Global economic output will surpass $100 trillion for the first time in history next year despite the lingering effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, a new report by a UK-based consultancy shows.

Global economy to top $100 trillion in 2022

“A year ago, we hoped that the economic effects of the pandemic would wear off relatively quickly. And in one sense they have. We now expect world GDP in dollars in 2022 to be higher than we did pre-pandemic and to reach over $100 trillion for the first time in that year. Last year our forecast was that this would only be reached in 2024,” the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) said in its annual World Economic League Table 2022, published on Sunday. The research gathers economic forecasts for 191 countries up to 2036.

Analysts say that despite the year-end emergence of the Omicron variant of Covid-19, “much improved immunity in many countries allows for less harsh restrictions, whilst greater economic adaptability means that renewed restrictions cause less of a blow than [previously].”

CEBR says inflation will be the number one issue to deal with in the coming years.

“The important issue for the 2020s is how the world economies cope with inflation, which has now reached 6.8% in the US,” Deputy Chairman Douglas McWilliams said, as cited by Reuters.

According to the report, China is on track to overtake the US as the world’s biggest economy in dollar terms in 2030. India is forecast to pass France next year, while the UK might reclaim its place as the world’s sixth biggest economy in 2023. The report also says Germany could overtake Japan in terms of economic output around 2033. Russia is forecast to enter the top 10 by 2036.

CEBR analysts also warn of recession between 2023 and 2024.

“We hope that a relatively modest adjustment to the tiller will bring the non-transitory elements under control. If not, then the world will need to brace itself for a recession in 2023 or 2024,” the report states

Hong Kong (CNN Business)China is planning to tighten restrictions for Chinese companies that want to list overseas, but the government won't ban them from trading abroad altogether.

The securities regulator proposed late Friday that any firm that wants to go public in another country has to register with the agency first, and then meet a set of requirements set forth by government officials.

"Domestic enterprises issuing and listing overseas shall strictly abide by laws, regulations and relevant provisions on national security such as foreign investment, cybersecurity and data security, and earnestly fulfill the obligations of national security protection," the China Securities Regulatory Commission said in its proposal.

It made clear that companies may be blocked from holding foreign initial public offerings if authorities deem them threats to national security, and added that companies may be required to divest some assets "to eliminate or avoid the impact of overseas issuance and listing on national security."

The draft rules, which are open for public feedback until late January, come after weeks of speculation about when and how Beijing might tighten its scrutiny over IPOs. Washington has also enacted audit rules that could affect Chinese firms, a sign of continuing tensions between the United States and China.

Earlier this month, the Financial Times reported that the country was expected to "tightly restrict" the ability for companies that use a structure called a variable interest entity, or VIE, to raise money from foreign investors.

A VIE involves creating an overseas holding company that allows investors to own a stake in a Chinese company that would otherwise be difficult because of restrictions in the mainland. Companies like Chinese ride-hailing giant Didi and e-commerce and tech firms Alibaba (BABA), Pinduoduo (PDD) and JD.com (JD) have all benefited from the system.

The draft rules do not mention VIEs. But a spokesperson for the regulator said in published remarks Friday that firms using that kind of structure would still be allowed to list overseas, so long as they comply with the government rules and register with the regulator.

Even if Beijing is not closing the door on overseas listings entirely, the government has taken several steps this year that seem intended to discourage Chinese companies from trading in foreign markets, which the country fears could pose risks to national security.

Didi became a poster child of Beijing's tech crackdown earlier this year, when the government banned it from app stores just days after its June IPO on the New York Stock Exchange.

Authorities at the time accused Didi of breaking privacy laws and posing cybersecurity risks. Their actions were also widely seen as punishment for the company's decision to go public overseas instead of in China. In the weeks after the IPO, Beijing proposed that companies with data on more than 1 million users seek approval before listing overseas.

The pressure isn't just coming from Beijing. Earlier this month, the US Securities and Exchange Commission finalized rules that would allow it to delist foreign firms that refuse to open their books to US regulators. China has for years rejected US audits of its firms, citing national security concerns.

The uncertainty appears to be weighing on some firms. Earlier this month, Didi announced that it would "immediately" start the process of delisting from the New York Stock Exchange and pivot to Hong Kong.

Several other US-listed firms, including Baidu (BIDU), NetEase (NTES) and JD.com, also now trade in Hong Kong, but none of those big names have yet to mirror Didi's decision to pull out of New York entirely.

-- CNN's Beijing bureau contributed to this report.

The Ministry of Health reported today that 83 new cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the past 24 hours. Specifically, 57 cases were confirmed in Ulaanbaatar city, with 20 cases in rural regions and six imported cases.

