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

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Mongolia reports 38 more COVID-19 cases www.xinhuanet.com

Mongolia reported 38 more COVID-19 cases in the past 24 hours, raising its national tally to 1,175, the country's National Center for Communicable Diseases said Tuesday.
Thirty-seven of the latest cases were locally transmitted, including two in health workers, said Amarjargal Ambaselmaa, the center's head of the surveillance department, at a daily press conference.
One imported case is a Mongolian citizen who recently returned home from Europe on a chartered flight, Ambaselmaa said.
To date, 730 locally transmitted COVID-19 cases have been reported across the country, and over 60 of them are health workers, according to the official.
A total of 745 patients have recovered so far with no deaths reported. Enditem
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Banks fulfilled mortgage payment deferral requests from 57,456 borrowers www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. With a view to alleviate financial hardship posed by COVID-19 pandemic on businesses and individuals, who have been falling behind their loan due, the government of Mongolia together with the Bank of Mongolia and commercial banks decided to make deferrals on consumer and mortgage loan repayment and their interests from April 2020 until October 2020 and then again from November 2020 to July 2021.
The Bank of Mongolia has reported that between April 2020 and December 25, 2020, commercial banks have received payment deferral requests from 58,328 borrowers with total amount of mortgage loans MNT 3.2 trillion. Out of them, the banks have allowed to postpone mortgage repayments of 57,456 borrowers or 99 percent of all requests.
Those who obtained loan payment deferral are not required to make regular payments on their loans, including principal and interests, until July 01, 2021. The central bank sees that the loan payment deferral measures have helped each borrowing household to save approximately MNT 7.7 million amid the ongoing nationwide heightened state of readiness and lockdown measures in Ulaanbaatar as a prevention of COVID-19 transmission.
Upon the decision to make deferrals on loan repayment and their interests, the Bank of Mongolia has made temporary changes to regulations followed by commercial banks on their asset classifications and requirements for their operations, allowing the banks not to change their borrowers’ credit ratings caused by failures on loan repayment.
Beginning from October 1, 2020, mortgage loan annual interest rate, which was previously set at 8 percent, has been lowered to 6 percent with the aim of better reaching the target groups, those leaving in the Ger district areas, and reduce loan burdens.
The Bank of Mongolia reported that commercial banks issued 8-percent mortgage loans totaling MNT 290 billion to around 4,000 borrowers in the first 9 months of this year, and 6-percent mortgage loans amounting to MNT 120 billion have been granted to 1,800 borrowers since October 2020.
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U.S. to provide USD 3 million for Mongolia’s green house industry www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. On December 28, Minister of Foreign Affairs N.Enkhtaivan received U.S. Ambassador to Mongolia Michael S. Klecheski and discussed about bilateral relations and cooperation between Mongolia and the U.S..
Both sides emphasized that some important events took place in 2020 that are helpful for strengthening the Mongolia-U.S. strategic partnership, including political and economic policy consultations.
While noting that the US House of Representatives has recently passed a resolution to elevate bilateral ties to a strategic partnership level, Foreign Minister Enkhtaivan expressed gratitude to the U.S. side for its support to Mongolia’s COVID-19 response and removal from the Financial Action Task Force’s list of countries with strategic deficiencies or so-called ‘Grey List’.
For his part, Ambassador Michael S. Klecheski informed that the U.S. is to provide USD 3 million assistance for the development of Mongolia’s green house industry through United States Agency for International Development – USAID.
At the meeting, Mongolia and U.S. sides also stressed the importance of seeking ways to increase economic partnership and ensuring timely and successful launch of Millennium Challenge Corporation’s USD 350-million Water Compact in Mongolia.
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Munkhtuya Rentsenbat appointed Khan Bank’s new CEO www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. Khan Bank has announced the appointment of Munkhtuya Rentsenbat as the Bank's new Chief Executive Officer (CEO), effective December 28, 2020.
Munkhtuya succeeds John Bell, who has been the CEO of Khan Bank since 2016.
Working in the finance industry for 26 years, Munkhtuya began her professional journey at Khan Bank as Chief Accountant in 2000, advanced to Director of Finance in 2005, Deputy CEO in 2008, and Vice President of Corporate Banking in 2010. As an accomplished banking professional with extensive experience, she held the positions of First Deputy CEO and Deputy CEO of the Bank from 2012 to 2020.
