Canada retained the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) Women's Series title as they edged to a 16-15 win in the final over France in Ulaanbaatar in Mongolia.

The champions had arrived in Mongolia as top seeds after winning five stops in the regular season, and they were unbeaten on their way to the final, defeating the United States in the semi-final.

The final of the fourth edition of this competition pitted them, as last year, against France - and once again sisters Katherine and Michelle Plouffe were immense.

Katherine Plouffe put up a game-high 10 points in a final that went down to the wire, with Paige Crozon putting up the game-winning shot at the buzzer to earn Canada their second Women's Series title.

Her sister, who had excelled for her side throughout the season, continued her dominance in Ulaanbaatar.

Michelle Plouffe, right, was voted Most Valuable Player as they retained the FIBA 3x3 Women's Series title in Mongolia ©Getty Images

Michelle Plouffe, right, was voted Most Valuable Player as they retained the FIBA 3x3 Women's Series title in Mongolia ©Getty Images

She earned the title of Most Valuable Player as she led the event in player value and points scored.

Michelle Plouffe finished with 33 points while also earning 21 rebounds over the two-day competition.

The final event brought to a close the longest season so far in the Women’s Series, which grew to 23 events this year, with total prize money throughout the season reaching over $1 million (£807,000/€938,000).

China finished third in the overall standings, followed by the United States and Germany, with Neftchi sixth, Sc Yuanda seventh and Mongolia eighth.

Created in 2019, the FIBA 3x3 Women’s Series is the number one event on the 3x3 women's professional circuit.

Summary of this week's events:

September 18: Regular Mongolia-China Media Forum will be held in Ulaantsav, Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, China.

September 18: The 34th National Book Festival “Let's Read More" will continue at the Sukhbaatar Square.

September 18: "Five Lives" joint exhibition of Mongolian and Japanese women photographers will open at the Mongolian Art Gallery.

September 18: The 100th anniversary of the Veterinary Service will be celebrated in Zavkhan aimag.

September 18-19: The President of Mongolia Khurelsukh Ukhnaa will attend the UN General Assembly.

September 18-22: The first round of the International Song Contest "Ulemjiyn Chanar" will be held on the 220th anniversary of the birth of the genius Mongolian enlightener Khutagt Danzanravjaa.

September 19: Mongolian Labour Hero and People's Writer B. Lkhagvasuren's drama "The Throne without a Seal" will be performed in Hohhot, Inner Mongolian Autonomous Region, China.

September 20: XXI Congress of the Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry will take place.

September 20: Registration of the 48th International Exhibition "Ulaanbaatar Partnership-2023" will end.

September 21-22: Dundgobi Partnership-2023 Market Day will be held in Dundgobi aimag.

September 22: The Mongolian State Philharmonic Orchestra will present the "Classic Evening" performance of the works of M. Ravel, A. Dvorak, A. Harutiunian, and J. Suk, the composers of the late XIX and early XX centuries, who represent a new wave in the history of the world classical music.

September 22: The Prime Minister of Mongolia Oyun-Erdene Luvsannamsrai will work in Uvurkhangai aimag.

September 22-23: "Open Selenge" event will be organized in Ulaanbaatar.

September 22-24: "Diary Products Exhibition" will be held at the Museum of Natural History.

September 22-24: The International Conference on Computational and Applied Mathematics (ICCAM) will be organized in Ulaanbaatar.

September 22-24: "Open Bayankhongor Aimag" event will be held in Bayankhongor aimag in the framework of the New Revival Policy of the Government of Mongolia.

September 23-24: The fifth annual Inspire Me Festival will take place at the White Rock Center.

September 23-25: "New Eastern Revival" Investment Forum will be held in Dornod aimag.

September 24: The Christina Noble Children's Foundation will host the Children's Walk for Hope, an annual virtual fundraising event.

Fitch Ratings has affirmed Mongolian coal producer Mongolian Mining Corporation's (MMC) Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating (IDR) at 'B'. The Outlook is Stable. Fitch also assigned a 'B' final rating to the US dollar senior exchange notes due September 2026, with a Recovery Rating of 'RR4'. The notes are jointly and severally issued by MMC and its wholly owned subsidiary, Energy Resources LLC.

The ratings were removed from Rating Watch Negative (RWN), on which they were placed on 28 August 2023, as MMC completed the exchange offer, improving its liquidity and debt maturity profile.

MMC's IDR is constrained by its customer concentration, limited scale and volatility of mining regulations in Mongolia.

