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ECONOMY
COAL BEING EXPORTED THROUGH KHANGI-MANDAL AND GASHUUNSUKHAIT BORDER CHECKPOINTS
Between Mongolia and China, goods and products are imported and exported by road through eight border checkpoints. Up to 60 containers of import products are brought into the country through the Zamiin-Uud border checkpoint.
As for the other border checkpoints, the National Road Transport Center of Mongolia reported that:
• While iron ore and coal were only exported by dump trucks through the Khangi-Mandal border checkpoint, the commodities have begun to be transported in containers as agreed between the two sides from the start of this year. Currently, coal and iron ore are being exported by about 50 vehicles each day.
• Through the Gashuunsukhait border checkpoint, coal is also being transported in containers by about 100 vehicles per day. Furthermore, copper concentrate is being transported by an average of 32 trucks pulling double trailers. However, only about 10 vehicles are being used to transport imported products…
Source: Montsame
See also: Copper concentration export through Zamiin-Uud resumes
53 PCT OF DEVELOPMENT BANK’S TOTAL ASSETS ARE NON-PERFORMING LOANS
The Development Bank was established in 2011. The bank financed a few loans with large amounts. Out of 74 loans issued, 53% were non-performing loans. The above conclusion was made after the Bank of Mongolia's audit.
N.Manduul, CEO of the Development Bank, said “This shows that the Development Bank has worked in a wrong way in the past. We need to work on the overdue and non-performing loans. However, several cases were transferred to the court, it takes much time”.
Last Friday, the Supreme Court made a decision on the case of QSC LLC, one of the Development Bank's largest borrowers. According to the court decision, QSC LLC was obliged to repay a total of MNT 195 billion including principal and interest payments of the loan, and accrued interest.
Last year, the government decided to run the operation of the Development Bank operating as the principle of EXIM Bank.
Source: GoGo News
DORNOGOVI PROVINCE RANKED FIRST IN COMPETITIVENESS FOR THE FIRST TIME
Economic Policy and Competitiveness Research Center introduced “The Mongolia Provincial Competitiveness Report”.
Dornogovi, Orkhon, Darkhan-Uul and Umnugovi provinces took the first places of competitiveness, while Dundgovi, Zavkhan and Bulgan provinces are at the last. In particular, Bulgan province is the last for the third year in a row. The competitiveness of the provinces has improved by an average of 9 points.
P.Tsagaan, Chairman of Economic Policy and Competitiveness Research Center said:
- The Mongolia Provincial Competitiveness Report has been produced by the Economic Policy and Competitiveness Research Center since 2012. The provinces are ranked by 180 indicators in four categories: economic performance, governance efficiency, business efficiency, and infrastructure. We express our gratitude to all the organizations that helped to make the report during the pandemic.
There are 2-3 common things seen in the study. We are adapting to the pandemic and working in a new way. And the policies to support social welfare and employment are ongoing.
Source: GoGo News
View the EPCRC's Provincial Competitiveness Index
FEASIBILITY STUDY COMPLETED FOR SOYUZ VOSTOK GAS PIPELINE PROJECT
A working meeting between Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee, and Sainbuyan Amarsaikhan, Deputy Prime Minister of Mongolia, took place yesterday via a video link. The parties signed a statement on the results of the consideration of the feasibility study for the Soyuz Vostok gas trunkline construction project.
As per the feasibility study, the pipeline will stretch for 962.9 km in Mongolian territory, the pipes will be 1400 mm in diameter, and five compressor stations will be installed. The scope of works performed as part of the feasibility study, which includes the calculation of investment and operating costs, is extensive enough for the study to serve as FEED documents.
Alexey Miller thanked Sainbuyan Amarsaikhan for the assistance provided by Mongolia. For example, Mongolian companies performed the required onsite surveys, engineering & environmental mapping, and route analysis for the Soyuz Vostok project. The data obtained was used in the development of the gas pipeline route.
