The "Mongolian Stock Exchange" (MSE) started its primary market trading on December 26 by offering 34 percent of its total of 119,157,598 shares to the public.

As a result, the MSE raised MNT 57.8 billion through 7.417 orders which exceeded its initial target of MNT 11.9 billion by 4.8 times.

The Financial Regulatory Commission will review the subscriptions according to the Regulation on Securities Registration and issue a final report.

As part of its New Revival Policy, the Government of Mongolia has made a decision to make 25 state-owned companies public by offering their shares. In accordance with the decision, the MSE became the first state-owned company to issue its IPO and convert into a public company.

The Minister of Finance, B. Javkhlan, emphasized that the IPO of MSE became the starting point for publicizing state-owned companies.

Aspire Mining Ltd (ASX:AKM) is busy developing metallurgical coal assets in Mongolia, where it is working on its wholly owned Ovoot Coking Coal Project (OCCP) in the country's north.

The company has now wrapped up onsite activities related to a small-scale infill drilling program on the Ovoot mining licence, as previously planned and announced for the December quarter.

Approved drilling activities

The drilling was done in accordance with the exploration plan approved by the Mineral Resources and Petroleum Authority of Mongolia (MRPAM), along with an environmental protection plan approved by soum (council) and aimag (province) authorities administered under the Ministry of Nature, Environment and Tourism (MNET).

Exploration boreholes were drilled at 11 locations within the mining licence, for a total of 1,569 metres drilled.

Of these, 1,284 metres were of HQ size (including 487.5 metres of PCD2 drilling and 836.2 metres of DD3 drilling) and 285 metres were of PQ size (including 152.6 metres PCD and 131.6m DD).

The company has now delivered the water, coal and rock samples it gathered from the field to accredited laboratories in Ulaanbaatar.

Initial laboratory results are expected to be available in early 2023 to facilitate the intended hydrological, geotechnical and washability analyses for input into revised geological modelling and mine design and scheduling.

The implementation of the exploration program provided multiple commercial opportunities for people and businesses in Tsetserleg soum.

Over a two-month period, more than 30 local people were employed, and more than MNT 165 million (around US $50,000) was spent directly and indirectly on locally procured goods and services, which the company says represents a significant contribution to the local economy.

About Aspire Mining

Aspire Mining wholly owns the world-class Ovoot Coking Coal Project and has a 90% stake in the Nuurstei Coking Coal Project – both in the Khuvsgul aimag province of northern Mongolia, near the border with Russia.

The company is focused upon permitting, engineering and financing the Ovoot Project.

The plan is to mine coking coal, truck this to a company-owned terminal facility in Erdenet and then deliver the product to customers in China and Russia via the existing Mongolian rail network.

The Government of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg handed over a donation of EUR 5 million for the Prevention and Reduction of Child Rheumatic Heart Disease in Mongolia to UNICEF Mongolia.

Rheumatism is the most commonly acquired heart disease globally in people under the age of 25. It starts as a sore throat from a bacterium called Streptococcus pyogenes (group A streptococcus) which can spread easily from one person to another. Every year, the disease claims 288,348 lives worldwide. The earlier it is detected; the earlier action is taken which leads to a better health outcome. According to 10-year morbidity data (2011-2021), children’s morbidity accounted for 29.1 percent of the total morbidity in Mongolia. The report, issued by the Center for Health Development in 2022, stated that respiratory tract infections had been the most common among children under 15.

“I would like to express my deepest gratitude to the Government of Luxembourg on behalf of UNICEF Mongolia for its generous contribution made in support of the health of the most vulnerable children in Mongolia. Investing in the Prevention and Reduction of Child Rheumatic Heart Disease is one of the most cost-effective interventions to ensure a reduction in Child congenital diseases” says Evariste Kouassi-Komlan, UNICEF Representative in Mongolia.

UNICEF Mongolia’s Rheumatic prevention program aims to screen girls and boys, including adolescents, at an early stage for Rheumatic Heart Disease and streptococcus pharyngitis with the help of medical workers who are capable of using existing equipment to diagnose child heart disease and other non-communicable diseases.