She is a graduate of University of Finance and Economics of Mongolia and holds a master's degree in economics and banking from National University of Mongolia. She earned an MBA from Handong Global University in South Korea.
The Board of Directors, Management Committee members, and colleagues at Khan Bank emphasize that her breadth of knowledge and experience has been instrumental to the organization. She has made valuable contributions to bringing Khan Bank to its present position as one of the nation's leading financial institutions, being an integral part of the Bank’s leadership during a time when it made significant and rapid advances in the business and financial sector.
Former CEO John Bell, whose dedication and efforts have strengthened Khan Bank position as a leading bank, will remain with the Bank in an advisory capacity, press release says.
Khan Bank, with over 550 branches nationwide, has created the nation’s largest digital banking network and ranked 4th among the Top 100 Entities of Mongolia, selected by the Government of Mongolia and Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, for the fourth consecutive year.
As of September 30, 2020, having met all the prudential ratios set by the Bank of Mongolia, Khan Bank reached MNT 1.2 trillion in total equity and MNT 11.1 trillion in total assets, making up 31.5 percent of the banking industry and affirming Khan Bank’s leading position in the market.
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Zoom, Amazon, ransomware: Tech’s big winners and losers of 2020 www.aljazeera.com

We streamed, we Zoomed, we ordered groceries and houseplants online, we created virtual villages while navigating laptop shortages to work and learn from home.
When it comes to technology, 2020 was a year like no other — and as the world was forced to adapt to the coronavirus pandemic, some tech companies won big while others lost out.
Losers
Virtual Reality
As the world adjusted to a new stuck-at-home reality, the pandemic could have been virtual reality’s chance to offer an escape. With the use of special headsets and accoutrements like gloves, the technology lets people interact with a 360-degree view of a three-dimensional environment, seemingly a good fit for people stuck indoors.
But people turned to easier-to-use software and games that they already had. Few rushed to spend hundreds of dollars on a clunky new headset or tried to learn the ropes of virtual reality meeting software. And no VR games broke into the mainstream. So virtual reality, on the verge of success for decades, missed its moment, again.
Social media election labels
It was the year of labels on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and even TikTok. Ahead of the November 3 US presidential vote, the companies promised to clamp down on election misinformation, including baseless charges of fraud and candidates’ premature declarations of victory. And the most visible part of this was the bevvy of labels applied to tweets, posts, photos and videos.
“Some or all of the content shared in this Tweet is disputed and might be misleading about an election or other civic process,” read one typical label applied to a tweet by President Donald Trump.
But many experts said that while the labels made it appear that the companies were taking action, ”at the end of the day it proved to be pretty ineffective,” as Jennifer Grygiel a professor at Syracuse University and social media expert, put it.
Quibi
Less than a year ago, Quibi launched a splashy Super Bowl advertisement that posed the question “What’s a Quibi?” People may still be scratching their heads.
Quibi, short for “quick bites,” raised $1.75bn from investors including major Hollywood players Disney, NBCUniversal and Viacom.
But the service struggled to reach viewers, as short videos abound on the internet and the coronavirus pandemic kept many people at home. It announced it was shutting down in October, just months after its April launch.
Uber and Lyft
Fresh off of their initial public offerings the year before and still struggling to show they can be profitable, the ride-hailing services were clobbered by the pandemic in 2020, as people stopped taking cars and huddled down at home.
In May, Uber laid off 3,700 people, or about 14 percent of its workforce. Lyft also announced job cuts.
But there are some signs of hope. After significantly reducing costs by restructuring in the second quarter, Lyft said last month it expects to have its first profitable quarter at the end of 2021.
And the companies scored a major victory in California, where voters passed Proposition 22, granting them an others an exception to a law that sought to classify their drivers as employees, an expense that analysts thought would have pummeled their business in the nation’s most populous state.
US TikTok ban
While India outlawed the popular video-sharing app, in the US, TikTok appears close to riding out Donald Trump’s term without the president succeeding in his efforts to ban it.
Earlier this month, a federal judge blocked a potential ban. It was the latest legal defeat for the administration in its efforts to wrest the app from its Chinese owners. In October, another federal judge postponed a shutdown scheduled for November.
Meanwhile, a government deadline for TikTok’s parent, ByteDance to complete a deal that would have Oracle and Walmart invest in TikTok has also passed, with the status of the deal unclear.
While President-elect Joe Biden has said TikTok is a concern, it’s not clear what his administration will carry on the Trump administration’s attempts at a ban.
