BEIJING (Reuters) -China’s top disease control official has said the country is formally considering mixing COVID-19 vaccines as a way of further boosting vaccine efficacy.

Available data shows Chinese vaccines lag behind others including Pfizer and Moderna in terms of efficacy, but require less stringent temperature controls during storage.

Giving people doses of different vaccines is one way to improve vaccines that “don’t have very high rates of protection”, Gao Fu, the director of the Chinese Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on Saturday, without specifying whether he was referring to foreign or domestic vaccines

“Inoculation using vaccines of different technical lines is being considered,” Gao told a conference in the Chinese city of Chengdu.

Gao said that taking steps to “optimise” the vaccine process including changing the number of doses and the length of time between doses was a “definite” solution to efficacy issues.

Two injections of a vaccine developed by China’s Sinovac Biotech, when given shorter than three weeks apart, was 49.1% effective based on data from a Phase III trial in Brazil, below the 50% threshold set by World Health Organization, according to a paper published by Brazilian researchers on Sunday ahead of peer review.

But data from a small subgroup showed that the efficacy rate increased to 62.3% when the doses were given at intervals of three weeks and longer. The overall efficacy rate for the vaccine was slightly above 50% in the trial.

China has developed four domestic vaccines approved for public use and a fifth for smaller-scale emergency use. An official said on Saturday that the country will likely produce 3 billion doses by the end of the year.

No detailed efficacy data has been released on vaccines made by China’s Sinopharm. It has said two vaccines developed by its units are 79.4% and 72.5% effective respectively, based on interim results.

Both vaccine makers have presented data on their COVID-19 vaccines indicating levels of efficacy in line with those required by WHO, a WHO panel said in March.

China has shipped millions of its vaccines abroad, and officials and state media have fiercely defended the shots while calling into question the safety and logistics capabilities of other vaccines.

“The global vaccine protection rate test data are both high and low,” Gao told state tabloid Global Times on Sunday.

“How to improve the protection rate of vaccines is a problem that requires global scientists to consider,” Gao said, adding that mixing vaccines and adjusting immunisation methods are solutions that he had proposed.

Gao also rejected claims by some media reports that he said Chinese COVID-19 vaccines have a low protection rate, telling Global Times that it was “a complete misunderstanding.”

Reporting by Cate Cadell; Additional writing by Ryan Woo; Editing by David Evans and Michael Perry

On April 9, President of Mongolia Khaltmaagiin Battulga delivered an address at the plenary session of the State Great Khural.

The President said:

“Distinguished members of the Parliament, and

Dear citizens,

Within my full rights as the President of Mongolia, I have submitted a draft presidential decree on providing the Cabinet with instruction.

The strict lockdown, taking effect tomorrow (April 10th), is going to continue until April 25th, as the coronavirus situation is estimated to get worse. We are also in an anticipation of the tribunal hearing, expected April 30th of 2021, in which Mongolia participates as the respondent. For these reasons, I have submitted the said decree to the Cabinet.

It has come to the attention of my Office representative a week ago that the Mongolian Government is scheduled to submit a response by April 30th to the case raised by Oyu Tolgoi LLC as the claimant at the London Court of International Arbitration.

The legal consultant, one of the world’s leading law firms, to the Mongolian Government on the said case has been advising that “by filing a counterclaim indicating the serious evidences of corruption surrounding the Oyu Tolgoi agreement and the contracts, revealed by judicial processes in 6 different countries”, and that “Mongolia should file a counterclaim.”

In other words, by issuing the counterclaim, a sought for justice, as advised by its legal consultant, Mongolia can:

renew the agreements and contracts in connection to the Oyu Tolgoi project;

protect the fundamental interests of the country, and ensure equal and fair distribution of the benefit of the natural resources; and

maintain mutually beneficial and transparent cooperation with the investor.

As a result of the successful operations of national and international courts, as well as the prosecution and anti-graft agencies of Mongolia, the crimes of the network of people who have acquired enormous amounts of illegal possessions by misappropriating national wealth – natural resources have been uncovered. We, Mongolians, have been witnessing the benefits of these discoveries, as now is the high time that Mongolia presses on the investors with strongly founded demands.

