Areas to be newly added to the State Special Protected Area cover 13 soums of six aimags. As the areas are taken under special protection, the total size of protected area will be expanded with 1,298,047 hectares (or 0.83 percent). As a result, the total special protected area will make up 32,759,268 hectares or 20.94 percent of total territory of Mongolia.

For instance, Onon Balj National Park will be expanded with some parts of Dadal and Binder soums of Khentii aimag. Develiin Aral nature reserve will be expanded with Lake Achit which is on the border of Uvs and Bayan-Ulgii aimags and classified as national park. Moreover, Khom Steppe in Durvuljin soum of Zavkhan aimag and Gutain Davaa-Khumuul riverhead in Batshireet and Binder soum of Khentii aimag are being taken under special protection in classification of ‘national complex area'.

Interestingly, 1 of the 23 mining licenses were held by ‘Mongol Gazar” LLC which is owned by businessman Ts.Myanganbayar. The licenses cover an area of over 8400 hectares in the Tsenkher Soum of Arkhangai Province.

If the companies do not fulfill their obligations the government will revoke their permits.

Khuvsgul Lake holds 70 percent of Mongolian pure water reserves and is one of the 17 oldest lakes in the world. It is 1,645 metres (5,397 feet) above sea level, 136 kilometres (85 miles) long and 262 metres (860 feet) deep.

Ger and chalet camps have increased around the lake due to the sharp rise of local and foreign tourists. In 2013, Khuvsgul Lake received 23000 tourists – within five years this had tripled to 120000. Currently, 129 legal entities control tourism activity in the area; 160 of the facilities they run are unauthorized, officials said.

Mongolia is preparing for the 2020 Census. According to the National Statistics Office (NSO), the census will be conducted online and using conventional questionnaires. Officials used mobile phone numbers for the counting and registration process during an experimental dummy-run census which was conducted in January 2018. The trial census involved 10 percent of population in the 5th Khoroo of Bayanzurkh District, the 15th Khoroo of the Khan-Uul District, the 6th Khoroo of the Songinkhairkhan District – all located in the capital Ulaanbaatar and the Dornod Province.

The regular nationwide census will start at midnight of Jan 8 2020 and will run for seven days. The final results of the census will be announced in June of the same year.

The Statistical Law of Mongolia states that a national census will be conducted every 10 years. Mongolia conducted its first population census in 1918 followed by 1935, 1944, 1956, 1963, 1969, 1979, 1989 and 2000. The first census of the 21st century was conducted in 2010.

Trade revenue totaled MNT 10.8 trillion in the first half of 2019
In particular, trade revenue totaled MNT 10.8 trillion in the first half of this year, up 23.1 percent over the same period of last year. The retail sector, particularly, online retailing is expanding its scale in the market.

Following the downturn in mining commodity prices, the hospitality industry, especially the foodservice revenue drops. However, it increases as coal prices improve. For example, in the first half of this year, the catering industry’s income reached MNT 217.3 billion, up by 15.6 percent compared to the same period of the previous year. Also, the restaurant revenue grew by MNT 22.6 billion in the reporting period, triggering the GDP to increase.

The industry revenue for hotels rose 40.7 percent, to MNT 66.4 billion in the second quarter of 2019. The number of visitors reached 372,000, up by 70,000 over the previous year. There has been a growth in the hospitality industry in 2018, and this has also shown an increase, supporting the economy.

DR is a tool that allows foreign investors to buy shares in another country’s stock exchanges. In other words, it is a type of transferable financial security that is traded on a local stock exchange but represents a security, usually in the form of equity, that is issued by a foreign publicly listed company.

LendMN is the first Mongolian FinTech company that provides an opportunity for its users to obtain quick loans without collaterals using a mobile application powered by Artificial Intelligence-based credit scoring. The company currently disburses more than 2,500 loans per day.

Compared to the Q4 of 2018, the number of customers increased by 28 percent, the number of loans disbursed improved by 40 percent, the number of loans disbursed drew by 37 percent, and the amount of loan portfolio increased by 60 percent in the first quarter of 2019.

The company distributed 800 million shares in the domestic market. Shareholders own 600 million or 75 percent of the total shares, 200 million or 25 percent are owned by 4,000 small shareholders.

AND Global is an origin company of And Systems LLC and LendMN NBFI JSC, which is responsible for the Group’s investment, strategy, and management. And Global company has attracted USD 5 million from domestic and Asian investors, and the company’s market value has reached USD 30.4 million. Also, the LendMN model is about to be developed in the Philippines in Southeast Asia, Indonesia, and Japan.

The clinic signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to provide international medical care and build cooperative relations with two Mongolian medical institutions, one education agency, and one medical tourism company in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Thursday.

The Korean clinic said the latest MOU would elevate its existing relations with Mongolian institutions to a strategic partnership to collaborate with them for joint overseas business.

Mongolia is one of the targets to bring international patients for medical institutions in Busan, according to Kim Byoung Joon Ledas Varicose Vein Clinic. The increased flights connecting Seoul and Ulaanbaatar shows that Mongolia is the blue ocean for Korean hospitals’ overseas business, the clinic said.

“By building a strategic partnership with medical institutions in Mogolia, we will keep expanding our presence in the overseas medical market,” said Kim Byoung-joon, director of the clinic.

Kim Byoung Joon Ledas Varicose Vein Clinic will expand overseas business not only in Mongolia but around the world, and seek a joint business opportunity with local companies to vitalize the local economy and create jobs, he added.

In his speech, he said, “Mongolia holds aspiration to actively partake in the activities of the Boao Forum for Asia, aimed at deepening economic-related information sharing and inter-correlated actions among Asian countries. Furthermore, Mongolia is hosting the event within the framework of the 70th anniversary of the diplomatic relations between Mongolia and China.”

Minister of Foreign Affairs D.Tsogtbaatar, Chairman of Boao Forum for Asia Ban Ki-moon, Executive Secretary of the UN ESCAP Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana, Secretary-General of BFA Li Baodong and other delegates delivered remarks at the opening ceremony. The conference with a theme “Concerted Action for Common Development in the New Era” has brought together around 300 public and private delegations from more than 10 countries, such as Mongolia, China, South Korea, and Pakistan. The interactive parallel discussions will be held under topics such as, “Investment and business opportunities of Mongolia”, “New direction: Aligning with ‘Belt and Road’ & ‘Development Road’”, “Connectivity: Expanding horizons into regional cooperation”, and “Common goal: Green development”.

Ms G.Solongo is a Mongolian national with considerable experience in the resources sector across a range of commodities including copper, gold, coal, iron and hydrocarbons. G.Solongo is an executive at boutique Mongolian investment firm Garrison Capital Development (GCD).

GCD is an established and successful venture capital firm that specializes in marketing and acquiring exploration and development assets, in the resource sector, and managing these assets through the developmental stages onto production. Ms G.Solongo currently acts as an advisor and executive assistant to the Chairman of Steppe Gold, a Mongolian precious metals company listed on the TSX.

Prior to joining GCD, Ms G.Solongo was Head of Property Management at Mongolian Properties LLC. Mongolian Properties LLC is one of the leading real estate developers in Mongolia. Ms G.Solongo graduated from Columbia College in Denver, Colorado with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and is fluent in English. (GlobeNewswire)