On August 27, the Mongolian Information and Trade Promotion Center was opened in Berlin.

The opening was attended by Ambassador of Mongolia to Germany D.Ganbat, Mayor of Berlin Michael Müller, Members of Bundestag Manfred Grund, Alexander Kulitz, Marcus Held, EU TRAM Senior Expert Carl E. Krug, and other corresponding officials. In addition, President of Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MNCCI) O.Amartuvshin attended the opening ceremony virtually, and delivered a speech.

In his speech, he said, “Mongolian Trade Promotion Project”, which was launched in March 2017 with the financial support of the European Union, has provided significant support to Mongolian businesses to improve the use of the updated GSP +. The project has empowered more than 100 Mongolian SMEs and enterprises to diversify the economy and increase exports of non-mining products, developed five clusters, and built a "bridge" to the European Union, particularly to Germany”.

The MNCCI signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Mongolian-German Business Association in November 2019 to open the center in Berlin. The opening of this center in Berlin will open up opportunities to attract foreign investment, and facilitate export of Mongolian products to major markets.

EU Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP+) allows developing countries to pay fewer or no duties on exports to nine EU countries, giving them vital access to the EU market and contributing to their growth.

At today’s regular meeting of the Cabinet, the following decisions were made:

Rio Tinto's official letter to the Prime Minister of Mongolia was presented to the Cabinet by a working group responsible for conducting negotiations with Oyu Tolgoi project’s investor side to agree on project issues and submitting the finalization on concerning matters.

The Cabinet Secretariat was instructed to develop a new procedure for evaluating the implementation of the results of aimag and district governors in terms of waste management, e-transition and green facilities.

The 15th National Sports Festival was postponed to 2022 and the 7th Children's Sports Festival was postponed to 2023 due to the transition to a heightened state of readiness and restrictions on public events.

As reported by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture, this year’s yield is expected to be abundant to entirely provide the domestic need of wheat and potato and 60 percent of vegetables.

Toyota is resuming operations of its autonomous vehicles at the Paralympic Games village in Tokyo following an accident.

Services of the e-Palette pods were halted after a vehicle hit a visually impaired athlete last week.

The athlete was not seriously injured, but he had to pull out of an event because of cuts and bruises.

The vehicles will now have more operator control and extra staff to ensure they do not hit any more people.

Aramitsu Kitazono, a member of Japan's judo team, was hit as he was walking across a pedestrian crossing on Thursday.

Mr Kitazono was unable to compete in his 81kg category because of the accident.

In a statement late on Monday, Toyota said: "The vehicle's sensor detected the pedestrian crossing and activated the automatic brake, and the operator also activated the emergency brake. The vehicle and pedestrians, however, came into contact before it came to a complete halt."

The company said that operators would now be given control over how fast the vehicles travel, with two members of safety staff on board, rather than one, to help look out for pedestrians.

New safety features will also include louder warning sounds, while pedestrian guides at busy crossings in the Paralympic village will be increased to 20 from six.

Toyota also said that it would continue to make safety improvements "on a daily basis" until the village closes.

The company also said it was co-operating with a local police investigation to determine the cause of the accident.

Chief executive's apology

On Friday, Toyota chief executive Akio Toyoda made a public apology after the incident.

"A vehicle is stronger than a person, so I was obviously worried about how they were," he said in a YouTube video.

Mr Toyoda said the accident illustrated just how difficult it was to operate self-driving vehicles in the special circumstances of the village during the Paralympics, with people there who are visually impaired or have other disabilities.

"It shows that autonomous vehicles are not yet realistic for normal roads," he added.

Autonomous ambitions

The company's e-Palette pod, a fully autonomous electric vehicle, was adapted specifically for use during the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic Games, with large doors and electric ramps to allow groups of athletes to board quickly.

The world's biggest carmaker, like many of its motor industry rivals, is trying to develop autonomous vehicles to operate safely on public roads.

The e-Palette was unveiled at the CES technology show in Las Vegas in 2018, with the company touting it as "a symbol of mobility that goes beyond cars to provide customers services and new values."

At that time, Mr Toyoda declared that Toyota was going to transform itself from a car company to a "mobility company".

Rio Tinto (ASX, LON, NYSE: RIO) is said to be ready to cut interest rates on loans to the Mongolian government, given to fund its share of the construction costs of an underground expansion at the vast Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine in the Gobi Desert.

In return, the company wants several regulatory and budgetary issues resolved and a long-term power agreement for Oyu Tolgoi, Financial Times reported on Monday, citing a letter from Rio Tinto and its majority-owned Turquoise Hill (TSX, NYSE: TRQ) to Mongolia’s prime minister.

