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

NEWS

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Number of foreign workers in Mongolia dropped by 12.2 percent www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/. At the end of December 2020, 4.0 thousand foreign citizens from 89 foreign countries worked in Mongolia under the labor contract to earn wage and income or voluntarily without the purpose of earning wage and income. Compared with the same period of the previous year, the number of countries decreased by six, and the number of foreign workers decreased by 562 (12.2%).
Of all foreign workers with labor contracts in Mongolia, 3.5 thousand (86.0%) were male, and 0.5 thousand (14.0%) were female. Of all foreign workers in Mongolia, 51.2% were from China, 6.4% -- the Russian Federation, 5.3% -- S.Korea, 5.0% -- Australia, 3.7% -- the United States, 3.3% -- South Africa, 2.9% -- Philippines, 2.6% --Vietnam, 2.5% -- the Great Britain, 2.0% -- Canada, 2.0% -- India, 1.2% -- Japan and the remaining 11.9% -- other countries.
Source: National Statistics Office
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Economic growth of Mongolia expected to be 4.3 percent in 2021 www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Mongolia’s economy is expected to grow by 4.3 percent in 2021 - 0.6 percentage point below the previous forecast by Global Economic Prospects report released by the World Bank.
The policy response to the pandemic led to a sharp increase in fiscal deficits in the region. To cover the additional financing needs, several governments have used domestic borrowing (China, Indonesia, Myanmar, the Philippines). Others relied more on external financing (Fiji, Mongolia, Palau, Papua New Guinea).
Combination of public support and slowing activity has raised regional public debt by an estimated 7 percentage points, to 50 percent of GDP on average in 2020 and above 60 percent of GDP in Lao PDR, Malaysia, and Mongolia. Total public and private debt in the region surpassed 100 percent of GDP in two-thirds of regional economies and reached nearly 300 percent of GDP in China and Mongolia.
Growth in the region is projected to accelerate to 7.4% in 2021, led by a rebound in China. This is predicated on the rollout of an effective vaccine in the first quarter of 2021 in major economies and later in smaller emerging market and developing economies. Nevertheless, economic activity in the region is expected to remain below pre-pandemic trend by late 2021, reflecting lasting damage from the COVID-19 shock. Investment and productivity are expected to remain depressed and uncertainty is likely to remain elevated.
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Mongolia threatens to halt Rio Tinto copper project www.ft.com

