PARIS (Reuters) - The French central bank said on Monday it would exit from coal and limit exposure to gas and oil in its investment portfolio by 2024 as part of a shift towards more environmentally friendly assets.

Many central banks have committed to green up their investment portfolios as part of a push to encourage the financial system to support a less environmentally damaging economy.

The Bank of France manages 22 billion euros ($26.6 billion) of its own portfolio investments separately from asset purchases related to its monetary policy operations.

It said in a statement that by the end of this year it would no longer invest in companies which generate more than 2% of their revenues from coal and reduce the threshold to zero by the end of 2024. Currently the threshold stands at 10%.

It said it would also exclude by 2024 companies with more than 10% of revenue coming from oil or 50% from gas, which could potentially mean the central bank would have to shun group’s like French energy major Total .

Already from this year it said it would turn its back on companies that derive 10% of their revenues from shale oil or gas, tar sands or exploration in the Arctic or deep water.

As a shareholder, it would also from this year vote against new fossil fuel projects by the companies it invests in.

The Bank of France does not disclose in detail the asset allocation of its portfolios.

($1 = 0.8281 euros)

Reporting by Leigh Thomas; Editing by Lincoln Feast.

Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia has evacuated around 28,200 nationals since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, the country's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Monday.

"Since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak, Mongolia has evacuated a total of 28,195 nationals on chartered flights, buses or trains from 93 countries across the world," Lkhanaajav Munkhtushig, director general of the consular department at the ministry, said at a press conference.

"We planned to operate two chartered flights to South Korea this month to repatriate 320 more nationals," Munkhtushig added.

As of Monday, 8,433 Mongolians living abroad have expressed their wish to return home, according to the official.

Mongolia entered a heightened state of readiness in February last year to prevent the spread of COVID-19, including the suspension of international passenger flights.

The land-locked Asian country has reported a total of 1,526 COVID-19 cases, among which over 1,100 were locally transmitted.

The country, with a population of 3.3 million, has so far recorded two COVID-19 deaths since its first case was confirmed in March.

(18 January 2021), NATO marked the successful conclusion of a multi-year project designed to bolster the cyber defence capacity of Mongolia, one of NATO’s partners across the globe. The project ran between 2017 and 2020 and was supported by NATO’s Science for Peace and Security (SPS) Programme. It entailed the establishment of a Cyber Security Centre for the Mongolian Armed Forces and the provision of specialized training and equipment. It also featured technical support from the NATO Communications and Information Agency.

The inauguration of the new Centre and Cyber Incident Response Capability for the Ministry of Defence and General Staff of the Mongolian Armed Forces was celebrated with a virtual ribbon cutting ceremony. NATO Deputy Secretary General Mircea Geoană and Mongolia’s Minister of Defence Saikhanbayar Gursed joined from Brussels and Ulaanbaatar, respectively.

The NATO Deputy Secretary General highlighted the importance of this project to enhance the resilience and security of Mongolia’s information technology systems. “The successful completion of this project means that Mongolia is now better equipped to prevent, mitigate, and respond to cyber challenges that seek to threaten its institutions,” he pointed out. The Mongolian Minister of Defence stressed that “not only network engineers and technicians are benefitting from the equipment and software provided by the project, but also all the users of Armed Forces network.” He further remarked: “This project is a complete package, with the inclusion of effective cyber training for the cyber security team and provision of the equipment with the latest technology and official licensing.”

At the event, the Chief of Staff of the NATO Communications and Information Agency Major General Göksel Sevindik said: “This new capability will be both a national hub for responding to cyber-attacks and a focal point for collaboration with other nations on cyber security.”

The NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme has played an important part in boosting the practical cooperation between NATO and Mongolia on issues of common concern; and it has contributed to the consolidation of this partnership. “The wide range of activities supported by the NATO Science for Peace and Security Programme helps to create a thriving community of scientists, experts and policymakers across the world - from NATO and partner countries - who share knowledge and develop innovative ideas to address the security challenges of today and tomorrow,” Dr Deniz Beten, Senior SPS and Partnership Cooperation Advisor pointed out. Since 2012, the Science for Peace and Security Programme has cooperated with Mongolia not only to tackle cyber security challenges, but also to support efforts towards the establishment of a database to track the rehabilitation and restoration of former military sites in the country.