Additionally, the program will create an enabling environment for antenatal care and early infancy and adolescents’ health, as well as train doctors, nurses, and health workers for an improved capacity in diagnosing and using existing equipment for early screening of congenital heart disease (CHD) and other non-communicable diseases among infant children. Finally, the program will promote healthy lifestyles including good hygiene through targeted awareness-raising campaigns.

China Three Gorges (CTG) has started work on an 80bn yuan ($11.6bn) desert energy mega-project that is claimed to be the largest of its type to feature renewables underway globally.

CTG in the final days of 2022 announced start of construction at the first pilot project of the Kubuqi Base Project in Inner Mongolia, which will feature wind, solar and energy storage at epic scales to help China meet its vast renewables ambitions.

The project will ultimately include 8GW of solar capacity and 4GW of turbines, along with some 4GW of coal capacity, according to local media.

“The Kubuqi Base project is the world's largest wind [and] photovoltaic base project developed and constructed in… desert areas,” CTG said in a statement, adding that it aims to build “the Three Gorges on the Great Wall”, in an apparent reference to the iconic hydropower project from which the company takes its name.

Kubuqi Base joins a number of desert renewable mega-projects planned globally, some with even higher capacity ambitions and many linked to planned production of green hydrogen.

The first project underway is a 1GW PV project with “corresponding” energy storage, said CTG which gave no schedule for the development as senior company and regional officials turned out for the groundbreaking.

CTG separately said it enters 2023 with 27 new projects underway with a total of 19.6GW of clean energy capacity.

China plans to roughly double its already world-leading renewable energy base to include 1,200GW of wind and solar capacity by 2030.

The Mongolian rangelands have been identified as among the most sensitive to climate change and variability, and degradation has been alarming. Over 70 percent of the rangelands have changed from their natural state .

In the 2014 survey, over half of the monitoring sites were observed as healthy, and over 10 percent were slightly degraded. However, in the following 2016 survey, the number of moderate, heavy, and fully degraded sites had increased.

Climate factors are the leading cause of degradation, human activity, and grazing pressure. In such circumstances, herders compensate for their vulnerability, losses of livestock and income due to extreme climate events, and decreases in vegetation by expanding their herds. Losses force herders to compensate by increasing livestock numbers, creating a vicious cycle.

Therefore, improving rangeland management offers Mongolia tremendous opportunities to mitigate climate change. It is estimated that Mongolia could avoid more than 440 million tons of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions over 20 years through soil carbon sequestration.

An Asian Development Bank project supported by concessional loans and grant financing from the Green Climate Fund, the European Investment Bank, and the European Union is currently aiming to transform behaviors and sector practices that had been major push factors in rangeland degradation.

The US press and industry premiere of director B.Amrasaikhan’s drama Harvest Moon played to an enthusiastic, packed audience at an Asian World Film Festival special event at the Landmark Theater in Westwood Village, Los Angeles. The film’s Producer S.Uran, Director of Photography Josua Fischer and Sound Designer/Editor/Mixer Evan Millard were in attendance.

Harvest Moon was Mongolia’s submission for Best International Feature Film at the 95th Academy Awards, due to take place on Sunday, March 12, 2023. Widely considered to be one of the best films to come out of Mongolia in recent years, it tells the touching story of a man, returning to his native village in the Mongolian steppe to care for his dying stepfather, who strikes up a bittersweet friendship with a young orphan boy, which changes their lives forever.

B.Amrasaikhan, who also stars in the film, is a high-profile, experienced Mongolian actor who has appeared in many acclaimed Mongolian films, as well as Netflix’s original series Marco Polo. Harvest Moon is his directorial debut, for which he also wrote the screenplay. Prior to the start of the film, a number of short videos were screened introducing co-production incentives from the Mongolian National Film Council.

With Harvest Moon the director wishes to express his people’s hearts, emotions and mindsets through the common challenges of a nomadic Mongolian society on the brink of change, in order to create an unforgettable cinematic experience.

The premiere of the film coincides with the decision by the Government of Mongolia to announce 2023 and 2024 as the years of “Visit Mongolia.” The country, known as the Last Frontier of the Nomadic Culture, has set a target to receive one million tourists in 2023. Many are confident that this film will be an essential promotion to achieve this goal.

