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    

Category

Events

Events

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

NEWS

64x64

Mongolia may revoke Rio Tinto’s plan for Oyu Tolgoi www.mining.com

The Government of Mongolia may cancel and replace the development and financial plan for the country’s vast Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine, Canada’s Turquoise Hill (TSX, NYSE: TRQ) said on Monday.
The Rio Tinto-controlled company said Mongolian authorities are dissatisfied with the top miner’s plans. They are particularly concerned about the costs of the expansion, recently updated to $6.75 billion, about $1.5 billion higher than its original estimate.
Mongolia believes the significant cost increase has eroded the economic benefits it expected to receive from the Oyu Tolgoi mine, Turquoise Hill said.
Shares in the company dropped to their lowest in a month on the news, down 21.4% in New York to $11.38 and more than 24% in Toronto to C$13.88 by 10:50 am EST. That leaves the miner with a market cap of almost C$2.99 billion (about $2.33bn).
Rio Tinto (ASX, LON, NYSE: RIO) had in 2019 flagged stability risks associated with the original project design, which translated into as much as an additional $1.9 billion cost and a 30-month delay.
RIO TINTO RECENTLY CONFIRMED THAT OYU TOLGOI’S UNDERGROUND EXPANSION WOULD COST $6.75 BILLION, ABOUT $1.5 BILLION HIGHER THAN ITS ESTIMATE IN 2015
The miner confirmed in December the new cost estimate for the underground expansion, adding that production would begin in October 2022.
Erdenes Oyu Tolgoi LLC, the Mongolian state-owned company that owns a third of the mine, reacted to the new timeline and budget by saying that Rio had not delivered on its 2015 promises.
Erdenes’ interest in Oyu Tolgoi is technically held through a 34% in a Mongolian company called Oyu Tolgoi LLC. The remaining stake belongs to Canada’s Turquoise Hill Resources (TSX, NYSE: TRQ), which is 50.79% owned by Rio Tinto.
“The Government of Mongolia has indicated that if the Oyu Tolgoi project is not economically beneficial to the country, it would be necessary to review and evaluate whether it can proceed,” Turquoise Hill said in a statement.
Ulaanbaatar also said that expecting Oyu Tolgoi to pay corporate income taxes or profit taxes only in four years until 2051, casts doubts as to the economic benefits of the project.
“The estimates whereby the Government will never receive dividend payments [from the Oyu Tolgoi project] and will incur debt of $22 billion create great difficulties for our future co-operation,” it said in the letter quoted by Turquoise Hill.
The Vancouver-based miner said it was committed to engaging immediately with both Mongolian authorities and Rio Tinto to address the development plan and revisit the sharing of economic benefits arising from the Oyu Tolgoi project.
Under scrutiny
Mongolia had requested an independent review of the cost blowout and delays at the project, with results expected in early 2021.
The dispute over funding the expansion’s cost increase began heating up in early November when Turquoise Hill launched arbitration proceedings against Rio Tinto to get clarity on funding.
The mining giant has said it will not allow the Canadian company to take on more than $500 million in additional debt. Rio also asked Turquoise Hill to fill up a funding gap of up to $3 billion by reprofiling loans and raising equity.
Minority investors in Turquoise Hill, including US hedge fund Pentwater Capital, oppose Rio’s attempts to force the Canadian miner to conduct an equity raise. They claim there are “much cheaper and more advantageous financing options” available to the company, such as streaming and bond financing.
Investors also worry about Rio growing its stake in Turquoise Hill through such an equity raising, basing this argument on the expectation that Rio would underwrite any shortfall created by minority Turquoise Hill shareholders who do not participate in the raising.
Mounting issues
Mongolia and the various foreign investors in Oyu Tolgoi are also embroiled in a tax dispute, currently waiting for a United Nations arbitration decision.
On Monday, Turquoise Hill warned Oyu Tolgoi LLC intends to apply to the arbitration tribunal for leave to amend its statement of claim and issues raised in the 2016-2018 Tax Assessment. Until December 23rd, the country had sought to get an alleged balance from the period between 2013 and 2015.
Turquoise Hill also flagged on Monday a proposed class action against the company and some of its current and former officers in the Superior Court of Montreal. The claim alleges the miner made material misstatements and omissions with respect to, among other subjects, the schedule, cost and progress of Oyu Tolgoi’s development.
The company said it believed the case lacked merit.
The government of Mongolia has complained about overruns in the past. A group of legislators recommended last year a review of the 2009 deal that launched construction of the mine. It also advised revoking a 2015 agreement allowing for the now ongoing underground expansion.
The parliament ended up approving a resolution in December 2019, which reconfirmed the validity of all the Oyu Tolgoi mine-related agreements. The decision brought an 18-month-long review to a close.
Rio has repeatedly said the underground expansion is its most important growth project. Once completed, Oyu Tolgoi will churn out 480,000 tonnes of copper a year from 2028 to 2036.
...