Reconciliation of the Oyu Tolgoi agreement with just principles serves a great purpose to reviving the economic security of Mongolia, ensuring welcoming and fair environment for foreign investments, reassuring Mongolia’s prestige on the international stage, and setting foot in the new era with full confidence.

I believe in the ability of the ruling power to set aside their political interests and put first the common interests of the people, who they represent as the absolute majority, and accept and resolve the decree.

As we all know, the tangible yields from the wealth coming from Erdenet copper deposit and Salkhit silver deposit, and the positive attitude of investors towards the issue of revision of the Oyu Tolgoi agreement are all thanks to the Mongolian prosecution and anti-graft agencies’ efforts to combat white-collar crimes and identify illicit overseas assets.

This is a clear manifestation of our ability to make advancements in every field, if we unite our goodwill and put the common national interests first.

I ask You, distinguished members of Parliament, to pledge Your attention and support. Thank You.”

The Office of the President of Mongolia

According to the Ministry of Health, 704 people were detected with coronavirus after performing tests on 13,591 people in 23 laboratories nationwide in the past 24 hours.

In specific, 598 were registered in over 150 khoroos of Ulaanbaatar city while 106 cases were reported in rural areas. No new imported cases of COVID-19 have been recorded.

Mongolia now has 15,718 confirmed cases of COVID-19. In the past 24 hours, 357 people have discharged from hospital, bringing the number of recoveries to 9,516. Today, 2,637 people are undergoing treatment, of whom 19 are in very critical health condition.

Newly confirmed cases of COVID-19 in rural areas in the past 24 hours: 7 new cases in Khovd, 8 in Darkhan-Uul, 16 in Orkhon, 3 in Arkhangai, 7 in Uvurkhangai, 28 in Tuv, 8 in Selenge, 1 in Dornod, 9 in Sukhbaatar, 3 in Khuvsgul, 1 in Zavkhan, 9 in Dundgobi and 6 in Bayankhongor aimag respectively.

The government of Mongolia has put the country under strict lockdown for 15 days between April 10 and April 25 with a view to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.

On April 9, the Ministry of Health reported that during this period, the nationwide vaccination drive will be paused and the vaccination sites will be closed amid the rising cases of coronavirus in Mongolia. The decision to halt the vaccine rollout, which kicked off on February 23, was made with a view to avoid the gathering of crowds at vaccination sites and breaking social distancing rules during the lockdown.

The decision causes a 15-day of delay in the second dose that was due from April 10 to those who had already received the first dose of the coronavirus vaccines. The Health Ministry assured that the recommended dates of administering second doses of the COVID-19 vaccines used in Mongolia, including Sinopharm, AstraZeneca, Sputnik-V and Pfizer-BioNTech, are from 21 days up to 12 weeks following the first dose and the delay does not impact the effectiveness of the vaccines.

The healthcare employees who were working for the vaccination will be mobilized for coronavirus detection and response and close contacts tracing measures.

Responding to public criticism for the decision and skepticism that the vaccine stocks may have run out, Deputy Prime Minister and Chair of the State Emergency Commission S.Amarsaikhan on April 10 informed that Mongolia has about 192,000 doses of coronavirus vaccines available in reserve. He further said that the shipments of a total of another 600,000 doses of vaccines against COVID-10, which were scheduled on April 9 and 12, have been postponed due to transportation issues.

According to Minister of Health S.Enkhbold, the vaccine rollout will be intensified from April 26 and all adult population in Ulaanbaatar city will be at least partially vaccinated within May 1 and will receive the second dose by May 31. The Health Minister also said that additional 120-160 vaccination sites will be set up during the 15 days of the ongoing lockdown to allow 60,000 people at a minimum to receive the vaccine each day as soon as the lockdown is lifted.

Although the vaccination is suspended for 15 days, Minister of Health Enkhbold confirmed that elderly people aged 60 years and older with chronic diseases will be immunized during the lockdown and mobile units will operate to vaccinate them in their homes if necessary.

Currently, Mongolia has received a total of 809,740 doses of COVID-19 vaccines, including 164,000 doses of AstraZeneca via India’s assistance and COVAX Facility, 600,000 doses of Sinopharm vaccine from China through donation and procurement, and 20,000 doses of Sputnik-V vaccine purchased from Russia and 25,740 doses of Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine via COVAX Facility.

