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

NEWS

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Feasibility study for gas pipeline project to be complete in the first quarter www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Deputy Prime Minister S.Amarsaikhan today virtually met with authority of Gazprom company and agreed to intensify the feasibility study for gas pipeline project.
Gazprom plans to complete the feasibility study for gas pipeline construction through Mongolia in the first quarter of 2021. A special-purpose company named Gazoprovod Soyuz Vostok was established with the purpose of performing design and survey works and conducting a feasibility study regarding the construction project for a gas trunkline to supply Russian gas across Mongolia to China and the company was registered in Mongolia.
The Government of Mongolia and Gazprom signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Gas Pipeline Construction through the territory of Mongolia in December 2019 and a Memorandum on pre-investment project assessment in August 2020.
The Power of Siberia-2 pipeline to be built through Mongolia is estimated to transport 50 billion cubic meters of natural gas from Russia to China. Export capacity of the new pipeline might become more than 1.3 times higher than that of Power of Siberia.
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Mineral industry makes up 27 percent of budget revenue www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. According to the preliminary performance results of the general government budget of Mongolia, budget revenue reached MNT 10.4 trillion, showing a decrease of MNT 1 trillion or 13.6 percent since the previous year.
The ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry reports that the mineral industry's contribution to the government budget was MNT 2.6 trillion, which means MNT 246 billion or 8.4 percent decrease compared to 2019.
The minerals industry's contribution to the government budget are divided as follows:
Mining industry – MNT 2.5 trillion or 24.3 percent of budget revenue.
Petroleum industry – MNT 102.8 billion or 1 percent of budget revenue,
Payments for special licenses – MNT 32.7 billion or 0.3 percent,
Other types of payments and contributions MNT 14.9 billion or 0.1 percent.
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Pfizer and AstraZeneca vaccines to be supplied to Mongolia www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ On February 15, Deputy Prime Minister and Head of the State Emergency Commission S.Amarsaikhan held a virtual meeting with COVAX Program’s Senior Manager for Mongolia Ms. Kerry Geen, exchanging information on the supply process of COVID-19 vaccines to Mongolia.
The Government of Mongolia and the Ministry of Health ensured preparations to receive 25,740 doses of Pfizer vaccine and 163,200-276,000 doses of AstraZeneca vaccine within the framework of COVAX Program and plans to get the vaccines loaded to Mongolia at the end of this month.
Ms. Kerry Geen said we are aiming to make the first transportation of AstraZeneca vaccine to Mongolia from mid-March once the World Health Organization (WHO) lists the vaccine for emergency use and expressed to render all round support to supply the vaccines.
Incidentally, the same day, February 15, the WHO listed two versions of the AstraZeneca/Oxford COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, giving the green light for these vaccines to be rolled out globally through COVAX. As a result, it became possible for Mongolia to receive the vaccine from the middle of the coming month.
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‘Leaving No One Behind’ project to provide vouchers to 2,948 households www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/. The Swiss Cooperation in Mongolia has joined the ‘Leaving No One Behind’ Emergency Relief Project. The project was originally launched with support from the Embassy of Germany to Mongolia, the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, and People in Need Mongolia.
With SDC's contribution will support another 1,384 households across Mongolia. The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, the Ministry of Education and Science, and People in Need will provide the assistance in the form of vouchers to people and their families, and other vulnerable groups who are severely impacted. In total, this joint project supports 2,948 households across the country.
“The economic and social impacts of COVID-19 pandemic in Mongolia have been overwhelming. The Swiss Cooperation in Mongolia stands ready to support the Government of Mongolia and work together towards providing people and their families from vulnerable communities the urgent assistance they need during this difficult time. We must find solutions that uphold the dignity of these communities and one that does not leave anyone behind" said Stefanie Burri (PhD), Head of Cooperation in Mongolia.
Source: Swiss Cooperation in Mongolia
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COVID-19: 33 new cases recorded www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ 33 people have been diagnosed with coronavirus after testing 37,530 people nationwide in the past 24 hours.
Of the newly detected cases, 24 were close contacts of the previously confirmed cases and 9 were among the people who involved in ‘One door-one test’ surveillance testing. As of today, 26 cases have been detected as a result of the surveillance testing campaign, which has involved over 200 thousand people so far since February 11.
Mongolia now has 2,416 confirmed cases of coronavirus, with 1,760 recoveries. 48 people have recovered in the last 24 hours and discharged from hospital. 643 people are being treated at the NCCD, Military Central Hospital, 300-bed hospital of Khan-Uul district and the State Central First Hospital.
 