Source: World Pipelines, Natural Gas World, Montsame
See also: S.Amarsaikhan: Natural gas pipeline project enters actualization phase
50 percent of gas pipeline project workforce to be provided from Mongolia
DETAILED EXPLORATION TO BE CONDUCTED AT ASGAT DEPOSIT
It is considered vital to put the Asgat silver deposit, a large deposit of strategic importance, into economic circulation. With the resolution, the Government of Mongolia is instructed to carry out additional exploration activities at the deposit to fully define the amount of resources, and announce the bidding to conduct the additional exploration in line with the relevant laws and regulations by the first half of 2022.
In his presentation, the head of the working group in charge of developing the draft resolution, MP T.Aubakir highlighted that the Government should be instructed to conduct the detailed exploration of the deposit regionally and redefine its resources by 2024.
Exploration and geological survey on the Asgat Silver Deposit, located in Nogoonnur soum of Bayan-Ulgii aimag in the western region of Mongolia, were first made in 1953 to continue until 1990. The study concluded its silver deposit at 7369.8 tons and copper and other mixed metal minerals at 227,436 tons.
Source: Montsame
COOPERATION TO BE EXPANDED WITH RUSSIA IN LIGHT INDUSTRY
Deputy Minister of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry G. Batsuuri held a meeting with Russian delegates headed by Director for Commerce at Russkaya Kozha JSC Dmitry Kruglov.
The group of companies ‘Russkaya Kozha’ comprises seven industrial companies and is one of the largest leather suppliers in the world. Headquartered in the city of Ryazan, the company has tannery plants in Zarinsk, Russia and Lorca, Spain and branches in China and Portugal.
The delegates of Russkaya Kozha JSC arrived in Mongolia to expand their cooperation within the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2019 with the Mongolian Agricultural Exchange LLC on cooperation in production and supply of leather raw materials.
During the meeting, the delegates noted that during their visit, they found out Mongolia’s great potential for the development of the light industry, including processing of raw hides and skins, and production of value-added end products.
Source: Montsame
CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC
The newly appointed administration of Ulaanbaatar city has made valuable contributions despite the pandemic crisis.
Construction of schools and kindergartens for children
To create the conditions for schools to have a more positive impact on children, the city authorities focused on increasing the number of schools and kindergartens and bringing them up to standard.
Over the past year, eight new schools and an extension building for one school were commissioned in the capital city. 23 new kindergartens and extension buildings for four kindergartens were also commissioned.
Road construction and ger district redevelopment
During peak hours, traffic congestion increases which largely contribute to air pollution in winter. To reduce traffic congestion, the administration of the capital city has carried out various works over the past year to expand the road network and redevelop ger districts.
As of November 4, 2021:
Source: GoGo News
ACADEMIC-RESEARCH-INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX TO BE DEVELOPED IN DARKHAN UUL
A working group led by the Minister of Education and Science worked in Darkhan-Uul aimag where branches of the Mongolian National University of Medical Sciences (MNUMS), Mongolian University of Science and Technology, and the Mongolian University of Life Sciences operate with 2,272 students and 137 teachers.
In accordance with the Cabinet’s decision to develop public universities and colleges as academic-research-industrial complexes in rural areas, a 16 ha of area will be redeveloped alongside necessary infrastructure development and an academic-research-industrial complex will be built in a 30 ha of area in Darkhan city.
The complex will be comprised of dormitory, university building, innovation center, library, innovation and technology transfer center, experiment and research center, and a health clinic.
The working group visited the site where the new university complex will be established. The number of university students is expected to increase by 5,000 and teachers and staffs by 417 with the establishment of the complex.
Source: Montsame
MONGOLIA, CLIMATE CHANGE, AND IH NUUDEL (BIG MIGRATION)
Ih nuudel, meaning ‘the big migration’ in Mongolian, is what locals have coined the migration in record numbers of rural populations to the capital of Ulaanbaatar. This pattern of migration has been going on for two decades in Mongolia due to various factors, but climate change is drastically exacerbating it. In recent years various international reports have begun highlighting the alarming rate of climatic variations recorded in Mongolia. Between 1940 and 2015 Mongolia had a confirmed increase in temperature of 2.24°C making it “one of the strongest climate warming signals on Earth.” Another report revealed that Mongolia is warming at a rate three times faster than that seen anywhere else on the globe. This is catastrophic for a nation known for its deep relation with the land.
