1 MONGOLIA MARKS CENTENNIAL WITH A NEW COURSE FOR CHANGE WWW.EASTASIAFORUM.ORG PUBLISHED:2024/12/20      2 E-MART OPENS FIFTH STORE IN ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA, TARGETING K-FOOD CRAZE WWW.BIZ.CHOSUN.COM PUBLISHED:2024/12/20      3 JAPAN AND MONGOLIA FORGE HISTORIC DEFENSE PACT UNDER THIRD NEIGHBOR STRATEGY WWW.ARMYRECOGNITION.COM  PUBLISHED:2024/12/20      4 CENTRAL BANK LOWERS ECONOMIC GROWTH FORECAST TO 5.2% WWW.UBPOST.MN PUBLISHED:2024/12/20      5 L. OYUN-ERDENE: EVERY CITIZEN WILL RECEIVE 350,000 MNT IN DIVIDENDS WWW.GOGO.MN PUBLISHED:2024/12/20      6 THE BILL TO ELIMINATE THE QUOTA FOR FOREIGN WORKERS IN MONGOLIA HAS BEEN SUBMITTED WWW.GOGO.MN PUBLISHED:2024/12/20      7 THE SECOND NATIONAL ONCOLOGY CENTER TO BE CONSTRUCTED IN ULAANBAATAR WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2024/12/20      8 GREEN BOND ISSUED FOR WASTE RECYCLING WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2024/12/19      9 BAGANUUR 50 MW BATTERY STORAGE POWER STATION SUPPLIES ENERGY TO CENTRAL SYSTEM WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2024/12/19      10 THE PENSION AMOUNT INCREASED BY SIX PERCENT WWW.GOGO.MN PUBLISHED:2024/12/19      КОКС ХИМИЙН ҮЙЛДВЭРИЙН БҮТЭЭН БАЙГУУЛАЛТЫГ ИРЭХ ОНЫ ХОЁРДУГААР УЛИРАЛД ЭХЛҮҮЛНЭ WWW.MONTSAME.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/12/20     "ЭРДЭНЭС ТАВАНТОЛГОЙ” ХК-ИЙН ХУВЬЦАА ЭЗЭМШИГЧ ИРГЭН БҮРД 135 МЯНГАН ТӨГРӨГ ӨНӨӨДӨР ОЛГОНО WWW.MONTSAME.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/12/20     ХУРИМТЛАЛЫН САНГИЙН ОРЛОГО 2040 ОНД 38 ИХ НАЯДАД ХҮРЭХ ТӨСӨӨЛӨЛ ГАРСАН WWW.NEWS.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/12/20     “ЭРДЭНЭС ОЮУ ТОЛГОЙ” ХХК-ИАС ХЭРЛЭН ТООНО ТӨСЛИЙГ ӨМНӨГОВЬ АЙМАГТ ТАНИЛЦУУЛЛАА WWW.EAGLE.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/12/20     Л.ОЮУН-ЭРДЭНЭ: ХУРИМТЛАЛЫН САНГААС НЭГ ИРГЭНД 135 МЯНГАН ТӨГРӨГИЙН ХАДГАЛАМЖ ҮҮСЛЭЭ WWW.EAGLE.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/12/20     “ENTRÉE RESOURCES” 2 ЖИЛ ГАРУЙ ҮРГЭЛЖИЛСЭН АРБИТРЫН МАРГААНД ЯЛАЛТ БАЙГУУЛАВ WWW.BLOOMBERGTV.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/12/20     “ORANO MINING”-ИЙН ГЭРЭЭ БОЛОН ГАШУУНСУХАЙТ-ГАНЦМОД БООМТЫН ТӨСЛИЙН АСУУДЛААР ЗАСГИЙН ГАЗАР ХУРАЛДАЖ БАЙНА WWW.BLOOMBERGTV.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/12/20     АЖИЛЧДЫН САРЫН ГОЛЧ ЦАЛИН III УЛИРЛЫН БАЙДЛААР ₮2 САЯ ОРЧИМ БАЙНА WWW.BLOOMBERGTV.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/12/19     PROGRESSIVE EQUITY RESEARCH: 2025 ОН “PETRO MATAD” КОМПАНИД ЭЭЛТЭЙ БАЙХААР БАЙНА WWW.BLOOMBERGTV.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/12/19     2026 ОНЫГ ДУУСТАЛ ГАДААД АЖИЛТНЫ ТОО, ХУВЬ ХЭМЖЭЭГ ХЯЗГААРЛАХГҮЙ БАЙХ ХУУЛИЙН ТӨСӨЛ ӨРГӨН МЭДҮҮЛЭВ WWW.EAGLE.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2024/12/19    

