WWW.BLOOMBERGTV.MN  НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/01/14     БҮХ ТӨРЛИЙН ТЭЭВРЭЭР 105 САЯ ТОНН АЧАА ТЭЭВЭРЛЭЖЭЭ WWW.MONTSAME.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/01/14     ИНФЛЯЦ 3 САР ДАРААЛАН НЭГ ОРОНТОЙ ТООНД ХАДГАЛАГДАВ WWW.BLOOMBERGTV.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/01/11     ӨНГӨРСӨН ОНД НҮҮРСНИЙ ЭКСПОРТЫН 92 ХУВИЙГ АВТО ЗАМЫН ХИЛИЙН БООМТООР ГАРГАЖЭЭ WWW.MONTSAME.MN  НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/01/11    

Events

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”ТОКИОГИЙН ЗАГВАРЫН ЕРТӨНЦ” ҮЗЭСГЭЛЭН ЯАРМАГ RX Japan Tokyo

NEWS

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Risks in China's banking system controllable even as bad loans rise: PBOC Zhou www.reuters.com

Risks in China's banking system are controllable even as bad loans increase, said the governor of the country's central bank.

Lenders have adequate capital, People's Bank of China (PBOC) Governor Zhou Xiaochuan said. The PBOC published the comments, made at a G20 meeting in Washington earlier this week, on its website on Sunday.

Chinese banks extended 948.7 billion yuan ($142 billion) in net new yuan loans in August, more than double the figure of the previous month.

Credit growth is fast, and that is a reflection of China's efforts in boosting growth amid a weak global economy, Zhou said.

But as the global economy gradually heads towards a recovery, China will have to control credit growth, he added.

Analysts have attributed a substantial part of the new lending growth in August to strong mortgage demand.

Chinese property prices have risen sharply in the past year, drawing the attention of the central government, and a major price correction would add to strains on banks already wrestling with souring loans.

The non-performing loan rate in the banking sector increased to 1.75 percent at end-June from 1.67 percent at the end of last year, official data showed.

Zhou said China's economy continues to grow within a reasonable range, with some important economic indicators showing signs of improvement.

The government is due to publish September's lending data in the coming week and third-quarter gross domestic product later this month.

China's economy grew 6.7 percent in the second quarter from a year earlier, unchanged from the first quarter at the slowest pace since the global financial crisis.

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Belt and Road, a promising initiative aimed at common prosperity www.xinhuanet.com

BEIJING, Oct. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Belt and Road Initiative unveiled three years ago has already delivered tangible results, contributing to global economic recovery and creating momentum for long-term global economic growth.

Proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping, the initiative refers to the Silk Road Economic Belt that links China with Europe through Central and Western Asia by inland routes, and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road connecting China with Southeast Asia, Africa and Europe by sea.

The initiative offers both a long-term development vision and real benefits in the near future.

ECONOMIC CORRIDORS

Construction of the very first highway in Mongolia, a landmark project in the country under the Belt and Road Initiative, has been under way since May 2016.

The highway, linking the capital city, Ulan Bator, and the new international airport in Khushigt Valley, Tuv Province, has been hailed by then Mongolian Prime Minister Chimed Saikhanbileg as "a new milestone" in the history of infrastructure in Mongolia.

As a landlocked country, Mongolia shares borders with only two countries: China and Russia. Its ambitious Steppe Road plan, an infrastructure construction proposal to spur economic growth through cross-border transportation, is highly consistent with the Belt and Road Initiative, especially the construction of the China-Mongolia-Russia economic corridor.

The corridor is one of the six major international economic cooperation corridors under the Belt and Road Initiative.

In July 2015, China, Mongolia and Russia signed a memorandum of understanding on the construction of the economic corridor covering their countries.

In September 2016, Beijing released an outline of the plan for the corridor, marking the official implementation of the first outline of the multilateral cooperation plan.

While in Pakistan, infrastructure development is progressing rapidly thanks to the construction of the China-Pakistan economic corridor.

