Mongolia reports 315 negative tests for COVID-19, two recoveries www.xinhuanet.com

June 11 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia conducted 315 tests for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours and the results are all negative, the country's National Center for Communicable Disease (NCCD) said Thursday.

China-Mongolia border port sees surge in China-Europe freight trains www.bignewsnetwork.com

HOHHOT, June 11 (Xinhua) -- A total of 810 China-Europe freight trains passed through the border port of Erenhot in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region between Jan. 1 and June 9 of this year, an increase of 23.7 percent year on year, according to the local railway operator.

USD 1 million aid to the U.S. to be delivered on June 21 www.montsame.mn

At its meeting held on June 11, the State Emergency Commission made a decision to deliver the aid of USD 1 million from Mongolia to the United States on June 21.

258 Mongolian nationals return from Japan www.montsame.mn

A charter flight, bringing 258 Mongolian nationals from Japan, has landed today at 08:25 pm at Chinggis Khaan International Airport in Ulaanbaatar.

Double-deckers to hit the streets of UB www.news.mn

Commuters in the Mongolian capital face traffic congestion daily. Therefore, the Ulaanbaatar City Administration has bought 36 electric buses and 10 double-deckers with loans from the Chinese Development Bank, the Mongolian Development Bank, the City Budget and the Third Bus Service. In addition, the city has bought 15 electric bus charger units and four battery charging stations.

Mongolia reports 358 negative tests for COVID-19, 2 more recoveries www.xinhuanet.com

June 10 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia conducted 358 tests for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours and the results were all negative, the country's National Center for Communicable Disease (NCCD) said Wednesday.

175 Mongolians return from Kazakhstan www.montsame.mn

A charter flight from Nur-sultan, Kazakhstan with 175 passengers aboard landed just recently at 7 PM today, June 10, at the Chinggis Khaan International Airport in Ulaanbaatar.

AmCham Mongolia discusses Economic Outlook of Post-Election Mongolia www.montsame.mn

The American Chamber of Commerce in Mongolia (AmCham Mongolia) organized its June Online Monthly Meeting on Economic Outlook of Post-Election Mongolia. The panelists were Andrei Mikhnev, Country Manager of the World Bank, D.Enkhtuvshin, Vice President of MCS Holding, A.Bilguun, Board Member of the Mongolian National Mining Association, and Dr. Ch.Khashchuluun, an Independent Economist. Around 70 attendees participated in the online discussion representing AmCham member companies, and domestic and international businesses.

In his opening remarks, Jay Liotta, Chairman of AmCham Mongolia, asked How quickly Mongolia can recover from the impacts of COVID-19 on the Economy? Public health policies dominate the Economic recovery program, and while positive health impacts are wonderful, it can be devastating to an economic situation. Mongolia’s Economy has contracted by 10.7%. The nation’s payment balance showed a deficit of 665 million USD, deteriorating by almost one billion USD compared to a surplus of 322 million dollars the same period last year. Fitch credit ratings perceive that the Mongolian economy will rebound rapidly from the temporary shock of COVID-19 to a 7.9% GDP growth in 2021. It also reported that Mongolia’s credit ratings would remain “B,” and the outlook of the nation remains stable. Yet we have a trade deficit of 389.6 million USD. Major exports fell sharply due to border restrictions. Coal exports at the end of May were 2.6 times lower than 2019, and investors and lenders remain hesitant to put their time and capital into Mongolia as they will have to cover added risks and costs.

The foreign direct investment totaled 481.4 million USD, which is 20% lower than the same period last year. As of the first quarter of 2020, the Bank of Mongolia emphasized more than 90% of the foreign direct investment was related to the OT project. So how realistic is a quick recovery, and how much is within Mongolia’s power? Will the next parliament care about foreign direct investment and stand against state-owned businesses driving a state-planned economy?

Andrei Mikhnev, Country Manager of the World Bank, emphasized that the Covid-19 is a significant factor impacting the Economy in Mongolia, not so much the elections. June issue of the Global Economic Prospects, a semi-annual publication from the World Bank shows a -0.5% to -2.6% growth forecast for Mongolia. The situation will worsen if the newly elected parliament won’t take adequate measures to address declining exchange reserves in Mongolia, extensive intervention to support the national currency, management of public and private debt. Finally, Mongolia needs to closely monitor the key commodities and its prices to continue to enjoy the benefits of its vast natural resources and maintain the growth we have seen since 2017. The new government’s major challenge will be to build the private sector-led strong Economy that is transparent and encourages broader participation of businesses.

A.Bilguun highlighted the potential of growth in gold exploration due to recent discoveries of new deposits. The mineral sector has a competitive advantage in global and regional markets and should be treated as such.

D.Enkhtuvshin emphasized that the development of mega-projects becomes challenging once the government starts to get involved and that Mongolia needs to re-think the degree to which the government should partner with private businesses after the elections.

Finally, the discussion ended on a hopeful note from Dr. Ch.Khashchuluun, who stressed that the advantage of a small, mobile economy is that Mongolia has the potential to rebound quickly in the second half of the year given the newly-elected government implements adequate measures. The new government’s top priority will be to develop the economic recovery plan.

Following the panel discussion, the panelists took part in the Q&A session and answered the virtual audience’s questions. In conclusion, AmCham and the panelists urged for a carefully constructed multi-step economic recovery program from the government.

source: AmCham Mongolia

Mongolian-Russian Treaty on Comprehensive Strategic Partnership submitted to the State Duma www.montsame.mn

A treaty between Mongolia and the Russian Federation on Friendly Relations and Comprehensive Strategic Partnership was signed between the heads of the two countries on September 3, 2019 during the state visit of President of Russian Federation Vladimir Putin to Mongolia at the invitation of President Kh.Battulga.

World Bank: Mongolia’s economy may shrink by 0.5 percent in 2020 www.zgm.mn

World Bank estimates that Mongolia’s economic outlook to shrink by 0.5 percent in 2020. As the pandemic spreads around the world and the quarantine lasted longer than originally expected, it was decided to reduce the forecast by six percentage points. However, economic growth is predicted to stand at 4.9 percent next year. Capital flows were disrupted and borrowing costs increased. High debt levels are a major challenge for Mongolia. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) also cut its outlook and released a new estimate in April, highlighting Mongolia’s economy to grow 2.1 percent this year. Moreover, the global economy is on track to shrink by 5.2 percent this year amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the deepest recession since the Second World War, the World Bank Group said in its latest Global Economic Prospects released Monday. Particularly, the economies of developing countries are expected to diminish for the first time in 60 years. Over 90 percent of the world’s GDP is expected to fall. The global economy is expected to lessen by 8 percent this year if the quarantine regime continues for a long time without limiting the spread of COVID-19. Estimates show that Mongolia’s economy will weaken by 4 percent if the quarantine regime is eased and economic communications are normalized. Despite the positive estimation of the economic outlook, the pandemic is causing damage twofold from the 2009 crisis.