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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Chinese investors buy ad tech startup Media.net for $900m www.chinadaily.com

Advertising technology startup Media.net, founded by tech entrepreneur Divyank Turakhia, said on Monday it had been acquired for about $900 million by a group of Chinese investors.
 
The deal would represent the third-largest in the ad tech industry, after Alphabet Inc GOOGL unit Google's acquisition of DoubleClick and Microsoft Corp's deal for aQuantive.
 
"We got an incredible amount of interest just because ad tech is a large and growing space and, at the same time, the number of companies that have been successful in it have been limited," Turakhia said in an interview.
 
The company's products, which are licensed by various publishers and ad networks, auto-learn and display the most relevant ads to users.
 
Media.net, a Yahoo Inc ad partner, attracted seven bidders, including a publicly listed company based in the United States.
 
However, the bid fell through following a substantial decrease in the company's stock value, Turakhia said.
 
The deal gives Media.net access to the Chinese online advertising market, which is currently the second largest in the world, Turakhia said.
 
Digital ad spend in China is expected to reach $40.42 billion in 2016, a 30 percent jump from a year earlier, according to research firm eMarketer.
 
Media.net, which is based in Dubai and New York, gets 90 percent of its revenue from the United States.
The company posted revenue of $232 million in 2015, with more than half of that coming from mobile users.
 
The Chinese consortium will buy Media.net from Turakhia's Starbuster TMT Investments and has already made a payment of $426 million.
 
The group is led by Zhang Zhiyong, the chairman of telecom firm Beijing Miteno Communication Technology Co.
 
Miteno's shares have been halted since December.
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China becomes Kyrgyzstan's second largest investor www.xinhuanet.com

BISHKEK -- China has become the second largest investor to Kyrgyzstan after Russia based on figures from 2015, Kyrgyz Deputy Minister of Economy Almaz Sazbakov told a press conference here on Monday.
 
Kyrgyzstan, a member of the Russia-led Eurasian Economic Union (EEU), continues to expand its cooperation with China, Sazbakov said.
 
"In future, we expect investment from China tops 500 million U.S. dollars," he said.
 
Kyrgyzstan held talks with China on trade and economic cooperation, gained access to the market and drew investment from China, according to Sazbakov.
 
"It is very important for us because China has traditionally been one of our major investment partners," Sazbakov said.
 
Kyrgyzstan joined the EEU in 2015, which consists five countries -- Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia.
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VW supplier clash stops output at six plants www.theguardian.com

Volkswagen has been thrown into another crisis after a dispute with a supplier forced it to halt production at six plants and cut the hours of nearly 28,000 workers.
 
VW took the drastic action because a company that supplies it with gearbox parts and seat covers stopped deliveries. The move affects some of its biggest factories, which produce the popular Passat and Golf models as well as engines and exhausts.
 
The cGerman carmaker has halted manufacturing at its Wolfsburg and Emden plants for a week and is to reduce hours of staff elsewhere between now and 30 August. In total, 27,700 workers are affected, with some sent home and others moved to short-time working. VW has 10 factories in Germany in total.
 
The German government has urged VW and the supplier Prevent to resolve the dispute. Analysts at UBS have warned that VW could take a €100m (£86.1m) hit to its profits if car production is halted for a week at Wolfsburg, where the carmaker is based.
 
The disruption to production comes almost a year after it emerged that VW had cheated diesel emissions tests in the US. The company is still trying to deal with the repercussions of the scandal, which has already costs it billions of euros. VW has agreed a settlement with US authorities that will see it pay up to $15bn (£11.4bn).
 
VW has initiated legal action against Prevent in an attempt to force the supplier to resume deliveries. However, Prevent is holding out.
 
The dispute is connected to VW cancelling contracts with Prevent, which the supplier claims have cost it millions of euros. A Prevent spokesman told the German newspaper Handelsblatt that VW was imposing unacceptable conditions on its suppliers.
 
