"Today, our country started exporting coal via the border point of Khangi after suspension of some time," Chimed Khurelbaatar, finance minister of Mongolia, said in a statement.

"That means Mongolia is currently exporting coal to China through a total of four border points, namely Gashuunsukhait, Shiveekhuren, Zamiin-Uud and Khangi," Khurelbaatar said.

The Mongolian government had suspended coal exports to China in February following the outbreak of COVID-19.

Coal is Mongolia's main export commodity. Mongolia exported a total of 36.4 million tons of coal in 2019, according to the country's Customs General Administration.

The landlocked country exported 2.9 million tons of coal to China from Jan. 1 to mid-March this year, down 47 percent from the same period last year, according to the Chinese Embassy in Mongolia. Enditem

2 people were cured of coronavirus in Mongolia, according to the Health Ministry.

Two patients with coronavirus have recovered in Ulaanbaatar and will be discharged from hospital in the coming days, Director of the National Research Center for Infectious Diseases D.Nyamhuu said.

"Once discharged from the hospital, all recovered patients will stay in self-isolation for 14 days," he added.

Mongolia confirmed 12 coronavirus cases, all imported.

A year ago, the UB City Administration reclaimed the 2.5 hectares land at the edge of Sukhbaatar Square which had been used as a car park in breach of a contract from the UB Construction Company.

“Despite the fact that the country is in the period of heightened state of readiness in prevention of COVID-19 pandemic, the company is operating normally. Since the beginning of the year, more than 2.2 million tons of coal have been extracted, 2.1 million tons have been loaded and around 800 thousand tons have been exported. Coal price is continuing to fall in the world market and we have considered this in advance and made a risk assessment,” said M.Amarbayar, Head of the Media and Public Relations Department of ETT.

One trillion dividends to be distributed to shareholders

"ETT" JSC will start distributing dividends starting from May 1, and the company is working to cooperate with government agencies and departments including Mongolian Central Securities Depository, the Financial Regulatory Commission, the State Bank, the Information Technology Center of Custom, Taxation and Finance to handle the distribution quickly and efficiently.

The total amount of dividends to be distributed in May is set to be MNT 1 trillion. Eighty-five percent of it or MNT 199 billion 700 million will be distributed to all shareholders of ETT JSC - citizens and entities.

The company have also signed cooperation agreements with about 30 broker-dealers who want to use the ETT application and open stock accounts.

Under the Law on Offences, anyone accused of violating transport restrictions and spreading disinformation about possible risks of disasters will face fines of MNT 150,000 and organizations, caught doing the same will be fined MNT 1,500,000. As of today, a total of eight people have been charged under the law.

Separately, under the Criminal Law, anyone who deliberately spreads fake news will face from MNT450,000 to MNT 1,300,000 or 240-720 hours of social works and imprisonment of 1-3 months.

The central bank announced on Monday that it would stop buying gold starting April 1, but didn’t explain the move. Analysts say Russia already has a lot of gold stashed in reserves and likely doesn’t need more.

Plus, with gold prices near a seven-year high and international investors clamoring for a safe haven, Russian dealers are probably eager to sell. Bullion has become an extremely popular investment in recent weeks as the coronavirus sows fear through financial markets, but some dealers are having a hard time sourcing gold bars.

“The central bank is now signaling to gold sellers that they should redirect their supplies externally,” said Dmitry Dolgin, ING Bank’s chief economist in Russia. “Global demand seems to be high.”

Worldwide panic over the coronavirus outbreak and a flood of stimulus by central banks has ignited demand for the metal. But even though there are literally thousands of tons of gold bars sitting in vaults around the world, it’s been hard to get metal when and where it’s needed. Gold is usually shipped on ordinary commercial flights, which are being canceled by the thousands.

More gold coming from Russia could ease tightness in the market. Suppliers may turn to chartered flights as a way to reach key buyers, said Eduard Rybkin, deputy head of the precious metals division at Lanta Bank in Moscow.

He said there’s demand from traditional buyers like London, but also places such as India, Turkey and Singapore.

Russia’s relentless gold buying in recent years has been a key pillar of support for the market, putting a floor under prices as investors ditched safe havens and bought riskier, higher-yielding assets. The bullion stockpile held by Russia’s central bank is valued at about $120 billion.

Gold accounts for about 20% of Russian international reserves, which is a high level historically and compared with other central banks.

“The central bank probably doesn’t want to increase gold’s share in reserves, while the size of reserves is falling,” said Tatiana Evdokimova, an analyst at Nordea Bank in Moscow.

The central bank said future decisions about its gold purchases will depend on the state of financial markets, according to a statement.

(By Yuliya Fedorinova, Elena Mazneva and Anya Andrianova)

Mongolia opened its Shiveekhuren border point on Monday, a week after the country resumed coal exports to China through Gasuunsukhait border point, Finance Minister Chimed Khurelbaatar said Monday.

Khurelbaatar said he expects to fully recover deliveries of coal to China soon.

The Mongolian government in February suspended coal exports to China in a bid to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in its country.

Mongolia exported 2.9 million tons of coals to China from Jan. 1 to mid-March this year, down 47 percent from the same period last year, according to the Chinese embassy in Mongolia