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Copper price surges to new 8-year high on supply worries www.mining.com

Copper prices resumed their rally on Monday, reaching the highest level since 2012, on concerns over a market deficit driven by tight supply and strong demand for the industrial metal.
There has also been speculation that more factories in China, the world’s top consumer, have remained open during the Lunar New Year holiday, keeping copper demand elevated during what is normally considered a slow period of industrial activities.
Copper contracts advanced 1.0% to $3.8265 per pound (about $8,436 per tonne) by noon EST on the Comex. The base metal is on track for its 11th straight monthly gain and is up more than 8.8% since the beginning of the year.
According to Bloomberg Intelligence analysts Grant Sporre and Andrew Cosgrove, assuming their scenario of 5% demand growth is in the ballpark, production guidance from the top 25 copper producers indicates the market may be in a sizable deficit this year.
Aggregated mined supply guidance is more than 400,000 tonnes shy of BI estimates, the analysts said, suggesting a shortfall close to half-a-million tonnes.
Copper is “being driven by a cocktail of positive factors — including rising inflation expectations caused by US stimulus, a falling dollar and historically low stocks,” said Gavin Wendt, a senior resource analyst at MineLife Pty.
“The 2021 copper production outlook is likely to be negatively impacted as a result of covid in a number of major South American producing nations,” Wendt added.
(With files from Bloomberg)
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How to kick-start Mongolia’s net-zero carbon economy www.mongoliaweekly.org

The global focus on sustainability has accelerated - and there has been talk of tailwinds behind the clean energy sector now that Joe Biden has taken the reins in the US. Countries such as Australia are now facing pressure from Washington’s Climate Envoy John Kerry and from the EU to do more as international media herald the ‘end of coal’.
Closer to Mongolia, a recent report from the Asian Development Bank found that northeast Asian countries relied on fossil fuels for 70 percent of electricity generation in 2018. Of those countries, the three largest – China, Japan and South Korea – have all pledged to reach net zero emissions by 2050 or 2060.
In 2020, according to the Bank, those three countries consumed 8815.7 terawatt-hours (TWh) of electricity, which means roughly 6000-6200 TWh will need to be converted to renewable sources in the next 30-40 years. That’s about 40 percent more electricity than the US uses in a year – right next door to Mongolia’s huge renewable resources.
Surely now is the time for Mongolia’s renewable energy sector to boom?
In theory, yes. But in practice, a renewable boom won’t happen unless corporate boardrooms decide that projects are likely to be profitable.
As the situation stands, renewable energy projects are disadvantaged from the start by the Mongolian government’s huge subsidies for coal-fired electricity.
Although there are obstacles to profitability further down the road – namely whether exports to China, South Korea and Japan are diplomatically feasible – this is the first roadblock.
In an interview, E. Orchlon, the head of Clean Energy Asia, said that the subsidy scheme prevents renewable energy projects from matching the extraordinarily low price point of Mongolia’s coal-fired power plants.
“The depreciation costs [of those plants] have already been recouped,” Orchlon said. “In other words, electricity is generated at a rate that includes only human wages and repair costs. Second, huge subsidies are given to this sector. Thermal coal is even subsidized from mines to power plants. [So] the main reason for not being able to build large-scale new power plants is the lack of money in the system.”
That lack of money is preventing much-needed capital from reaching renewables.
In a boardroom, the net present value of a project needs to be positive for a proposal to survive the decision-making process. If cash inflows are guaranteed through watertight future energy contracts at decent price points and cash outflows for investors are reduced, then Mongolia’s renewable sector may take off.
Conversely, if Mongolia continues to subsidise coal-fired electricity to $0.04 per kilowatt hour (amongst the lowest prices in the world) for all users, then foreign investors won’t see a positive net present value in Mongolian renewables.
That means an increase in electricity rates for end users is necessary to improve the system, which obviously isn’t going to be popular.
So now a money problem has become a political problem – but there are reasons to press on.
One line of resistance to a rates hike is that the government needs to keep Mongolia’s electricity prices affordable for poorer households. UB is the coldest capital in the world with an average annual temperature of -1.3C, and the average monthly salary for a UB resident is around US $490. The government wrote off utility costs (electricity and heating) for households to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 until this July.
But research shows that utility subsidies don’t have much impact on the disposable income of lower income households compared to other social programs. That means the government could better help poorer households by redirecting the money spent on subsidies to other social safety nets whilst also improving the net present value outlook for renewable energy investors.
Second, a rate hike for the purpose of boosting the renewable energy sector may actually reduce wholesale prices in the long term.
A study in Australia (another coal-dependent grid) found that renewable energy projects reduced wholesale prices by a greater amount than the cost of subsidising those same projects.
Finally, a rate hike doesn’t actually need to impact households. According to Ministry of Energy figures from 2018, households only account for 18 percent of Mongolia’s total energy consumption, whilst industry and construction accounted for 47 percent. An increase in rates for industry with targeted discounts for households could be a more efficient way of achieving the same outcome without attracting the ire of voters.
In sum, it will be difficult for Mongolia to tap into its vast renewable resources and improve its electricity grid without spending political capital on increasing the price of electricity.
But if the framework and benefits of an increase (as outlined above) are well communicated to the public, then perhaps the end of coal really is a possibility. And Mongolia can capture the accelerating opportunities created by a net-zero carbon world
By: Ewen Levick
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Bill Gates: Solving Covid easy compared with climate www.bbc.com