64x64

Strong mag. 6.8 earthquake - Russia-Mongolia Border Region on Monday, 11 January 2021 at 21:32 (GMT) www.volcanodiscovery.com

A magnitude 6.6 earthquake near Turt, Khankh, Hövsgöl Aymag, Mongolia, was reported only 12 minutes ago by the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ), considered one of the key international agencies that monitor seismic activity worldwide. The earthquake occurred at a shallow depth of 10 km beneath the epicenter early morning on Tuesday 12 January 2021 at 5:33 am local time. The exact magnitude, epicenter, and depth of the quake might be revised within the next few hours or minutes as seismologists review data and refine their calculations, or as other agencies issue their report.
A second report was later issued by the European-Mediterranean Seismological Centre (EMSC), which listed it as a magnitude 6.2 earthquake.
Based on the preliminary seismic data, the quake should have been widely felt by almost everyone in the area of the epicenter. It might have caused light to moderate damage.
Moderate shaking probably occurred in Turt (pop. 2,100) located 34 km from the epicenter.
VolcanoDiscovery will automatically update magnitude and depth if these change and follow up if other significant news about the quake become available. If you’re in the area, please send us your experience through our reporting mechanism, either online or via our mobile app. This will help us provide more first-hand updates to anyone around the globe who wants to know more about this quake.
Please see more at the source.
...


64x64

Feature: Mongolian business owners glad to see lockdown measures ease in capital www.xinhuanet.com

Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- "I'm very happy that the strict COVID-19 restrictions have been loosened gradually, and we have been allowed to work," said Ochirbat Ariunaa, a woman who runs a sewing workshop here in Mongolia's capital.
Though the number of COVID-19 infections is on the rise, Mongolia partially eased the COVID-19 lockdown measures in the country's capital Ulan Bator starting from Monday with certain conditions to revive the economy and support businesses.
Employees of all types of trade and service organizations, except for 18 types of organizations such as stores carrying non-food items, saunas, bars, hair and beauty salons, and fitness and entertainment centers, are being allowed to return to work, but must obey strict safety guidelines.
The Mongolian Health Ministry is urging the trade and service organizations to strictly adhere to infection control measures by disinfecting surfaces, keeping social distance, not serving customers who don't wear masks and checking their body temperature.
"COVID-19-related restrictions have become a big blow to small and medium-sized businesses like us," Ariunaa said.
Traditionally, during the White Moon festival or the Lunar New Year, people order a lot of traditional costumes, so her sewing workshop earns most of its annual income around that time.
Yet this year, the Mongolian government has banned the celebration of the traditional White Moon festival or the Lunar New Year due to the pandemic. "It is expected to take a long time for us to make up for the loss and make money like before," said Ariunaa.
Davaa Enktsetseg is the owner of a small coffee shop in Ulan Bator.
"Almost two months later, we returned to work today. There are now very few customers at the coffee shop," Enkhtsetseg said. "If the pandemic continues for a long time and there will be a few people like today, our coffee shop will have to close its doors."
Enkhjargal Sumiya, a self-employed manicurist, worries about her prospects as manicurists are still not allowed to work. "There are many people in this country like us who live on their daily income," she said, "I just want the COVID-19 pandemic to end quickly."
Mongolia confirmed its first case of COVID-19 in March 2020. Its first local transmission was detected in early November, when a woman tested positive after her husband returning from Russia finished his 21-day mandatory quarantine.
The incident triggered a nationwide lockdown that was later extended in Ulan Bator and two provinces until Dec. 11. After that, the Mongolian government reimposed lockdown measures in Ulan Bator, which was the hardest hit by the coronavirus outbreak, from Dec. 23 to Jan. 6 and extended the strict all-day lockdown until Jan. 11 to curb resurging local cases.
As of Monday, the Asian country has reported 1,442 COVID-19 cases, more than two-thirds of which were locally transmitted.
The country, with a population of 3.3 million, has so far registered two COVID-19-related deaths and 896 recoveries. Enditem
...