As of April 10, a total of 609,875 adult people, or 29 percent of the nationwide vaccination target has already received the first dose of COVID-19 vaccines. 488,254 people of the vaccinated population are in the capital city and the remaining 121,621 people are in rural aimags.

As the world continues to battle the COVID-19 crisis, it is instructive to look at how the private sector has coped since the onset of the pandemic over one year ago. The World Bank has conducted a series of surveys of the private sector in Mongolia, through a representative sample of 360 formal non-agricultural and non-extractive firms with 5 or more employees. These firms were interviewed as part of the standard Enterprise Surveys in 2019. Two follow-up surveys were implemented, in August 2020, and in February 2021. The survey data suggests that while Mongolia’s businesses are still going through very difficult times, there are already some encouraging signs of recovery.

Impact on firm finances across multiple measures has been widespread and increasing. Since the onset of the pandemic, nearly all firms went through a liquidity crunch; 99 percent as of February 2021, up from 82 percent in August 2020. Nearly 90 percent of firms delayed payments to their suppliers for one week or longer, up from 67 percent in August 2020. Prevalence of overdue obligations to financial institutions has shown a staggering increase from 27 to 76 percent over this period. Expectations about future financial strain has worsened as well, with 89 percent anticipating falling in arrears on outstanding liabilities.

Many firms have resorted to closing, but with the majority expecting to reopen in the future. A shockingly high share of firms has permanently shut their doors to try to at least avoid continued losses; 27 percent, up from 3 percent in August 2020. Small firms (5 to 19 employees) are twice as likely to have closed than large firms (100 or more employees) exposing a gap in firm capabilities and resiliency. However, 62 percent of the firms that permanently closed anticipate reopening in the future, providing a glimmer of hope for a speedy recovery after massive uncertainties recede.

The demand shock is subsiding, with firms appearing to gear back up to speed, though amid lingering supply shocks. The share of firms experiencing lower demand compared to the same month one year ago decreased by 20 percentage points to reach 59 percent in February 2021, which is still painfully high but representing an encouraging move in a desirable direction. As firms try to meet this recovering demand, the average capacity utilization (measured for manufacturing firms) reached 97 percent, up from 71 percent in August 2021. As part of this recovery, the share of firms that shrank their workforce as compared to December 2019 is now down to 28 percent, almost half of the level in August 2021. Supply remains difficult however, with 76 percent of firms experiencing decreased supply in inputs, perhaps pointing to bottlenecks in the supply chains.

Businesses are continuing to adjust, increasingly using technology to facilitate safety while trying to keep working. A large part of these first steps toward recovery is the remarkable flexibility of businesses, with more than half of firms reporting having adjusted or converted their production or services (55 percent). Nearly a third of businesses have started or increased their online business activity (31 percent), and 40 percent have started or increased contact-less delivery. The average proportion of the workforce working remotely has reached an astonishing 29 percent as of February 2021, up from 11 percent in August.

The coverage of government support has increased, with many businesses expecting to receive it soon. Two-thirds of businesses have received or expect some form of government support, up from 47 percent in August 2020. This is mostly due to an increase in expectations; 26 percent of businesses are expecting support in the next three months, up from 12 percent in August 2020. The government appears to use many levers of support, with some targeting to small firms, which are likely most in need.

The road to full recovery is likely to be long and arduous, with monumental efforts needed across many areas, including facilitating vaccinations and other health measures. While many businesses in Mongolia made the hard decision to close, and many others have gone through a painful process of adjustments to their workforce or their entire line of work, the remarkable flexibility shown by the private sector may be a silver lining, as we see signs of recovering demand.

On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the ADB-Mongolia partnership, we interviewed Country Director of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) for Mongolia Pavit Ramachandran.

This year marks the 30th anniversary of the ADB–Mongolia partnership. What is your plan for this special occasion? What type of events and activities are you planning to organize this year?

-Thank you very much for inviting me to this interview. Yes, this year marks 30 years of Mongolia’s membership to the Asian Development Bank. We are honored to have been a trusted partner for the country’s transformation for the last three decades. The anniversary represents a key milestone and provides an opportunity to look back at our partnership with Mongolia over the past 30 years, understand achievements, learn from experience, assess the present development challenges, and provide some insights for our future engagement.

