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

NEWS

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Mongolia’s coal exports to China growing amid COVID-19 www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. A total of 40 million tons of coal had been projected to export abroad this year, however, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Mongolia has exported only around 13 million tons of coal currently. Another statistic shows that Mongolia is experiencing a decrease of 46 percent in the coal exports in the first seven months of 2020 compared to the same period of previous year.

According to an information provided by the Cabinet Secretariat of the Mongolian government yesterday, the coal exports from Mongolia have been growing, beginning from this month, and the number of coal transportation trucks has been increasing. The daily volume of coal transportation freight trucks to cross the border checkpoints to China was usually around 1,800 lately. However, in the recent several days, the number has exceeded 2,000.

In particular, on August 25, a total of 2,001 heavy duty trucks for coal transportation moved through Gashuunsukhait, Shiveekhuren, Yarant, Khangi border crossing points to China, which shows that the daily volume of coal trucks has returned to the pre-COVID-19 level.

As informed by the Cabinet Secretariat, the growth of coal exports to China is thanks to the Mongolian and Chinese governments’ joint implementation of the ‘Green Gateway’ temporary regulation at border crossing points.

To prevent from the spread of COVID-19, sterilization, and disinfection measures are being conducted for all trucks transporting coal and other minerals before they enter the country across border checkpoints and heavy-duty trucks conducting exports and imports transportation are being escorted under police surveillance to clearance terminals.

B.Dolgormaa

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12 charter flights to bring 3120 Mongolians home in September www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. During today’s press briefing of the Operative Staff of the State Emergency Commission, Director General of the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs L.Munkhtushig reported that 12 charter flights will be arranged in September to bring 3120 Mongolian nationals home as scheduled below:

№

Date

Destination

Number of citizens

1

Sep. 2

Seoul

260

2

Sep. 8

Hong Kong /transit/

260

3

Sep. 9

Tokyo

260

4

Sep. 14

Frankfurt

260

5

Sep. 15

Seoul

260

6

Sep. 17

Hong Kong /transit/

260

7

Sep. 18

Istanbul

260

8

Sep. 21

Tokyo

260

9

Sep. 23

Frankfurt

260

10

Sep. 24

Seoul

260

11

Sep. 25

Sidney

260

12

Sep. 28

Seattle

260

Since the ban on all international travel of passengers in and out, Mongolia has arranged 62 charter flights and brought its 12,976 citizens from overseas countries. As of today, 12,409 Mongolian nationals stranded abroad have submitted their request to return home immediately from 48 countries.

Moreover, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is working with the foreign embassies to help people with serious medical concerns travel abroad for treatment.

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Walmart joins Microsoft in bid for TikTok's US operations www.bbc.com

The US retail giant Walmart has said it will team up with Microsoft to make a bid for the US operations of TikTok.

Walmart told the BBC it thought a deal with the Chinese video-sharing app would help it expand its operations.

TikTok has been given 90 days to sell its US arm to an American firm or face a ban in the country. Donald Trump has alleged it shares its user data with Beijing - claims it denies.

Earlier on Thursday the firm's boss resigned ahead of the impending ban.

Confirming that the company was pursuing a deal, a Walmart spokesperson told the BBC: "We are confident that a Walmart and Microsoft partnership would meet both the expectations of US TikTok users while satisfying the concerns of US government regulators."

Microsoft, which confirmed at the beginning of August that it was in talks with TikTok, told the BBC it had "nothing to share at this time".

With Walmart, which owns UK supermarket chain Asda, it will now go up against other prospective bidders, including the US tech giant Oracle.

According to reports, TikTok's US operations could fetch as much as $30bn (£22bn) if a deal is reached.

Since its global launch at the end of 2018 Tiktok has attracted a huge following, especially amongst the under-25s.

The app lets its followers create short videos, with the help of an extensive database of songs and wide range of filters.

Data at risk?
However, the Trump administration has accused its owner, the Chinese internet firm Bytedance, of being a threat to US national security.

