Coal export falls at major ports as China’s import slumps www.zgm.mn

With the impact of the new coronavirus outbreak, China’s coal import has declined, triggering Mongolia’s coal exports to drop sharply in the first quarter. Less than 100 trucks have been transporting coal daily through Gashuunsukhait-Gantsmod port since the Lunar New Year holiday in China, according to the port’s administration. Regularly, about 800-1,000 trucks deliver coal through the port; However, a maximum of 111 cars entered last Monday. The port administration also says it is taking longer for coal trucks to deliver coal through the port; However, a maximum of 111 cars entered last Monday. The port administration also says it is taking longer for coal trucks to deliver coal through the port; However, a maximum of 111 cars entered last Monday. The port administration also says it is taking longer for coal trucks to from Tavan Tolgoi residual exports through Gashuunsuhait-Gantsmod port. Last year, 56 percent of Mongolia’s total coal exports passed through the port. In the meantime, the coal export at Shiveekhuren-Sekhee border port has stopped since the cease of some ports due to the 2019-nCov outbreak. The port, which mainly exports the Nariinsukhait coal, transported 34 percent of Mongolia’s coal export last year. Coal exports in January decreased by 32.8 percent, to 658,400 tons year-on-year. Following China’s coal import decline, some of the domestic companies have temporarily stopped operating. Specifically, Mongolyn Alt (MAK) LLC has stopped shipping and dismissed its staff until March 2. The company plans to export seven million tons of coal this year, but it is likely to miss out, said Vice President of the MAK, Togt Galsan.

Ivanhoe’s giant Kamoa-Kakula copper project in DRC keeps getting bigger www.mining.com

Canada’s Ivanhoe Mines (TSX:IVN) has unveiled a fresh set of mind-boggling figures from its flagship copper project in the Democratic Republic of Congo, confirming that the already large asset has room to grow.

Consultation held between foreign ministries of Mongolia and Kuwait www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The second consultative meeting of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia and the State of Kuwait took place in Kuwait on February 4.

At the meeting co-chaired by D.Davaasuren, State Secretary at the Mongolian Foreign Ministry and Ali Suleiman Al Saeed, Assistant Foreign Minister for Asian Affairs at the Foreign Ministry of Kuwait, the sides thoroughly discussed the current state of bilateral relations and cooperation and exchanged views on the visits and events that are to take place between the two countries in the near future. The Mongolian side expressed its readiness to host the next meeting of the Mongolia-Kuwait Intergovernmental Commission.

The two sides talked about the progress of the construction of National Burn Center of Mongolia and Undurkhaan airport renovation that are underway with funding from the Kuwait Fund for Arab Economic Development and unanimously underlined that the countries have to start infrastructure and humanitarian projects crucial to the social and economic development of Mongolia.

They noted the importance of increasing the opportunities for expanding bilateral trade and economic cooperation, establishing direct cooperation between national chambers of commerce and industry, and deepening partnerships between private companies of the two countries. Also, Mongolia invited high-ranking officials of Kuwait and representatives of the country’s chamber of commerce and industry to the World Export Development Forum to be hosted by Mongolia in August 2020 under the auspices of the President of Mongolia.

Moreover, the sides stressed that the intensification of bilateral cooperation in tourism, culture, and education require attention from both countries and agreed to finalize and sign document on cultural cooperation program and an agreement on tourism cooperation in the near future.

Views were also exchanged on the possibilities of developing cooperation between the National University of Mongolia and Kuwait University, carrying out joint research projects, and giving Mongolian students scholarships to universities of Kuwait.

The sides then discussed regional and international issues of common interest such as expansion of cooperation with the United Nations and other regional and international organizations, in particular, the Gulf Cooperation Council.

On the same day, State Secretary D.Davaasuren met with Kuwait's Information Minister and State Minister for Youth H.E. Mohammad Abdullah Al-Jabri to discuss bilateral media cooperation.

They talked about organizing Mongolian cultural days in Kuwait on the occasion of the 45th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and Kuwait which falls this year and the Kuwaiti side said the Ministry of Information will provide full support in successfully organizing the event.

The sides emphasized that the journalist exchange program underway since 2018 has given a great opportunity to promote the two countries and agreed to continue it.

Japan Airlines and MIAT Mongolian Airlines Agree on Codeshare Partnership Effective March 31, 2020 www.press.jal.co.jp

Japan Airlines (JAL) and MIAT Mongolian Airlines (MIAT) today announced a codeshare agreement to expand both carrier’s international network between Mongolia and Japan. Reservations and ticket sales begin on March 24th, for travel from March 31, 2020.

The agreement will allow Japan Airlines to offer flights between Ulaanbaatar and two major cities in Japan, Tokyo-Narita and Osaka-Kansai.

At the same time, MIAT will start offering flights beyond Narita to Osaka Itami and Nagoya Chubu, in addition to five international destinations, namely Singapore, Melbourne, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi and Busan. Operations of codeshare flights are subject to regulatory approvals.