Winners
Nintendo Switch
Even in a year heralding splashy new consoles from Xbox and PlayStation, the Nintendo Switch was the console that could. Launched in 2017, the Switch became a fast seller. That was helped by the launch of the handled Switch Lite in September 2019.
In March, it became hard to find a Switch as people searched for ways to be entertained inside their homes. Boosting its popularity was the release of the island-simulation game “Animal Crossing: New Horizons,” which debuted March 20 and has now sold a cumulative 26 million units globally, according to Nintendo.
According to the NPD Group, during the first 11 months of 2020, Nintendo Switch sold 6.92 million units in the US. It has been the best-selling console in units sold for 24 consecutive months — a record.
Zoom
All video conferencing software — from Microsoft Teams to WebEx — thrived during the abrupt shift of tens of millions of people to remote working and schooling during a pandemic. But only one became a verb.
Zoom Video Communications was a relatively-unheralded company before the pandemic hit, but its ease of use let to wide adoption during the pandemic.
There were some growing pains, including lax security that lead to “Zoom bombing” breaches early on. The company revamped its security and remains one of the popular platforms to host remote meetings and classes.
Ransomware purveyors
The ransomware scourge — in which criminals hold data hostage by scrambling it until victims pay up — reached epic dimensions in 2020, dovetailing terribly with the COVID-19 plague. In Germany, a patient turned away from the emergency room of a hospital whose IT system was paralyzed by an attack died on the way to another hospital.
In the US, the number of attacks on healthcare facilities was on track to nearly double from 50 in 2019. Attacks on state and local governments were up about 50 percent to more than 150. Even grammar schools have been hit — shutting down remote learning for students from Baltimore to Las Vegas.
Cybersecurity firm Emsisoft estimates the cost of US ransomware attacks in the US alone this year at more than $9bn between ransoms paid and downtime/recovery.
Computer makers
After beginning the year grappling with exasperating delays in their supply chains, the personal computer industry found itself scrambling to keep up with surging demand for machines that became indispensable during a pandemic that kept millions of workers and students at home.
The outbreak initially stymied production because computer makers weren’t able to get the parts they needed from overseas factories that shut down during the early stages of the health crisis.
Those closures contributed to a steep decline in sales during the first three months of the year. But it has been boom times ever since.
The July-September period was particularly robust, with computer shipments in the US surging 11 percent from the same time in 2019 — the industry’s biggest quarterly sales increase in a decade, according to the research firm Gartner.
E-commerce
The biggest of the bunch, Amazon, is one of the few companies that has thrived during the coronavirus outbreak. People have turned to it to order groceries, supplies and other items online, helping the company bring in record revenue and profits between April and June. That came even though it had to spend $4bn on cleaning supplies and to pay workers overtime and bonuses.
But it’s not just Amazon. The pandemic is accelerating the move to online shopping, a trend experts expect to say even after vaccines allow the world to resume normal lives.
And thanks in part to shoppers consciously supporting small businesses, Adobe Analytics says online sales at smaller US retailers were up 349 percent on Thanksgiving and Black Friday.
At the more than 1 million businesses that use Shopify to build their websites, sales rose 75 percent from a year ago to $2.4bn on Black Friday, according to Shopify.
Jury’s out
Big Tech
Facebook, Amazon, Apple and Google did well financially, with each company’s stock price and profit up considerably since the start of the year. They gained users, rolled out new products and features and kept on hiring even as other companies and industries faced significant cuts.
But not all is well in the world of Big Tech. Regulators are breathing down each company’s neck and that’s unlikely to ease up in 2021. Google faces an antitrust lawsuit from the Department of Justice. And Facebook has been hit by one from the Federal Trade Commission along with nearly every US state that seeks to split it off from WhatsApp and Instagram.
More cases could follow. Congressional investigators spent months digging into the actions of Apple and Amazon in addition to Facebook and Google and called the CEOs of all four companies to testify.
SOURCE : AP
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The 737 Max is about to fly in the US again www.cnn.com

New York (CNN Business)The Boeing 737 Max is set to carry US passengers for the first time in nearly two years on Tuesday, when American will use the jet on a round-trip route from Miami to New York.
It will be a pair of notable flights for the 737 Max, which was grounded from March 2019 through November 2020 after two crashes that killed 346 people. The flights come after the US Federal Aviation Administration last month approved changes Boeing made to the jet.