Harvest Moon’s world premiere was held at the 41st Vancouver International Film Festival 2022, where it won the Vanguard Audience Award. Based on a short novel Tuutulei, by T. Bum-Erden, the film has received a number of strong, critically acclaimed reviews, and is represented for International Sales by Asian Shadows.

On the New Year’s Eve, H.E. Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, President of Mongolia, extended greetings to the citizens of Mongolia in a televised message.

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"Dear citizens of free and independent Mongolia,

My fellow Mongol brothers and sisters,

I extend to you my heartfelt greetings for the coming New Year.

The humankind is bidding farewell to yet another year, which saw numerous difficulties and challenges caused by continued incidences of the global pandemic, war, ensuing geopolitical issues, food shortages, price hikes, border trade complications and others.

For us, the Mongolians, this was also a year of both success and failures, achievements and mistakes, hopes and doubts, and joy and exasperation.

On behalf of the Mongolian State, I express my profound gratitude to the entire people of Mongolia, our companies, the wealth creators, for your tireless efforts to overcome the challenges of these trying times with minimum losses, for your shouldering and carrying the heaviest part of the burden by preserving jobs and making every endeavor to contribute to the development and prosperity of our motherland.

Despite the exigent geopolitical and geostrategic circumstances and situations, Mongolia’s foreign relations and economic cooperation have expanded. We successfully hosted and reciprocated a number of high and the highest level visits, which consolidated Mongolia’s international reputation and standing. In that respect, this passing year was of historical importance.

One of the clearest manifestations of this was the visit of H.E. Antonio Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, to Mongolia and his encouraging remark that “Mongolia was a symbol of peace in a troubled world”.

My dear countrymen Mongolians,

The passing year of 2022 was a year of legitimate demand of the young Mongolians that the people of Mongolia must be the owners of Mongolia’s natural assets, that accountability and justice must be established and consolidated in the society.

It is a fundamental value of a democratic society to listen to, sense and translate into reality the voice, desires and demands of its people.

Mongolians are a glorious people who implemented democratic changes and reforms in a peaceful way thirty years ago.

Consolidation of democratic achievements and success is a development process of constant prudence to rectify our mistakes, and reform and improve the way we work and live.

The Parliamentary democracy we chose is the guarantee and assurance of Mongolia’s independence, national security, development and prosperity.

Therefore, we must further strengthen the parliamentary governance to be able to resolve many issues and challenges that our country is facing.

We must never forget that justice restores people’s confidence, and citizen participation strengthens democratic values.

Over the past few years, the State and Government of Mongolia have undertaken a series of actions and fought a host of battles together with the Mongolian people to install social justice and ensure that Mongolia becomes a true owner of its assets.

Thus, we were able to reclaim plants, mines and deposits such as “Erdenet”, “MonRosTsvetMet”, “Baganuur”, “Bor-Undor”, “Khutul Cement”, “Asgat”, “Salkhit”, “Tost, Toson Bumba”, “Gutain Davaa”, “Kharmagtai”, “Noyon Uul” which were illegally appropriated, back for the ownership of the Mongolian state and people, thus eradicating theft and fraud. We revoked 938 illegally issued licenses, took 33 areas under state special protection, some of which were made into national parks under constant state protection.

We also were able to increase, in real terms, the dividends and returns the Mongolian people would earn from its asset Oyu Tolgoi.

In the same way, these days, the Mongolian state and government, our law enforcement organizations together with our people, are fighting to eliminate unlawful and illegal actions surrounding the Tavantolgoi coal mine, to bring about accountability, discipline, order and law.

We must continue our determined work to call forth people’s oversight over strategic deposits and state-owned enterprises, establish transparency, openness and accountability to enable the people to be the true owners of their legitimate assets.

I also consider it imperative for the State Great Khural and the Government to expeditiously create the necessary legal and regulatory environment for the Mongolian people to own a certain share and receive direct benefits from its natural resources.

To be the true owner of your motherland, in fact, means to be the true owner of its natural resources.

Dear citizens of Mongolia,

These days, the humankind is going through the toughest times since the end of the cold war. And at this turbulent time, the vitally important value that we, the Mongolians, must tightly embrace and honor is our national solidarity.

