China pledges further opening as leaders scramble for free trade www.reuters.com

Chinese President Xi Jinping pledged further economic opening on Saturday as leaders of Asia-Pacific countries sought new free-trade options following Donald Trump's election to U.S. president on promises to scrap or renegotiate trade deals.

All eyes were on China at this year's APEC summit in Lima, Peru just over a week after Trump's surprise victory in the United States dashed hopes of the largest-ever U.S.-proposed trade deal, the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), coming to fruition.

U.S. President Barack Obama has championed the TPP as a way to counter China's rise, but he has now stopped trying to win congressional approval for the deal signed by 12 economies in the Americas and Asia-Pacific, excluding China. Without U.S. approval the current agreement cannot be implemented.

Trump campaigned against the TPP and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) as bad for U.S. jobs. He said he would scrap the TPP and threatened to impose tariffs on imports from China and Mexico.

Following a meeting with Obama, Xi said Beijing's relationship with Washington was at a "hinge moment" and called for a smooth transition.

Xi has been selling an alternate vision for regional trade by promoting the Beijing-backed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which as it stands excludes the Americas.

"China will not shut its door to the outside world but open more," Xi said in a keynote address at APEC. "We're going to...make sure the fruits of development are shared."

Asia-Pacific countries should "advance economic integration and build open economies," Xi said. "Any regional trade plans should have widespread support... Sealing off and excluding others is not the correct choice."

Chinese attendance at the APEC meeting was its largest ever and regional delegates said China would take the lead on trade if the U.S. turned toward protectionism.

The Obama administration has warned that the RCEP would not include strong protections for workers, the environment or intellectual property.

In Lima on his last scheduled trip abroad as president, Obama said the United States worked to include labor provisions in a U.S.-Peru free trade agreement to lift wages and standards for Peruvian workers.

"That's the kind of attitude that we want to try to promote in ... the years going forward, and my hope is that that policy will continue."

TPP leaders held a meeting at APEC, where Obama urged them to work together to advance TPP, the White House said.

The leaders had confirmed the economic and strategic importance of the agreement, Japanese Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Kotaro Nogami told reporters after the meeting.

CHINA FILLS THE VOID?

With the fate of the TPP uncertain, China's talks on RCEP, which include Australia, India and more than a dozen other countries, are seen as perhaps the only path to the broader Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) that APEC aspires to.

"It's a more traditional trade deal, reducing tariffs on goods and services. It's not as far reaching as the TPP," Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull told reporters of RCEP. But "the more access we can get to more markets for our exports, the better."

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key said the United States was an important partner in the region, but China would fill the void if a Trump administration backs away from free trade.

Key said TPP members might be able to incorporate "cosmetic changes" to make the deal more palatable to the real estate magnate and former reality TV star.

"The Trump Pacific Partnership for instance, that'd be fine," Key said, laughing.

Despite China's overtures, some APEC members were determined to press on with TPP and held out hopes the United States would still show leadership on trade.

"Our geopolitical position is with the United States, obviously," Mexican President Enrique Pena Nieto said. "That's where our eyes are set and that's what we are working for."

Pena Nieto said the NAFTA pact between the United States, Mexico and Canada should be "modernized." Trump has vowed to scrap NAFTA if he cannot renegotiate it,

Mexico, Japan, Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore aim to continue with TPP with or without the United States, Mexico's economy minister, Ildefonso Guajardo, said on Friday.

Several APEC members said it was too soon to write off support from Trump on TPP.

"Barack Obama was not a supporter of the TPP when he became elected and he's leaving office as one of its greatest advocates," Australia's Turnbull said.

Marilyn Monroe's dress sells for $4.81 million www3.nhk.or.jp

A dress worn by movie star Marilyn Monroe has sold for a world-record price at an auction. Monroe wore the sparkling gown when she sang a birthday song to President John F. Kennedy.

30th Anniversary of Mongolia and US Diplomatic relations www.mongolianbusinessdatabase.com

 Mongolia and US will mark the 30th Anniversary of establishment of the diplomatic relations in between our countries in 2017. In this regard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia is making a comprehensive commemoration plan, which includes the business presences on the related activities. Please contact us for an additional information.

MBD Admin
Galaxy Tower 1003
Tel: 77109911,98994787,99066062

Premier League agrees major deal for Chinese TV rights www.bbc.com

The Premier League has agreed a major new deal for its TV rights in China, which could be worth up to $700m (£560m).
The three-year contract with Chinese video streaming service PPTV is set to be the league's biggest-ever overseas broadcast sale.
A PPTV source told the BBC a deal was in place.
If the reported value is confirmed, it would be worth ten times more than the league's current China TV deal.
The Premier League is yet to comment.
Superpower ambitions
PPTV is owned by Chinese retailer Suning, which is already invested in European football after it bought a controlling stake in Italian club Inter Milan in June.
China's President Xi Jinping has led a drive for businesses to invest more in football in a bid to turn the country into a footballing superpower.
He has set a target for the nation to be the world's biggest sports economy by 2025.