Rio Tinto is facing an escalation of its problems in Mongolia, where the government has threatened to halt development of its huge underground copper deposit.
The $6.75bn underground expansion of the Oyu Tolgoi mine in the Gobi Desert is the company’s most important project. However, it has been dogged by problems and is now running late and over budget.
The cost overruns have alarmed Ulaanbaatar, which has said it will have no option but to terminate the investment agreements that underpin the project unless they are improved. Once complete, it will be the world’s fourth-largest copper mine.
The government laid out its concerns in a letter after a virtual meeting last month with Rio’s new chief executive Jakob Stausholm and the head of its copper and diamonds business Arnaud Soirat.
Chief among them is Mongolia’s belief it will never receive a dividend from Oyu Tolgoi because of the amount of debt taken on to develop the existing open pit mine and pay for the underground expansion.
Oyu Tolgoi is 66 per cent owned by Toronto-listed Turquoise Hill Resources, in which Rio has a 50.8 per cent controlling stake, and 34 per cent by the government.
Ulaanbaatar is funding its share of the development costs through loans from Rio, which operates the mine and is managing the underground project. It will not receive any dividends from the project until these debts are paid back.
“The estimates whereby the Government will never receive dividend payments [from the Oyu Tolgoi project] and will incur debt of $22bn create great difficulties for our future co-operation,” the letter said.
“In addition, the estimate that Oyu Tolgoi would pay corporate income taxes or profit taxes only in four years until 2051 raises doubts as to the economic benefits of the project.”
In light of the economics and the fact the mine sits in a region where water is scarce, the government goes on to say that “it is becoming necessary for us to review and evaluate whether or not this project should go ahead”.
The development of the underground mine is underpinned by an investment agreement negotiated by Rio’s former chief executive Jean-Sébastien Jacques and the then Mongolian prime minister Saikhanbileg Chimed.
A parliamentary working group ordered the government to improve the terms of the so called “Dubai” agreement in December 2019.
For its part, Rio has told Ulaanbaatar that under the guidelines of the parliamentary resolution it is prepared to “explore” a reduction of its project management fees and loan interest rates. It has also offered to investigate the idea of a national development fund, according to people with knowledge of the situation.
However, the government wants Rio to address other issues including tax and water.
“Unless Rio Tinto assesses the situation realistically and accepts the proposal of the working group, we have no option but to formally submit a notice to unilaterally terminate” the Dubai agreement, it said in the letter.
Rio said it had invested more than $11bn in Mongolia since 2010 and was “open to improving” the terms of the agreement to “increase the benefits of Oyu Tolgoi to all shareholders”.
TRQ, which saw its share price crash 24 per cent on Monday, said it was “committed to engaging immediately” with Ulaanbaatar.
For the Mongolian government the stakes are high. Oyu Tolgoi is a crucial part of the country’s economy. Not only is it the country’s biggest source of foreign direct investment, it also provides thousands of well-paid jobs.
“The Mongolian government should not be bullied into fearing that foreign direct investment will dry up if they reset this agreement,” said Henry Steel, portfolio manager at Odey Asset Management, who has bet against TRQ shares. “The agreement assumed that there would be no cost or time overruns. Now there have been, the agreement needs to be reset to incorporate this.”
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Mongolia starts to supply 98 percent of power with domestic sources www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. In accordance with an intergovernmental agreement between Mongolia and the Russian Federation, four turbo-generators of the Thermal Power Plant No.4 have been upgraded and connected to the Central Energy System with a total cost of USD 93 million.
As a result of the expansion, the installed capacity of the coal-fired thermal power plant has been increased by 89 MW to 789 MW. The new expansion is enough to supply energy to 10 aimag centers or 150 residential apartment complexes of 18,000 household families, for a comparison.
This step helps Mongolia significantly reduce Russia’s energy import from 250 MW down to 110 MW, and supply 98 percent of total power demands using own domestic sources. The combined heating and power plant No.4 now alone supplies 70 percent of power of the country’s central region energy system and 65 percent of heat consumption of Ulaanbaatar.
The ceremony to officially commission the latest expansion at the Thermal Power Plant No.4 located in Ulaanbaatar was held today, January 11, with Prime Minister U.Khurelsukh took part in the event and made remarks.
“In December 2020, the government of Mongolia made a decision to cover utility costs (electricity, heat, water and waste bills) of households and businesses until July 1, 2021, with a view to alleviate negative impacts of COVID-19 pandemic. This expansion will play an important role in maintaining reliable supply to meet increasing consumption for electricity and heating and peak demand in winter season” said the Prime Minister.
He also extended gratitude for companies participated in the expansion project, and mentioned that construction and expansion projects for Tavan Tolgoi, Choibalsan and Amgalan thermal power plants and Erdeneburen hydro power plant are waiting to be implemented in the next three years as part of the country’s mission to fully supply its energy demand on its own.
The expansion of the Thermal Power Plant No.4 was jointly performed by Mongolia’s Thermal Power Plant No.4, state-owned stock company and Russia’s Ural Turbine Works company, and several other domestic companies took part in the development as contractors.
During the event, Minister of Energy N.Tavinbekh noted tender will be announced on January 13, 2021 to take bids for a contractor for the Erdeneburen hydro power plant and also, blueprint for the Tavan Tolgoi Power Plant have already been launched. “The Tavan Tolgoi power plant is expected to ensure full supply of power to Oyu Tolgoi mine in Umnugobi aimag.”
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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.
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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.
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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
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“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.
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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
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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.

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