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Events

Events

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MBCC “Doing Business with Mongolia seminar and Christmas Receptiom” Dec 10. 2024 London UK MBCCI London UK Goodman LLC

NEWS

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China-Mongolia border port sees robust growth in freight transport www.news.cgtn.com

The import and export values of goods transported via the border port of Erenhot in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region posted a yearly increase of 38.2 percent to reach 22.04 billion yuan (about 3.42 billion U.S. dollars) in the first eight months of this year, local customs said Friday.
The import volume registered 15.34 billion yuan during the period, increasing by 41.9 percent year on year, while that of the exports totaled 6.7 billion yuan, up 30.4 percent year on year, said the customs of Erenhot.
The rapid import growth shows China's steady economic recovery since the beginning of this year. Meanwhile, the rising trend of the global market price for bulk commodities is another factor driving the growth.
In terms of exports, the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on Mongolia's domestic production capacity, making it more dependent on imports from China. In the first eight months of this year, China's exports of mechanical and electrical products to Mongolia increased by 57.5 percent as a result of Mongolia's increasing demand for mine equipment.
Erenhot Port, the only railway port between China and Mongolia and a substantial channel for international cargo, has around 50 China-Europe freight train routes passing through it.
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US-China Influence Rivalry Moves Into Beijing's Backyard www.voanews.com