It says the data the company collects from its 800 million users - 100 million of whom are reported to be in the US - is at risk of exploitation by the Chinese government.

India's government has also banned TikTok, along with dozens more Chinese-made apps, claiming they "surreptitiously" transmit users' data.

Beijing has denied such claims, calling the US ban politically motivated.

The founder of ByteDance, Zhang Yiming, has faced criticism for his decision to sell to a US company. But in a letter to his Chinese staff he said it was the only way to prevent the app from being taken down in America.

It's not the only Chinese-owned app to attract the suspicion of the US authorities - the messaging app WeChat also faces a ban.

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Food waste combusting plant to be established www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Ulaanbaatar City Municipality reported about a food waste composting plant to be established in Eco Park Complex at Narangiin Enger landfill site.
The general manager of the capital city had made a decision to set up a food waste composting plant covering one hectares of land at Narangiin Enger disposal site. And a pilot project has begun with non-refundable aid of the Japan Fund for Poverty Reduction to recycle food waste generated in Ulaanbaatar city and to set up a composting plant.
The pilot project on participatory food waste recycling will be realized at three stages. Within smaller food waste recycling activities, one family will be selected out of 50 households chosen from five khoroos to collect food waste of these households, recycle them and produce fertilizer with it. The produced fertilizer will be used in the yard of the households, their residing khoroos for gardening and beautifying the environment.
While five schools and five kindergartens will be chosen within the framework of medium sized recycling activities and a team from each school and kindergarten will collect and recycle its food waste. With the produced fertilizer, gardening activities will be carried out at green areas of the schools and kindergartens. Child participation is crucial to these activities and it is significant to make children environmentally friendly and disseminate knowledge on waste recycling.
At the large-scale level of the pilot project, a food waste composting plant with capacity to produce 2000 kg of fertilizer per day will be built on one hectares of land at Narangiin Enger central landfill site. People, who live at the disposal to make a living collecting and selling waste will be employed at the plant so that their livelihood is improved.
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Government to focus attention on sustainable investment environment of private sector www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ On August 25, some members of the Cabinet and Ministers headed by Deputy Prime Minister Ya.Sodbaatar and Chief of the Cabinet Secretariat of the Government L.Oyun-Erdene held a meeting with business delegation at the Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MNCCI).
At the start of the meeting, Deputy PM Ya.Sodbaatar conveyed greetings of the Prime Minister and emphasized Government’s intent to exchange views with entrepreneurs on its Action Program for 2020-2024 during the meeting.
In his remarks, Chief of the Cabinet Secretariat of the Government L.Oyun-Erdene highlighted that the Government is giving significance to 8-12 year long-term development goals. As a result, development programs will give their yields alongside major changes.
Underlining that the Government’s second largest goal is to draw investment, the Chief of the Cabinet Secretariat said that the funding would be used for large-scale projects, programs, infrastructure works and upgrade of business legal environment for private sector promotion. The Government will encourage wealth creators, foreign and domestic investment and maintain a policy to partner as much as possible. "In terms of it, we are heading towards a policy reform that aims to create sustainable business environment." He then informed that a unit in charge of foreign invested projects and programs is to be established at the Cabinet Secretariat of the Government.
The Government would also focus attention on the areas of tourism, transportation, intellectual information technology, innovation-based production, agriculture, especially, heavy and medium-scale industry as well as electricity export in the coming year. In doing so, more significance will be given to education sector, vocational training and production and working force required for the next 10-20 years will be prepared within it, noted Mr.Oyun-Erdene.
“On the other hand, construction works will be carried out in accordance with regional development vision. There are 120 construction projects and programs and 70 percent of them have feasibility studies so far. Since it is impossible for government to fulfill all the works with state budget, national-level goals will be accomplished with sustainable investment of private sector,” said Chief of the Cabinet Secretariat of the Government L.Oyun-Erdene.
Ministers of Road and Transport, Construction and Urban Planning, Food, Agriculture and Light Industry, Mining and Heavy Industry attended the meeting, hearing business owners' position, views and suggestions. And nearly 130 business people and delegates from Business Council of Mongolia, MNCCI, Ulaanbaatar Chamber of Commerce, business professional associations and NGOs took part in the event.
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Total FDI in 2010-2019 reaches MNT 37.2 trillion www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. The National Statistics Office has recently released the latest edition of the ‘Economic Security’ survey. In its section titled ‘Balanced policy of investment’, the total investment made in Mongolia reached MNT 83.3 trillion between 2010 and 2019, and out of them,
- MNT 36.6 trillion (43.9 percent) are domestic investment,
- MNT 46.7 trillion (56.1 percent) are foreign investment.
According to the survey, 36.1 percent of the domestic investment was budget investment in 2010-2019, while foreign direct investment (FDI) accounted for 81.8 percent of total foreign investment.
Survey also shows that the foreign direct investment in Mongolia during the given period reached MNT 37.2 trillion in total, accounting for 44.7 percent of the total investment in the country, however, it’s unstable and volatile.
Investment in the mining sector accounts for 37.5 percent of gross domestic product, as the share of mining industry’s investment equaled to 63.7-56.3 percent of the gross domestic product between 2011 and 2012 and decreased to 22.4 percent in 2015.
With the commencement of the Oyu Tolgoi open pit mine development, large inflows of investment came in 2011, and the foreign direct investment of 2011 and 2012 accounted for already 24.7 percent of the total investment over the last 10 years. Caused by world market price drops and domestic political instability, the FDI to Mongolia plummeted in 2013 and 2014.
In terms of countries invested, Canada financed 47.5 percent of the total foreign direct investment made 2011, and 65.7 percent in 2019.
Investment from Japan to Mongolia had slowed down, from 6.6 percent of foreign direct investment in 2014 down to 4.3 percent in 2019.
B.Dolgormaa
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NBA postpones playoff games after Bucks boycott to protest racial injustice www.reuters.com