Manchester City, West Bromwich Albion and Aston Villa are among the English clubs to have received investment from China over the last year.
Audiences for Premier League football are also growing strongly in China, with English clubs seeing the world's second largest economy as a major growth market.
The nation's own Super League is also helping to fuel the boom, as it attracts well-known players and managers from the European leagues.
The Associated Press news agency reported that the TV deal would be worth $700m, working out at $233m-a-year starting in the 2019-2020 season. Other reports have suggested the deal is worth $600m.

The Premier League's largest overseas TV rights deal is currently with US broadcaster NBC, which paid $1bn for six seasons, or $167m per campaign.
But the main source of the league's income still comes from the UK.
British broadcasters Sky and BT last year agreed to pay a record £5.14bn for three seasons, starting with the current 2016-2017 campaign.
Analysis by Robin Brant, BBC News, Shanghai
If Manchester United and other top English Premier League clubs are willing to parade their players in a series of exhibition games across China as soon as the domestic season is finished, then you can see how important this market is.
EPL (as it's known here) is big. The fact that even David Beckham's son is the centrepiece of an advert for a smartphone in China shows you the strength of its appeal.
Basketball is long established in China. The NBA has a huge following. Rugby Union, Cricket and the NFL all have ambitions here.
But China's association with English football is deepening.
Chinese investors have acquired what seems like most of the West Midlands clubs in a show of status and financial might, but also for some a genuine attempt to build new brands that could appeal beyond their domestic base.
This broadcast deal, unsurprisingly, reveals how important web-based distribution is here for certain types of entertainment.
But what you might call 'revenue issues' remain.
There are plenty of illegal ways to watch EPL games in China and I'm pretty sure that the England away kit I saw listed on a very well-known Chinese internet retailer - for the equivalent of £7.50 - wasn't the real deal.

Malaysia Airlines turnaround challenge 'unprecedented' www.bbc.com

Tesla Seals $2 Billion SolarCity Deal www.bloomberg.com

China's overseas direct investment surges 53.3% in first ten months www.chinadaily.com

BEIJING - China's outbound direct investment (ODI) is surging despite weak global growth as Chinese companies continue to internationalize their business.
Non-financial ODI increased 53.3 percent year on year to reach $145.96 billion in the January-October period, easily surpassing the total for 2015 of about $121.4 billion, according to the Ministry of Commerce on Thursday.

In October, ODI grew 48.4 percent year on year to reach $11.74 billion.

China's overseas investment reached 162 countries and regions, most of which has gone to Hong Kong, ASEAN, the European Union, Australia, the United States, Russia and Japan in the first ten months, with the United States posting the strongest year-on-year growth at 173.9 percent.

ODI continued to exceed foreign direct investment (FDI) into the Chinese mainland, which rose 4.2 percent year on year to reach about $98 billion in the same period. China's ODI exceeded FDI for the first time ever in 2015, becoming a net capital exporter.

In addition to growing investment volume, the pattern of China's ODI is changing rapidly as the consumer and services sectors gather momentum.

China's overseas investment started with raw materials, moved on to infrastructure and manufacturing, and is now starting to focus on big-name consumer brands and high-tech companies, according to a research note from HSBC.

Official data showed that in the first ten months, most of the investment flowed to commercial services, manufacturing and retail, with equipment manufacturing almost quadrupling last year's investment.

Once dominated by large state-owned enterprises in search of iron ore and copper, China's ODI now includes private sector giants buying US film studios and European fashion houses, along with state-backed companies snapping up new tech firms, the HSBC note pointed out.

The HNA Group is a good example of the trends. The private conglomerate from south China's Hainan province extended its push into the leisure sector with a high-profile deal to buy a 25-percent stake in Hilton in October.

In the past two years, the company has spent about $23.8 billion in cross-border acquisitions, including hotels and commercial real estate, in order to extend its value chain and strengthen its aviation core business, according to the note.

Official data showed that Chinese companies continued to work closely with countries along the Belt and Road Initiative. They signed construction contracts worth over $84 billion during the period, up 30.7 percent year on year.

However, HSBC noted that investment in the Belt and Road countries has been moderating in recent months due to global uncertainties and a high comparison base in 2015.

With the global economy showing signs of recovery, more projects are reaching the implementation stage, cross-border connections are becoming more sophisticated, and financing support is gradually strengthening, HSBC said in the note, adding it expects China's investment in the Belt and Road region to grow at a stable pace in the next couple of years.

JBIC to conclude loan agreement with Russian bank www3.nhk.or.jp

NHK has learned that a Japanese government-affiliated bank is preparing to play a role in forging closer economic ties between Japan and Russia. The Japan Bank for International Cooperation, or JBIC, is expected to conclude a loan agreement with Russia's largest bank.

The BoM sold USD 32.0 million www.mongolia.gogo.mn

JBIC to conclude loan agreement with Russian bank www3.nhk.or.jp