WASHINGTON — As China spreads its influence across Asia with its Belt and Road infrastructure projects, the United States is striking back with a major development project right in China's backyard: Mongolia.
U.S. Ambassador Michael Klecheski and Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh presided last month over the groundbreaking ceremony for a U.S.-funded water purification plant program. The $93 million program is part of a $350-million grant aimed at addressing a growing water shortage in the rapidly expanding Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar.
"Today marks a new chapter in the United States' partnership with the people of Mongolia," said Alexia Latortue, deputy chief of the U.S. Millennium Challenge Corporation, or MCC, the U.S. government agency providing the funding.
"Once operational, this purification plant will help … provide the critical water resources needed to support the everyday wellness and economic growth of Mongolians," she told ceremony participants.
Ties to US
Sandwiched between America's two largest geopolitical rivals, China and Russia, Mongolia might seem an unlikely target for U.S. diplomatic and economic outreach.
But, Klecheski told VOA in a telephone interview, decades of educational exchanges have laid the groundwork for warm relations between the two countries.
"A lot of people in [Mongolia's] government are educated in the United States," he said, adding that "the prime minister is a Harvard University alumnus." About one-third of Mongolia's parliament is composed of U.S. alumni, according to the State Department's account.
“This is a young country. There’s a great deal of interest in the United States, in our system and in learning English!” Klecheski said.
And there is more to the relationship than personal ties, according to Sodontogos Erdenetsogt, the Mongolian government official in charge of MCC projects in the country.
"I love working with the Americans because of their adherence to rules, their abiding by the system. That's the beauty of the Americans," she said by telephone from Ulaanbaatar.
She said she is impressed by her American counterparts' loyalty to their "values," including "transparency, accountability, responsibility, objectivity and the goodwill of the American people to help others."
Sodontogos said Mongolia's goal "is to abide by the same values" as the Americans, even though there are differences, such as in the handling of human relationships. "But these differences will never undermine our strong collaboration."
Support through grants
Another sweetener for the Mongolians is that the MCC project — unlike many Chinese infrastructure projects, which leave countries with varying degrees of debt — will be paid for entirely by the U.S., with some contribution from the Mongolian government.
"The U.S. government is supporting Mongolia's economic growth, using grant financing, when possible," Klecheski said at the groundbreaking, "because we believe that growing democracies benefit from programs that do not lead to too much debt."
Sodontogos said that for a developing country such as Mongolia, aid in the form of a grant is "very, very valuable."
The water project is a big deal for Ulaanbaatar, which faces a burgeoning water crisis as its population explodes. The city now accounts for almost half of the country's roughly 3.3 million people.
When completed, the project is expected to increase the city's water supply by 65%, making up the bulk of a larger plan to increase the supply by 80%. [[https://www.mcc.gov/.../release-082021-mcc-and-mongolia...]]
"Because it is water, everybody cares — because water is our main source of life," Sodontogos said. "Mongolian people are very much aware of this program. They support, they're grateful, they're willing to work with the U.S. government to successfully implement it,"
But for Klecheski, there is no less satisfaction in smaller projects, such as the groundbreaking ceremony he attended two weeks ago for a U.S.-funded kindergarten in Ulaangom, 1,290 kilometers (800 miles) west of the capital. It will be the eighth such U.S.-funded kindergarten to date.
"We are honored to have the opportunity to work with our Mongolian partners to provide safe and comfortable education environments for school-age children in Mongolia, one school at a time," read a statement on the website of the U.S. Embassy in Ulaanbaatar. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is supervising the construction to ensure the highest quality, the statement adds.
U.S. and Mongolian armed forces have also forged close ties in recent years, including in the training of Mongolia's peacekeeping force and the latter’s contribution in U.S. and NATO efforts in Afghanistan over the past two decades.
U.S. and Mongolia entered into a strategic partnership in July 2019 during a meeting between then-Mongolian President Khaltmaa Battulga and President Donald Trump in Washington. In a sign of continued U.S. commitment, Wendy Sherman, Deputy Secretary of State in the Biden administration, visited Mongolia in July this year as part of an East Asia tour that also included Japan and South Korea and a last-minute stop in China.
Klecheski says the U.S. values the fact that Mongolia is the first country in Asia that has made the successful transition from a communist-led country to a free, democratic nation following the fall of the Soviet empire. "Obviously Mongolia is in an important part of the world," he said.
Nevertheless, Klecheski told VOA, the United States has much to do if it hopes to compete for economic influence with China, which receives 90% of Mongolia's exports — mainly minerals — and provides one-third of its imports. Russia also plays a major role in Mongolia's energy sector.
"Let's just say the embassy is very much anxious to see the expansion of cooperation in more areas," Klecheski said.
Americans don't know a lot about Mongolia, he acknowledged, and the market of 3 million people may be too small for some businesses. But, he said, Mongolia's mining and agricultural industries, IT sector, and other areas offer great potential for American investment.
Mongolia's people take pride in a heritage that dates back to the 13th-century conquests of Genghis Khan (Chinggis Khan), Klecheski said, but there is also "a strong sense of modernity here." He said he has observed a strong desire to "integrate with the world."
Natalie Liu
Natalie Liu has been a staff reporter and writer at VOA since 2005. She currently covers the diplomatic beat.
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EBRD and EU support better waste management in Ulaanbaatar www.montsame.mn