KEY RATING DRIVERS

Refinancing Risk Removed: MMC's refinancing risk is mitigated after completing the exchange offer, with a larger cash buffer enhancing liquidity and more spread-out debt maturities. After the exchange offer and new note issuance, MMC's maturity profile improved significantly with USD84 million of notes maturing in 2024 and USD180 million in 2026, compared with USD350 million in 2024 previously. We expect MMC's cash balance at end-2023 to be slightly under USD150 million, which is sufficient to cover USD84 million due in April 2024 and provides a sufficient cash buffer to maintain operations.

Regional Customer Concentration: MMC's sole customer base is in northern China, limiting its operational flexibility. MMC's heavy reliance on Chinese customers caused major business disruptions during Covid-19-related border closures between Mongolia and China. Border throughput decreased to 100-200 trucks a day, on average, with periods of complete closure, from around 700 trucks a day pre-Covid. Sales volume dropped to 1.6 million tonnes (mt) in 2021 from an average of 5mt historically.

Transportation costs are another factor for MMC's customer base concentration. MMC's cash costs, including royalties, are in the second quartile of the global coking-coal cost curve, but its cost advantage is only in northern China due to the proximity of its mines to steel mills in the area. Land transportation costs to Chinese customers averaged about USD13/tonne in 1H23 (2022: USD30/tonne), putting it in the higher quartile of the global cost curve.

Volatile Mining Regulatory Environment: Volatility in Mongolian mining regulations can have significant impact on MMC's financials. This was the case during Covid when the Mongolian government increased the royalty reference rate, raising the effective royalty rate from 5%-8% to over 20%. Pre-Covid, the realised average selling price (ASP) and reference price used for the royalty calculation were similar with the minimal price gap. The price gap rose from 2Q21 and only started narrowing in 2H22, and in this period the ASP was around USD150-160/tonne while reference price was over USD300/tonne.

Robust Operational Improvements: MMC's coking-coal operation has normalised, with Covid-related disruptions at the border with China easing in 1Q23. Average daily throughput rose to about 800 trucks in 1H23, surpassing pre-pandemic levels and the 1H22 level of around 240 trucks. MMC ramped up processing volume to 6.8mt in 1H23, from 900,000 tonnes in 1H22, beating our expectations. Meanwhile, the ASP for hard coking coal exceeded USD160/tonne, against USD147/tonne in 2022.

We expect the ASP to fall in 2H23, but for the full-year ASP to remain above the 2022 level. We also expect washed hard coking-coal sales volume to reach 5.5mt (2022: 3.5mt). As a result, we forecast EBITDA margin to improve to over 40%, from around 24% in 2022, with greater free cash flow (FCF) from the higher volume, stronger pricing assumptions and lower costs. We also forecast net leverage to drop to below 1.0x (2022: 3.0x), supported by a strong ASP and margin expansion.

Small Scale, Single Product: MMC is small by revenue compared with Fitch-rated coal miners globally. Washed coking coal products accounted for over 98% of its total revenue in 2022. Its latest coal reserve statements show total marketable coal reserves of just under 400mt, or a reserve life of around 35 years. MMC's small scale and product concentration constrain its business profile to the 'b' category. MMC is looking to diversify away from coking coal, but we believe it will remain its dominant revenue contributor in the short to medium term.

DERIVATION SUMMARY

MMC has a smaller revenue scale than rated peers, such as Guangyang Antai Holdings Limited (B/Stable), PT Indika Energy Tbk (BB-/Stable) and PT Golden Energy Mines Tbk (GEMS, BB-/Stable).

Guangyang Antai's revenue is more than 10x times that of MMC, while Indika's revenue scale is more than 7x larger and GEMS's 5x. Even so, MMC's margin is much higher than that of Guangyang Antai and similar to that of Indika and GEM. MMC is a single-product coal miner, similar to the peers. Its operational profile in terms of mine life is over 30 years compared with slightly under 20 years for GEMS and around 16 years for Indika. However, MMC's concentrated customer base and the volatilities in Mongolia's mining regulations compare unfavorably to its rated peers

MMC's leverage and financial flexibility profile is weaker than that of GEMS. GEMS has more stable FCF generation, much lower leverage and wider financing channels. Both MMC and Indika have had choppy FCF generation in the past few years. Still, Indika has better interest coverage and much lower leverage. We expect lower leverage at MMC compared with Guangyang Antai, but both companies have had weak FCF generation in the past few years.