We are planning to commemorate the anniversary through a series of events and activities that will engage all key stakeholders, including the government, civil society, private sector, academia, youth, and media, in a forward-looking discussion. The series of events includes provincial level workshops, nationwide competitions, and a high-level innovative event. Starting the series, we have announced two competitions that are a journalistic story competition and students’ public speaking competition. Through a series of joint activities, we will reaffirm our commitment to help Mongolia achieve sustainable and inclusive development.

To date, ADB has committed $3.3 billion in cumulative assistance for projects across various sectors namely agriculture, education, energy, health, social protection. What were the most impactful projects in your opinion?

-As you have noted, ADB’s cumulative commitment has reached $3.3 billion to date. It includes loans, grants, and technical assistance for projects across various sectors including agriculture, education, energy, finance, health, social protection, transport, urban and rural development, industry and trade, and information and communications technology.

Over the course of our engagement in Mongolia, we have been able to provide support and expand our engagement across many sectors. The focus across these interventions is to address key development challenges, alleviate structural constraints and to improve the lives of people. As such, it is difficult to single out projects that were most impactful. But, let me give you some illustrations of projects that have contributed significantly to Mongolia’s development.

To date the transport sector has received the most financing covering roads, civil aviation, railways and logistics support, and urban transport development. One notable example is the western regional road project under which we helped construct nearly 420 kms of road as part of the western regional road corridor that connects Russia with the People’s Republic of China going through the centers of Khovd and Bayan-Ulgii provinces. This corridor connection is bringing economic growth and social development to a remote part of Mongolia. Since the completion of 110.8km road section in Bodonch canyon, the travel time has been reduced by 4-5 times. It is facilitating trade, strengthening Mongolia’s links with its neighboring countries, and changing people’s lives for the better.

I also want to emphasize the urban development sector. Since 1997, we have worked with the Government of Mongolia in finding and financing solutions to enable municipal governments to expand coverage and improve quality and reliability of urban services. Last year, we have committed $43.65 million for the third tranche of an investment program that is improving urban services and ger area development. The $320 million investment program, of which ADB is financing $163.7 million, is supporting the development of six subcenters and is expected to directly benefit around 840,000 people.

It is constructing basic infrastructure including roads, flood protection channels, electricity cables, and water and sewerage pipelines, and improving social facilities including schools, health care centers, public spaces, housing conditions, and access to economic and social services.

Last month the Green Climate Fund approved $175 million to supplement a $560 million ADB program on aimags and soums green regional development. This program will provide a transformative model on green territorial development and urban–rural linkages where aimags and soums centers become anchors of green agribusinesses that promote sustainable, resilient, and high-carbon sequestration management in Mongolia’s rangeland.

The last project I want to note is the Fifth Health Sector Development Project, which is closing this year after 9 years of implementation. The project has largely contributed to the strengthening of national blood safety standards by establishing an internationally accredited blood transfusion center. It has improved quality and safety of blood products and upgraded 26 blood banks in 21 aimags. The project also strengthened the medical waste management system in the country and improved hospital hygiene and infection prevention and control by fully upgrading sterilization departments in 27 hospitals and microbiology laboratories in 19 hospitals nationwide.

ADB recently approved a $100 million loan to strengthen Mongolia’s health sector and its response to COVID-19 pandemic. We notice that ADB is focusing more on health sector recently. Or maybe we see it that way because we are paying more attention to the COVID-19 related news?

-Improving people’s access to quality health services has been a longstanding and consistent priority in ADB’s operations in the country. Since 1993, ADB has been one of the largest multilateral development partners helping Mongolia reform its health care system. Our support has spanned comprehensive health system support and strengthening, including for primary health care reform, hospital sector reforms and sector governance, medicine and pharmaceutical procurement reforms, establishment of health insurance, health infrastructure, and human resource development. Building on our engagement in the health sector, we were able to move fast and provide comprehensive assistance to mitigate COVID-19 impacts in Mongolia.

As part of the support, we have recently approved a $100 million policy-based loan to strengthen the health system and help Mongolia become better prepared to respond to future health crises. The project will focus on four reform areas. First is strengthening planning and preparedness of the health sector and ensuring the availability of critical medicines and emergency supplies. Second is improving national pharmaceutical regulation and increasing hospital autonomy and good governance. Third is enhancing procurement in the health sector to increase efficiency and establishing a single purchaser for health services. And the last focus is safeguarding fiscal sustainability of the government over the next 3–5 years. With this loan, the total COVID-19 assistance from ADB now amounts to $349.7 million.

