Mongolia-China-Russian economic corridor to be built www.montsame.mn

Tashkent/MONTSAME/ On June 23, a tripartite meeting of leaders of Mongolia, China and Russia was held for the third time in Tashkent city, Uzbekistan on sidelines of the 16th Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit.

The first ever meeting of the state heads of the three countries took place at initiative of President of Mongolia Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj in September 2014 in Dushanbe, Tajikistan and the second meeting was hosted in July 2015 in Ufa city, Russia.

This time, the leaders of the three states made a point on actions the sides plan to carry out in near future.

President of China noted that following their meeting in Ufa, a roadmap was adopted for developing trilateral cooperation for mid-term prospective, which is being actively implemented by related ministries, local authorities and companies of the three countries. The sides are effectively coordinating projects in the fields of trade, economy, humanitarian links, transit transport, tourism and sports. Positive results are vivid. The current meeting will be resulted in signing an essential cooperation document which is a program on building economic corridor, highlighted Mr Xi Jinping.

In his turn, President of Russia V.Putin noted “Traditional friendly relations link Russia with China and Mongolia. A program has been designed on building the economic corridor between Russia, China and Mongolia as a step towards delivering Ufa agreements. It aims at significant stimulation of border relations through launching over 30 tripartite investment projects. ”

Russian side found perspective a Mongolian idea to establish a joint investment projecting center which will serve to work out new proposals on cooperation in the areas of transport, building communications and electricity lines, and energy supply routes.

Thereby, President Putin made an emphasis on infrastructural initiatives. In particular, Russian business is ready to engage in modernization of the Ulaanbaatar railways in order to increase its carrying capacity up to 100 million tons of freight per year.

V. Putin stressed that further facilitation of customs procedures will be conducive to enhancing trade relations between the three countries, including border ties. An agreement on mutual recognition of results of customs checks which was signed same day in presence of the three leaders serves this purpose.

The Russian President also touched upon a range of issues concerning energy supply to Mongolia, cooperation in the tourism sector, promoting academic exchange and highlighted that trilateral partnership has a good potential in many fields to be used for prosperity of our nations.

President of Mongolia Ts.Elbegdorj touched upon implementation of the program on building economic corridor. Thereby, he proposed choosing ready for implementation projects out of 32 projects and seeking their financial sources. Taking into consideration that the parties were agree to create a mechanism of investment center, he suggested making it happen within 2016.

Secondly, in frames of stimulation of cooperation in the fields of roads and transport, Mongolia proposed holding consultations of transport ministries of the three countries on regular basis, which are real mechanism for forwarding railway projects. It is planned to hold the third meeting in August-September in Ulaanbaatar with a view to discuss the pressing issues.

Thirdly, trilateral cooperation priorities shall be identified. Our cooperation cannot be restricted only with economic corridor, transport and customs matters. Regional cooperation is one of the priorities. We are principally backing Chinese ideas on developing cooperation of eastern regions of Mongolia, Russia and China. Mongolian side is ready to further designating a corresponding cooperation roadmap.

Mongolia considers possible to develop trilateral cooperation in the areas of agriculture, prevention and combating of disasters and their aftermaths.

The President of Mongolia wished to hold a trilateral summit in Ulaanbaatar in order to stimulate our cooperation and expressed a confidence that the trilateral mutually beneficial collaboration will make a great contribution to the development of not only our countries, but also the region as a whole.

President Xi Jinping said the sides have to forward trilateral cooperation on the basis of interlocking Chinese initiative Economic belt Silk Road, Russian strategies on building transeurasian corridor and Mongolian initiative Steppe Road.

Emphasizing responsible implementation of the program on building economic corridor, President Xi Jinping forwarded proposals related to possibilities of creating trilateral zone, making focus on constructing infrastructure, border trade, industrialization, tourism, humanitarian ties, combining efforts in the industrial sphere and promoting subregional cooperation in the interests of developing border regions of the three countries.

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YouGov poll shows 52% remain, 48% leave www.asia.nikkei.com

LONDON (Reuters) -- Voting closed in Britain's bitterly fought referendum on whether to quit the European Union on Thursday, with a prominent Leave campaigner saying he expected to lose and early surveys suggesting voters had chosen to remain in the bloc.

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Despite being one of the main opponents of Russia’s Nord Stream-2, Poland is interested in pumping 11 billion cubic meters of gas per year from the pipeline, Gazprom said on Thursday.