(Reuters) - The National Basketball Association postponed three playoff games scheduled for Wednesday after the Milwaukee Bucks boycotted Game 5 of their playoff series against Orlando Magic in protest over racial injustice.
The action by the Wisconsin-based team follows the police shooting of Jacob Blake, a Black man, in the city of Kenosha, also in Wisconsin, on Sunday.
In addition to the Bucks-Magic game, the Houston Rockets vs. Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Lakers vs. Portland Trail Blazers games were also postponed and will be rescheduled, the league said.
“Over the last few days in our home state of Wisconsin we have seen the horrendous video of Jacob Blake being shot in the back seven times by a police officer in Kenosha and the additional shooting of protesters,” the Bucks players said in a statement.
“Despite the overwhelming plea for change there has been no action so our focus today can not be on basketball.”
The players called on the Wisconsin state legislature to reconvene to pass meaningful measures to address issues of police accountability, brutality and criminal justice reform.
Aug 26, 2020; Lake Buena Vista, Florida, USA; The court and benches are empty of players and coaches at the scheduled start of an NBA basketball first round playoff game between the Milwaukee Bucks and the Orlando Magic, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2020, in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Mandatory Credit: Ashley Landis/Pool Photo-USA TODAY Sports
“We encourage all citizens to educate themselves, take peaceful and responsible action, and remember to vote on Nov. 3.”
Kenosha has been rocked by civil unrest and violence since Sunday, when police shot Blake, 29, in the back at close range in an incident captured on video. Blake is paralyzed and is being treated for his injuries.
A 17-year-old identified as Kyle Rittenhouse was arrested and charged with homicide on Wednesday in connection with gunfire that killed two people and wounded a third during a third night of protests on Tuesday.
The Magic, who trail 3-1 in the best-of-seven, first-round series, left the court when it was clear the Bucks were not going to play.
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Beyonce’s song “Freedom” rang out in the empty arena in Orlando as the clock counting down to the start of the game ran out.
The Athletic reported that the Bucks players remained in their locker room attempting to reach Wisconsin attorney general Josh Kaul.
The Bucks ownership said they were not aware ahead of time of what the players were planning but supported them.
“The only way to bring about change is to shine a light on racial injustices that are happening in front of us,” co-owners Marc Lasry, Wes Edens and Jamie Dinan said in a statement.
Slideshow (4 Images)
The protests also spilled over to Major League Baseball, with the Brewers and Cincinnati Reds opting not to play their game Wednesday in Milwaukee. The Seattle Mariners and San Diego Padres also agreed to postpone their game, ESPN reported.
The WNBA also cancelled its slate of games for Wednesday. Players on the reigning champion Washington Mystics wore t-shirts that depicted seven bloody bullet holes in their backs.
Protests against racial injustice and police brutality have been at the forefront since the NBA restarted its COVID-19 hit season in a bio-secure bubble at the ESPN Wide World of Sports complex near Orlando last month.
The courts have the words “Black Lives Matter” painted on them and many players are wearing jerseys with social justice slogans, but the Bucks’ boycott was the most dramatic move by a team to date.
Additional reporting by Frank Pingue in Toronto, Editing by Aurora Ellis, Rosalba O'Brien and Richard Pullin
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Copper price to extend rally on “signs of Chinese panic buying” www.mining.com

