Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/. Today, five new cases of COVID-19 were confirmed in Mongolia after testing 10,599 people yesterday, December 16, nationwide. The newly confirmed cases were locally acquired cases in Ulaanbaatar city.

During today’s press briefing on the Ministry of Health, Head of Surveillance Department of the NCCD A.Ambaselmaa informed, “Three out of the infected people, who were under isolation, have been confirmed by 2nd and 3rd repeated test. The other two cases have been patients undergoing inpatient treatment at the Central Hospital of Bayanzurkh District. They first were diagnosed negative by rapid test when they started receiving treatment at the hospital. However, their repeated tests on the 4th and 5th day after their entry to the hospital tested positive. It means they were admitted to the hospital while having in their incubation period. Therefore, contact tracing effort is in full swing.”

No new infections were recorded in Darkhan-Uul, Orkhon, Gobisumber, Selenge and Arkhangai aimags in the last 24 hours.

Today, the total cases of COVID-19 in Mongolia have reached 923, with 384 recoveries. The total locally acquired cases have reached 470; Ulaanbaatar – 145, Selenge - 216, Darkhan-Uul - 45, Orkhon - 25, Gobisumber - 4, Dornogobi -32, and Arkhangai -3.

Rio Tinto expects to achieve first production from the expansion of its giant copper mine in the Gobi Desert by October 2022 but only if it can reach agreement on several outstanding issues with the government of Mongolia and a Canadian subsidiary.

The company said on Wednesday that the budget for the first phase of the underground project at Oyu Tolgoi would come in at $6.75bn and it would start caving operations once it had received outstanding approvals, finalised a new power source and reached agreement on financing.

Its comments drew an angry response from Ulaanbaatar, which said it was surprised at Rio’s multiple references to “government approvals”.

“We are not aware of any approval requirements pending and necessary for the underground mine development,” a government representative said.

She added: “It could also be possible that any pending regulatory

approval is an excuse to blame the government of Mongolia for causing

issues for the project as was in the case in the past 10 years.”

Once complete, Oyu Tolgoi will be the world’s fourth-largest copper mine, initially producing 480,000 tonnes of the metal a year from its existing open pit and underground mine.

It is important for this strategically important project to deliver shareholder value as well as benefits to the government of Mongolia via taxes

Erdenes Oyu Tolgoi, state-owned company that holds the Mongolia government’s stake in the project

However, the project has been plagued by problems. Rio originally said the underground mine would reach first sustainable production in the first quarter of 2021 with a $5.3bn budget.

Tensions with the government, which is seeking to improve the agreements underpinning the mine development, have been mounting. Last month Ulaanbaatar called for an independent review of the cost blowout and overrun.

Rio is also at odds with the Canadian subsidiary through which it has exposure to the mine.

Oyu Tolgoi is 66 per cent owned by Toronto-listed Turquoise Hill Resources (TRQ), 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 underground development costs through loans from Rio. It will not receive any dividends from the project until these debts are paid back.

Oyu Tolgoi is a crucial part of Mongolia’s economy. Not only is it the country’s biggest source of foreign direct investment, it also provides thousands of well-paid jobs.

Erdenes Oyu Tolgoi, the state-owned company that holds the government stake, was also critical of Rio’s management of the project, saying the management team had “delivered negative financial value to its shareholders over the last five years.”

“It is important for this strategically important project located in Mongolia to deliver shareholder value as well as benefits to the government of Mongolia via taxes,” it said.

Rio is in a face-off with TRQ over how to plug a $3bn funding gap. The Anglo-Australian group wants to use a mixture of debt, equity and reprofiling of loans, while TRQ favours a package that does not include a sale of new shares.

TRQ launched arbitration proceedings against Rio in October in an effort to settle the financing dispute. It believes existing agreements allow it to raise supplemental debt.

Rio said on Wednesday that “all shareholders should contribute proportionately and share equitably in the benefit” from the expansion project.

The national livestock census has been underway across the country since the 15 December. According to statistics from 2019, there were a total 70.9 head of livestock animals; this was an increase of 4.5 million animals or 6.8 percent on the previous year.

The new Law on Livestock passed by Mongolian Parliament will come in force from January, 2021. According to the law, herders will pay taxes of up to MNT 2000 per animal dependent upon location.

The livestock population had risen to 90 million by nearly 20 million new born animals last spring. Subsequently, Mongolia culled 20 million animals for local consumption and exports needs. It is estimated that there will be between MNT 70-140 billion from the livestock taxes.

(Reuters) -Rio Tinto named Chief Financial Officer Jakob Stausholm as its next chief executive on Thursday, defying expectations it would pick an external candidate to repair its image after its destruction of sacred Aboriginal rock shelters.

The destruction of the 46,000-year-old Juukan Gorge rock shelters, while legal, sparked public and investor uproar that ultimately led to the resignation of incumbent Jean-Sebastien Jacques and two deputies.