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Turquoise Hill, in which Rio has a 50.8% stake, owns 66% of Oyu Tolgoi. The rest is held by the Mongolian government.

The move comes after relations between the companies and the government hit a fresh impasse earlier this month, following an independent report that rejected Rio’s explanation for the project’s delays and cost overruns.

A definitive estimate for the development of the new mine level, announced in December, pegged the cost of Oyu Tolgoi’s underground section at $6.75 billion, about $1.4 billion higher than its original estimate in 2015.

First production, initially expected in late 2020, was rescheduled for October 2022, and Rio blamed unfavorable geological conditions as the main cause for the cost and timeline review, but the independent report published earlier this month suggested it was rather caused by the miner’s mismanagement.

Financial regulators in the UK and US are also examining Rio’s disclosures about the delays.

Internal conflicts

Rio and Turquoise Hill Resources spent the first months of the year in a standoff over the funding to expand the mine. The spat forced the Canadian miner’s CEO to quit, not before taking Rio to arbitration.

The firms finally reached an agreement in April, which addressed the remaining $2.3 billion needed for the underground project and replaces deals set up under a memorandum of understanding inked in September last year.

Oyu Tolgoi is Rio Tinto’s main copper growth project. Once completed, the mine’s underground section will lift production from 125,000–150,000 tonnes in 2019 to 560,000 tonnes at peak output, which is now expected by 2025 at the earliest. This would make it the biggest new copper mine to come on stream in several years.

Dear distinguished speakers, presenters, participants, exhibitors, and sponsors of 14th MineClosure 2021 International conference.

On behalf of the organizing committee, such as Mongolian University of Science and Technology, the Australian Centre for Geomechanics (ACG), the University of Reading and the Qualified Mining Consulting (QMC) and supporting organizions such as Embassies of Australia, Czech Republic, PR China and UK in Ulaanbaatar, Russia-Mongolia Council on Trade and Industry and the Mongolian Business Database, we are pleased to say thank you to all and would like to address the special thanks to Rio Tinto our premium sponsor, other event/proceeding sponsors.

It could not be successfully completed with 291 participants of 16 countries with 36 presentations event which was held for 3 days between Aug 17-19 2021 without your great contribution and support.

We also thank you to all distinguished speakers, presenters, participants for your active and fruitful attendances at the event.

Hope to see you all at the next/following MineClosure International Conferences!!!

ICMC2021 Organizing Committee and host team.

Aug. 31 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia logged 2,740 new locally transmitted COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, marking the seventh day in a row with over 2,000 new cases recorded in the country, the health ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

The latest confirmed cases brought the national tally to 213,820, the ministry said.

Meanwhile, six more COVID-19 patients aged over 40 died in the past day, taking the death toll to 937.

The viral disease has spread to the capital city of Ulan Bator and all 21 provinces of the country, and the highly contagious Delta variant of the virus has so far been detected in the capital and 19 provinces.

So far, 64.2 percent of the 3.3-million population have been fully vaccinated against the virus in the Asian country, which launched a nationwide COVID-19 vaccination campaign in late February.

On August 28, Minister of Construction and Urban Development B.Munkhbaatar introduced the general plans for the new satellite city to be established at Khushig Valley.

Despite the initial draft of plans to construct an international airport at Khushig Valley in 2008, a satellite city began to be included in the large-scale plan in order to decentralize the capital city. As logistics services would develop with the new airport put into operation, the Bogdkhan railway line was also included. In the framework of the plans to move transport and logistics services from Ulaanbaatar city to Khushig Valley, it is currently being planned to put a total of 4,500 hectares of area under state special-use, highlighted the Minister.

He said, “As starters, the matter regarding the establishment of the free economic zone as well as the residential and commercial areas near the airport will be resolved in connection with the local water resource and green space. Near Khushig Valley, there is also the Maidar complex and the Manzushir monastery, where a tourism region is planned to be developed. Furthermore, a large-scale wool processing factory is located in Zuunmod city. On top of this, we also received a request from a company to build their cashmere factory and an apartment complex for its staff at the location. Thus, we plan on establishing a light industry zone as well.

Moreover, public schools and hospitals such as the National Center for Communicable Diseases will be constructed in the 19 thousand hectares of land in the valley. For the National Center for Communicable Diseases alone, 15 hectares of land is required for the construction of 18 buildings. In this manner, auctions for land will be organized for private entities once all plans are finalized and infrastructure is properly developed in the area. Following the auction, we will carry out certain works such as constructing thermal and power plants. As the blueprints for the power plant have been completed, talks are being held to allocate MNT 16.8 billion from the state budget next year.