For Mongolians, herding livestock and the nomadic lifestyle associated with it is deeply engrained in the national identity and culture. Currently about 25% of the over 3,000,000 inhabitants in Mongolia are supported economically via livestock…
Source: Climate-Refugees.org
CHANGING LIVES IN MONGOLIA: STORY OF UGUUMUR - VIDEO
Over the past 30 years, the World Bank Group has helped bring electricity, internet and telecommunications services, livestock insurance and improve livestock quality benefitting thousands of rural herders in Mongolia. It has also supported the government in providing quality education and health services for its citizens. Watch this video as Uguumur, a herder from Khentii province, shares how his life has changed thanks to these developments.
Source: World Bank
POLITICS
AMENDMENTS TO BE MADE TO LAW ON CUSTOMS
On January 19, six members of the parliament led by MP N.Enkhbold presented a bill to Speaker G.Zandanshatar to make amendments to the Law on Customs and the Law on Customs Tariffs and Duties.
Adopted in 2008, the Law on Customs regulates the procedures and conditions to be followed for goods and products crossing the border, the rights and obligations of customs organizations and officers, and resolution of matters concerning decisions made by customs organizations.
In recent years, in the framework of the policy to renew military aviation equipment and increase the involvement of the Mongolian Armed Forces in UN peacekeeping operations, military equipment and supplies are being received through intergovernmental agreements as non-refundable aid.
However, due to certain factors such as the amount of time needed to obtain permits for the military equipment and supplies to be exempt from duties and VAT…
Source: Montsame
REGULATIONS UPDATED FOR OPERATIONS OF FOREIGN NGOS IN MONGOLIA
Per the order of the Minister of Justice and Internal Affairs, the regulations on issuing, extending, and nullifying the operations of foreign NGOs and monitoring their operations have been updated.
More specifically, matters concerning international organizations’ branches and representatives’ offices will be regulated by the Minister’s order instead of the order issued by the Head of the General Authority for Citizenship and Immigration of Mongolia in 2016. The regulations reflect certain issues in detail, such as the issuance of permission for running operations as a branch or representative’s office, extension, basis for nullifying the permission, and monitoring.
With the new set of regulations, it is now possible to extend permissions by 3 years based on factors such as project and program financing, implementation framework, and number of job positions that were created, and 5 years if a cooperation agreement was signed with the Government or the organization has been running stable operations for over 10 years.
Source: Montsame
MONGOLIA DROPS TO HISTORIC LOW IN CORRUPTION PERCEPTIONS INDEX
The 2021 Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) released today by Transparency International shows that corruption levels remain at a standstill worldwide. In Asia Pacific, 77 per cent of countries have declined or made little to no progress in the last 10 years.
ASIA PACIFIC HIGHLIGHTS
The CPI ranks 180 countries and territories by their perceived levels of public sector corruption on a scale of zero (highly corrupt) to 100 (very clean).
The Asia Pacific average holds at 45 for the third consecutive year, and over 70 per cent of countries rank below 50.
- North Korea (16), Afghanistan (16) and Cambodia (23) are the lowest in the region.
- Australia (73), Mongolia (35), the Philippines (33) and Thailand (35) are all at historic lows this year.
In the last decade, 24 countries in the region have either declined or made no significant progress.
- Since 2012, Australia (73), Mongolia (35) and the Philippines (33) have significantly declined on the CPI.
Source: Transparency International
LATEST ON COVID-19 IN MONGOLIA
Below are headlines from the past week concerning Covid-19 in Mongolia:
Source: Various
B.BAT-ERDENE: AIR POLLUTION CANNOT BE RESOLVED BY REFINED COAL ONLY
Air pollution in Ulaanbaatar cannot be resolved by only refined coal. We need to take comprehensive measures. We have made 2 parts of the decision.