Battur Davaakhuu, President and CEO of MIAT Mongolian Airlines, said: “We are delighted to develop and grow our relationship with Japan Airlines with this codeshare arrangement. Through this cooperation, we will be able to provide travel options for our customers as well as inviting more travelers to experience untapped nature of Mongolia. We look forward to share Mongolian hospitality further and provide an authentic Mongolian experience for our customers. MIAT is offering more seamless one-stop connectivity between Mongolia to several major cities in Japan, Singapore and Australia through the expansion of its codeshare arrangement with Japan Airlines. We will look forward to the day when we can move ahead once more with further expansion - for the benefit of people throughout in this region”

Yuji Akasaka, President of Japan Airlines, said: “It is an honor to announce this agreement with MIAT Mongolian Airlines as this partnership will provide customers with convenient travel options between Japan and the capital of Mongolia. We look forward to a successful partnership that will contribute to increased traffic between the two countries.”

About MIAT Mongolian Airlines:
MIAT Mongolian Airlines (MIAT), the national flag-carrier of Mongolia, was founded in 1956 and is operating 11 scheduled international destinations (includes Seoul, Busan, Tokyo, Osaka, Beijing, Guangzhou, Bangkok, Hong Kong, Moscow, Berlin and Frankfurt) out of the capital city Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The core business activities comprise of passenger and cargo air transportation, engineering and maintenance services, air charter and ground handling services. Its fleet of six aircraft includes four Boeing 737-800 and two Boeing 767-300ER planes. MIAT is proud to become the first carrier in Mongolia to be awarded with 3 STAR rating by SKYTRAX and is committed to the highest standards of safety and has consistently passed all regulations and requirements from the Mongolian Civil Aviation Authority as well as from ICAO.

Corporate URL: www.miat.com
Press contact: zoljargal.bi@miat.com

About Japan Airlines:
Japan Airlines (JAL) was founded in 1951 and became the first international airline in Japan. A member of the oneworld® alliance, the airline reaches 407 airports in more than 60 countries and regions together with its codeshare partners with a modern fleet of 238 aircraft. Awarded as one of the most punctual major international airlines and a certified 5-Star Airline by Skytrax, JAL is committed to providing customers with the highest levels of flight safety and quality in every aspect of its service, and aims to become one of the most preferred and valued airlines in the world.

Corporate URL: www.jal.com
Press Contact: mediarelations.hdq@jal.com

Ulaanbaatar Railway JSC introducing paperless technology in freight transport service www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Ulaanbaatar Railway Joint Venture resolved to simultaneously use paper and paperless technologies in formulating transport documents of empty trains that will be sent to the Russian Federation. It was agreed during a regular meeting of a working groups of Ulaanbaatar Railway JSC and Russian Railways JSC for online exchange of information that took place in Ulaanbaatar city.

Green Pasture project incentivizes herders to adopt sustainable rangeland www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSMAE/ The Green Gold and Animal Health Project funded by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and XacBank are partnering with the Mongolian National Federation of Pasture User Groups (PUGs) in the implementation of Green Pasture Project-soft loan project in Chandmana soum of Hovd aimag.

The Project aims to promote responsible herding practices and reverse rangeland degradation through innovative financial incentives. To participate in the Green Pasture Project, herders are required to register with the “Responsible Nomads” Livestock Raw Material Traceability system developed by the Green Gold Animal Health Project of the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, and operated by the Mongolian National Federation of Pasture User Groups. Monitoring and compliance operations for the Green Pasture Project are conducted through this system. The Responsible Nomads code of practices and its traceability system aim to encourage best practices of nomadic livestock herding to maintain sustainable rangeland and livestock management.

Responsible Nomads employs six key indicators that herders must comply with to continue involvement in the Green Pasture Project. These include: responsible actions of herders, maintenance and improvement of rangeland health, keeping up to date with animal health services, ensuring animal welfare, promoting environmental stewardship, and traceability of livestock. Each of these indicators are meticulously measured for each herder through a mobile phone application, recorded within the Responsible Nomads database system. At the same time, the traceability system developed for Responsible Nomads provides end-customers with a guarantee that raw materials have been produced by nomadic herders who maintain responsible rangeland and herd management practices and care for the wildlife sharing the rangelands.

The Green Pasture Project, which benefits 97 herder households of Chandmana soum of Hovd aimag, saw promising results through the implementation process in 2019. The loan was successfully administered to all qualified participants and herders have largely complied with herd reduction requirements and sustainable rangeland management practices.

Green Gold and Animal Health Project has been operating in Chandmana soum of Hovd aimag since 2017. According to rangeland health monitoring system introduced with the support from the Project, the rangeland health has stabilized and heavily degraded rangelands showing signs of recovery in Chandmana soum. Herder families have been maintaining number of livestock at the same level in the past three years to manage grazing pressure and to avoid depleting the recovery capacity of rangelands heavily overgrazed.

Mongolian National Federation of PUGs and the Green Pasture Project team are now considering how to move forward in 2020 and beyond. The Responsible Nomads traceability system shows incredible promise in promoting and monitoring sustainable rangeland and livestock management. Managers will continue to monitor the progress through 2020 and will explore how the financial incentives could be utilized in the future.