As our forefathers said, “a peace broken at a household makes the enemies rejoice”. Therefore, it is of utmost importance for us to foster peace and honor the right.

We, the Mongols, so few on earth, will prosper and develop all together, if we care for, love, support, protect and help each other.

The Great Chinggis Khaan taught that “two men with accord are strong as an iron fortress, twenty men with discord are weak as ashy ruins”.

Therefore, as we navigate ahead along our path toward prosperity and development, we must honor and uphold the wise teachings of our Great Khaan, preserve, safeguard and consolidate our freedom, independence and solidarity, rule out discord and confrontations and nourish accord and agreement.

At this auspicious moment of the turn of a New Year, I wish every family is filled with joy, with the laughter of children, with love and warmth of your beloved ones. I wish you a Happy New Year.

May the coming year of 2023 bring peace to our one blue planet, bring confidence, peace of mind, success, vigor and happiness to my fellow Mongolian people.

May Mongolia prosper and flourish under the Eternal Blue Sky!"

Mongolia registered 71.1 million head of livestock, a record high since the nomadic country began a livestock animal census in 1918, said a senior expert of the National Statistics Office (NSO).

A preliminary result of the annual livestock census by the NSO showed that the number of livestock in 2022 increased by 3.8 million, or 5.6 percent, from the previous year.

Sheep accounted for 46.0 percent of all livestock, goats 38.8 percent, cattle 7.7 percent, horses 6.8 percent and camels 0.7 percent.

Mongolia is one of the world’s last surviving nomadic countries. The promotion of livestock husbandry is seen as the most viable solution to diversify the landlocked country’s mining-dependent economy.

Mongolian President U.Khurelsukh issued a decree to rebuild the country’s ancient capital of Kharkhorum.

The move aims to create conditions for citizens to live in a healthy and safe environment, increase access to basic social services, reduce urbanization, ensure balanced regional development and restore the valuable historical and cultural heritage, noted the decree.

Kharkhorum was the capital of the Mongol Empire between 1235 and 1260 and of the Northern Yuan dynasty in the 14–15th centuries. Its ruins lie in the northwestern corner of the Uvurkhangai Province of modern-day Mongolia, near today’s town of Kharkhorin and adjacent to the Erdene Zuu Monastery, the probably earliest surviving Buddhist monastery in Mongolia. They are part of the upper part of the World Heritage Site Orkhon Valley.

Under Uguudei and his successors, Karakorum became a major site for world politics.

Kharkhorum is located in the territory of the central province of Uvurkhangai, more than 300 km west of the country’s current capital of Ulaanbaatar.

Ulaanbaatar, home to over half of the country’s 3.4 million population, has been facing such issues as traffic jam, air pollution and housing.

Mongolia has boosted coal exports to over 30 million tonnes this year. A total of 30,295,500 tonnes of coal have been exported since the beginning of 2022, which is 90% more than last year.

Frequent lockdowns along the China-Mongolia border due to COVID infections slashed Mongolia’s coal exports to 15.94 million tonnes last year, less than half of the normal levels of above 30 million tonnes between 2017 and 2020.

With COVID situation normalized and expected improved of logistics, coal-rich Mongolia boosted coal exports to China, its closest neighbor and the largest target market. Mongolia boasts proven coal reserves of 33.27 billion tonnes and geological resources of 173.5 billion tonnes. The country’s coking coal would have the most advantageous resources to compete with seaborne and Chinese domestic supplies in the Chinese market.

The railways connected with Chinese border crossings also helped lower logistics cost and increase competitiveness of Mongolian coal. Rail lines such as Tavantolgoi-Gashuunsukhait and Zuunbayan-Khangi commissioned in 2022.

Other planned rail lines like 1,255-km-long Artssuuri-Nariinsukhait-Shiveekhuren, which would connect Russia, Mongolia and China and may open route to coking coals of Gobi Altai, Bayan Khongor and South Gobi provinces. The 150km-long Choibalsan-Khuut line could help increase lignite coal exports.

Meanwhile, the quality of Mongolian coking coal is being improved with commissioning of coal washing plants. Total capacity of dry and wet processing has achieved over 60 million tonnes currently and may increase to over 100 million tonnes in coming years.