Fifty-one billion and zero - the two numbers Bill Gates says you need to know about climate.
Solving climate change would be "the most amazing thing humanity has ever done", says the billionaire founder of Microsoft.
By comparison, ending the pandemic is "very, very easy", he claims.
Mr Gates's new book, How to Avoid a Climate Disaster, is a guide to tackling global warming.
Don't underestimate the scale of the challenge, he told me when we spoke last week.
"We've never made a transition like we're talking about doing in the next 30 years. There is no precedent for this."
Fifty-one billion is how many tonnes of greenhouse gases the world typically adds to the atmosphere each year.
Net zero is where we need to get to.
This means cutting emissions to a level where any remaining greenhouse gas releases are balanced out by absorbing an equivalent amount from the atmosphere. One way to do this is by planting trees, which soak up CO2 through their leaves.
Renewable sources like wind and solar can help us decarbonise electricity but, as Mr Gates points out, that's less than 30% of total emissions.
We are also going to have to decarbonise the other 70% of the world economy - steel, cement, transport systems, fertiliser production and much, much more.
We simply don't have ways of doing that at the moment for many of these sectors.
'Governments must lead'
The answer, says Mr Gates, will be an innovation effort on a scale the world has never seen before.
This has to start with governments, he argues.
At the moment, the economic system doesn't price in the real cost of using fossil fuels.
Most users don't pay anything for the damage to the environment done by pollution from the petrol in their car or the coal or gas that created the electricity in their home.
"Right now, you don't see the pain you're causing as you emit carbon dioxide," is how Mr Gates puts it.
That's why he says governments have to intervene.
"We need to have price signals to tell the private sector that we want green products," he says.
That is going to require a huge investment by governments in research and development, Mr Gates argues, as well as support to allow the market for new products and technologies to grow, thereby helping drive down prices.
Yet Mr Gates was famous for arguing that regulation stifled innovation when he was building Microsoft into the multi-billion-dollar behemoth it is now.
So isn't it a bit rich for him now to demand government intervention?
He replies he has always supported "the basic role of government in terms of roads and justice and education and scientific research".
And, on the climate issue, he maintains it will be impossible to avoid a disaster, particularly for those who live near the equator, without governments around the world getting behind the effort.
The Republican Party in America needs to recognise the importance of tackling climate change, says Mr Gates.
This needs to be a "constant 30-year push", he maintains. "Business just can't change all that physical infrastructure unless the market signals are constant and very clear."
"India is going to build housing for their people, provide lighting at night, air conditioning to make conditions liveable," Mr Gates believes, so global demand will not reduce.
He argues political action is more important, demanding government do the right thing, and, using our voices as consumers, insisting the same of companies.
"If you buy an electric car, a hamburger made of a meat substitute, an electric heat pump for your home you are helping increase the production of these products and therefore helping drive prices down."
Mr Gates still enjoys the trappings of the billionaire lifestyle.
He uses private jets, but insists that they are powered by biofuels - aviation fuels made from plant products.
"I pay three times as much now for my aviation fuel, you know, over $7m [£5m] a year in all my offset spending."
And he has joined a £3bn bidding war to buy one of the world's largest private jet services companies, a business called Signature Aviation.
Is that appropriate when you've just written a book telling the world how to avoid a climate disaster?
"I don't think getting rid of flying would make sense," he replies. "That type of brute force technique won't get us there."
He says the answer has to be "a type of aviation fuel that doesn't cost much extra and is zero emission and that's got to be biofuels or electric fuels or perhaps using green hydrogen to power the plane".
Covid conspiracies
Mr Gates has become something of a bogeyman for coronavirus conspiracy theorists.
He has been accused of everything from concocting the virus in a secret laboratory as part of a project by global elites to depopulate the world, to using vaccinations to implant microchips in people to track and control them.
He laughs when asked about this.
"Why would I want to track people? You know, I'm just not that interested in where people are going."
The main focus for his huge charitable efforts to date has been tackling health issues in developing countries.
He tells me he is used to people getting bored when he talks about tuberculosis and malaria at cocktail parties, so this is a real change from what he calls "the normal obscurity of working on infectious disease".
But he says he was worried that speaking out on climate might attract similar controversy.
"I don't want to dilute my voice on issues like polio eradication or malaria," Mr Gates explains, but says he felt this was the right time to publish his plan for tackling climate change.
He says he wants his ideas to feed into the green stimulus packages being proposed around the world and to be discussed in the run-up to the crucial climate conference the UK is hosting in Glasgow in November this year.
We are at a crucial point in the climate debate, Mr Gates believes.
He describes the young generation as having a "moral conviction" that they have to be involved in bringing change on the issue.
"Now we have to take that energy and make sure it's directed at the policies that will make a difference," he argues.
But it isn't going to be easy, he warns.
This has to continue to be a huge priority for the world year in, year out.
The hope is "we get a bit lucky" and succeed in developing innovative new technologies that really do solve the hard areas, he says.
But he is optimistic that we can still avoid the worst effects of climate change.
"You know, I've seen many times, innovation surprises us in a positive way."
I've travelled all over the world for the BBC and seen evidence of environmental damage and climate change everywhere. It's the biggest challenge humanity has ever faced. Tackling it means changing how we do virtually everything. We are right to be anxious and afraid at the prospect, but I reckon we should also see this as a thrilling story of exploration, and I'm delighted to have been given the chance of a ringside seat as chief environment correspondent.
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India to become 2nd biggest coronavirus vaccine producer in the world www.rt.com

