Mongolia: Criminalization of defamation is another disturbing attack on media freedom, threatening anti-corruption efforts www.transparency.org

Transparency International and ARTICLE 19 today called on the Mongolian government to take urgent legislative action to address an increasingly dangerous environment for independent media in the country.

In January, Article 13.14 of the Mongolian Criminal Code came into effect. This provision stipulates that disseminating false information can be punished by fines equivalent to approximately €300 - €900 Euros, 240 - 720 hours of community service, or restriction of the right to travel for one to three months.

Mongolian press freedom and anti-corruption activists are concerned that the law does not define the term ‘false information’. In practice, they say, police, prosecutors and judges involved in criminal defamation cases are not considering the accuracy of information reported in the media or proving that it is false when charging people under the law.

Article 13.14 should be urgently repealed, the organisations said.

Previously in Mongolia, defamation cases were brought under Article 6.21 of the Law on Administrative Offences. In the first few months of this law coming into effect in late 2017, over 100 journalists were charged, many in cases brought by politicians.

“Unfortunately, Mongolian public figures do not seem to accept that tolerance of criticism and accountability for their actions is part of the job,” said Ilham Mohammed, Asia Pacific regional advisor at Transparency International. “Previous defamation laws were widely used by politicians and business groups to silence critical voices, and now harsher, criminal legislation looks set to continue that trend with potentially dire consequences for independent media voices in Mongolia.”

In addition, Mongolia's 2017 law on state and official secrets allows virtually all information to be classified as a state or official secret, leading in some cases to the prosecution of journalists exposing corruption. The country's Law on Access to Information has not yet been fully implemented, almost a decade after being passed into law.

Furthermore, without an urgent change in course, legislation governing non-profit organisations expected to take effect in May 2020 will impose taxes on non-profits and subject them to government approval.

Transparency International and ARTICLE 19 urged Mongolia’s leaders to recognize that access to information, freedom of association, and free and independent media are fundamental pillars of any democracy and essential for combatting corruption. The government of Mongolia must ensure that its citizens are able to express themselves in line with rights guaranteed by the country’s constitution.

ENDS

Notes to editors

Anti-corruption and media freedom organisations in Mongolia include:

Transparency International Mongolia

www.transparency.mn ; info@transparency.mn

Globe International Center

globeinter.org.mn ; globenews@globeinter.org.mn

For any press enquiries please contact
Transparency International press office
T: +49 30 34 38 20 666
E: press@transparency.org

Mining companies encounter stock decline www.zgm.mn

According to the trade performance index, MSE listed mining companies have faced a sharp decrease and inactive in share price during the period of border ban due to COVID-19. In particular, MSE tier-I listed Tavan Tolgoi JSC’s share price has been lowered by 35.3 percent within nearly three months, and market value lessened by MNT 121.2 billion. During the same period, the shares of MSE tier-II listed Aduun Chuluun JSC decreased by 26.4 percent, and the market capitalization dwindled by MNT 1.2 billion. However, Bayanteeg JSC’s shares declined by 12.2 percent and were traded only six times on MSE since February, while Berkh Uul JSC’s shares were traded only once during active trading froze. In addition, the construction industry is suffering badly from the looming recession either. In terms of MSE tier-II listed Arig gal JSC, the share price dropped by 9.3 percent since the border restriction. According to the Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MNCCI) survey, light industry companies are next in line which revenues falling by more than 40 percent.

MIAT to evacuate Mongolians from seven countries www.news.mn

Since the coronavirus outbreak began, Mongolia has evacuated 4300 of its citizens from pandemic-hit countries. Despite difficulties, such as air crews having to go into quarantine along with the people they have flown home, the evacuation flights are to continue. MIAT, Mongolian Airlines will fly to the South Korean tomorrow (30 April) to evacuate 273 its nationals. Seoul’s Incheon International Airport has developed into a transport hub for evacuation flights in the Asia-Pacific region; tomorrow’s evacuees have gathered from seven countries. The evacuation planes will fly to Seoul again on 1 May and to Frankfurt on 2 May. The second flight to the S.Korean capital will bring back Mongolians who have been in detention centres for overstaying their visas as well as illegal workers.

Foreign residents can receive 100,000-yen handout www.nhk.or.jp

Foreign residents who are listed on the country’s Basic Resident Register as of April 27th and have carried a visa for more than three months are eligible for the 100,000 yen handout the government is providing for all residents as part of its coronavirus economic response package.
How to apply
Applications and payments will be made without human contact to prevent infections and minimize clerical work at municipal offices.

Mongolia has 425 ventilators available for COVID-19 health emergency www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. At its plenary session held last week, the parliament held a discussion on the general financing agreement for COVID-19 emergency response project between Mongolia and the Asian Development Bank (ADB).