64x64

“Agriculture, Food & Beverage 2021”, international online expo/face to face meetings www.b2bexpomongolia.com

Mongolian Business Database (MBD) launched online Expo for B2B meetings of some sectors. The recent event was “Cashmere, Wool, Fur & Leather” online Expo organized during 5-30 Dec, 2000, where 23 exhibitors attended from Russia, Mongolia and Scotland (UK), and of 61 “one-on-one” meetings successfully convened online, several business partnerships were generated.
We are pleased to announce the next EXPO “Agriculture, Food & Beverage 2021”, an international virtual B2B event taking place during 15 February through 10 March, 2021.
Technology supplier, manufacturer, designer, exporter/importer, agents, license holders and investors - all interested companies, organizations and individuals in the value chain of the industry are welcome to the event.
Please visit www.b2bexpomongolia.com for more information.
The registration will close on Feb 8.
For more details, please contact contact@mongolianbusinessdatabase.com or
phone +(976) 95760706, 99066396, 99066062.
...


64x64

Foreign visitors to Mongolia fell by 89.5 pct in 2020 www.xinhuanet.com

Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- The number of foreign visitors to Mongolia in 2020 plummeted by 89.5 percent from the previous year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to official data.
Mongolia received a total of 66,900 foreign visitors last year, the National Statistics Office said on Monday.
The sharp decline in foreign tourist arrivals is directly related to the prolonged measures to contain the global COVID-19 outbreak, according to the office.
Mongolia has taken measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19 since February 2020, including suspension of international passenger flights.
As of Monday, the Asian country has reported 1,442 COVID-19 cases, more than two-thirds of which were locally transmitted.
The country with a population of 3.3 million has so far registered two COVID-19-related deaths and 896 recoveries. Enditem
...


64x64

Mongolia registers three coronavirus vaccines www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/. “Mongolia has developed and approved a vaccine registration regulation this week. Accordingly, the National Committee for Immunizatin and Human Drug Council have convened and registered three main vaccines released worldwide -- ‘Pfizer and BioNTech,’ ‘AstraZeneca’ and ‘Moderna’ in the Mongolian drug registry,” reported Minister of Health T.Munkhsaikhan during his press briefing yesterday, January 10.

 

“Mongolia has an Immunization Law. Our country has an opportunity to immunize the entire population with vaccines registered by the World Health Organization and countries with strict drug regulations.”

When vaccinating the people, special attention would be paid to make all people have a vaccination record, added the Minister.

...


64x64

13 new cases of COVID-19 recorded in Ulaanbaatar city www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ According to the National Center for Communicable Diseases, 13 new cases of COVID-19 were reported after performing PCR testing on 14,216 people nationwide on January 10.

 

All the newly detected cases were recorded in Ulaanbaatar city and the people, who are close contacts of the previously confirmed cases related to “Tenuun-Ogoo” Company, Achtan Hospital, “Munkhkhada” LLC, were diagnosed with the virus.

 

 

No new infections have been recorded in other aimags in the past 24 hours.

 

 

 

Mongolia now have a total of 1422 confirmed cases with 396 recoveries. 535 people are undergoing treatment. 

...


64x64

India pressures Mongolia to complete oil pipeline on time www.mongoliaweekly.org

The Indian government has reaffirmed its commitment to building Mongolia's first oil refinery, but has also subtly pressured the Mongolian government to ensure an accompanying pipeline is constructed on time.
In a video conference with Chief Cabinet Secretary L. Oyun-Erdene and Mining Minister G. Yondon, India's Union Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, said that he hoped Mongolia would finish connecting a crude oil pipeline to the refinery 'well before' it is opened.
The refinery will be small by international standards but should meet domestic requirements. (Unsplash)The refinery will be small by international standards but should meet domestic requirements. (Unsplash)
The refinery will be small by international standards but should meet domestic requirements. (Unsplash)
The refinery, which is largely funded by the Indian government through a line of credit extended during high-level visits in 2015, is being built in Altanshiree in Dornogovi province. It is scheduled for completion in 2022.
Despite producing and exporting thousands of barrels of oil per day, Mongolia depends on imports of finished petrochemicals from Russia to meet domestic demand.
The Mongol Refinery Project, as it is known, aims to reduce this dependence.
Interestingly, the refinery is apparently the largest project India is undertaking through its Lines of Credit program, which suggests New Delhi is keen to strengthen ties with Ulaanbaatar. The project is managed by the state-owned Engineers India Ltd.
However, the fact that the Indian government has gone public with its request for Mongolia to complete the pipeline before the refinery opens suggests it may be concerned about project slippage.
Pradhan said he "sought [Oyun-Erdene and Yondon's] cooperation in completing this pipeline well before the commissioning of the Refinery project."
In exchange, Pradhan indicated that India hoped to gain greater access to Mongolian mineral supplies.
"“We look forward to substantial partnerships with Mongolian companies in the areas of minerals, coal and steel," he said.
...