In addition, one COVID-19 related death has been reported, raising the country’s death toll to 1,982. Currently, 1,941 people are receiving hospital treatment for COVID-19 whilst 3,447 people with mild symptoms are being treated at home.

As of today, the coverage of 1st dose is 69.6 percent (2,265,683) and 2nd dose – 66.5 percent (2,162,885) of the total population. Moreover, 896,958 people (28.0 percent) have received 3rd dose or a booster shot of COVID-19 vaccines nationwide.

Udokan Copper, one of the companies owned by Russian billionaire Alisher Usmanov’s holding firm USM, announced that it has joined the UN Global Compact.

Joining the initiative means the company voluntarily agrees that its business strategy and operations should align with the UN Ten Principles on human rights, labour, environment and anti-corruption, and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Normally, the UN Global Compact participants are full-fledged operating businesses, but Udokan Copper — which is developing the Udokan copper deposit in the Zabaikalye Territory in Russia’s Far East — decided to join the UN initiative in the construction stage.

According to the miner, the reason to do so is that it is already following the best global practices in ESG, minimizing its carbon footprint, and pursuing a large-scale social investment program, with over $24 million already spent on social initiatives.

“Joining the UN Global Compact means more responsibility; it also provides access to the expertise of the United Nations and other international participants of the initiative, and to advice from top global experts,” the company said in a media statement. “This move will help the company strengthen its repute, gain new business connections all over the world and facilitate its participation in global events and the UN global projects.”

For Udokan Copper’s management, doing business sustainably is a necessary condition to compete on the global product and capital markets, to gain access to financing, to build a trustful and effective relationship with society and the state, and to be an appealing employer.

“Developing the Udokan deposit is a greenfield project that was launched as an example of sustainable and responsible production. The UN SDGs can only be reached by pooling the will and the effort of the governments, people, civil organizations and businesses. We are glad to join the global like-minded community and make yet another step towards the sustainable future,” the press brief reads.

Udokan Copper was established to develop its namesake deposit, which has resources exceeding 26 million tonnes and is considered to be Russia’s largest new copper deposit.

The resources of the deposit, according to JORC are 26.7 million tonnes of copper, with a copper grade of 1.05%. The deposit is located in the Kalar Municipal District of the Zabaikalye Territory, 30 kilometres away from Novaya Chara station of the Baikal-Amur Mainline.

The project includes the commissioning of a mining and metallurgical plant, with the final products being cathode copper and sulphide concentrate. Production volume has been estimated at 135,000 tonnes of copper per year.

India is reviewing a proposal to stop new coal-fired capacity construction under a plan to meet its climate pledges, Indian outlet The Economic Times reported on Wednesday, quoting sources familiar with the matter.

As part of its pledges during the COP26 climate summit last month, India—where coal currently accounts for around 70% of electricity generation—committed to net-zero emissions by 2070, and 500 gigawatts (GW) of installed renewable energy capacity by 2030.

In late October, an expert committee appointed by the power ministry submitted new recommendations for amending India’s National Electricity Policy (NEP) and recommended that the country not consider new coal-fired capacity. The report of the committee is still under consideration, a senior government official told The Economic Times.

The recommendations include replacing old coal plants with new ones only when it is “convincingly established that it is not viable to meet the projected demand from alternate non-fossil fuel sources,” one of the recommendations says, a source with knowledge of the details told the Indian outlet.

A proposal for halting new coal capacity is a U-turn from India’s previously adopted national electricity policy strategies, which have stated that coal is a cheap source of electricity and should not be discarded.

India to stockpile gas & coal to avoid future energy crunch

Read more India to stockpile gas & coal to avoid future energy crunch

India, however, is not expected to kick its coal addiction any time soon.

Global coal demand is set for records this year and next, despite various net-zero pledges, the International Energy Agency (IEA) said last week.

Based on current trends, global coal demand is set to rise to 8025 Mt in 2022, the highest level ever seen, and to remain there through 2024, the IEA said in its annual Coal 2021 report released on Friday.

Over the next two years, global coal demand could even see new record highs as emerging markets led by China and India will lead consumption growth which is set to outpace declines in developed economies, according to the IEA. In India, stronger economic growth and increasing electrification are forecast to drive coal demand growth of 4% annually through 2024, the agency noted.

Dec. 26 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia confirmed 118 new COVID-19 infections in the past 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 389,617, the country's health ministry said on Sunday.

Five of the latest confirmed cases were imported from abroad, and the remaining ones were local infections, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, no more COVID-19-related deaths were reported in the past day, and the country's death toll remains at 1,981, it said.