But some US fliers are nervous: A new poll out Monday from Reuters/Ipsos found that 57% of Americans surveyed said they were not likely to fly in a Boeing 737 Max, when they were informed about the plane's history. About 37% say they would be likely to fly in it once it has been in the air for six months or more.
Still, the same poll showed some people are either not aware of the 737 Max's history or have forgotten about the jet's issues. Of the US fliers surveyed, 39% said they were familiar with the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes in October 2018 and March 2019, down from about 50% in a previous poll.
American would not disclose how many seats it has sold on Tuesday's flights, a 10:32 am ET route from Miami to New York's LaGuardia Airport, and a return at 2:30 pm. But as of late morning Monday, the airline's site showed only one main cabin ticket still available for the afternoon return.
Most other countries' aviation authorities have yet to approve the use of the 737 Max. But Brazilian airline GOL became the first carrier to offer passenger flights earlier this month, and Aeromexico resumed flights with the plane last week between Mexico City and Cancun.
Two other US airlines own the troubled jet: United Airlines (UAL) and Southwest (LUV), neither of which have added the plane to their schedule as of yet. United said it plans to do so sometime in the next three months, while Southwest anticipates doing so in the spring.
Almost all airlines globally have parked many of the jets they own, given the pandemic-fueled lack of demand for air travel -- so there is less immediate need to get the planes back in the air. But the 737 Max is more fuel-efficient than the earlier versions of the plane now in use, so airlines have an interest in getting the Max back into the air.
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Model hospital in Songinokhairkhan district ready for operation www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ A 200-bed model hospital in Songinokhairkhan district is ready for operation.
The hospital is to provide 17 main and 11 types of services to citizens. By putting the hospital into operation, 157 thousand citizens will be provided with opportunity to receive medical assistance and services in convenient environment that satisfies world standards. Moreover, the hospital is available to run its operation in emergency situation, using 100 beds for isolating persons suspected with COVID-19.
Construction of the hospital was supervised by the Capital City Investment Authority and technical commission approved the hospital to run permanent operation on November 11.
The hospital will be a model complex hospital in the country, having up-to-date technology and equipment and providing convenience of disabled citizens, other customers, physicians and hospital workers.
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Trump administration bolsters order barring U.S. investment in Chinese firms www.reuters.com

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Trump administration on Monday strengthened an executive order barring U.S. investors from buying securities of alleged Chinese military-controlled companies, following disagreement among U.S. agencies about how tough to make the directive.
The Treasury Department published guidance clarifying the executive order, released in November, would apply to investors in exchange-traded funds and index funds as well as subsidiaries of Chinese companies designated as owned or controlled by the Chinese military.
The “frequently asked questions” release, posted on the Treasury website on Monday, came after Reuters and other news outlets reported that a debate was raging within the Trump administration over the guidance. The State Department and the Department of Defense (DOD) had pushed back against a bid by Treasury Department to water down the executive order, a source said.
Specifically, some media outlets reported that Treasury was seeking to exclude Chinese companies’ subsidiaries from the scope of the White House directive, which bars new purchases of securities of 35 Chinese companies that Washington alleges are backed by the Chinese military, starting in November 2021.
The guidance released on Monday specifies that the prohibitions apply to “any subsidiary of a Communist Chinese military company, after such subsidiary is publicly listed by Treasury.” It added that the agency “intends to list” publicly traded entities that are 50% or more owned by a Chinese military company or controlled by one.
“Treasury’s published FAQ represents a clear victory for the U.S. security community in its determined effort to preserve strong capital markets sanctions associated with [the executive order] — the first of their kind,” said Roger Robinson, a former White House official who supports curbing Chinese access to U.S. investors.
The November executive order sought to give teeth to a 1999 law, which mandated that the Department of Defense compile a list of Chinese military companies. The Pentagon, which only complied with the mandate this year, has so far designated 35 companies, including oil company CNOOC Ltd and China’s top chipmaker, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp.
Since the November order, Index providers have already begun shedding some of the designated companies from their indexes.
Additional Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk in Washington and Karen Freifeld in New York; Editing by Matthew Lewis and Stephen Coates
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Russia’s Far East attracts over $17 BILLION in foreign investment www.rt.com

Foreign direct investment in the Russian Far East has grown significantly since 2013, according to Deputy Prime Minister Yuri Trutnev. Special economic zoning and concessions have stoked investor interest in the region.