Copper was once again approaching the psychologically important $3 a pound level on Wednesday on the back of falling inventories, booming Chinese demand and pandemic hit supply from South America, the US and Africa.
Copper for delivery in December trading in New York jumped 1.5% to $2.9965 a pound ($6,605 a tonne) in afternoon trade, bringing gains for 2020 to more than 7% and a whopping 50% since the covid-19 lows struck in March.
“CHINA IS IMPORTING MORE REFINED METAL FROM NEARLY EVERY COUNTRY SUGGESTING A STRUCTURAL SHIFT NOT A TEMPORARY CHANGE”
Jonathan Barnes – Roskill
A new report from Roskill suggests the rally in copper – which has surprised many with its speed – has further to go.
Jonathan Barnes, associate consultant for copper at the London-based metal and minerals research firm, says while the effects of covid-19 could decrease world consumption of the metal by 3%–4% this year, the drop in mine output and scrap flows has been greater.
Signs of panic buying
The effect of this is most visible in the fall in stocks around the world.
Total visible stocks globally, which include those on exchanges and bonded warehouses in China fell by 40% from March to end-July to below 600,000 tonnes. Inventories in LME warehouses are at 13-year lows.
China is responsible for more than half the world’s copper consumption and the country is sucking up copper at record-setting rates.
“China is importing more refined metal from nearly every country suggesting a structural shift not a temporary change,” says Barnes.
“If you are looking for signs of panic buying, you can find evidence of that in China – total Chinese stocks represent less than two weeks’ consumption at current rates of use.”
In the rest of the world, where demand has dropped by much more relative to China, stocks represent only one week of consumption.
Secondary shortfalls
The lack of available scrap – imports are down 50% in the first half – after Beijing delayed new importing rules, has forced the Chinese buyers to replace secondary sources with cathode, further driving down visible inventories.
Roskill estimates a roughly 300,000 tonne shortfall in imports of secondary materials – scrap, ingots and granules – into China in January to July.
Barnes believes global scrap flows may not normalize until the first quarter of next year, but would depend on new rules in China.
Barnes says Roskill’s sources have not been able to confirm that China’s State Reserve Bureau has been buying up strategic stocks of copper, “but if they were, they probably would have done so earlier, when prices were much lower.”
Two-year restocking cycle
Disruptions to mine supply could be between 750,000 to 1 million tonnes in 2020, with eight out of the 10 largest miners recording lower output during the first half of the year.
China’s concentrate imports are down year on year while sourcing anodes and blister from the central Africa copper belt is also hitting roadblocks.
Barnes says China’s two-year restocking cycle is rising in amplitude as the country’s dominance in the copper market increases and he expects an 11.5% rise for the full year in copper imports.
The country has a structural copper market deficit and it restocks whenever LME prices appear attractive. Moreover, says Barnes, China can take a long term view and use tomorrow what it does not need today.
Roskill expects trade data to show another bumper August for imports, despite being a seasonally muted month for shipments.
Parallels to post-GFC
Barnes says the copper price will likely rise further towards the end of 2020, and that the current environment has strong parallels to the rebound in the copper price after the global financial crisis.
Copper hit a low of $1.32 a pound in January 2009, then surged to $3.55 by April the next year on its way to an all-time peak of $4.58 (more than $10,000 per tonne) in February 2011.
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Mongolia’s bittersweet COVID-19 success www.easasiaforum.org