ADB updates its country partnership strategy for Mongolia every four years. The 30th anniversary is coinciding with the start of 2021-2024 country partnership strategy. What are your plans for the coming 4 years? Can we understand that ADB’s planned operations will correlate with priorities during and post COVID-19 pandemic?

-Absolutely. ADB’s Country Partnership Strategy for 2021-2024 is closely aligned with ADB’s Strategy 2030, and Mongolia’s policy priorities in Vision 2050 and the Government Action Plan, 2021-2024. We are fully committed to provide a comprehensive package of support, including sovereign and non-sovereign loans, technical assistance, and grants to support Mongolia’s post-pandemic recovery and resilience.

The new strategy has three core pillars. First, the strategy aims to foster inclusive social development and economic opportunity. In this framework, we plan to support the response to COVID-19, including through vaccines, and provide continued and upgraded support to human development, specifically through health, education and skills development, social protection, job creation, and expanded operations in the private sector. Secondly, ADB is keen to support Mongolia’s infrastructure development to drive economic competitiveness and diversification through urban development, rural-urban connectivity, transportation and logistics, ICT, renewable energy, and improved public-private partnerships. Third, strengthening resilience for sustainable and green development is crucial for Mongolia because of a continued need to maintain macroeconomic stability, improve domestic resource mobilization, enhance environmental management and climate change adaptation, and promote green projects and developments.

Furthermore, the strategy will focus on several thematic priorities, including digital transformation, private sector participation, institutional capacity and development, gender equality, and civil society engagement.

The world has learnt a lot from this pandemic. It has caused a negative impact that is three times bigger than the 2009 financial crisis. Some are optimistically projecting a very quick economic recovery. How is ADB projecting the post COVID-19 economic situation?

-In 2020, Mongolia’s GDP contracted by 5.3% in 2020, as envisioned in the Asian Development Outlook Supplement forecast, consistent with consensus forecasts.

We are expecting a gradual economic recovery in 2021, and our revised economic forecasts will be released in the Asian Development Outlook 2021 report on 28 April.

Expected economic recovery in the region and the PRC, as well as a stable outlook on commodity prices and exports will drive this economic prospect. However, economic revitalization will fully depend on how Mongolia mitigates the public health risk and implements its vaccination plan. The outlook for 2022 looks much better as COVID-19 concerns ease, supported by the vaccination in 2021, and increase in domestic demand, investments, and credit growth. Although, we are expecting a medium-term economic recovery in Mongolia, there are several downside risk factors, which may affect this outlook, including the COVID-19 related risks, deterioration of the investment climate, socio-economic issues, and financial sector risks. According to our baseline assumptions, economic recovery is expected though, the most critical issues are maintaining stable economic growth, and improving its inclusiveness and quality.

The world is going through the 4th industrial revolution that is based on science and innovation. When you assumed your office as a Country Director, you emphasized that the knowledge and innovation will be increasingly critical in ADB’s support to Mongolia. What is ADB doing in this regard?

-Knowledge and innovation are central to ADB’s work across the region and this will not change in Mongolia under our new strategy. ADB is already doing a lot to increase digitization under the program for example, including in taxation, public investment, and civil registration. We believe that Mongolia has huge potential to use IT and digitization to improve service delivery but also to be a potential industry to drive economic growth in the future. We are very keen to support innovation and entrepreneurship – under our ADB Ventures Program, we support the Kite Accelerator Program, which is doing great work to try and match financing with innovative ideas in Mongolia.

We will also deepen our knowledge work to strengthen planning and financing in health, education, and social protection, enhance financial sector supervision, build MSME capacity through business advisory support and improve business environment and investment climate reform, including by aiming to unlock opportunities for the private sector operations. We will also aim to stimulate policy debate on important issues such as female labor force participation – our recent paper shows that reducing the gap between male and female labor force participation in Mongolia could boost growth by 0.5 percentage points every year. That’s a lot of growth.

According to the ADB’s flagship publication “Asian Economic Integration Report 2021”, digital platforms and other technology-based tools are providing new growth opportunities for businesses of all sizes and across all industries in Asia and the Pacific. What actions should Mongolia take to ensure steady economic growth after the pandemic?