For starters, it is projected that about 5,000 people would become residents of Khushig Valley, and increase up to 15-20 thousand.

Thus, plans are currently in the works for the establishment of a wastewater treatment plant with a daily capacity of 20 thousand cubic meters, which would require 10 hectares of land. Its construction and corresponding works would require 1-2 years at a minimum.”

Furthermore, more new auto roads are planned to be constructed to Zuunmod and Sergelen soum. The necessary finances for developing the blueprints will be allocated from the coming year’s state budget.

Rio Tinto is prepared to make concessions to the government of Mongolia as it seeks to complete the development of a huge copper mine in the Gobi desert that ranks as its most important project.

To speed up returns from the $6.75bn underground expansion of the Oyu Tolgoi mine, the Anglo-Australian company is willing to reduce the interest rates on loans to Ulan Bator to fund its share of the construction costs.

For its part, Rio wants a number of regulatory and budget issues cleared up and a long-term power agreement put in place so it can start the complex caving process — known as undercutting — and hit its revised production target of October 2022.

The proposals are detailed in a letter sent to Mongolia’s prime minister L Oyun-Erdene last week by Bold Baatar, the head of Rio’s copper division, and Steve Thibeault, head of the company’s Canadian subsidiary Turquoise Hill Resources.

The approach comes after relations between the company and the government hit a low earlier this month when an independent review rejected Rio’s explanation for delays that have left the project running late and an estimated $1.45bn over budget. First production at the underground mine had initially been expected in late 2020.

The 157-page report found project management issues were the main reasons for the late running and not the weak ground conditions that Rio had claimed. The report found that only $12m to $90m of the cost overrun could be attributed to geotechnical issues.

Financial regulators in the UK and US are also examining Rio’s disclosures about the delays.

Oyu Tolgoi is Mongolia’s biggest source of foreign direct investment, creating thousands of well-paid jobs.

Once the underground expansion is complete, it will be among the biggest copper mines in the world, capable of producing almost 500,000 tonnes of the metal a year.

However, the scheme has been beset by problems and disagreements with Ulan Bator over tax and the financing agreements that underpin the project.

Rio has funded Oyu Tolgoi LLC, the joint venture company developing the project, through shareholder loans. Only when the debt and interest on these loans have been paid off can the government start to receive dividends.

Ulan Bator owns 34 per cent of Oyu Tolgoi LLC with the balance controlled by Turquoise Hill, in which Rio has a controlling 50.1 per cent stake.

Some officials believe they will never see a payment from the mine unless the interest rate on loans — Libor plus 6.5 per cent — is reduced. At the end of June, the outstanding balance of the shareholder loans was $7.9bn, including accrued interest of $1.9bn.

In their letter, Baatar and Thibeault offer to work with the government to generate $350m of additional revenue for Mongolia over the next three years; this is in addition to existing taxes and royalty payments generated by an existing open pit mine at Oyu Tolgoi.

Rio says this extra money can be used to support the delivery of important social and economic projects that will aid Mongolia’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

As well as reducing the interest rate on the government’s loans, Baatar and Thibeault also say Rio is prepared to discuss a “fundamental restructuring” of Oyu Tolgoi’s ownership structure.

In a statement Rio said it was looking forward to further “productive discussions” with the government of Mongolia and Turquoise Hill to “identify a potential pathway to achieve the conditions necessary to initiate” undercutting.

The government of Mongolia declined to comment but people familiar with the matter said it was focused on finding solutions.

Hong Kong/Seoul (CNN Business)Google and Apple are catching heat for their app store and payments practices in Asia Pacific.

Less than a week after Apple said it would allow App Store developers to promote alternative payment methods to their users, South Korea is poised to end restrictions that critics say harm competition. And Australia is piling on the pressure by floating reforms for how to tackle payment systems provided by Apple and Google.

In the United States, criticisms about how much power Apple and Google app stores wield over developers have led to lawsuits and efforts by lawmakers trying to give app creators more power.

Apple's commissions, for example, go as high as 30% on some purchases made through the company's platform — and developers say they have little choice but to comply, since Apple does not allow customers to download apps from any source other than the company's official store.

Now, South Korea may soon pass a law that would stop companies such as Apple and Google from forcing mobile app developers to use their payment systems.