In a statement, VW said although a district court had issued injunctions which obliged “the suppliers to resume deliveries, the suppliers have not as yet met their obligations. Volkswagen continues its efforts to reach agreement with the suppliers.
 
“Given that further developments are not foreseeable, Volkswagen is making arrangements for various flexibilisation measures extending as far as short-time work.”
 
VW and Prevent had a “serious responsibility” to resolve the dispute, said a spokesman for the economy ministry. “We assume and also expect the companies to solve the sticking issues as soon as possible. It is about thousands of jobs, which could be affected by shorter work hours, and the responsibility to tackle these problems constructively is very high.”
 
Prevent owns two companies that supply VW. CarTrim makes seat covers while ES Automobilguss produces cast iron parts for gearboxes.
 
Shares in VW fell 0.5% on Monday. They are down by a quarter compared with a year ago owing to the impact of the diesel emissions scandal.
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China scraps anti-dumping duties on Japan steel www3.nhk.or.jp

China says it will scrap anti-dumping duties on stainless steel tubes imported from Japan and the European Union.
 
The high-performance, seamless steel tubes are used for power plants and other facilities in China.
 
China had imposed the duties, saying that their unfairly cheap prices hurt the Chinese industry.
 
Last October, a dispute panel of the World Trade Organization accepted Japan's case that the anti-dumping duties were unjust and against WTO rules.
 
The panel called on China to redress the situation, saying that the imports caused no harm to the Chinese industry since there were no manufacturers of such high-grade products in China.
 
China's Ministry of Commerce said on Monday that they accepted a request from Chinese firms to drop their demand for the extra duties.
 
Japan's Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry estimates that China had imposed anti-dumping duties worth about 530 million yen, or 5,300,000 dollars annually.
 
Japanese officials say the lifting of the duties will lead to increased competitiveness for Japanese products.
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Russian fantasy film becomes box office hit in China www.rt.com

A Russian fantasy film that flopped domestically called ‘He is a Dragon’, has become the second most popular movie in Chinese cinemas on opening day, according to a bulletin of film distributors, cited by Chinese portal Cbooo.ru
 
The movie featuring dragons, a popular theme in Chinese culture, and made 18.35 million yuan ($2.77 million) at the box office.
 
The movie made more money in a single day than during its entire run in Russia and the CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) earlier this year.
 
As of the end of the weekend, the fantasy drama earned $6.77 million with an audience of nearly 1.5 million people.
 
Released in Russia last December, ‘He is a Dragon’ became an internet hit in China after a pirated copy of the video appeared on the web. One of the pirated videos got 3.7 million views in just five days, according to Vedomosti daily.
 
The popularity of the movie came as a surprise to the producers. The principal character of the drama does not fit the image of the dragon in Chinese culture as a good omen symbolizing success, power and good luck.
 
“When we presented the movie to Chinese distributors, they said that locals are unlikely to be interested in the picture because of its plot, as the dragon is featured as a negative character bringing evil, which fundamentally contradicts the national image,” said Valeriya Dobrolyubova, the head of Bazelevs sales department as quoted by RIA Novosti.
 
‘He is a Dragon’ is on its way to becoming the most successful Russian movie released in China. That honor belongs to the 2013 war drama ‘Stalingrad’, which made $11.8 million at the Chinese box office with $1.7 million on its opening day.
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Tourism 'will hold up' after Brexit www.bbc.com