So far, 66.5 percent of Mongolia's 3.4 million people have received two doses of COVID-19 vaccines, while 895,370 people have received a booster. Enditem

Coal production is set to hit an all-time high according to the International Energy Agency (IEA) despite the curbing of production across several countries and aims for decarbonization following COP26 climate summit.

Coal demand has continued to increase through 2021 mainly due to the needs of large Asian countries that still rely on the fossil fuel, as well as gas shortages forcing European states to shift back to coal. Coal has experienced a dramatic rebound this year, with production levels set to hit an all-time high in 2021 and demand levels to peak in 2022. Even after worldwide power generation from coal started falling in 2019 and 2020, as many countries shifted away from the energy source, it is expected to rise by around 9% this year to reach 10,350 terawatt-hours.

The surge in demand is largely due to the faster-than-expected global economic recovery following the Covid-19 pandemic. Throughout 2020, demand for coal, oil, and gas dropped significantly as countries around the world imposed restrictions on movement. Many organizations saw this as the moment to push for a transition away from fossil fuels to renewable alternatives. However, as the energy demand has risen in 2021, some countries have found it hard to produce enough oil and gas, leading to shortages. Surging fossil fuel prices have also pushed consumers back to coal, which is more competitively priced.

IEA Executive Director, Fatih Birol, voiced his concerns about the trend, “Coal is the single largest source of global carbon emissions, and this year’s historically high level of coal power generation is a worrying sign of how far off track the world is in its efforts to put emissions into decline towards net zero.”

One of the main problems with coal production is that it doesn’t just release carbon emissions into the atmosphere but also sulfur dioxide, particulates, and nitrogen oxides. In fact, many view coal as the “dirtiest fossil fuel”, which explains why many governments are pushing policies to end coal production in favor of cleaner energy sources.

This may come as a surprise considering the recent participation of many state powers in the COP26 climate summit, which resolidified the Paris Agreement’s aim to curb fossil fuel production as part of a plan to decarbonize. But two of the world’s most populous countries, China and India, still rely heavily on coal to meet their energy needs. In fact, both decided upon a last-minute change of language in an agreement on fossil fuel from the “phase out” of coal to a “phase down”.

China and India are the world’s two largest coal producers, making up two-thirds of global coal demand. Although the two countries have committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2060 and 2070 respectively, their heavy reliance on coal makes many of their climate aims appear unrealistic. For example, while China announced it would no longer be investing in the construction of new coal plants overseas earlier this year, it is still pursuing plans to build 60 domestic coal plants.

And now it appears that even countries that are already undertaking strategies to phase coal out have experienced a hike in demand this year. Mainly due to low wind volumes and a hike in energy demand, Germany has had to rely on coal and nuclear power for electricity generation throughout 2021. This meant the contribution of coal and nuclear power for energy production reached 40% this year, compared to 35% in 2020, with renewables accounting for 41% compared to 44% last year. At present, Germany is planning to end nuclear power production by the end of 2022 and phase out coal by 2030.

Even the UK, which pledged to end coal production a year earlier than anticipated by 2024, had to fire up coal plants in September to meet electricity demand in the face of gas shortages and surging prices. During this time, coal contributed 3% of national power, rather than the average 2.2%. This was following a landmark period of time in which the UK run coal-free for three days in August.

But many believe that a significant injection of private investment is needed to speed up the phasing out of coal, otherwise, it would already be done. Naturally, companies running coal plants don’t want to shut up shop before they’ve achieved their full potential, even if their operations present a threat to the environment. Unless governments can offer financial incentives for them to stop production, states will require private investment to make this happen. The potential for coal mines to be converted into geothermal energy plants and others for renewable energy uses could provide the opportunity needed to encourage this type of investment. However, without these incentives, coal companies will likely continue operations so long as demand remains high and their leases stay active.

London (CNN Business)Electric cars are taking over the streets, big companies are trying to be nicer to the environment and people are taking action to stop climate change.

But here's a reality check: The world could consume more oil in 2022 than ever before.

Global energy demand rebounded strongly this year as pandemic restrictions eased, and it's expected to rise further in 2022.

The International Energy Agency predicts that global oil demand will increase by 3.3 million barrels per day next year to 99.5 million barrels per day. That would match the previous demand record in 2019, before the pandemic.

Not even Omicron is expected to derail the rebound.

"New containment measures put in place to halt the spread of the virus are likely to have a more muted impact on the economy versus previous Covid waves, not least because of widespread vaccination campaigns," the IEA wrote in a report earlier this month.

The agency, which monitors energy market trends for the world's richest countries, said it expects demand for road transportation fuels and petrochemicals to continue to post healthy growth.