Inner Mongolia went on an industrial permitting spree in 2020 that will lock in annual coal use about the size of Germany’s if fully realised, despite China tightening its climate targets at national level.

The region approved power and industrial facilities with an estimated energy demand equivalent to 80 million tonnes of coal a year, according to Chinese industry website Sohu. As the largest coal-producing province in China, Inner Mongolia is expected to meet most of this energy demand with polluting coal.

Lauri Myllyvirta, lead analyst at the Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air, estimates the province approved 10.1GW of new coal-fired power stations in 2020, based on media reports and official data – double the 2019 figure. It is “pure insanity,” he told Climate Home News.

Inner Mongolia was the most striking example of a nationwide trend of increased coal consumption, as officials turned to traditional industries to revive the economy from the impacts of Covid-19. Recent figures show China’s coal production in 2020 reached its highest level since 2015 and imports were up year on year.

“China’s emission rebound after the Covid lockdowns has been very steep and rapid and in fact steeper than the economic rebound because it has been driven by the most polluting and energy consuming parts of the economy,” said Myllyvirta.

President Xi Jinping announced last September that China would aim for net zero emissions by 2060, after peaking by 2030, signalling – without naming the fuel – that coal’s days are numbered. The industry minister said in December that China must reduce its production of steel, which depends on coal, citing climate goals.

Local governments and state-owned entities appear to be rushing to approve coal projects in anticipation of tougher climate restrictions, Myllyvirta said. “By the time that the clampdown comes you can present them as a fait accompli [done deal].”

It is a gamble, because those mines and plants could be forced to close before the investments pay off, explained Client Earth’s China expert Dimitri De Boer. “When provinces lock in these high emissions sectors, it’s going to be really hard for them to transition to carbon neutrality. In addition to causing damage to the climate, state-owned assets will be squandered if those investments end up in default and need to be shut down. It makes much more sense to shift now to the strategic sectors of the future.”

But local officials have incentives to maximise short-term economic activity, with performance graded against metrics like investment and tax revenue rather than environmental targets.

Aiqun Yu, Global Energy Monitor’s China researcher, said: “China’s GDP-centered system for assessing the local officials results in the local government’s impulse to pursue GDP increase, allowing carbon intensive industries to fast grow in these coal-rich regions.”

The problem goes further than Inner Mongolia. Many of the new coal-fired power plants in Inner Mongolia and neighbouring Shaanxi are set up to power China’s populous eastern regions, Yu said, and many provinces are likely to fail to meet targets set by central government on reducing energy consumption.

In September, Bejing’s National Development and Reform Commission called in Inner Mongolian officials for a meeting on the region’s emissions but has taken no further action since. According to Myllyvirta, the central government usually reacts to overcapacity concerns by banning further approvals. “We could well be heading there again,” he said.

The national environment ministry is now working on a roadmap for the 2030 peak emissions target, which involves requiring provincial governments and big industries to set their own peaking years. “Expect a lot of haggles between Beijing and interest groups,” commented Greenpeace campaigner Li Shuo on Twitter.

Hong Kong, January 18, 2021 -- Moody's Investors Service has assigned a B3 rating to Mongolian Mortgage Corporation HFC LLC's (MIK) proposed USD-denominated senior unsecured debt. The final amounts and terms of the debt will depend on market conditions and on the result of a cash tender offer.

The proposed senior unsecured debt is guaranteed by MIK's parent company, MIK Holding JSC.

The proceeds will be used to finance MIK's cash tender offer to repurchase its outstanding senior unsecured debt maturing in January 2022, to repay any remaining outstanding debt and for general corporate purposes.

The rating on the securities is subject to the receipt of final documentation, the terms and conditions of which are not expected to change in any material way from the draft documents that Moody's has reviewed. Should issuance conditions and/or final documentation deviate from the original ones submitted and reviewed by the rating agency, Moody's will assess the impact that these differences may have on the ratings and act accordingly.

The entity-level outlook on MIK remains negative.

RATINGS RATIONALE

The B3 rating is in line with MIK's long-term foreign currency issuer rating, as the senior unsecured bonds will constitute a direct, general, unsubordinated, unconditional and unsecured obligation of the issuer. The bonds will be redeemable at principal on maturity.

On 14 January, in addition to issuance of the new senior unsecured debt, MIK also announced a tender offer on its $300 million 9.75% senior unsecured notes maturing in January 2022 at 102% of the debt's principal, in addition to accrued interest.

FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATING

WHAT COULD CHANGE THE RATING UP

Given that MIK's B3 ratings are the same as Mongolia's sovereign issuer rating, an upgrade of the company's ratings is unlikely. Moody's could change the outlook on MIK to stable from negative if (1) the outlook on the sovereign rating is changed to stable from negative, (2) the banking system's operating environment remains broadly stable, and (3) the company maintains sound financial metrics.

WHAT COULD CHANGE THE RATING DOWN

Moody's could downgrade MIK's ratings if (1) its standalone assessment is lowered, (2) the risks in Mongolia's banking system rise materially, and/or (3) the sovereign rating is downgraded. Moody's could lower MIK's standalone assessment if (1) the company's liquidity profile relative to its foreign currency debt servicing weakens substantially, and/or (2) the asset quality of Mongolia's mortgage loans deteriorate materially.

The principal methodology used in this rating was Finance Companies Methodology published in November 2019 and available at https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx.... Alternatively, please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology.

Mongolian Mortgage Corporation HFC LLC (MIK) is a wholly owned subsidiary of MIK Holding JSC, which is headquartered in Ulaanbaatar. MIK Holding JSC's consolidated assets totaled MNT4.18 trillion ($1.5 billion) as of 31 December 2019.

REGULATORY DISCLOSURES

For further specification of Moody's key rating assumptions and sensitivity analysis, see the sections Methodology Assumptions and Sensitivity to Assumptions in the disclosure form. Moody's Rating Symbols and Definitions can be found at: https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx....

For ratings issued on a program, series, category/class of debt or security this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the same series, category/class of debt, security or pursuant to a program for which the ratings are derived exclusively from existing ratings in accordance with Moody's rating practices. For ratings issued on a support provider, this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to the credit rating action on the support provider and in relation to each particular credit rating action for securities that derive their credit ratings from the support provider's credit rating. For provisional ratings, this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to the provisional rating assigned, and in relation to a definitive rating that may be assigned subsequent to the final issuance of the debt, in each case where the transaction structure and terms have not changed prior to the assignment of the definitive rating in a manner that would have affected the rating. For further information please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page for the respective issuer on www.moodys.com.

For any affected securities or rated entities receiving direct credit support from the primary entity(ies) of this credit rating action, and whose ratings may change as a result of this credit rating action, the associated regulatory disclosures will be those of the guarantor entity. Exceptions to this approach exist for the following disclosures, if applicable to jurisdiction: Ancillary Services, Disclosure to rated entity, Disclosure from rated entity.

The rating has been disclosed to the rated entity or its designated agent(s) and issued with no amendment resulting from that disclosure.

This rating is solicited. Please refer to Moody's Policy for Designating and Assigning Unsolicited Credit Ratings available on its website www.moodys.com.

Moody's considers a rated entity or its agent(s) to be participating when it maintains an overall relationship with Moody's. Unless noted in the Regulatory Disclosures as a Non-Participating Entity, the rated entity is participating and the rated entity or its agent(s) generally provides Moody's with information for the purposes of its ratings process. Please refer to www.moodys.com for the Regulatory Disclosures for each credit rating action under the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page and for details of Moody's Policy for Designating Non-Participating Rated Entities.

Regulatory disclosures contained in this press release apply to the credit rating and, if applicable, the related rating outlook or rating review.

Moody's general principles for assessing environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks in our credit analysis can be found at https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx....

The Global Scale Credit Rating on this Credit Rating Announcement was issued by one of Moody's affiliates outside the EU and is endorsed by Moody's Deutschland GmbH, An der Welle 5, Frankfurt am Main 60322, Germany, in accordance with Art.4 paragraph 3 of the Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 on Credit Rating Agencies. Further information on the EU endorsement status and on the Moody's office that issued the credit rating is available on www.moodys.com.

The Global Scale Credit Rating on this Credit Rating Announcement was issued by one of Moody's affiliates outside the UK and is endorsed by Moody's Investors Service Limited, One Canada Square, Canary Wharf, London E14 5FA under the law applicable to credit rating agencies in the UK. Further information on the UK endorsement status and on the Moody's office that issued the credit rating is available on www.moodys.com.