Coronavirus cases in US exceed one million www.nhk.or.jp

There are now more than one million cases of the new coronavirus in the United States. The world's largest economy is considering when and how to ease lockdowns and resume economic activity.

9,890 Mongolians abroad submit requests to return home www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. So far, 9,890 Mongolian citizens have submitted their request to return to their home country to the Government and the State Emergency Commission, reports U.Enkhtuvshin, Head of the State Emergency Commission and Deputy Prime Minister of Mongolia on April 28.

The LNG market is “IMPLODING” www.rt.com

While everyone is understandably watching the meltdown in the crude oil market, the global market for natural gas is also cratering.
At least 20 cargoes of US liquefied natural gas (LNG) have been cancelled by buyers in Asia and Europe, according to Reuters. The global pandemic and the unfolding economic crisis have slashed demand for gas worldwide. Cheniere Energy, one of the main exporters of US LNG, has seen an estimated 10 cargoes cancelled by buyers halfway around the world, Reuters said.

The price for LNG in Asia was already crashing before the pandemic, owing to a substantial increase in supply last year. Prices for LNG in Asia for June delivery have recently traded at $2/MMBtu (million British Thurmal Units), only slightly higher than Henry Hub prices in the US.

As recently as October, LNG prices in Asia traded at just under $7/MMBtu.

The problem for American gas exporters is that after factoring in the cost of liquefaction and transportation, gas breakeven prices for delivering to Asia are around $5.56/MMBtu, according to Reuters. But prices are trading at less than half of those levels.

“The financial prospects for [LNG] – once one of the globe’s hottest energy commodities – seem to be imploding before our eyes,” Clark Williams-Derry wrote in a new report for the Institute for Energy Economics and Financial Analysis (IEEFA). He noted that LNG prices in the fall of 2018 were at around $12/MMBtu.

The oil majors have made large bets on LNG in recent years. Royal Dutch Shell spent more than $50 billion to buy BG Group in 2015. The move back then was made with an eye on surging demand for natural gas. “We will now be able to shape a simpler, leaner, more competitive company, focusing on our core expertise in deep water and LNG,” Shell’s CEO Ben van Beurden said after closing on the acquisition of BG Group more than four years ago.

The deal remade Shell into one of the largest traders of LNG on the planet. Several other oil majors – Total SA, ExxonMobil and Chevron, for instance – have also made massive bets on LNG.

LNG is now arguably getting hit just as hard as crude oil from the pandemic and the global slowdown. A series of high-profile investment delays or cancellations have occurred in the past month. ExxonMobil, for instance, delayed a final investment decision on a large LNG export project in Mozambique in early April.

However, the industry faced troubled economics even before the current crisis. “Companies pinned the delays on the novel coronavirus, while ignoring the fact that LNG prices were already deflating long before the worst impacts of the pandemic were being felt,” Clark Williams-Derry wrote in the IEEFA report. He wrote that what was striking was the fact that companies of varying sizes and corporate structures were cancelling decisions – speculative startups, but also state-owned giants and publicly-traded supermajors.

Delayed and cancelled cargoes could ripple back up to the upstream sector. The US natural gas industry was also facing problems heading into 2020 because of oversupply. Exports may not provide the demand pull that it once did for gas drillers. Henry Hub prices are stuck at $1.80/MMBtu.

Ironically, however, the share prices of gas drillers have rebounded in recent weeks. Pittsburgh-based EQT has seen its share price double since March, for example. There are a few reasons for this. The Federal Reserve has funneled trillions of dollars into the financial sector, which has re-inflated financial assets of all types. Investors also seem to be trying to “buy the dip.”

But industry analysts are also predicting that a huge shortfall in gas production in the Permian will boost prices by next year. Goldman Sachs says that gas will jump to $3.25/MMBtu in 2021.

For now though, the economics for LNG are pretty dismal. “The LNG industry entered today’s crisis on shaky footing. And now that the economic slowdown is in full swing, all previous LNG supply and demand projections have been rendered moot, and all crystal balls remain cloudy,” Williams-Derry concluded. “In that context, delay is a smart decision.”

This article was originally published on Oilprice.com

Record number of independents to run for parliament www.news.mn

Mongolia will hold its parliamentary election on 24 June. This year, a record 208 independent candidates have registered to run for seats in the State Great Khural, reported the National Audit Office.For example, former Finance Minister S.Bayartsogt, former MP N.Nomtoibayar and lawyer J.Erkhembaatar are nominated independently to parliament election.

Mongolia cancels Tavan Tolgoi’s $1 billion IPO plan www.mining.com

Mongolia has cancelled an executive order to fund its giant Tavan Tolgoi coal project through an international initial public offering (IPO), citing “political distortions” and the current dire state of global financial markets.