64x64

Apple, Hyundai set to agree electric car tie-up, says Korea IT News www.reuters.com

SEOUL (Reuters) - Hyundai Motor and Apple Inc plan to sign a partnership deal on autonomous electric cars by March and start production around 2024 in the United States, local newspaper Korea IT News reported on Sunday.
The report follows a statement on Friday from Hyundai Motor that it was in early talks with Apple after another local media outlet said the companies aimed to launch a self-driving electric car in 2027, sending Hyundai shares up nearly 20%.
Hyundai Motor declined to comment on the report on Sunday, and reiterated Friday’s comments that it has received requests for potential cooperation from various companies on developing autonomous EVs.
Apple had no immediate comment.
An updated version of the IT news report removed details, including production location and capacity and the timeframe for signing the agreement and launching the pilot vehicles.
The previous version said the companies planned to build the cars at Kia Motors’ factory in Georgia, or invest jointly in a new factory in the United States to produce 100,000 vehicles around 2024. The full annual capacity of the proposed plant would be 400,000 vehicles.
Kia Motors is an affiliate of Hyundai Motor.
ADVERTISEMENT
The report also said Hyundai and Apple planned to release a “beta version” of the Apple cars next year.
Reuters reported last month that Apple was moving forward with autonomous car technology and aimed to produce a passenger vehicle that could include its own breakthrough battery technology as early as 2024.
Shares in Hyundai Motor rose 14.6% in morning trade on Monday, while affiliate auto parts maker Hyundai Mobis shares rose 12.7% and Kia shares rose 9.1% versus a 2% gain in the wider market.
Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin; Additional reporting by Joyce Lee; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle and Barbara Lewis
...


64x64

Record number of small firms 'set to close' www.bbc.com

A record number of small firms could close in the next 12 months, says the Federation of Small Businesses.
Without further government help to cope with the effects of the pandemic, more than a quarter of a million businesses could be lost, it said.
The FSB said it had put forward ideas to help some of those firms, which it hoped ministers would adopt.
Its proposed support scheme would aim to help many self-employed workers currently excluded from aid.
The FSB based its prediction on a survey of 1,400 small firms, 5% of which said they expected to close this year.
If those figures were replicated across the country, some 250,000 of the UK's 5.9 million small firms could disappear, it said.
FSB national chairman Mike Cherry said: "The development of business support measures has not kept pace with intensifying restrictions.
"As a result, we risk losing hundreds of thousands of great, ultimately viable small businesses this year, at huge cost to local communities and individual livelihoods."
Mr Cherry said the government had met the latest national lockdown "with a whimper" and called for help that went beyond the retail, leisure and hospitality businesses.
"Company directors, the newly self-employed, those in supply chains and those without commercial premises are still being left out in the cold," he added.
Among other groups, the FSB is concerned that directors of small companies, who pay themselves in dividends rather than drawing a salary, are not receiving any help from the government.
The FSB said somewhere between 700,000 and 1.1 million people fell into this category.
If adopted by ministers, the FSB's proposed Directors Income Support Scheme would pay them grants of up to £7,500 to cover three months of lost trading profits. It would be limited to those who earn less than £50,000 a year.
The FSB said it had submitted its proposals to the Treasury and was expecting a decision this month.
The Treasury said nothing was planned at present, but added: "Our support schemes are designed to get help to those who need it most whilst protecting the taxpayer from fraud, but of course we keep everything under review and are always open to further ideas."
...


  • Terms of Reference
  • About
  • Contact Us

Managed by: B2BMongolia www.b2bmongolia.com

Events

News

Facebook