Tourism in the UK will "hold up well" in 2016 after the Brexit vote but fewer jobs than expected will be created in the longer term, executives have said.
The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) is predicting growth in the sector of 3.6% in the UK over the year.
This is higher than predicted global growth in the sector of 3.1%.
It said falling domestic spending would be offset by international visitors loosening the purse strings owing to a more favourable exchange rate.
Impact
The WTTC said that, despite the initial solidity of the sector in the UK, there would be some added pressures in the next few years owing to the UK's vote to leave the EU.
It said that the benefit in terms of overseas visitors' spending from a weaker pound would wear off in 2018 to 2020.
General economic growth in the UK would be weaker and that would affect the industry.
"By 2020, we now expect that the UK travel and tourism sector will support 1.88 million direct jobs, which is approximately 75,000 fewer jobs than forecast in the annual update at the start of the year," it said in its latest economic update.
Earlier this month, travel researcher ForwardKeys said Brexit had had an "immediate, positive impact" on tourism to the UK. It said flight bookings to the UK jumped since June, driven by the sharp fall in the pound, with 4.3% more flights booked to the UK in the 28 days following the vote than last year.

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Ryan Lochte: Speedo and Ralph Lauren among four to end sponsorship www.bbc.com

Four sponsors have dropped disgraced US Olympic swimmer Ryan Lochte, including swimwear manufacturer Speedo and fashion label Ralph Lauren.
They were followed by announcements from skin care firm Syneron-Candela and Japanese mattress maker Airweave.
It comes after Lochte lied about being robbed at gunpoint by a policeman after a night out during the Rio Olympics.
Lochte, a 12-time Olympic gold medalist, has earned millions of dollars through endorsements.
Speedo, the biggest sponsor of the four, said: "We cannot condone behaviour that is counter to the values this brand has long stood for."
Lochte, aged 32, said he respected Speedo's decision, and thanked the company.
"I am grateful for the opportunities that our partnership has afforded me over the years,'' he said.
Ralph Lauren, which has removed some of Lochte's images from its website, said its sponsorship of the swimmer had been only for the Rio Olympics and would not be renewed.
Ralph Lauren and Airweave both stressed that they would continue their support of the US Olympic and Paralympic teams.
Syneron-Candela said: "We hold our employees to high standards, and we expect the same of our business partners.''
Speedo said it would donate a $50,000 portion of Lochte's sponsorship fee to the charity Save The Children's Brazilian operation.
The value of Lochte's Speedo sponsorship has not been disclosed. The contract reportedly expires this year after 10 years.
The US business magazine Forbes calculated that in the year of the 2012 London Olympics, Lochte earned about $2m in sponsorships from companies such as Gillette, Nissan, AT&T and Gatorade.
Lochte's performance at Rio did not reach the heights of his London triumph, but Forbes estimated his endorsements would still have been between $1m-$2m.
Disdain
The saga started when Lochte and three team-mates returned to the Olympic village after a late night out in Rio.
They tried, unsuccessfully, to use the locked toilet at a garage and urinated outside instead.
After first claiming that he and his three team-mates had been robbed by bogus policemen, Lochte back-tracked and admitted he had, while still drunk, "left details out" and "over-exaggerated some parts of the story".
Despite the evidence against him, including CCTV footage, he has however denied that he actually lied in his initial account to Brazilian police.

Lochte's behaviour has been met with disdain in the US and he has been widely pilloried in the US media.
On 19 August the New York Post carried a front-page headline describing him as the "Ugly American", along with the slogan "Liar, Liar, Speedo on fire".
Lochte is one of the most successful swimmers in history, with 12 Olympic medals, and he once had his own reality television show in the US.
In Rio, he swam in two events, winning a gold medal in the 4x200m freestyle relay along with team-mate Jack Conger.
"We appreciate his many achievements and hope he moves forward and learns from this experience," Speedo said of Lochte.

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Russian Companies Fight For Secure Government Messenger Contract www.themoscowtimes.com

Russian companies have begun bidding for the rights to develop a new secure messaging service for government.

Earlier this year, the Kremlin tasked Russia's Internet Initiatives Development Fund (IIDF) to develop the project. Concerned that foreign governments could access secret Russian information shared via Western apps such as WhatsApp and Viber, officials expressed concerns that Russia's security agencies were unable to crack encryption if they wished to monitor officials' online communication.