Please see www.moodys.com for any updates on changes to the lead rating analyst and to the Moody's legal entity that has issued the rating.

Please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for additional regulatory disclosures for each credit rating.

The first name below is the lead rating analyst for this Credit Rating and the last name below is the person primarily responsible for approving this Credit Rating.

Tae Jong Ok

Asst Vice President - Analyst

Financial Institutions Group

Moody's Investors Service Hong Kong Ltd.

24/F One Pacific Place

88 Queensway

Hong Kong

China (Hong Kong S.A.R.)

JOURNALISTS: 852 3758 1350

Client Service: 852 3551 3077

Sophia Lee, CFA

Associate Managing Director

Financial Institutions Group

JOURNALISTS: 852 3758 1350

Client Service: 852 3551 3077

Releasing Office:

Moody's Investors Service Hong Kong Ltd.

24/F One Pacific Place

88 Queensway

Hong Kong

China (Hong Kong S.A.R.)

JOURNALISTS: 852 3758 1350

Client Service: 852 3551 3077

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. In partnership with the World Vision, European Union launched an 18-month, €1,000,000 project to contribute to limiting the spread of COVID-19 and reduce its negative impact on the vulnerable population in Mongolia, particularly mothers, children, and people under medical observation.

The European Union funded “Recovering Together” project, implemented by World Vision, will contribute to limiting the spread of COVID-19 and reduce its protection, livelihood, health and nutrition impact on among vulnerable population the target areas namely Sukhbaatar, Bayanzurkh and Songinokhairkhan districts of Ulaanbaatar city, and Uvurkhangai, Bayan-Ulgii provinces.

During the project inception virtual event Mr. Marco Ferri, Minister Counsellor, Deputy Head of Mission, Delegation of the European Union to Mongolia stated “This project is timely in these difficult times, when Covid-19 is widespread in Mongolia. It aims to reach out to the most vulnerable population by contributing to the improvement of the health system during the pandemic and supporting the livelihoods of vulnerable people”.

Mrs. Anja Gold, East Asian Regional Project Manager of World Vision Germany, said “The Covid-19 crisis requires more than ever our commitment to the vulnerable population especially children of this country. The protection of children is of particular importance, as they suffer the most from the crisis. Moreover, hospital equipment beds are also to be provided within this project”.

Under the project framework, World Vision Mongolia represented by National Director Mrs. Bolortsetseg.B signed Collaboration Agreements with the Governors of project target areas. During the MOU signing ceremony, she said “Many studies show that 2020 global widespread Covid pandemic is particularly affecting the livelihoods of vulnerable households, local businesses and the economy. I would like to thank the European Union for providing a realistic assessment of the current situation and for funding the project to reduce the negative impacts of the pandemic on these people.””

This project will indirectly benefit the target area´s population of 1.06 million through its focus on strengthening civil society organizations´ organizational and technical capacity, which is expected to support the role of civil society in realizing national development objectives.

The grant project “Recovering Together” funded by the European Union will support vulnerable households, impacted by Covid-19 through livelihood recovery assistance and increase their access to nutrition, health and WASH services to meet basic and urgent needs. Furthermore, the project will strengthen the healthcare system by ensuring health facilities are equipped with Covid-19 response and prevention equipment.

Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia recorded nine new COVID-19 infections in the last 24 hours, bringing the national tally to 1,526, the country's National Center for Communicable Diseases (NCCD) said Monday.

"A total of 9,115 tests for COVID-19 were conducted across Mongolia yesterday and nine of them were positive," said Amarjargal Ambaselmaa, head of the center's Surveillance Department, at a press conference.

As of Monday, 967 patients have recovered, including the 20 recoveries reported in the same period, said Ambaselmaa.

The Asian land-locked country, with a population of 3.3 million, has so far recorded two COVID-19 deaths since it confirmed the first case in March 2020. Enditem

NEW YORK/WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Trump administration notified Huawei suppliers, including chipmaker Intel, that it is revoking certain licenses to sell to the Chinese company and intends to reject dozens of other applications to supply the telecommunications firm, people familiar with the matter told Reuters.

The action - likely the last against Huawei Technologies under Republican President Donald Trump - is the latest in a long-running effort to weaken the world’s largest telecommunications equipment maker, which Washington sees as a national security threat.

The notices came amid a flurry of U.S. efforts against China in the final days of Trump’s administration. Democrat Joe Biden will take the oath of office as president on Wednesday.