Stausholm, who joined Rio as CFO in 2018, is now tasked with the tough job of repairing strained relationships with investors and the Aboriginal community while reforming the mining company to improve oversight.

Rio’s choice of an internal candidate was a surprise as most bankers and investors had expecting the company to choose an outsider to start with a clean slate.

“This decision appears to be further evidence of poor corporate governance and suggests a lack of any credible succession planning,” said Doug McMurdo, chairman of Britain’s Local Authority Pension Fund Forum which represents 82 members with 300 billion pounds ($408 billion) under management.

“It further raises questions about Rio Tinto’s corporate culture over the last few years,” he said, adding that it also showed there had been a lack of consultation by Rio Chairman Simon Thompson with investors.

The board’s handling of the aftermath of the cave blasts has cast a shadow over Thomson’s tenure.

Analysts at Morgan Stanley said Stausholm’s appointment could indicate little change in the overall strategy but that it should minimize the typical disruption period caused by management transitions.

Shares in London, which are at record highs on booming iron ore prices, had climbed 1.8% by 1135 GMT.

Mongolia's first helicopter search and rescue centre will be built by French companies close to the international airport in Ulaanbaatar.

Money for the project came through a concessional loan granted by the French Treasury Department.

Mongolia will receive a fleet of four helicopters (three Airbus EC145s and one Guimbal Cabri), plus a maintenance centre and a training facility.

An Airbus EC145 helicopter. (Image: Thales)An Airbus EC145 helicopter. (Image: Thales)

An Airbus EC145 helicopter. (Image: Thales)

French company Héli-Union is managing the overall project and has signed a contract with Thales (also based in France) to provide training for the EC145 pilots. The two companies reportedly have a long-standing relationship.

French civil security pilots have trained on the same type of Thales systems since 2006.

“Héli-Union and Thales are combining their expertise for this ground-breaking project in support of civil defence in Mongolia," Peter Hitchcock, VP Training & Simulation for Thales, said in a statement.

The project also strengthens Thales’s local presence in North Asia, where the company has won several significant contracts, including the provision of air traffic management solutions for the Civil Aviation Authority of Mongolia.

Thales' subsidiary company Gemalto, which it acquired in 2019, was also involved in the rollout of Mongolia's national eID cards alongside Bodi International under contract to the Ministry of Justice and Internal Affairs.

A Chinese cybercriminal APT group is suspected of hacking into the network of a Mongolian software company and hacking into a chat application used by hundreds of Mongolian government agencies.

According to experts from ESET, the attack took place in June this year. Hackers attacked an application called Able Desktop, developed by local company Able Software. The application is an instant messaging add-on for the company's main product, the HR platform. The platform is used by over 430 government agencies in Mongolia, including the Office of the President, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Health, various local law enforcement agencies and authorities.

Due to its widespread use among government officials, ESET said the app has been a target of cyber attacks since at least 2018. In the first attacks, the criminals tried to inject the HyperBro backdoor and the PlugX remote access Trojan into the Able Desktop application and distributed Trojan versions of the application's installer via email.

In June 2020, attackers appeared to have been able to hack into Able's backend and compromised the system that delivers software updates to all of Able's software applications. Hackers have used this system at least twice to distribute the malware-infected Able Desktop chat application through a legitimate update mechanism. To carry out these attacks, the attackers again used the HyperBro backdoor, but replaced PlugX with Tmanager as a component for remote access.

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia | THE INDEPENDENT | Mongolian President Khaltmaa Battulga on Monday urged the public to better conserve water and electricity.

Battulga made the remarks after the Mongolian government on Sunday decided to write off payments for water, heat, electricity and waste for households and organizations (excluding governmental organizations, state and local owned entities, mining companies, wholesalers, retailers, and alcohol or tobacco producers) across the country from Dec. 1 to July 1, 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“I believe that the government’s decision is an important step in supporting people’s livelihood and activities of organizations,” Battulga said, urging the public not to waste water and electricity.

More than 890,000 households and 123,800 organizations can benefit from the write-off, according to official data.

According to the National Statistics Office, Mongolia, with a population of around 3.3 million, has more than 230,000 herder households with livestock nationwide, with the number of livestock animals surpassing 70 million by the end of2019.

As of Monday, Mongolia has reported 912 COVID-19 cases, including 478 local transmissions.

The Asian country’s nationwide lockdown, imposed on Nov. 12 after its first locally transmitted case was reported, expired on Dec. 1. It has extended the restrictive measures in Ulan Bator and the provinces of Selenge and Arkhangai until Dec. 14.

via Xinhua

New Delhi, (Prensa Latina) The Foreign Minister of India, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, and the Minister and Chief Cabinet Secretary of Mongolia, Luvsannamsrain Oyun-Erdene, chaired the seventh meeting of the Joint Cooperation Committee, which discussed joint development projects.