Across Mongolia, the connection of people to their environment is a very special one, deeply rooted in the local culture.
But the environment has been facing some difficult challenges in recent years, mostly because of the rapid development of the capital city, Ulaanbaatar.
These challenges are partly due to the general trend of urbanisation, as in many developing and transition countries. However, there are also some unique factors at play in the city, such as its location in a valley and coal-fired heating across its ger districts.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) and the European Union (EU) are working together to address one of these environmental challenges: waste. Only one out of three landfills in Ulaanbaatar is currently sanitary, so there is an urgent need for change. This is why the Bank has invested USD 9.7 million, supported by more than EUR4.9 million in EU grants, to expand the city’s capacity and modernise the way it manages its waste.
Mrs Tsolmonsaikhan, who lives in the Biokombinat area, where the landfill is located, stresses that such improvements are much needed. She has three children – aged 2, 3 and 13 – but does not allow them to play outside. She worries that they will find something to play with that is dangerous or bad for their health.
“In the spring, the waste flies away from the landfill. When I want to take my kids up the mountain, it is full of it. It is not a proper environment for the kids to grow up and play in.”
The investment will help the city to add much-needed capacity to the existing landfill Moringiin Davaa and turn it into a sanitary one in line with EU standards. At the same time, a new plant will recycle construction and demolition waste. This will reduce the use of building material and release capacity on the landfill through lower waste volumes.
Mrs Uugantsetseg also lives close to the landfill and has high hopes for the improvements.
“We hope that it will help to prevent air pollution. When the waste is burned, it creates a lot of smoke and the environment becomes very bad,” she says. “The environment is naturally important for me. You are healthy when you are surrounded by clean air.”
“The air quality in this area has traditionally been better than in Ulaanbaatar city centre, although the issue has become increasingly challenging at times. Soil has become loose from digging, and passing trucks, heading for the landfill, cause a lot of road dust,” she adds.
The preparation works for construction are under way. The problem of dusty access roads is among those that will be solved in the near future. Recycled construction waste will be used to repave access roads to the landfill. Furthermore, a road sprinkler and water tank will be purchased as part of the project, which will help to control and minimise dust for residents living close by.
The works to build the landfill and construction recycling plant are due to start this year and are expected to be completed in 2023.
A more modern waste infrastructure will bring about significant benefits in environmental protection and public health, and will contribute to offering local citizens a better quality of life for the years to come. The improvements are expected to reduce CO2 emissions by 18,000 tonnes and save around 100,000 tonnes of material each year. This is equivalent to taking 3,800 passenger cars off the road.
These improvements will turn Ulaanbaatar into a greener city. Ulaanbaatar is part of the EBRD Green Cities Programme, which foresees various investments in Mongolia’s capital. These will lead to significant and tangible improvements for Ulaanbaatar’s citizens, while protecting the environment in the long run.
Source: EBRD in Mongolia
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Central bank decides to maintain policy rate at 6 percent www.montsame.mn

The Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) of the Bank of Mongolia held a scheduled meeting on September 16, 2021. With due consideration to the current state of the economy and financial markets, as well as to future outlook and risks inherent in domestic and foreign environments, the MPC decided to:
1. Keep the policy rate at 6 percent;
2. Increase the amount of long-term repo financing instrument by up to MNT 100 billion in the fourth quarter of this year.
Annual headline inflation stands at 8.9 percent nationwide and 9.1 percent in Ulaanbaatar city as of August 2021. Inflation is rising due to the economic recovery, but most of it is due to the base effects and temporary supply-related factors. As a result of latter, the headline inflation is expected to temporarily increase, however, it will stabilize around the central bank’s target level in 2022. However, due to the global economic recovery, international supply chains and logistics disruptions, there is a risk that external inflation and world food and fuel prices will exceed expectations, and that supply-side inflation in the domestic market will increase.
Global economic growth has accelerated and the prices of most exports have remained high, but the positive effects have been less than expected. The spread of new variants of the coronavirus around the world, reducing the effectiveness of vaccinations and increasing caution, are creating uncertainty caused by the pandemic in the external and internal economic environment.
In times of pandemic, the central bank's monetary and macroeconomic policies and fiscal stimulus measures are supporting economic recovery and financial sector stability.
The current monetary policy stance is in line with the inflation target of the central bank. The policy adjustments aiming to maintain inflation under its target range shall be taken place inconsistent with the economic recovery and outlook.
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Iron ore price collapses below $100 as China extends environment curbs www.mining.com