In April 2016, the reconstruction and upgrade work on the Pakistani section of the Karakoram Highway officially started. In May, construction of the Peshawar-Karachi Expressway (Sukkar-Multan section), the biggest transport infrastructure project under the China-Pakistan economic corridor, was officially launched. Meanwhile, a 64 km stretch of the M4 highway connecting Shorkot to Khanewal in Pakistan's Punjab province broke ground in August. It is Pakistan's first highway project financed by the China-backed Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

The China-Pakistan economic corridor is regarded as the first chapter of the Belt and Road symphony. With the economic corridor at the center and the Gwadar Port, transport infrastructure, energy and industrial cooperation being the four key areas, a "1+4" cooperation structure is gradually taking shape.

Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif has said on many occasions that the China-Pakistan economic corridor is a boon to the whole region and it will bring tangible benefits to the 3 billion people in China, Central Asia, South Asia and the Middle East.

MARITIME SILK ROAD CONSTRUCTION

Marking a milestone agreement for China-Greece collaboration, China's Cosco Shipping on Aug. 10 acquired a majority stake in Piraeus Port Authority through the Athens Stock Exchange.

The port is now ranked 39th globally up from 93rd in 2010 in terms of container capacity, and it can be considered a rising star partly due to its convenient geographic location, thanks to China's Belt and Road Initiative.

Piraeus is expected to operate as a hub in Europe for the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, and to connect the Silk Road Economic Belt with the China-Europe Land-Sea Express Line, boosting economic growth in regions that the initiative covers.

Broad achievements have been scored since the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road was proposed by Xi three years ago.

In September, the 13th China-ASEAN Expo was held in China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. The expo, with an aim to promote the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road and forge a closer China-ASEAN community of common destiny, attracted more than 2,600 companies from 29 countries.

China and ASEAN mark the 25th anniversary of their dialogue relations in 2016. Trade between China and ASEAN rose to 472 billion U.S. dollars in 2015 from less than 8 billion dollars in 1991, with an annual growth rate of 18.5 percent.

By the end of May 2016, two-way investment had exceeded 160 billion dollars. Currently, China is ASEAN's largest trading partner, while ASEAN is the third-largest trading partner of China.

So far, more than 300 China-funded enterprises have been set up in 26 economic cooperation zones in eight ASEAN countries, investing a total of 1.77 billion dollars.

Abhisit Vejjajiva, a former prime minister of Thailand, has said that the Belt and Road Initiative would enhance people-to-people exchanges in countries along the route of the program, and it would also create vital opportunities for Thailand and other nations.

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Japan, IMF agree to extend loan arrangement www3.nhk.or.jp

Japan and the International Monetary Fund have agreed to extend a loan agreement for another 4 years.

The move came in a meeting in Washington on Friday between Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso and IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde.

Japan extended a loan of 60 billion dollars to the IMF in 2012 to help the fund flexibly assist countries affected by the credit crisis in Europe. The loan period expires at the end of this month.

Speaking after the meeting, Aso stressed the importance of the IMF securing a stable capital base to respond to potential risks in the global economy.

Aso also met US Treasury Secretary Jack Lew.
The two officials reaffirmed the importance to both countries of the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.

Aso told Lew the Japanese government aims to obtain Diet approval for the free trade pact during the current Diet session.

The Japanese minister told a news conference that countries need to cooperate in fighting protectionism. He suggested that policies that put domestic industries ahead of trade have slowed down the global exchange of goods.

He said critics should not focus only on harmful effects of free trade but on positive outcomes such as economic prosperity.

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Boeing receives order for 40 planes from Qatar www.bbc.com