Both ministers exchanged views on possible cooperation in the fight against the pandemic, including the acquisition by Mongolia of a vaccine from India in the future, according to information published on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The progress of ongoing development partnership projects was reviewed during the meeting, including an oil refinery through an Indian credit line of 1.26 billion dollars.

They also welcomed the 65th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and highlighted that the relationship between both countries has strengthened in recent years.

The two ministers positively evaluated the coordination in the regional and multilateral forums and agreed to continue mutual support in the relevant international meetings.

India welcomed Mongolia's decision to join the International Solar Alliance and both parties agreed that this initiative will promote the use of clean energy in India, Mongolia and the world.

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ 808 thousand ha of land has been newly taken under special protection as a result of staged works, the Ministry of Environment and Protection reports. Within the framework of a project running by the Ministry of Environment and Tourism and the United Nations Development Programme Office in Mongolia, a goal was set to expand protected area system and take 940 thousand hectares of land under special protection and over 86 percent of the target fields or 808 thousand ha of land has been taken under special protection so far.

Specifically, Delgerekh Mountain located in Tosontsengel soum of Zavkhan aimag was taken under special protection in April this year while Khujirtiin-Ider River was taken under local special protection in October.

Furthermore, places including Doloonii khooloi, Edrengiin Nuruu, Tsagaan Dersnii Nuruu, Khuren tsav, Khongoriin Nuruu, Tsagaan-Uul Mountain, Shir bulagt, Zarmangiin khooloi located in Erdene soum and Gichgenii Nuruu, Bayantooroi in Tsogt soum in Gobi-Altai aimag as well as Bayantsagaanii Nuruu in Bayankhongor aimag have been taken under local special protection.

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has launched a $9 billion vaccine initiative—the Asia Pacific Vaccine Access Facility (APVAX)—offering rapid and equitable support to its developing members as they procure and deliver effective and safe coronavirus disease (COVID-19) vaccines.

“As ADB’s developing members prepare to vaccinate their people as soon as possible, they need financing to procure vaccines as well as appropriate plans and knowledge to be able to safely, equitably, and efficiently manage the vaccination process,” said ADB President Masatsugu Asakawa. “APVAX will play a critical role in helping our developing members meet these challenges, overcome the pandemic, and focus on economic recovery.”

More than 14.3 million positive cases have been identified in Asia and the Pacific, causing more than 200,000 deaths. As the pandemic persists, economic growth in developing Asia is projected to contract by 0.4% in 2020—the first regional gross domestic product contraction since the early 1960s.

Promoting safe, equitable, and effective access to vaccines is a top priority for ADB’s COVID-19 response efforts. Vaccination programs can break the chain of virus transmission, save lives, and mitigate the negative economic impacts of the pandemic by restoring confidence in people’s ability to work, travel, and socialize safely.

The APVAX provides a comprehensive framework and resource envelope for supporting developing Asia’s vaccine access, using two complementary components. The Rapid Response Component will provide timely support for critical vaccine diagnostics, procurement of vaccines, and transporting vaccines from the place of purchase to ADB’s developing members.

The Project Investment Component will support investments in systems for successful distribution, delivery, and administration of vaccines along with associated investments in building capacity, community outreach, and surveillance. This may include such areas as cold-chain storage and transportation, vehicles, distribution infrastructure, processing facilities, and other physical investments. The component may also be used to develop or expand vaccine manufacturing capacity in developing members.

ADB financing for vaccines will be provided in close coordination with other development partners including the World Bank Group, World Health Organization (WHO), COVID-19 Vaccines Global Access Facility (COVAX), GAVI, and bilateral and multilateral partners.

APVAX promotes safe and effective vaccines to be accessed in a fair manner. For a vaccine to be eligible for financing, it must meet one of three criteria. It must be procured via COVAX, prequalified by WHO, or authorized by a Stringent Regulatory Authority. Additional access criteria, such as a vaccination needs assessment, a vaccine allocation plan by the developing member, and a mechanism for effective coordination among development partners also help ensure that vaccine support under APVAX can be fairly and effectively implemented.

ADB is also making available a $500 million Vaccine Import Facility to support the efforts of its developing members to secure safe and effective vaccines, as well as the goods that support distribution and inoculation. The facility is part of ADB’s Trade and Supply Chain Finance Program. AAA-guarantees available through the program’s vaccine import facility will mitigate payment risks and facilitate import of these goods. This will employ the same eligibility criteria on vaccines as COVAX. Cofinancing with private sector partners could result in the Import Facility supporting $1 billion in vaccine and related imports within a year.

In April, ADB approved a $20 billion package to support its developing members in addressing the impacts of the pandemic and streamlined some procedures to deliver quicker and more flexible assistance. ADB has committed $14.9 billion in loans, grants, and technical assistance, including $9.9 billion in quick-disbursing budget support from the COVID-19 Pandemic Response Option (CPRO) and support for the private sector.

In November, ADB announced $20.3 million in additional technical assistance to establish systems to enable efficient and equitable distribution of vaccines across Asia and the Pacific.

ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.

Source: ADB