The lone exception? The IEA did downgrade its forecast for jet fuel due to restrictions on international travel imposed by governments trying to stop the spread of Omicron.

Others are even less concerned about Omicron. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) did not change its demand forecast for 2022 in its monthly report for December.

"The impact of the new Omicron variant is expected to be mild and short-lived, as the world becomes better equipped to manage COVID-19 and its related challenges," OPEC analysts wrote in the report.

The forecasts underscore just how dependent the world is on fossil fuels, despite efforts to address the climate crisis and huge investments in electric cars, renewable energy and cleaner fuels.

OPEC expects oil demand to increase around the world next year, led by countries including China, India and the United States.

But, remember: Even if the world does consume more oil in 2022 than ever before, the green transition is still underway.

Some of the biggest oil companies are trying to figure out how they fit into a greener future. For more on that, check out this excellent story from my CNN Business colleague Julia Horowitz.

Deputy Prime Minister S.Amarsaikhan today announced that the government will pay 250-350 kW of electricity bills of households until June 30.

Specifically, the State Great Khural is considering the extension of the effective period of the Law on Prevention, Combat, and Reduction of Social and Economic Impacts of COVID-19 until June 30, 2022. With the extension, it will not only allow people to defer their mortgage loan repayments but also allow people to enjoy electricity tariff discounts. Up to 250 kW of electricity bills for apartment households and up to 350 kW for ger area households will be exempted and any excess bills will not be subject to the decision.

As for the enterprises, the electricity tariff discount will no longer be in effect starting from January 1,2022.

The electricity bills for both households and enterprises have been fully exempted since December 2020 with the funding of MNT800 billion from Erdenet mining corporation and MNT75 billion for the 2022 exemption will be funded again by the corporation.

Dundgobi (Mongolia) (AFP) – Nurse Sodkhuu Galbadrakh clutches a box of Covid-19 vaccines on his lap as he journeys along a bumpy track through a remote region of the Mongolian steppe, going home to home to offer booster doses to herders.

The country of three million has taken some of the world's toughest and most enduring measures against the coronavirus pandemic, shutting schools for much of the last two years and closing borders.

Its vaccination programme has seen huge take-up with more than 90 percent of adults receiving two jabs.

But the booster programme is seeing patchier success among nomadic communities thanks to both online misinformation and the sheer logistical challenge that comes with reaching remote communities in such a vast nation.

Mongolia is one of the most sparsely populated countries in the world and about one-third of the population are nomadic.

The booster programme is seeing patchier success among nomadic communities thanks to online misinformation and logistical challenges

The booster programme is seeing patchier success among nomadic communities thanks to online misinformation and logistical challenges Byambasuren BYAMBA-OCHIR AFP

"During the first wave, people were queuing outside (for vaccines) and I was working until 9pm," said Sodkhuu. "There were days I didn't go home. Now, only five to six people come to get the booster shot per day."

He said he calls herders daily to try and arrange the third shot but often can't get through, especially with poor phone reception in pastureland.

This meant health officials had no choice but to go to the herders, he added.

Mixed results

After finding several ger homes empty, Sodkhuu -- accompanied by doctor Enkhjargal Purev -- met 37-year-old herder Enkhmaa Purev, who received the booster.

"I was planning on getting my booster shot the next time I visited the soum (town) centre," the herder told AFP, saying she had driven 160 kilometres earlier this year with her husband to get their first doses.

Another herder, named Badamkhuu, couldn't get the jab due to high blood pressure -- a common problem among herders due to a high cholesterol diet.

"I had extremely high blood pressure after the second dose [of Sinopharm], so I don’t want any more vaccines," said 65-year-old herder Dulamsuren Gombojav, who also declined the jab when offered by Sodkhuu.

According to Mongolia's health ministry there have been 667,391 Covid cases and nearly 2,000 deaths.

Cases have plummeted since vaccines were rolled out, and Ulaanbaatar is anxious progress is not lost through jab hesitancy.

Only around 45 percent of adults have had a booster vaccine.

"Young people spread rumours or have a perception that Covid is just like flu, and they can recover easily, like the flu," Sodkhuu told AFP on the outreach drive.

"(They) think that they don't need vaccines or boosters."

On the day AFP joined the medical team, they had hoped to administer booster shots to six herder families. Only three accepted.

But Batbayar Ochirbat, the official leading the vaccination programme, said trust is gradually improving in the third jab.

Since September when daily cases peaked at more than 3,000, numbers have rolled down to an average of 200 daily cases, which he says is partly down to boosters.

"People started to build trust after they saw vaccinated people have booster shots, develop no symptoms, and not get sick," he said.