The iron ore price sank below $100 a tonne on Friday for the first time since July 2020, as China’s moves to clean up its heavy-polluting industrial sector spurred a swift and brutal collapse.
The Ministry of Ecology and Environment said in a draft guideline on Thursday that it planned to involve 64 regions under key monitoring during winter air pollution campaign.
The regulator said steel mills in those regions would be urged to cut production based on their emission levels during the campaign from October until the end of March.
“Stringent production controls have driven market prices lower recently, and pessimistic outlook for demand have intensified,” analysts with SinoSteel Futures wrote in a note.
Prices have more than halved since peaking in May as the world’s biggest steelmaker intensifies production curbs to meet a target for lower volumes this year, and a sharp downturn in China’s property sector impacts demand.
Iron ore’s slump makes it one of the worst-performing major commodities and a notable outlier in a broader boom that’s seen aluminum soar to a 13-year high, gas prices jump and coal futures surge to unprecedented levels.
Iron ore futures have slumped more than 20% this week and were trading at $99.55 a tonne Friday morning in New York.
The decline “has played out faster than expected,”, said UBS Group AG. UBS predicts prices will average $89 next year, a 12% cut to its previous forecast.
Iron ore producers Rio Tinto Group, BHP Group, Vale SA and Fortescue Metals Group Ltd. have seen their shares tumble.
Meanwhile, steel prices are still elevated. The market remains tight of supplies as China’s production cuts significantly outpace declining demand, according to Citigroup Inc.
Spot rebar is near the highest since May, albeit 12% below that month’s high, and nationwide inventories have shrunk for eight weeks.
China has repeatedly urged steel mills to reduce output this year to curb carbon emissions. Now, winter curbs are looming to ensure blue skies for the Winter Olympics.
(With files from Reuters and Bloomberg)
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Mongolia adds 3,234 new COVID-19 cases www.xinhuanet.com

Sept. 16 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia on Thursday confirmed 3,234 new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the national tally to 266,680, its health ministry said.
Meanwhile, eight deaths were reported, taking the nationwide death toll to 1,074.
The Asian country launched a national COVID-19 vaccination campaign in late February, aiming to cover at least 60 percent of its population. So far, more than 65 percent of its population have received two doses.
The health ministry is urging the public to receive booster or third doses of the vaccine as the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus is spreading fast across the country.
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President grants credentials to newly appointed ambassadors www.montsame.mn

September 15, President U.Khurelsukh presented the Letters of Credence to the newly appointed ambassadors of Mongolia to the Republic of Belarus, Federal Republic of Germany, Kazakhstan, and the Republic of Turkey.
At the event, President U. Khurelsukh requested the ambassadors to work in a disciplined and orderly manner for raising the reputation of the country and respecting the national interest of Mongolia.
The President also instructed the ambassadors to put more efforts into protecting the interest of Mongolian nationals, especially preventing them from being involved in crime, inheriting and disseminating the Mongolian language, history, culture, and traditions, promoting Mongolia in the country they stationed, as well as attracting investment.
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Mongolia demands ‘more transparency, more visibility’ from Rio Tinto www.afr.com