KEY ASSUMPTIONS

Fitch's Key Assumptions Within Our Rating Case for the Issuer:

- Hard coking coal ASP of over USD150/tonne in 2023 and USD140/tonne in 2024, consistent with trend in Fitch's price deck assumptions;

- Total sales volume over 8.5mt in 2023, before dropping to just under 7mt from 2024;

- EBITDA margin to improve to an average of over 40% in 2023-2025, supported by volume improvement, strong ASP and normalised costs;

- Capex to average around 10% of revenue during 2023-2025;

- No dividend payments in 2022-2025.

RATING SENSITIVITIES

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to positive rating action/upgrade:

- Positive rating action is not envisaged in light of MMC's limited diversification in end customers and the volatility of Mongolian mining regulations.

Factors that could, individually or collectively, lead to negative rating action/downgrade:

- Negative FCF for a sustained period;

- EBITDA net leverage above 3.5x for a sustained period;

LIQUIDITY AND DEBT STRUCTURE

Adequate Liquidity: We expect MMC to have cash on hand of just under USD150 million at end-2023, which is sufficient to cover the USD84 million of notes due in April 2024. We forecast MMC to generate over USD200 million in FCF in 2024 and 2025, and therefore, it will have sufficient cash to redeem the USD180 million of notes due in 2026 without the need for refinancing.

ISSUER PROFILE

MMC is the largest producer and exporter of high-quality hard coking coal in Mongolia. It owns and operates the Ukhaa Khudag and Baruun Naran open-pit coking coal mines in South Gobi province. MMC processed 6.6mt of run-of-mine coal in 2022, which yielded around 3.0mt of washed coking coal as a primary product and 1.2mt of washed thermal coal as a secondary product.

REFERENCES FOR SUBSTANTIALLY MATERIAL SOURCE CITED AS KEY DRIVER OF RATING

The principal sources of information used in the analysis are described in the Applicable Criteria.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS

The highest level of ESG credit relevance is a score of '3', unless otherwise disclosed in this section. A score of '3' means ESG issues are credit-neutral or have only a minimal credit impact on the entity, either due to their nature or the way in which they are being managed by the entity. Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores are not inputs in the rating process; they are an observation on the relevance and materiality of ESG factors in the rating decision. For more information on Fitch's ESG Relevance Scores, visit http://www.fitchratings.com/topics/esg/products....

September 15, Mongolian Stock Exchange JSC has started the first trading of iron concentrate after expanding the mining products exchange.

Mongolrostsvetmet and Darkhan Metallurgical Plant are scheduled to sell a total of 78,800 tons of iron concentrate in three rounds of trading. As for the minimum asking price, concentrate with 58 percent content is 56 USD, and iron concentrate with 65 percent content is 90 USD to 93 USD. By the resolution of the Board of Directors of Mongolian Stock Exchange, “Procedures for establishing and implementing standards for trading contracts for iron ore and concentrates” have been approved, and Mongolrostsvetmet and Darkhan Metallurgical Plant have been registered as sellers and signed contracts.

After that, the government announced that it was preparing to trade silver and copper on the exchange. Minerals traded on the exchange will be taken out through a special border crossing.

Manager of Copper and Metal Group of Erdenes Mongol LLC Ts.Tugsbuyan said, “Erdenes Mongol is starting the process of trading mining products at international market prices, including trading of iron ore for the first time with the help of MSE. We export three types of iron ore concentrate. In 2023, more than one million tons of iron ore concentrate is expected to be traded on the exchange. Currently, seven batches of 21,000 tons of iron concentrate with a content of 65 percent have been ordered for trading. I would like to express my gratitude to the management and colleagues of MSE for their support until this day.” Executive Director of Darkhan Metallurgical Plant G.Dugarjav stated, “We are witnessing the historical process of trading iron ore concentrate on the stock exchange for the first time in Mongolia. The main advantage of trading products on the exchange is that the product is sold at a higher price than the nominal price. Previously, we used to charge 50 percent of the base price for our trades, but by trading our products on the Mongolian Stock Exchange, we have a huge advantage of 100 percent settlement and increased cash flow. At the same time, by creating an open and transparent market system for the circulation of wealth in the economy, MSE is bringing great progress to the country’s economy.”

The President of Mongolia Khurelsukh Ukhnaa and the President of the Republic of Cuba Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel y Bermúdez have held a meeting.