Legislators have been reviewing an amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act, which would ban app store operators from "unfairly using their market position to force a certain manner of payment" upon businesses. Once enacted, violators could be fined up to 3% of their annual sales, in addition to up to 300 million Korean won ($257,000) in penalties.

The bill was expected to be submitted for voting on Monday, but the parliamentary session was abruptly delayed.

If the law is passed, developers will be able to select which payment systems to use to process in-app purchases, meaning they may be able to bypass hefty charges imposed by the two longtime leaders.

South Korea isn't the only country in the region scrutinizing the two companies. On Monday, Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg called for new regulations on digital payments.

"Digital wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay are used to make contactless payments just like debit cards issued by a bank, but the parties are subject to different regulatory settings," he wrote in an op-ed in The Australian Financial Review.

"If we do nothing to reform the framework, it will be Silicon Valley that determines the future of a critical piece of our economic infrastructure."

A brewing battle

The bill in South Korea, which is being closely followed internationally, could set the stage for similar action elsewhere. Numerous investigations of the app ecosystem are already underway around the world, including in Europe and the United Kingdom.

The South Korean proposal has been dubbed the "anti-Google law" in the country, as politicians argue that the Silicon Valley behemoth has taken advantage of its longstanding dominance in the field and undercut developers.

In July, South Korean lawmaker Jun Hye-sook urged parliament to move the bill along quickly, calling it "a law to prevent Google from lording [its position] over others," and a move that would "protect IT developers from the platforms lording over them."

According to the most recent government study available, Google (GOOGL) and Apple (AAPL) made about $5.2 billion and almost $2 billion, respectively, in each of their app stores in South Korea in 2019.

Both companies have hit back, arguing that the law could hurt app developers and consumers in the long run.

"While the law has not yet been passed, we worry that the rushed process hasn't allowed for enough analysis of the negative impact of this legislation on Korean consumers and app developers," Wilson White, Google's senior director of public policy, said in a statement.

"If passed, we will review the final law when available and determine how best to continue providing developers with the tools they need to build successful global businesses while delivering a safe and trustworthy experience for consumers."

Apple said that the move would "put users who purchase digital goods from other sources at risk of fraud, undermine their privacy protections, make it difficult to manage their purchases, and features like 'Ask to Buy' and Parental Controls will become less effective." The tools refer to protections the App Store has rolled out for parents to better oversee activity on their families' accounts.

According to Apple, there are more than 482,000 registered app developers in South Korea, and they have earned more than 8.55 trillion Korean won ($7.3 billion) to date with the iPhone maker.

"We believe user trust in App Store purchases will decrease as a result of this proposal — leading to fewer opportunities for [them]," it added in a statement.

South Korean Communications Commission Chairman Han Sang-hyuk, however, contends that new rules are needed as the platforms continue to exercise their "influence."

"Those app market operators are gaining controlling power in the market. It is becoming necessary to regulate them," he told lawmakers last week.

Mounting pressure

Last week, Apple announced concessions to developers in the United States, saying it would relax some restrictions on how iPhone app makers could communicate with customers outside its App Store.

On Thursday, the company said that "developers can use communications, such as email, to share information about payment methods outside of their iOS app," as long as users consent to receiving those emails and have the right to opt out.

The move gives developers more leeway to collect payments from their customers without having to pay Apple's commission on in-app purchases. It came as part of a proposed settlement in a class action lawsuit brought in 2019.

Apple and Google's app store fees have increasingly come under scrutiny as lawmakers and regulators have zeroed in on their dominance over the iOS and Android operating systems.

Earlier this month, a bipartisan US Senate bill also took aim at both players by seeking to ban restrictions on app developers.

Currently, the iPhone maker's commissions are at the center of several legal disputes, including a separate lawsuit by one of Apple's biggest developers — Epic Games.

Apple has taken steps to reach out to developers, announcing last November that it would slash the fees it charged them from 30% to 15% if the developer made less than $1 million in the prior year.

— Yoonjung Seo, Gawon Bae, Rishi Iyengar, Brian Fung and Lauren Lau contributed to this report.

Mongolian powerlifter Enkhbayar Sodnompiljee won a gold medal in men's -107kg at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games on Monday with a new Paralympic record result of 245kg.

The 36-year-old became Mongolia's second Paralympic champion.

Jong Yee Khie of Malaysia took the silver with 237kg, and Saman Razi of Iran got the bronze with 231kg.

Dambadondog Baatarjav won Mongolia's first-ever Paralympic gold in the men's individual recurve standing event at Beijing 2008.