While the Kremlin is yet to issue any specific technical specifications for the app, it will need to support VoIP calls, video conferencing, file sharing, document collaboration, and a calendar function, said IIDF spokesperson Sergei Skripnikov. The service will also use high-level Russian cryptography and receive certification from Russia security agencies.

Skripnikov declined to reveal how much Russia would invest in the project, but said that entrepreneurs would likely retain a majority stake. He confirmed there were four possible candidates for the development of the messenger app: Titanium, Flodium, Sibrus and SyncCloud.

Titanium co-founder Akshin Dzhangirov confirmed the company holding talks with IIDF, as has Vladimir Pivovarov, director of development at the Kibernika company. Dzhangirov estimated that the cost of developing a secure messaging service from scratch could run from to $5 million. Pivovarov put an estimated price tag of $3 million on developing the service.

Flodium co-founder Sergei Kravtsov also confirmed that he had spoken with the IIDF, and estimated the outright cost of the new messenger platform to be between several hundred thousand to several million dollars. However, Flodium's talks with the IIDF focused on joint earnings on subscription fees, with the state providing customer support in return for free service installation.

Several more companies expected to bid for the government messenger tender still have projects in the pipeline.

Russian company Rosenergoatom is reportedly testing its Staply secure messaging service for state-owned companies, while the Mail.ru Group and the Internet Development Institute (IDI) are believed to be considering the development a secure messenger service with messaging, voice, and video call functions. The IDI has already received 15 applications to review alongside Rostelecom and Communications Ministry representatives.

Some 60 million people in Russia use instant messenger services, according to Russian mobile operator Tele2.

A government source suggested "many" government officials use the secure messenger service Telegram, which was developed by the exiled founder of Russian social network VKontakte. There are currently no set rules governing the use of messenger apps, but officials do not use Telegram to share highly classified information, the source said.

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Almost 28,000 workers affected by VW production problems www.rt.com

The biggest European car producer Volkswagen is facing production delays in a dispute with component suppliers. A week of production delays at the main Wolfsburg plant may cost VW up to €100 million in gross profits.

“Production at several Volkswagen plants has been interrupted as a result of a halt in component deliveries by external suppliers,” said a statement from VW.

The automaker has urged seat producer CarTrim and ES Automobilguss, which makes cast iron parts for gearboxes, to continue supplying. The manufacturers want €58 million compensation from VW, saying its cancellation of a contract cost them tens of millions of euro. VW is refusing to compensate for the losses; the negotiations continued till late Friday and are expected to continue on Monday.

As a result of the supply problems, the car producer is cutting work hours at six of its plants.

“Although Braunschweig District Court has issued injunctions obliging the suppliers to resume deliveries, the suppliers have not as yet met their obligations. Volkswagen continues its efforts to reach an agreement with the suppliers,” the company said.

This has affected 10,000 workers at Wolfsburg, 7,500 in Emden, 6,000 in Zwickau, 1,500 in Kassel, 1,400 in Salzgitter and 1,300 in Braunschweig, making up about 10 percent of the company’s total workforce in Germany.

Volkswagen has been hit by an emissions scandal after it admitted its diesel cars were deliberately designed to cheat on emissions tests. In the US alone, VW has agreed to pay $15.3 billion in a settlement with local regulators.

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7th Mongolia Investment Summit www.mongolianbusinessdatabase.com

Join us on 1-2 November 2016 for the 7th Annual Mongolia Investment Summit at The Peninsula Hong Kong. Hear from Government Ministers and senior mining representatives in Mongolia, notably Rio Tinto, who are confirmed to begin developing OT phase 2, and learn how this impacts the mining supply chain and the economy at large. 10% Discount available for MBD registrants on delegate tickets. Inquire within for the promo code at 7710911,99066062, 95855059
Complimentary passes are also available for buy-side investors (subject to approval). Register and/or download the brochure at:http://hongkong.mongoliainvestmentsummit.com/

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