President Khurelsukh Ukhnaa, who arrived in Cuba for participating in the Summit on Science, Technology, and Innovation of the Group of 77 in Havana, congratulated Cuba for chairing the Group of 77 in 2023 and hosting the Summit.

President Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel y Bermúdez noted that the Government of Cuba decided to increase further the scholarship, granted to Mongolian youth for many years.

The Heads of State of the two countries discussed the expansion of relations and cooperation, including the development of cooperation in the fields of health, biotechnology, culture, education, agriculture, production of biological and natural products, and sports, increasing student exchange, and other matters of mutual interest.

The President of the Republic of Cuba Miguel Mario Díaz-Canel y Bermúdez accepted the invitation of the President of Mongolia Khurelsukh Ukhnaa to visit Mongolia at his convenience and expressed his intention to visit in 2024.

Mongolia and the Republic of Cuba established diplomatic relations on December 7, 1960. The countries have traditional and friendly relations. From the Mongolian side, high-level representatives of the party and government led by Tsedenbal Yumjaa visited Cuba in 1972, while from the Cuban side, then Minister of the Revolutionary Armed Forces, Army General Raul Castro Ruz visited Mongolia in 1970.

In the frame of the official visit of the Minister of Foreign Affairs B.Battsetseg to the Commonwealth of Australia, the Cultural Envoy of Mongolia – Morin Khuur Ensemble presented its performance "The Beautiful Country of Mongolia" for the first time at the world-famous Sydney Opera House on September 14, 2023.

The opening remarks were delivered by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Battsetseg Batmunkh, President of the New South Wales Legislative Council the Honorable Ben Franklin, First Assistance Secretary of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia Mr. Gary Cowan. More than 2200 guests attended the concert including Her Excellency the Honorable Margaret Beazley, Governor of New South Wales, representatives of the Australian Government and businesses, Heads of Diplomatic Corps in Australia, as well as representatives of Mongolian associations and non-governmental organizations.

In her opening remarks, Foreign Minister B.Battsetseg highlighted that Mongolia-Australia relations and cooperation are successfully expanding and developing in many fields such as education and culture within the Expanded Partnership and people-to-people ties are being further strengthened. The Minister also invited Australian tourists to visit beautiful Mongolia and experience its rich history, culture and traditions within the “Years to Visit Mongolia” campaign.

The Morin Khuur Ensemble performed over 20 national, folk and classical pieces from its rich repertoire on the iconic stage of the Sydney Opera House, and the audience delightfully applauded the first ever performance of Mongolian artists.

UNESCO World Heritage Site and a unique architectural symbol of modern Australia – the Sydney Opera House is the green continent's most renowned and crowded center of arts and culture, welcoming over 11 million visitors and hosting over 1,800 events a year.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is actively engaged in developing cultural cooperation with countries worldwide and promoting Mongolian culture and history through the comprehensive “Values of the Mongolian Nation” campaign. Over its 31-year history, the Morin Khuur Ensemble has performed more than 650 concerts in over 30 countries. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia through its diplomatic missions abroad has enabled opportunities for our artists to showcase their talents on renowned global stages including Japan’s NHK Hall and the Sydney Opera House. The preparations are in full swing for their next performances to be held at historical landmarks in Paris and Nantes.

September 13, “Makh Impex” JSC, Mongolia’s oldest food factory with a 77-year history, has expanded its production quality and standards in 2023 and put into operation a new factory that meets world standards. In relations to the project carried out with BERTSCHLaska group from Austria, they received the keys to their new factory from the company.

Deputy Minister of Food, Agriculture, and Light Industry M.Gankhuleg and Head of Department of Food Factory Policy Implementation D.Dovchinsuren took part in the opening ceremony and got acquainted with the new Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) factory.

The factory, which introduces not only modern equipment but also new standards, is the fourth high-standard factory opened in Asia. The new plant has the capacity to produce 50 tons of products per day such as, sausages, salami, semi-finished, smoked, and frozen products (dumplings, buuz, pizza, Asian fast food, and so on).

In addition, Makh Impex will implement a project of building a refrigerated warehouse for food with a budget of 150 billion MNT, as well as a 40-ton capacity meat thawing and sorting plant with BERTSCHLaska.

Makh Impex is an enterprise that participates in the revolving loan program implemented within the framework of Parliament Resolution No. 36, expanding its activities, increasing the variety of products, uses advanced techniques and technologies in its production, and pays great attention to product quality and safety.