Mongolia celebrates World Book Day www.xinhuanet.com

ULAN BATOR, April 23 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia held various activities to celebrate the annual World Book Day which falls on Tuesday.

Blast at Inner Mongolia Chemical Plant Kills 3 www.nytimes.com

SHANGHAI/SINGAPORE — Three people were killed in an explosion at a privately owned chemical plant in China's Inner Mongolia region, the official Xinhua News Agency reported on Wednesday.

Russia-Mongolia trade turnover expanded www.rusexporter.com

For the first 11 months of 2018, Russia-Mongolia Trade Turnover amounted to $1.4 bn and went up by 18% compared to the same period of 2017.

The tale of the fountain and the car park www.news.mn

Sukhbaatar Square is the veritable heart, not only of the capital Ulaanbaatar, but of the whole of Mongolia. It is the site of “point zero” from where all distances are measured, the equestrian statue of D.Sukhbaatar, the founder of the modern Mongolian state – in the past his mausoleum was also here – and is dominated by the State Palace, with its imposing statue of Chinggis Khaan. It is here that official visitors are brought, it is here that the New Year is rung in, and it is here that school children, newly-weds and young soldiers come to pay homage to the great khaan and celebrate, simply, ‘being Mongolian.’

Exxon is helping China move away from coal www.cnn.com

New York (CNN Business) China is turning to ExxonMobil to help meet its insatiable appetite for cleaner energy as the country moves away from coal.

Despite lingering trade tensions between Washington and Beijing, Exxon (XOM) on Monday announced a 20-year agreement to send liquefied natural gas to China.
The deal calls for China's Zhejiang Provincial Energy Group to purchase 1 million metric tons of LNG per year from Exxon, America's largest energy company. Exxon did not say whether the LNG, which is super-cooled natural gas that can be shipped, will come from the United States or one of its overseas projects.
The timing of the agreement is notable: China imposed a 10% tariff on US LNG in September as part of the trade war between the world's two biggest economies. The tariff remains in place even as tensions have cooled and officials try to forge a breakthrough agreement.

Even though the purchase size is relatively small, Exxon hailed the LNG deal as an "important milestone," and the company emphasized its "long-term commitment to China."
"The new Exxon contract is more significant because of the buyer than the volume," said Ira Joseph, global head of gas and power analytics at S&P Global Platts.
As of mid-March, just one LNG vessel that left the United States in 2019 went to China, according to Reuters shipping data.
Able buyer, well-supplied seller
If not for the trade war, the United States and China would seem to be a perfect fit.
The shale boom has created an abundance of natural gas in the United States. There's so much natural gas, in fact, that American companies are scrambling to build more than two dozen facilities that can export LNG.

The United States is the world's fastest growing exporter of LNG. It's already the No. 3 LNG producer, behind only Qatar and Australia. By 2022, the United States could be No. 1, according to Platts.
China, meanwhile, is the world's fastest-growing importer of LNG. The cleaner-burning fossil fuel is gaining market share in China as the country shuts down older coal plants that have contributed to pollution.
"By substituting coal for LNG, they are trying to help alleviate the environmental problems they've had," said Joseph.
China is also leaning heavily on solar and wind power as cleaner, and sometimes cheaper, alternatives to coal.
Exxon's LNG ambitions at home and abroad
Exxon first announced last year that it had reached a framework agreement to sell LNG to Zhejiang. Even after the deal became official Monday, though, the company declined to say where the LNG will come from.
Exxon can source the LNG from one of several different projects that are at varying stages of development.
While Exxon doesn't produce LNG in the United States right now, that will change soon.
In February, Exxon and its partner Qatar Petroleum announced plans to proceed with Golden Pass LNG, an export project located in Sabine Pass, Texas. The $10 billion project, slated for completion in 2024, is expected to eventually have the ability to export about 16 million tons of LNG each year.

Exxon also has LNG projects in Australia, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea and Qatar, according to the company's latest annual report.
The Papua New Guinea LNG project announced a separate deal with a Chinese company earlier this month. Unipec Singapore, a unit of China's Sinopec, has agreed to purchase almost half a million tons of LNG a year from the Papua New Guinea project.
Off-take agreements, like the one announced on Monday, are typically supplied by LNG projects that are still in development.
"It's safe to say it will be from one of the projects that have not yet materialized," said Pavel Molchanov, an energy analyst at Raymond James.,
Beyond the United States, China has turned to Australia and Qatar to meet its LNG needs.
"From the standpoint of Chinese importers, it makes no difference where it comes from," said Molchanov.