Mongolia has achieved notable success in protecting the health of its citizens and preventing the community spread of COVID-19. As of mid-August 2020, Mongolia had experienced no deaths from COVID-19 and 300 cases, all imported. Mongolia’s containment strategies allowed the country to re-open businesses internally and hold a successful national election. But its success has come at a price, as the country is now struggling to restart its export-driven economy and deal with mounting international debts.
A protester waves a Mongolian flag during a demonstration at Sukhbaatar Square in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, 27 December 2018 (Photo: Reuters/B. Rentsendorj).
In January 2020, Mongolia began working closely with the World Health Organization (WHO) and activated the country’s inter-agency emergency management system. This empowered the State Emergency Commission (SEC) — a governmental body led by the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) — to lead the country’s coronavirus response.
Mongolia began health screening of travellers in late-January and halted all international flights and trains by early March when its first case was discovered. Mongolia requires that anyone arriving from abroad undergo testing, spend three weeks in a government-monitored quarantine facility and then two additional weeks in self-quarantine. In February, the country sharply curtailed Lunar New Year celebrations, and July’s Naadam festival was held without spectators.
Mongolia’s strict measures paid off — there has been no community transmission of COVID-19 in the general population. More than 60,000 Mongolians have returned from abroad since the start of the pandemic. Approximately 300 of these returnees, mostly from Russia, have tested positive. 289 have recovered with no deaths recorded. Most businesses in Mongolia reopened in May, including restaurants, hotels and holiday resorts. Mongolia’s isolation and small population have helped the country stop the spread of COVID-19, but there are concerns that relaxing travel restrictions could lead to a surge in cases.
Life and economic activity within the country have largely returned to normal, but the border closures and global economic slowdown have severely impacted Mongolia’s economy. In the first six months of 2020, Mongolia’s GDP fell 9.7 per cent, exports fell by over 40 per cent and the government deficit rose to almost 10 per cent of GDP as revenues fell and expenditures rose to address the pandemic. Mongolia’s exports are dominated by natural resources including coal, copper, oil and agricultural products hit by falling international demand.
Mongolia’s most important mining project, Oyu Tolgoi — a massive underground copper and gold mine being developed by Rio Tinto — was already facing delays and cost overruns due to technical issues and disputes with the Mongolian government, which holds a 34 per cent share. Copper exports from the operating part of the mine have been delayed due to border closures. Travel restrictions have also prevented the rotation of key personnel, creating more uncertainty and delays for the project that is now not expected to come online until 2023. Mongolia’s herders in rural areas have also been impacted as demand for their main product, cashmere, plunged during the key early-spring buying season.
Mongolia’s economy is tightly tied to China, where the country sends more than 90 per cent of its exports. While steps have been taken to reopen the border to trade, COVID-19 precautions and market disruptions have resulted in an ongoing reduction in exports. Concerns have been raised about Mongolia’s government debt levels which have risen to 77 per cent of GDP.
The IMF warned that Mongolia faces longer term economic risks due to high government and private debt levels, a heavy reliance on natural resource exports and uncertainties in global economic recovery. Mongolia has already tapped into international aid from the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank and the IMF to cover its short-term government financing needs. But the country risks debt distress if the economy is unable to recover in the near future.
Mongolia held its scheduled parliamentary elections on 24 June 2020. The election campaign period was shortened and public gatherings were restricted due to COVID-19, but Mongolia was able to learn from South Korea’s experience and held the election with minimal disruptions. The success of the government in controlling COVID-19, an electoral system that favours major parties and voters’ desire for political stability helped the ruling Mongolian People’s Party (MPP) win 62 of 76 seats.
The pandemic was not a major issue in the election as all parties and candidates pledged to maintain strict controls. The most important related issue concerned the more than 10,000 Mongolian citizens living in other countries who wanted to return to Mongolia. Some candidates supported restricting these flights to prevent passengers from bringing COVID-19 into Mongolia, while others urged the government to speed up repatriations and allow as many Mongolians as possible to return. The overwhelming victory of the MPP ensured that repatriation flights will continue, with 4000 Mongolian’s expected to return in August 2020.
Mongolia has achieved success in its public health response working closely with neighbouring countries and global organisations. China, South Korea and Japan have all provided Mongolia with donations of equipment and expertise, and in late-February Mongolian President Khaltmaa Battulga was the first foreign head of state to visit Chinese President Xi Jinping after the start of the pandemic.
The country’s success also illustrates the challenges it faces due to its isolation and its economic dependence on global markets and other countries, especially China. Mongolia’s high debt levels will limit the new government’s ability to offer programs to reduce the social and economic effects of the pandemic and leave the country vulnerable to a prolonged global economic slowdown.
Charles Krusekopf is Professor at the School of Business, Royal Roads University, British Columbia.
Mendee Jargalsaikhan is a postgraduate research scholar at the Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada and a director at the Mongolian Institute for Innovative Policies.
This article is part of an EAF special feature series on the novel coronavirus crisis and its impact.
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Preventing Violence Against Women and Supporting Victims in Mongolia www.asiafoundation.com