-Of course, increased use of advanced technology and acceleration of digitization are essential for every country in the region to increase productivity and efficiency, and support growth.

Hence, digital transformation has been an inevitable trend and reform area especially in the post-pandemic recovery path. In Mongolia, digitization will be an integral part of upgrading public services and improving public sector reform process.

However, this is a complex issue, which requires policy commitment, well designed reform programs, private sector participation, and strong leadership. ADB stands ready to provide a package of expertise and assistance to support Mongolia’s efforts in institutional development and capacity building in digitization.

Mongolia’s post-COVID-19 growth is obvious, but a lot will depend on optimal design and effective implementation of pandemic response measures. It will be very important for Mongolia to reduce the heavy reliance on mining, diversify the economy, create sustainable and quality jobs, enhance the investment and business-enabling environment, and maintain fiscal and debt sustainability. Therefore, building and strengthening economic resilience should be continued after the pandemic. When we talk about growth, we should focus more on its quality and sustainability, so accelerating structural reforms in various sectors such as public financial management, public services, financial sector reforms, domestic resource mobilization, private sector development, and green financing is vital for Mongolia’s medium and long-term growth outlook.

The pandemic had a negative impact on international relations. The countries are introducing new tools to strengthen their economic cooperation. One example is “Green gateway” – a temporary regulation between Mongolia and China. What opportunities do the countries have to boost their economic relations in these difficult times?

-Enhanced multilateral and bilateral foreign relations are critical for both pandemic responses and post-pandemic recovery. Looking beyond the pandemic, there will be a lot of competition for foreign direct investments. Mongolia’s foreign direct investment is dependent on single industry and single project, and investment climate reform has been slow. There has been a significant gap in Mongolia’s connectedness to regional economic, trade, and infrastructure cooperation and platforms. Thus, investment climate reform to enable attracting new investments, diversifying their sources, and enhance connectivity to the regional development initiatives is a top priority issue. The flip side of the coin is to deepen multilateral cooperation and enhance policy coordination with international financial institutions and development partners.

Proper review and monitoring are vital to successful implementation of development projects. How does ADB monitor the effectiveness and implementation of your projects?

I completely agree with you on the critical importance of strong review and monitoring of development assistance. As part of the design and monitoring of projects, ADB engages with key stakeholders, including the government, civil society, private sector and target beneficiaries to ensure that their perspectives are meaningfully considered. The projects design and monitoring framework is prepared during project processing in consultation with stakeholders. In this context, it is important to note that ADB-funded loans and grants are implemented by the government. Therefore, the responsibility for the project implementation including procurement, contract award and administration, rests with the government. We, for our part, have the obligation to ensure that the project proceeds are used with due attention to considerations of economy and efficiency, and they are used only for the purposes for which the project approval was granted. Our officers work closely with the government and its project implementation units to ensure this. They jointly review the project implementation regularly, at least twice a year.

-The bidding and contract awarding process strictly follows the government’s procurement policies and ADB’s procurement regulations. At the end of the project implementation, a project completion report is prepared to assess the effectiveness of the fund usage and evaluate whether the project has reached its intended impact and results. The completion reports are disclosed publicly on our website. All projects’ financial statements are audited annually by independent auditors and the audited financial statements are disclosed publicly.

Disruptions at the Mongolia-China border amid a surge of new Covid-19 cases in Mongolia could lead to short-term pressure on Mongolian Mining Corporation’s cash flow, but are unlikely to lead to a lasting deterioration of its liquidity and credit profile, Fitch Ratings says.

The Fitch previously expected a further improvement in traffic into China towards levels achieved in 2019 with about 700 trucks per day. According to the company, the daily throughput has fallen to only about 50 trucks.

There were no closures at the Gashuun Sukhait/Ganqimaodu border crossing where MMC exports, but we believe the recovery of throughput towards 2019 levels could be delayed due to the tighter restrictions on the border by China.

According to MMC, its truck drivers and mining personnel as well as staff at surrounding mining companies have been vaccinated and Mongolia has also begun its vaccination programme.

Fitch also does not expect any negative impact on MMC’s interest payment of USD20.4 million due on April 15 on its US dollar notes. According to MMC, its cash balance at end of first quarter of 2021 was about USD30 million and free cash flow remains positive, providing sufficient funds for the interest payment. The company also says it has access to funding via local banks, although Fitch does not consider uncommitted lines in its liquidity assessment.