The Institute of Export & International Trade Doing Business in Mongolia Guide www.export.org.uk

Established in 1935, the Institute of Export & International Trade (IOE&IT www.export.org.uk) is the UK's professional membership body representing and supporting the interests of everyone involved in importing, exporting and international trade. Offering a unique range of individual and business membership benefits and a world-renowned suite of qualifications and training, the IOE&IT is the leading authority in best practice and competence for businesses trading globally.

The IOE&IT works with British and foreign Embassies, High Commissions, international Chambers of Commerce and trade associations throughout the world. Our work helps to identify the most efficient ways for British companies to trade with and invest in opportunity-rich overseas markets. During the last ten years the IOE&IT team has worked with the British Governments Department for International Trade (DIT – formerly known as UK Trade & Investment - UKTI) on 150+ overseas market and sector-specific trade promotion campaigns and produces market-specific print and digital-based reports, as well as the multi- format, internationally recognised ‘Doing Business Guide’ series. All of which are designed to advise and assist UK companies looking to trade with and invest in overseas markets. The reports and guides are then distributed free of charge across the UK and throughout the world via the IOE&IT’s global distribution networks.

THE IOE&IT “DOING BUSINESS IN MONGOLIA GUIDE” – PROJECT PARTNERS AND CONTENT CONTRIBUTORS

Department for International Trade Mongolia (DIT Mongolia) – DIT Mongolia is the British Government Department that helps UK-based companies succeed in the global economy. DIT Mongolia is based at the British Embassy in Ulaanbaatar. DIT Mongolia helps companies in the UK increase their competitiveness through overseas trade in Mongolia. DIT also offers expertise and contacts through its extensive network of specialists in the UK, and in British Embassies, High Commissions and other diplomatic offices around the world. DIT provide companies with the tools they require to be competitive on the world stage. For more information please visit the DIT Mongolia website www.gov.uk/…/or…/department-for-international-trade-mongolia

UK Export Finance (UKEF) – UKEF is the British Government's ‘Export Credit Agency’. UKEF help UK exporters by providing insurance and guarantees to banks to share the risks of providing export finance. In addition, UKEF can make loans to overseas buyers of goods and services from the UK. UKEF is the operating name of the British Government's Export Credits Guarantee Department (formerly ECGD). For more information please visit the UKEF website www.gov.uk/government/organisations/uk-export-finance

THE IOE&IT “DOING BUSINESS IN MONGOLIA GUIDE” – PROJECT OVERVIEW

The IOE&IT is going to produce a guide to doing business in Mongolia, titled the IOE&IT ‘Doing Business in Mongolia Guide’. The guide is supported by and will include editorial contributions from the British Ambassador to Mongolia, Philip Malone, DIT Mongolia and UK Export Finance. Planned for launch in Q3 2019, the guide will be made available as a free resource within campaigns promoting British business growth in Mongolia, and will be produced in three formats: a full-colour, glossy, A5 printed brochure (approximately 150 pages); a supporting fully-interactive and updatable, multi-media based website; and the website’s content available as a downloadable smartphone and tablet application (mobile app). Content will focus on doing business in Mongolia, how to approach the market, help and support available, and will include an informative Mongolia market overview, plus details of business opportunities, listings with website links to British and Mongolian Government support services and essential private sector service provider profiles.

For more information about becoming a Market Expert within the IoE&IT Doing Business in Mongolia Guide please contact james.clowes@export.org.uk or call +0044129879562

Mongolia seeks to diversify tourism sector to promote growth www.xinhuanet.com

ULAN BATOR, April 22 (Xinhua) -- Mongolian Prime Minister Ukhnaa Khurelsukh said Monday that his country is seeking to diversify its tourism sector to promote the growth of its mining-dependent economy.

Russian car maker targets Mongolia www.news.mn

The Russian automobile producer AutoVAZ will start selling Lada Xray Cross, Largus, Lada 4×4 and Granta models on the primary market in Mongolia by 2020. According to the Russian Embassy in Ulaanbaatar, sales will be implemented in accordance with the agreement made by the company with Mongolia’s Russo Motors, which will deal with promotion of the Russian car brand in Mongolia.

Yet another Mongolian mining tragedy www.news.mn

Three people died and one other was injured in an accident on Saturday (20 April) at the Nalaikh coal mine. The victims were aged between 27 and 47. The ‘Erdenyn Khugjil’ company, which is owned by a Chinese national is being accused of operating the mine illegally. According to official sources, all operations in the mine were suspended in February; however, work resumed 14 days ago.

Earthquake Drill: UB to shut down www.news.mn

The Ulaanbaatar City Administration has decided to change the working hours of state organisations and private enterprises on 25 April for a major training exercise on disaster preparedness and response. On Thursday, the working hours will be an hour later than normal – from 10.00 a.m. to 7.00 p.m.