A spokesperson for Intel Corp declined to comment. Commerce said it could not comment on specific licensing decisions, but said the department continues to work with other agencies to “consistently” apply licensing policies in a way that “protects U.S. national security and foreign policy interests.”

In an email seen by Reuters documenting the actions, the Semiconductor Industry Association said on Friday the Commerce Department had issued “intents to deny a significant number of license requests for exports to Huawei and a revocation of at least one previously issued license.” Sources familiar with the situation, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said there was more than one revocation. One of the sources said eight licenses were yanked from four companies.

Japanese flash memory chip maker Kioxia Corp had at least one license revoked, two of the sources said. The company, formerly known as Toshiba Memory Corp, said it does not “disclose business details regarding specific products or customers.”

The semiconductor association’s email said the actions spanned a “broad range” of products in the semiconductor industry and asked companies whether they had received notices.

The email noted that companies had been waiting “many months” for licensing decisions, and with less than a week left in the administration, dealing with the denials was a challenge.

A spokesman for the semiconductor group did not respond to a request for comment.

Companies that received the “intent to deny” notices have 20 days to respond, and the Commerce Department has 45 days to advise them of any change in a decision or it becomes final. Companies would then have another 45 days to appeal.

The United States put Huawei on a Commerce Department “entity list” in May 2019, restricting suppliers from selling U.S. goods and technology to it.

But some sales were allowed and others denied while the United States intensified its crackdown on the company, in part by expanding U.S. authority to require licenses for sales of semiconductors made abroad with American technology.

Before the latest action, some 150 licenses were pending for $120 billion worth of goods and technology, which had been held up because various U.S. agencies could not agree on whether they should be granted, a person familiar with the matter said.

Another $280 billion of license applications for goods and technology for Huawei still have not been processed, the source said, but now are more likely to be denied.

An August rule said that products with 5G capabilities were likely to be rejected, but sales of less sophisticated technology would be decided on a case-by-case basis.

The United States made the latest decisions during a half dozen meetings starting on Jan. 4 with senior officials from the departments of Commerce, State, Defense and Energy, the source said. The officials developed detailed guidance with regard to which technologies were capable of 5G, and then applied that standard, the person added.

That meant issuing denials for the vast majority of the roughly 150 disputed applications, and revoking the eight licenses to make those consistent with the latest denials, the source said.

The U.S. action came after pressure from a recent Trump appointee in the Commerce Department, Corey Stewart, who wanted to push through hardline China policies after being hired for a two-month stint in the agency at the end of the administration.

Trump has targeted Huawei in other ways. Meng Wanzhou, Huawei’s chief financial officer, was arrested in Canada in December 2018, on a U.S. warrant. Meng, the daughter of Huawei’s founder, and the company itself were indicted for misleading banks about its business in Iran.

Meng has said she is innocent. Huawei has denied the claims of spying and pleaded not guilty to the indictment, which also includes charges of violating U.S. sanctions against Iran and conspiring to steal trade secrets from American technology companies.

Reporting by Karen Freifeld and Alexandra Alper; editing by Chris Sanders, Jonathan Oatis and Lincoln Feast.

A case relating to former MP J.Erdenebatand five others has returned to prosecution under a decision from the Mongolian High Court. As a result, the judge decided to suspend 6.6 years of the the politician’s prison sentence. However, J.Erdenebatremains in detention.

On July, a Mongolian court sentenced former Prime Minister J.Erdenebat to six years in prison for abuse of power and banned him from holding government office for six years.

J.Erdenebat from the Mongolian People’s Party won a seat in the State Great Khuralfor a constituency in the Selenge Province in the parliamentary election, which took place on 24 June 2020, while he was still in detention. Subsequently, a bi-election will be held in Selenge to elect a new MP. Former PM J.Erdenebat’s case returned to prosecution

Mongolia reported five new COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking its nationwide tally to 1,517, the country's National Center for Communicable Diseases said Sunday.

The latest confirmed cases were locally transmitted or detected in the country's capital city Ulan Bator, the center said in a statement.

Meanwhile, 38 more patients have recovered from the disease, raising the total to 947, it added.

The Asian country, with a population of 3.3 million, has so far recorded two COVID-19 deaths since its first case of COVID-19 confirmed in March 2020. Enditem