London | The Mongolian government has demanded “more transparency, more visibility” from Rio Tinto over the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine, following an independent review that last month blamed management failures for missed deadlines and cost blowouts.
Mongolian ministers and officials are in London to discuss the mine with the British government, and are understood to be planning a visit to Canberra early next year, as they seek to put pressure on the dual-listed UK-Australian mining giant to come clean about the problems and resolve them.
The $US6.75 billion ($9.2 billion) mine is running almost two years behind schedule and is $US1.45 billion more expensive than its original $US5.3 billion budget, which Rio previously ascribed to more difficult than expected geology.
But an independent review, forced on Rio Tinto by minority shareholders and released last month, suggested that the primary issue was weak project management.
Deputy cabinet secretary Solongoo Bayarsaikhan, who is visiting London with deputy foreign minister Munkhjin Batsumber, said the review had reached “quite different conclusions compared to what Rio Tinto told us so far”.
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“Obviously we appreciate the complexity of the project, we think it’s quite an undertaking to build this huge project in Mongolia,” she said.
“We need to have very honest conversations with Rio Tinto about why there are delays, why there are certain issues, and why there are certain claims made about why there are delays.”
She said the government was “carefully reviewing” the independent report, and wanted “more transparency and more visibility over the project”.
The two sides needed to “create a stronger partnership based on mutual trust and mutual respect”.
The Mongolian government is trying to tread a fine line between holding Rio Tinto to account for the problems at the mine, without developing a reputation as a difficult government for foreign investors to deal with.
Ms Bayarsaikhan was careful to praise Rio Tinto’s presence in Mongolia, and said she hoped that “in the near future we will come to a mutually beneficial solution based on the best interests of the project”.
“It’s challenging but we will get there. We are very much focused on resolving the issues, rather than having positional fights and disagreements,” she said.
The Mongolians also have to move at a pace that allows other developments in the Oyu Tolgoi story to unfold.
Turquoise Hill Resources, which is 50.79 per cent owned by Rio Tinto and which owns 66 per cent of Oyu Tolgoi. The other one-third stake in the mine belongs to the Mongolian government. A judgment is that case could be imminent.
There is also the potential for regulatory investigation as to whether Rio Tinto made full and accurate disclosures to the market about problems at the mine.
These issues could affect the balance of negotiating strength between the company and government, and the amount of compensation that might be offered or demanded.
BY: Hans van Leeuwen covers British and European politics, economics and business from London. He has worked as a reporter, editor and policy adviser in Sydney, Canberra, Hanoi and London. Connect with Hans on Twitter. Email Hans at hans.vanleeuwen@afr.com
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Petro Matad posts loss; eyes Mongolia oil production in second half of 2022 www.stockmarketwire.com

Oil company Petro Matad posted a first-half loss as it continued to develop prospects in Mongolia.
Pre-tax losses for the six months through June amounted to $1.02 million, compared to year-on-year losses of $2.35 million.
Petro Matad had in July raised about $10 million to fund a development work programme designed to bring oil production on stream during the second half of 2022.
'Petro Matad plans to generate revenue from early production as soon as possible and is working to secure the necessary contracts that will allow this production to get to market,' it said.
'The ompany continues to manage its costs closely and will maintain a small, focused workforce retaining all of the operational capabilities and experience gained from many years of successful operations in Mongolia.'
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Administration of booster shot to be accelerated www.montsame.mn

At the Cabinet’s regular meeting on September 15, Minister of Health S.Enkhbold gave updates on the COVID-19 situation and ongoing response measures, emphasizing the necessity of monitoring businesses’ compliance with their responsibility agreements. As the number of infections grows, caseloads are increasing and hospitals are running out of bed, said the minister.
Prime Minister L.Oyun-Erdene ordered Minister S.Enkhbold and Governor of the capital city and Mayor of Ulaanbaatar D.Sumiyabazar to increase the hospital beds and to improve patient flow at hospitals.
In the past 24 hours, 10 people died from COVID-19. 20,702 COVID-19 patients are receiving treatment at 62 institutions in Ulaanbaatar and 21 aimags. Of the patients, 62.7 percent is in mild, 27.6 percent in moderate, 8.1 percent in severe, and 1.5 in critical condition. The Prime Minister gave instructions to take measures to prevent COVID-19 deaths.
Mongolia’s vaccination rate has reached 65 percent and 212 thousand people have received the third dose. The Prime Minister stressed the importance of giving increased focus to administering the booster dose to 60 percent of the target group by the end of the year and increasing the number of vaccination sites and gave an order to bar government organizations from organizing public events and conferences.
 
 
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