US aircraft maker Boeing has announced a major deal to supply Qatar Airways with wide-body jetliners.
The deal includes 30 787-9 Dreamliners and 10 777-300ERs, valued at $11.7bn (£9.4bn) at list prices, along with the option to buy 60 737 MAX 8s, valued at $6.9bn at list prices.
It is the largest single order ever placed by the Gulf carrier.
The deal gives Boeing a boost in a year when orders for widebody planes have slumped.
Qatar has been frustrated over prolonged delivery problems from Boeing's European rival aircraft maker, Airbus.
Media reports last week suggested the deal was for at least 30 Boeing 777 and 787 jets, valued at about $6.7bn.
Airplane makers typically give large discounts on the list price when carriers order in bulk.
Analysis: Michelle Fleury, New York business correspondent
The continuing fight between Qatar Airways and Airbus has turned nasty - with Boeing emerging as the big winner.
The chief executive of the Gulf carrier, Akbar Al Baker, is a forthright individual. He has previously described his airline's relationship with Airbus as "strained" because of delivery delays and engine problems with the Airbus A320neos.
Now Akbar Al Baker is sending Airbus a message, with a big order for its American rival. The mega deal is not just a financial winner for Boeing. It's also a huge boost for the US plane maker's single aisle 737 MAX aircraft.
It is the US aerospace giant's newest plane and doesn't go into service until next year.
And politics may also be at play.
There was a suggestion that the Qatar government may have delayed the Boeing passenger jet order to put pressure on the US to approve a deal for Boeing fighter jets to the Middle Eastern country - a deal which the Americans now look set to approve.

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ExxonMobil faces fine from Chad 5 times country's GDP www.rt.com

Chad's high court has ordered an oil consortium headed by America’s ExxonMobil to pay $74 billion in fines for alleged unpaid taxes, Bloomberg reports. The court has also demanded the oil giant pay $819 million in overdue royalties.

The record figure is almost five times the country’s GDP of about $13 billion.

The fine is the biggest ever imposed on an energy company, exceeding the $61.6 billion penalty against BP over the Gulf of Mexico disaster that killed 11 workers and left a spill of over 3 million barrels of oil.

Experts say Chad is unlikely to see most of the fine.

“Nobody is going to cooperate outside of Chad in enforcing this judgment; this leaves Exxon exposed to possibly losing everything it has inside Chad but that’s such an extraordinary number, I can’t imagine the assets they have there are worth that much,” said Jeffery Atik, who teaches international law at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, as quoted by Bloomberg.

Exxon is currently deciding what to do next as it disagrees with the Chadian court’s ruling. The company declined to comment on the figure.

Exxon Mobil has been pumping oil in the African country since 2003, operating a pipeline that delivers Chadian oil to Cameroon for further export. The producer initially cooperated with Malaysian state-owned oil company Petronas and US-based multinational energy corporation Chevron. Chevron sold its stake in the project two year ago.

In 2006, Chad’s President Idriss Deby accused Chevron and Petronas of tax dodging, giving the companies 24 hours to leave the country. However, the case was settled with the firms denying the allegations.

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Coal price surge squeezes steelmakers' profits www.asia.nikkei.com

BANGKOK -- The coal used to make steel, known as metallurgical or coking coal, has flummoxed pundits by emerging as the best performing global commodity so far in 2016 after years in the doldrums, with benchmark spot prices surging by more than 250%.
 
The soaring price of metallurgical coal, steel's second biggest ingredient, is hitting the margins of steelmakers in Japan and South Korea. These manufacturers have already been hurt by an abundance of cheap Chinese steel and the rising price of iron ore, steel's main input.
 
Mining restrictions imposed this year in China have helped push up prices, but authorities moved to relax some of those on Sept. 30, to help staunch any further rises.
 
Metallurgical coal spot prices for premium coal in Australia began the year at $77.50 and soared to $213. 40 by Oct. 4, according to Platts' The Steel Index, reaching its highest point since 2013. The Hard Coking Coal Index has also risen by 230%.
 
The effects of surging metallurgical coal prices have immediately been felt by Chinese steelmakers, who typically buy coal at spot prices. But the Chinese production cuts and increased imports have forced up prices for the rest of the world.
 
Mills in Japan and South Korea still use a hedging system that fixes prices for three months. This brings them certainty, but given the surge in coal prices, the next three-month price could be set at nearly double the current $92.50 per metric ton for premium coking coal, analysts estimated.
 
Japanese steelmakers including Nippon Steel and Sumitomo Metal, already hit by increasing cheap exports from China, are warning that such a rise in coal prices would have an impact on their margins. Japanese mills are already suffering from a strong yen.
 
Japan is the world's biggest buyer of metallurgical coal, importing 54.1 million metric tons in 2015, according to Morgan Stanley.
 
Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal's group pretax profit will likely drop 10% for the year ending in March, the company said. In July, it reported that for the April-June quarter, sales slipped 2% to about 4.8 trillion yen ($46.22 billion) from a year ago. That figure had not factored in the full extent of the coal price surge.
 
The main driver of events -- as with so many commodities -- is China, the world's largest steelmaker, and its overdue efforts to control domestic coal production and its inability to curb steel production in any meaningful way.
 
China has enormous coal and iron ore resources of its own but its mining processes are generally less efficient -- and more polluting -- than those in its major producing rivals, such as Australia.
 
At the beginning of 2016, China's economic planning ministry, the National Development and Reform Commission, commenced its coal industry reform to remove overcapacity and cut pollution by closing mines and enforcing industry consolidation. It also said no new mines would be approved until 2019.
 
The measures have cut coal production by 14% to 809.3 million metric tons in the April-June quarter, according to the Australia and New Zealand Banking Group. Morgan Stanley analysts said that the price of coal exports rose 20-50% in that quarter.
 
In recent months, those restrictions on domestic production have combined with unseasonal flooding in the major coal-mining areas of Shanxi, Guizhou and Inner Mongolia, to push up prices.
 
This has led to an increase in China's coal imports, both for metallurgical coal and thermal coal used for power generation and heating. In August, China's metallurgical coal imports rose 45% to 6.5 million metric tons from July.
 
Add to this equation a reduction in available offshore supply as coal mines have closed over the last few years, in part due to weaker demand from China.
 
Still, state-imposed restrictions are a heavy-handed tool and on Sept. 23, the NDRC held a meeting of representatives from the coal, power and steel sectors to consider tweaks to its capacity controls to free up more coal domestically.
 
"We will study and analyze the latest outlook in coal production, transportation, demand, price and problems," the NDRC said.
 
The thermal coal sector -- far more sensitive domestically due to power and heating imperatives -- gained some immediate concessions.
 
A week later, on Sept. 30, the China Iron and Steel Association, representing the nation's biggest mills, was handed some relief when the NDRC agreed to loosen restrictions on production controls, which will affect almost 800 coal mines, analysts at Macquarie noted. This included 350-380 million metric tons of coking coal capacity and "was the first signal from the Chinese government that it wanted to cool the metallurgical coal market."
 
Macquarie added that this now complicated the latest contract negotiations, about to get underway in Australia, noting that industry reports suggested there was still a gap of about $50 per metric ton between the expectations of steelmakers and coal miners.
 
Steel mills, led by Nippon Steel, are prepared to pay $160 per metric ton while miners, represented by Anglo American, are seeking $212 per metric ton. The world's biggest miner, BHP Billiton settles its price on shorter contracts outside the negotiations.
 
Still, in every market, there are winners and losers. In this case, metallurgical coal-mining exporters are winning. Australian miners sell about 50% of the world's exports with about half that mined by an alliance between Australian miner BHP Billiton, and Japan's Mitsubishi Development. The latest Chinese figures show that in August, imports from Australian miners rose 8% from the previous month while shipments from Mongolian miners leapt by 36%.
 
The Australian Treasury had budgeted for an average price of $91 per metric ton for the commodity for the financial year ending June 30 next year. Given the price surge, analysts predict that the average will come in much higher. The big question is how long such high prices can last in the sector, although that answer now lies in China.
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The world's largest gold project, just got a whole lot bigger www.mining.com

During the final days of 2014 Canada's minister of the environment gave the green light to Seabridge Gold's KSM project in northern British Columbia, the world's largest undeveloped gold-copper project by reserves.

The federal and provincial environmental assessment process took nearly seven-years and KSM was only the second metal mine in five years to receive approval.

A new preliminary economic impact study released by Toronto-based Seabridge on Thursday, the already ambitious project takes another leap forward.

According to a statement, Seabridge now envisages a much larger operation than the one outlined in the preliminary feasibility study released last month and in the process improves both the environmental impact and economics of KSM.

The PEA calls for mill throughput of 170,000 tonnes per day, 40,000 tonnes more than the earlier study which Seabridge says can be done without significant redesign of facilities. Initial capital costs have been increased by just less than 10% to $5.5 billion.