Counting under way in UK's historic referendum on EU membership www.bbc.com

Counting is under way in a referendum that will decide whether the UK remains a member of the European Union.
The counting is taking place at centres around the UK in a vote widely seen as too close to call.
There is no exit poll - so the millions who cast a ballot will have to wait until results start coming in to find out how the country voted.
Flash floods in the South of England disrupted voting and led to some polling stations being relocated.

Gibraltar was the first to declare a result with 96% of voters in the British overseas territory backing Remain. A big Remain win had been predicted in Gibraltar amid concerns about its border with Spain.
An online survey taken on polling day of 5,000 people by YouGov suggests the Remain side running at 52% of the vote, to Leave's 48%. Ipsos Mori have released polling from Thursday and Wednesday suggesting Remain will get 54% and Leave 46%.
Ukip leader Nigel Farage has told the Press Association the Remain camp has won based on "what I know from some of my friends in the financial markets who have done some big polling".
The referendum result, which should be known by breakfast time on Friday, could be a turning point in the UK's relationship with Europe and the rest of the world.
If the UK becomes the first country to exit the EU it will arguably be the biggest blow to the 28-nation European Union since its formation.

A vote to remain would see Britain gain exemption from "ever closer" political union and other concessions secured by Prime Minister David Cameron in a renegotiation of the country's membership terms.
It should become clear which way the vote has gone by the early hours of Friday morning but if it is as close as the final opinion polls of the campaign suggested, it may take until closer to 07:00 BST (06:00 GMT) for the result.
Many polling stations in the South East of England reported high turnouts despite bad weather, so declarations could be later than previously expected.
Results predicted for between 0200 BST and 0300 BST could be put back an hour or two, it was being suggested, in some parts of the region.
There were also concerns that some commuters stranded in London because of chaos on the railways might not have got home in time to vote.

They characterised themselves as the plucky underdogs, in with a shout, but certainly the real outsiders.
But, in part by using that status, indeed building a narrative of the people versus the elites, they have got themselves to a position where they might end up on the winning side.

The pound surged against the dollar after polls closed at 22:00 BST and the YouGov poll suggesting a Remain victory.
A record 46,499,537 people were registered to vote in the referendum, according to provisional figures from the Electoral Commission.
Early reports from around the country suggest turnout has been higher than at last year's general election, with Kettering, in Northamptonshire, reported to be 76% and Newcastle 68%.

From 22:00 BST, there will be comprehensive coverage on the BBC News website and app with live text and video streaming, reaction and analysis from BBC editors and others. There will also be an up-to-the-minute full results service and details of all local results.
BBC One, the BBC News Channel and BBC Parliament will broadcast a results show hosted by David Dimbleby alongside BBC experts and special guests from 21:55 BST. Coverage continues through the night and Sophie Raworth, Andrew Neil and Victoria Derbyshire pick up the coverage on Friday morning.
The results programme will be streamed internationally on the BBC News website from 22:00 BST.
BBC Radio 5 live will have coverage as the results come in, as will Radio 4 from 23:00 BST until the Today programme picks up at 06:00 BST on Friday.
From 22:00 GMT, television viewers outside the UK can tune in via BBC World News and BBC World News America. Listeners outside the UK can tune into BBC World Service radio for regular updates.
Referendum night - what to watch out for
Sealed ballot boxes are being transported to the venue for each of the 382 local counting areas.
These represent all 380 local government areas in England, Scotland and Wales, plus one each for Northern Ireland and Gibraltar.
Results from these areas will then be declared throughout the night, along with result totals from 11 nations and regions.

Jenny Watson, chief counting officer, will announce the referendum result at Manchester Town Hall after all 382 local totals have been certified and declared.
Any recounts will take place at a local level only, as there is no facility for a national or regional recount, she added.
The referendum followed a bitterly-fought four month campaign, which saw Mr Cameron pitted against senior colleagues in his own party, who were campaigning for Britain to leave.
A Brexit vote could deal a fatal blow to Mr Cameron's career as prime minister, although he has vowed to stay on whatever the outcome.
Conservative MP Robert Syms says he and other Vote Leave Tories have written to Mr Cameron telling him he has a "duty" to stay on regardless of the result - the letter has been signed by all the cabinet ministers who broke ranks to back Leave, including Boris Johnson and Michael Gove.
Mr Cameron promised to hold a referendum on Britain's EU membership ahead of last year's general election, following relentless pressure from his own MPs and the UK Independence Party, which was taking votes - and later - MPs from Mr Cameron's Conservatives.
He initially suggested he would be prepared to back an out vote if he did not get what he wanted from his renegotiations.