In order to support the production of prostheses, orthopedics and special needs equipment for the elderly and the people with disabilities, a certain amount of money will be provided to 'Erkhem Chanar' prosthetic factory of ‘Del Oyu Dul’ company with a term to repay.

'Erkhem Chanar' is a prosthesis factory that meets international standards and has a sanatorium for rehabilitation care and services. It provides services such as fixing and rehabilitating the effects caused by illness and injury, improving mobility, preventing complications, and training in prosthetics and orthopedic devices.

In the last three years, more than 3,000 people have been provided with all kinds of prostheses for the upper and lower limbs, corrective shoes, legs, arm braces, crutches, hearing aids and other devices by the company. During his tenure, Prime Minister of Mongolia U.Khurelsukh got acquainted with the financially distressed company on April 28, 2020 and expressed to provide policy support and had it discussed at the Cabinet meeting. The issue was discussed again at today’s Cabinet meeting and the decision was made to allocate the necessary funds.

The population growth is at an average annual rate of 2.2 percent

At today’s meeting, the Cabinet heard the results of the 2020 nationwide population and housing census. The census counted the country’s population at 3,296,866 and the number of households at 897,427. Since the 2010 population census, the average annual population growth rate has been at 2.2 percent. In terms of population age structure, the share of children aged 0-14 comprised 31.5 percent of the total population, people in the 15-64 age bracket make 64.4 percent while people aged over 65 are 4.1 percent of the population. Around 106,400 people live with some form of disability and they account for 3.3 percent of total citizens of the country.

897.4 thousand households live in 770.9 thousand dwellings. Also, 87.8 percent of all residents aged above 6 uses mobile phones and 64.7 percent are internet users. The nationwide unemployment rate is at 9.9 percent. The areas with highest unemployment rates are Dornod aimag- 20.8 percent, Bayan-Ulgii aimag- 15.2 percent, and Ulaanbaatar city- 14.5 percent.

News in brief

- On April 6, 2021, 36,412 people were vaccinated in the capital city and 50,371 people in rural aimags, bringing the total to 466,946.

- As of April 6, 2021, there are 3,794 people under isolation at 99 isolation facilities nationwide under the monitoring of 170 personnel of emergency agency, 201 police officers and 314 health workers.

- Within the framework of loan to support employment, MNT 346.2 billion has been disbursed to 5,129 borrowers, including 772 entities and 4,357 individuals. Under the long-term repo-financed loan of the Bank of Mongolia, MNT 216.2 billion was disbursed to 1,455 borrowers, of which 1,101 were business entities and 354 were individuals. Moreover, mortgage loan worth MNT 190.9 billion was disbursed to 2,547 borrowers.

The cabinet held its regular meeting on April 7, Wednesday, and heard a presentation on the logistics center for coal loading and a railway in Tavantolgoi coal deposits in Umnugobi aimag. The technical and economic feasibility study and blueprint for the logistics center as well as the construction are scheduled to launch within the second quarter of this year.

Corresponding ministers were charged to reach an agreement with the Chinese side regarding the border crossing and transshipment facilities of Gashuunsukhait-Gantsmod border checkpoint and add provisions concerning the border point into the Mongolia-China border railway agreement.

Southern Mongolian province of Dundgovi has launched a campaign to plant trees to combat desertification and reduce land degradation, the provincial department of environment and tourism said Wednesday.

The province have recently launched a campaign to plant at least 80,000 trees across the province by 2022 to reduce the intensity of desertification and land degradation, Munkhsukh Munkhzul, specialist of environmental training and public education at the department, told Xinhua.

The department urges every household to plant at least eight trees and every organization at least 80 trees within the framework of the campaign.

At least 76.8 percent of the Mongolian total territory has been struck by desertification, according to the country's ministry of environment and tourism.

The frequency of climate-related natural disasters such as yellow dust storms have been on the rise in the country due to desertification resulting from climate change, it said.

Dundgovi, located in the Gobi desert region of southern Mongolia, is one of the provinces most affected by desertification.

Around 60 percent of the province's total territory has been affected by desertification, according to the provincial governor's office. Enditem