In the PEA the bulk of the operations are moved underground and using the block-cave method Seabridge says it can reduce waste rock by a whopping 81% or 2.4 billion tonnes over the 51 year life of the mine.

By vastly increasing the amount of copper mined life of mine operating costs are now a negative $179 an ounce while all-in costs fall to just $358 an ounce.

Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources at KSM are estimated at 2.9 billion tonnes grading 0.54 grams per tonne gold, 0.21% copper and 2.7 grams per tonne silver which translates into 49.8 million ounces of gold, 13.6 billion pounds of copper and 253 million ounces of silver.

During the first seven years of operation annual gold output would top 1 million ounces and life of mine annual production is estimated at 592,000 ounces of gold, 286,000 pounds of copper and 2.8 million ounces of silver.

Seabridge (TSX:SEA) (NYSE:SA) is worth just over $530 million on the New York Stock Exchange, up 21% in value year to date.

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UN experts: Offshore assets could total $25 tril. www3.nhk.or.jp

United Nations human rights experts estimate individuals hold up to 25 trillion dollars of funds in tax havens.
 
The experts, including members of the UN Human Rights Council Advisory Committee, released the estimate in a statement on Thursday.
 
They said wealthy investors hide 7 to 25 trillion dollars offshore. As a result, they said countries lose hundreds of billions of dollars in tax revenues.
 
They said individuals and corporations are effectively stealing from public services such as health care, education and social security by hiding funds offshore.
 
They called on governments to work together and set up a UN body to eliminate tax havens.
 
Panama and other countries in Central America and the Caribbean attract wealthy individuals and companies by offering significantly lower tax rates.
 
Leaked financial documents known as the Panama Papers put the spotlight on the issue of tax avoidance.
 
The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, or ICIJ, has called the Panama Papers database the largest of its kind ever released.
 
The documents were originally leaked to the German newspaper Sueddeutsche Zeitung.
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Sony Mobile releases smart ear plug www3.nhk.or.jp

Sony Mobile Communications has developed a wireless ear-piece for hands-free smartphone control.
 
The device allows a user to control his or her smartphone by talking to it or nodding, without looking at or touching the display.
 
Worn like an ear-plug, the device has a built-in microphone for verbal instructions using the wireless function. It can also read out messages received.
 
If you want to reply, you can let it know by talking to it or nodding. If you do not want to speak, you can just shake your head. It reacts to your head movements with its sensor.
 
You can also search geographical or other information without taking out your smartphone from your bag or pocket.
 
Sony Mobile officials say they will market it next month.
 
One of the officials Hirohito Kondo says smartphones are handy but users must keep on watching and touching the display all the time. He says he hopes the ear device will reduce the burden on users and allow them to engage more with the outside world by controlling the smartphone through their voice or head movements.
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Snapchat parent working on IPO valuing firm at $25 billion or more: WSJ www.reuters.com

Photo-sharing app Snapchat's parent is working on an initial public offering that could value the company at $25 billion or more, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing several people familiar with the matter.
 
Snap Inc, which operates the app that lets users send videos and messages that disappear in seconds, is looking to sell shares as early as late March, the Journal reported. (on.wsj.com/2cVicKG)
 
An IPO valued at $25 billion would be significantly higher than Snapchat's most recent valuation of $17.81 billion, based on a $1.81 billion financing round in May.
 
It would also represent the largest IPO by a technology company since Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (BABA.N) went public in 2014.
 
Snapchat had been talking to investment bankers about an IPO towards the end of this year or early in 2017, technology website The Information reported last month. (bit.ly/2dPvEkh)
 
"We aren't commenting on rumors or speculation about any financing plans," the company said in an emailed statement on Thursday.
 
Reports on Snap Inc's IPO come at a time when shares of technology companies such as Square Inc (SQ.N) and Box Inc (BOX.N) that went public over the last two years are trading below their private market valuation.
 
Snapchat's valuation has grown in the last few years as the company added advertising and sponsored contents to its messaging service.
 
The company has told investors to expect $1 billion in advertising revenue in 2017, according to sources familiar with the matter.
 
Snapchat is expected to have 58.6 million users in the United States by the end of 2016 and that number is expected to jump 13.6 percent to 66.6 million by next year, according to research firm eMarketer.
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