But once the date of the referendum was announced he threw himself into the campaign for Britain to remain, arguing the country would be "stronger, safer and better-off" in the EU.
Nearly all of Britain's opposition parties, including Labour and the Scottish National Party, backed remaining in the EU, along with the majority of business leaders.
The Leave campaign - headed by former mayor of London and Conservative MP Boris Johnson - argued that the only way Britain could "take back control" of its own affairs would be to leave the EU.
The Leave campaign dismissed warnings from economists and international bodies about the economic impact of Brexit as "scaremongering" by a self-serving elite.

Immigration was a key issue in the campaign, with the Leave campaign arguing that net migration from the EU could never be reduced while the UK was signed up to free movement rules.
In an eve-of-poll interview with Telegraph, Mr Johnson, who has long been seen as bidding to be the next prime minister, claimed the vote was more important to him than his future in British politics.
"Frankly, if this is the end of my political career… I've done eight years as mayor of London, I enjoyed it hugely, it was a massive privilege. Fine by me."

Asian millionaires 'top wealth rankings' www.bbc.com

Asian millionaires now control more wealth than those in North America, Europe and other regions, according to a report from finance firm Capgemini.
Driven by China and Japan, Asia's millionaires saw their wealth jump by 10% in 2015, the firm's World Wealth Report found.
Millionaires held nearly $60 trillion (£40 trillion) worldwide last year, four times higher than 30 years ago.
That could rise to $100 trillion by 2025, Capgemini said.
Asia's growth in high net worth individuals - defined as having $1 million in assets - came despite slowing economic growth in China and a weak Japanese economy.
'Dominant force'
Capgemini found the growth in Asia was driven mainly by financial services, technology and health care industries.
The region's millionaires held $17.4 trillion of wealth, compared with $16.6 trillion in North America, the report said.
"If past growth rates hold, Asia-Pacific is likely to continue to be a dominant force over the next decade, representing two-fifths of the world's HNWI wealth, more than that of Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East and Africa combined," Capgemini said.
Poor performance in US equity markets slowed growth in North America to 2.3% last year, although the US still had the highest number of millionaires with 4.45 million.
Europe's millionaires saw a 4.8% increase in wealth, which was led by Spain despite the country's record unemployment.
The UK had the fifth highest number of high net worth individuals, although it only increased 1% to 553,000.
Latin American millionaires suffered a decline in net worth of 3.7%, driven by political volatility and a turbulent stock market in Brazil.
Worldwide, the wealth controlled by millionaires grew 4% last year to $58.7 trillion (£39.5 trillion).
Earlier this year, Oxfam found that the richest 1% now have as much wealth as the rest of the world combined.

First bid for McDonald's China franchises confirmed www.bbc.com

The first bid has been confirmed for McDonald's China and Hong Kong restaurants as the US fast food giant plans to franchise its outlets in the country.
China's Sanpower confirmed to the BBC it had put in a joint bid with Beijing Tourism Group.
There are more than 2,200 McDonald's in China with plans to open 1,250 more.
In March, McDonald's had said it would reorganise its business in China, seeking to franchise its restaurants.
Media reports have suggested that the US company has received more than half a dozen bids, which could raise as much as $3bn (£2bn).
Global franchise plans
Competitor Yum Brands, the owner of KFC and Pizza Hut, is also restructuring its China business, with plans to spin it off ahead of a likely initial public offering (IPO) of shares in 2017.
Both McDonald's and Yum Brands have been facing increasing competition from cheaper local rivals, particularly in China, where they are trying to recover from food safety scares.
In the long term, McDonald's plans to franchise 95% of its outlets worldwide.
Sanpower is a technology and real estate firm and said it hoped to integrate the fast food chain into its commercial shops and mall spaces.
"In recent years, we are building more offline commercial stores, aiming to provide better shopping experience for consumers. McDonald's could provide new brand elements for us," Sanpower spokesman Zou Yan said in an email.

Leaders of Mongolia and China hold meeting www.montsame.mn

Tashkent\MONTSAME\. On sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit underway in Tashkent, President of Mongolia Ts.Elbegdorj held on June 23 a bilateral meeting with President of China Xi Jinping at the Kuksaroi (Blue Palace) State Resident.

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S.Korean companies interested in cooperating on Aero-Express project www.en.montsame.mn