India is projected to become the second largest producer of Covid-19 vaccines in the world, providing them not only for its own population, but for other developing nations, analysts say.
The South Asian nation was producing around 60 percent of the world’s vaccines even before the Covid-19 pandemic, and the production capacities of Indian pharma manufacturers allow vaccines to be made at relatively low cost.
“India has been a manufacturing hub for vaccines… even before the pandemic, and should therefore be a strategic partner in the global inoculation against Covid-19,” according to a report published by JPMorgan analysts.
India will become the world’s second biggest vaccine producer after the US, according to London-based multinational consultancy Deloitte. PS Easwaran, a partner at Deloitte India, expects the country to produce over 3.5 billion Covid-19 vaccines, with the US forecasted to produce four billion.
Seeking to meet the growing demand across the globe, Indian companies are reportedly ramping up production facilities.
“We are expanding our annualized capacities to deliver 700 million doses of our intramuscular Covaxin,” Indian firm Bharat Biotech, which developed a Covid-19 vaccine in cooperation with the state-owned Indian Council of Medical Research, told CNBC.
The Serum Institute of India (SII) is currently producing Covishield, which was co-developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford. The institute makes 50 million doses of the vaccine every month, with plans to boost production to 100 million doses a month by next month, Reuters reported.
Vaccines developed by the Russian Direct Investment Fund and US firm Johnson & Johnson are also produced by Indian pharm manufacturers.
“Even without successful vaccine development from their own pipelines, available capacity provides opportunity to partner as contract manufacturers with approved vaccine developers to meet supply needs particularly for India and other [emerging markets],” JPMorgan report said.
When it comes to meeting demand in developing countries, vaccines produced in India are cheaper and easier to transport in comparison with those produced in Europe and the US, according to K Srinath Reddy, president of the Public Health Foundation of India.
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Average life expectancy in Mongolia rises to 70.19 years www.xinhuanet.com

Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- The average life expectancy in Mongolia has risen to 70.19 years, according to a report released by the country's National Statistics Office on Monday.
"The average life expectancy of our population was first calculated in 1992. In 26 years until 2018 since then, the average life expectancy in the country increased by 7.4 years to 70.19 years," the survey conducted in 2020 showed.
In addition, the average life expectancy of men in Mongolia was 4.19 years shorter than that of women in 1992, but in 2018 the gap increased to 9.67 years, according to the report.
High consumption of tobacco and alcohol by men, resulting in diseases such as lung and liver cancer and cardiovascular problems, is said to be the main reason Mongolian men have a shorter lifespan than women on average.
Mongolia is an East Asian country with a population of 3.3 million. Enditem
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