Ts. Anand
The Mongolian National Federation of Pasture User Groups

Mongolia to ban poultry meat import www.zgm.mn

National emergency management Agency reported that the situation becomes worse due to positive cases of coronavirus soars and death toll increases by 60 in a day. In the meantime, the bird flu (H5N1) outbreak confirmed in Hubei, China. In this regard, some decision has been made, including the ban on poultry meat import, said the spokesman. The commission also discussed the distribution of medicines and medical devices in the state reserve. “The Ministry of Finance will consolidate the extra profit into its budget and make its decisions. We recently negotiated the draft and will submit it to the State Special Commission tomorrow morning. The quarantine regime is ongoing throughout the country. But we need to separate the incoming citizens at the border. According to the Minister of Health, one citizen was separated to Darkhan and it has not been confirmed as coronavirus yet,” said Head of the National Emergency Management Agency of Mongolia (NEMA), Major-General Badral.T. Although the flow of residents to China has diminished, however, our incoming population. The officials also said that about 300 citizens are coming to Mongolia as of today, “The lowest cost and most affordable variant is to separate any public hospital for this disease.”

Gold purchase rises fivefold in January www.zgm.mn

In the first month of 2020, the Bank of Mongolia (BoM) purchased 3.5 tons of gold, increasing roughly five times the level of a year earlier, the central bank said. In January, gold price stood at MNT 137,200 per gram. The precious metal purchase reached 597 kg during the same period of 2019. However, gold purchase totaled 15.2 tons last year, decreasing by 30 percent year-on-year. In the last seven years, gold has contributed over MNT 3.3 billion to the foreign exchange reserves. This number expected to reach USD 600-700 million this year, according to analysts. The 2.5 percent of discounted royalty on gold mining, which had become effective in 2012, expired on January 1, 2019. From then on, 5 to 10 percent royalty taxes on gold mining have been imposed on miners, driving in the central bank’s gold purchase down 71.6 percent year-on-year from January to March. Precious metals purchased in January included 1,747 kg of silver and 1,810 kg of gold. In terms of the location, the BoM’s branch in Darkhan-Uul province purchased 61 kg of precious metal, and the branch in Bayankhongor province bought 72 kg of precious metal.

Last bus from China: 300 evacuated www.news.mn

Earlier yesterday (5 February), Mongolia evacuated more than 300 people from Erenhot, which is located in northern China. As we have reported, the government in Ulaanbaatar has closed border with its southern neighbour until 2 March, however, three buses evacuating Mongolian citizens entered the Zamyn-Uud Border Crossing point at 11.00 a.m. The evacuation was organized by the Consulate of Mongolia in Erenhot.

Does Mongolia Energy Corporation Limited's (HKG:276) CEO Pay Matter? www.finance.yahoo.com

In 2012 Yvette Ong was appointed CEO of Mongolia Energy Corporation Limited (HKG:276). First, this article will compare CEO compensation with compensation at similar sized companies. Then we'll look at a snap shot of the business growth. And finally we will reflect on how common stockholders have fared in the last few years, as a secondary measure of performance. The aim of all this is to consider the appropriateness of CEO pay levels.

How Does Yvette Ong's Compensation Compare With Similar Sized Companies?
Our data indicates that Mongolia Energy Corporation Limited is worth HK$151m, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as HK$7.6m for the year to March 2019. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth noting the salary is lower, valued at HK$4.4m. We took a group of companies with market capitalizations below HK$1.6b, and calculated the median CEO total compensation to be HK$1.8m.

As you can see, Yvette Ong is paid more than the median CEO pay at companies of a similar size, in the same market. However, this does not necessarily mean Mongolia Energy Corporation Limited is paying too much. We can better assess whether the pay is overly generous by looking into the underlying business performance.

Is Mongolia Energy Corporation Limited Growing?
Mongolia Energy Corporation Limited has increased its earnings per share (EPS) by an average of 53% a year, over the last three years (using a line of best fit). Its revenue is up 62% over last year.

Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. It's great to see that revenue growth is strong, too. These metrics suggest the business is growing strongly. Although we don't have analyst forecasts you might want to assess this data-rich visualization of earnings, revenue and cash flow.

Has Mongolia Energy Corporation Limited Been A Good Investment?
With a three year total loss of 71%, Mongolia Energy Corporation Limited would certainly have some dissatisfied shareholders. So shareholders would probably think the company shouldn't be too generous with CEO compensation.

In Summary...
We examined the amount Mongolia Energy Corporation Limited pays its CEO, and compared it to the amount paid by similar sized companies. We found that it pays well over the median amount paid in the benchmark group.

However, the earnings per share growth over three years is certainly impressive. Having said that, shareholders may be disappointed with the weak returns over the last three years. Considering the per share profit growth, but keeping in mind the weak returns, we'd need more time to form a view on CEO compensation. Shareholders may want to check for free if Mongolia Energy insiders are buying or selling shares.

Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies.

If you spot an error that warrants correction, please contact the editor at editorial-team@simplywallst.com. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. Simply Wall St has no position in the stocks mentioned.

We aim to bring you long-term focused research analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Thank you for reading.