Although Mongolia has done well on many measures of gender equality, Mongolian women still face gender inequality, and rates of violence and evident power imbalances remain significant challenges. The Asia Foundation is committed to supporting the survivors of violence against women in Mongolia with Korea’s official development assistance.
The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family of Republic of Korea (MOGEF) and The Asia Foundation are closely working together with Ministry of Labor and Social Protection of Mongolia (MLSP) and Mongolian Gender Equality Center (MGEC) to support social and economic rehabilitation for women survivors as well as to prevent violence against women (VAW) and sex trafficking in Mongolia.
The project provides preventive education, awareness raising campaigns, rehabilitation support services and vocational training. The project also includes a policy workshop at the national level including government officials, policy-makers, law enforcement, researchers, and civil society representatives.
The Covid-19 pandemic has required the project to make adjustments in its strategy, including replacing a planned street campaign with a social media campaign. The campaign successfully reached victims; in June 2020 alone, seven Mongolian women victims contacted MGEC for help after seeing the Facebook campaign. With support from relevant government offices and MGEC’s domestic and international network, MGEC was able to provide emergency assistance to successfully repatriate trafficked women from Thailand and Malaysia to Mongolia. Upon survivors’ arrival in Mongolia, MGEC provided reintegration services online, including advisory support, counseling, and other necessary supports.
During the rest of the year, the project plans to offer vocational training and small business start-up support programs for Mongolian VAW survivors. For those who completed the vocational training and show an interest in entrepreneurship, the Women’s Business Center run by The Asia Foundation’s Mongolia office will provide business services such as business training and consulting, and will select potential women entrepreneurs that have a viable business idea with small grants.
In 2019, MOGEF has signed the Record of Discussion with MLSP pledging support for a five-year project (2019–2023) for prevention of violence against women (VAW) and supporting VAW victims in Mongolia. In 2020, The Asia Foundation, with the support from MOGEF, currently manages the project in close partnership with MGEC.
 
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