“When we started working on the development of the Far East in 2013, the share of foreign direct investment was just two percent. Today it accounts for 32 percent, which is a 16-fold increase,” Trutnev told Rossiya 24 TV channel on Monday. “The volume of investments has already exceeded 1.3 trillion rubles ($17.6 billion).”
The deputy PM added that the volume of private investment in the Far East is expected to grow to five trillion rubles (over $67 billion).
According to him, more than 100 billion rubles ($1.3 billion) of budget funds are being invested within the framework of a program for social development, and more than 1,000 social facilities are under construction.
Some 18 priority development territories, as well as the Vladivostok Free Port, have been created under the Far East’s development program. Hundreds of foreign companies have already obtained resident status.
The priority development territories in the Russian Far East provide the country’s citizens as well as foreigners with tax and customs concessions. In 2017, Russia lifted Far East visa requirements for 18 countries to boost tourism and develop the region.
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Under the Microscope: President’s Offshore Assets Cause a Stir in Mongolia www.intpolicydigest.org

As president of Mongolia, Khaltmaagiin Battulga has placed great store by his intention to purge local corruption and the holding by the country’s elite of assets in offshore tax havens.
Battulga made it a central plank of his election campaign that when he became president he would move swiftly and decisively to punish those responsible and to repatriate funds and investments held in offshore tax havens.
Since becoming president in 2017, however, he has been noticeably slow to do much to make this happen. The reason for his reluctance may be explained by the revelation that he and his family have close involvement in an offshore company.
In April 2017, Mongolia amended the law on conflicts of interest which strictly prohibits government officials and their close relatives and associates from owning property or companies offshore. The penalty for violation is the loss of office. Under that law, Singapore is such a designated offshore zone.
It can be disclosed that Genco Holding, a Singapore registered company, is 50 percent owned by Battulga through his daughter Namuun, and the remaining 50 percent is owned by Battulga’s investment manager Billy Lim via his son Dennis. Namuun Battulga and Dennis Lim are directors of the company.
Singapore documents show that until 2007, Battulga also held a senior position at Genco Holding. At that time, he was an elected member of Parliament and should not have been engaging in any business activity, especially as an officer of a company based offshore.
Battulga was a shareholder in Genco Holding and transferred his stake to his daughter. According to Singapore documents, Genco Holding was established with a share capital of $1 million. Genco is described as a wholesale trader in a variety of goods, including electronic components.
In Mongolia, Battulga’s reputation is that of a highly successful businessman and strongman. A sambo wrestling champion, he loves his tough-guy image, sporting a fedora and naming his Mongolian company Genco, the same title as the Corleone family front business in The Godfather mafia epic – a favourite of Battulga’s.
Genco grew on the back of the privatisation of state interests, acquiring hotels and food production factories. The company also moved into taxi services, retailing, lotteries, night clubs, and restaurants.
Battulga founded another company, Camex, in Mongolia, and its subsidiaries obtained 17 valuable licenses for coal, gold, and copper. Battulga owned 90 percent of Camex, and Batsukh Yadamsuren, or as he is widely known, Ard Batsukh, owned the other 10 percent. In 2007, Battulga transferred his Camex stock to Namuun and to his sister, Tsendsuren Khaltmaa.
This was all declared publicly in Mongolia. What was not known until now, however, was that ownership of the Mongolia Camex was in fact soon transferred to another Camex company, registered in Singapore. This Camex leases offices from Genco Holding and operates from the same Singapore address.
Camex in Singapore is owned by a company called Well Delight, located in another offshore haven, the British Virgin Islands. Well Delight in turn belongs to two other BVI companies, Best State and Sino Access. The shareholders of these BVI companies are Mashbat Bukhbat, secretary-general of the Judo Federation where Battulga was president, Ard Batsukh, and Hui Shin Lim Celestina, daughter of Billy Lim. The two parent offshore companies were later sold to another BVI company called Brave Lion. The purpose of this offshore web is unclear – except to make it harder to penetrate and to hide the identity of the ultimate owner.
In 2010, it was reported by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange that the Tugrug Nuur coal deposit in Mongolia had been sold by Battulga for $250 million to Chinese-owned Ming Shin Waterworks Holdings Limited, registered in the Cayman Islands. Who is behind Ming Shin?
The existence of a Battulga-owned firm in Singapore is bound to provoke questions and considerable anger in Mongolia. At the same time, he may want to show just how much due diligence he did regarding the destination of $250 million from the sale of one of the country’s natural assets.
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