At first, a team of scientists was established. Refined coal is one solution to reduce air pollution. In order to solve the problem comprehensively, it is necessary to pay attention to the issues related to many impacts. In particular, smoke standards need to be approved in Mongolia. Surveys will be conducted in areas with the highest smoke. In the future, decisions on gas and electricity will be made in cooperation with the Ministry of Energy.
Secondly, we need to address the issue of smoke sources and environmental pollution. As of December, 2021, about 1,250,000 vehicles were registered in Mongolia. About 625,000 of them are registered in Ulaanbaatar. Of these, about 500,000 vehicles are turned on in the morning, which has a significant impact on air pollution, according to researchers.
Source: GoGo News
‘LEGAL ENVIRONMENT HAS BEEN CREATED FOR E-TRANSITION IN MONGOLIA’
The Standing Committee on Innovation and e-Policy held a press conference on January 20 to provide information on its work during the 2021 fall session of Parliament.
The standing committee met eight times and developed five bills, which were approved by Parliament during the fall session. In particular, the Law on Information Transparency, Law on Protection of Personal Information, Law on e-Signature, Law on Virtual Asset Service Providers, and the first Law on Cybersecurity were passed.
Chairman of the standing committee N.Uchral emphasized that the adoption of these laws has created a legal environment for Mongolia to keep pace with the Fourth Industrial Revolution and make e-transition.
A total of 68 information of five types are included in the Law on Information Transparency while the Law on Protection of Personal Information defines terms such as personal privacy, sensitive information, controller, processor, genetic and biometric information based on the standards of other countries.
Source: The UB Post
JUDGES KH.IDER AND D.OTGONBAATAR SUSPENDED
January 20, the Judicial Disciplinary Committee suspended judges Kh.Ider and D.Otgonbaatar and decided to cut judge Z.Boldbaatar’s salary by 30 percent for six months in accordance with Clause 18.8 of Article 27.1 of the Law on the Legal Status of Judges.
In 2021, a video of attorney B.Baasantsogt, judges Kh.Ider, Z.Boldbaatar and D.Otgonbaatar, and official of the Independent Authority Against Corruption P.Chuluunbaatar behaving inappropriately in an elevator was leaked.
Complaints about disciplinary action against judges were submitted to the Judicial Disciplinary Committee by Nekhuul and Darkhan Mongol Nogoon Negdel NGOs.
During the committee meeting on January 20, citizens protested outside the committee’s office, requesting that the meeting be open to the public. In response to citizens’ demands, the disciplinary committee replied, “The committee is reviewing this issue. The decision will be disclosed to the public. Due to the small size of the building, it is not possible to include the media. When a formal decision is made, we will introduce it openly.”
Source: The UB Post
AUSTRALIA-MONGOLIA ANNIVERSARY GRANTS PROGRAM TO PROVIDE AUD 500,000 IN FUNDING TO FIVE MONGOLIAN ORGANISATIONS
The Australian Embassy in Mongolia today on Australia Day officially commenced the Australia-Mongolia Anniversary Grants Program (AMAGP). The program, implemented in celebration of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Australia and Mongolia, is supporting five Mongolian organisations to contribute to development, reduce poverty and promote people to people links.
The five successful applicants represent a wide range of organisations focusing on health, human rights, youth development, and agriculture in Mongolia.
“We are very pleased to be launching the AMAGP as part of our 50th anniversary celebration of our partnership with Mongolia. The AMAGP, as an extension of our annual Direct Aid Program (DAP), is working with Mongolian organisations in the civil society space on practical projects to reduce poverty and achieve sustainable, inclusive development”, said Chargé d’affaires Neil Sanderson.
Source: GoGo News
HOW PUTIN'S UKRAINE GAMBLE IMPACTS MONGOLIA - EDITORIAL
Vladimir Putin is locked in a high-stakes gamble. Through amassing an invasion force on Ukraine's eastern and northern borders, he appears to believe he is forcing the US to make a decision – either allow Ukraine to fall permanently within Russia's sphere of influence or become embroiled in a proxy war against the Russian military on its own doorstep. Although Mongolia is 5,000 km away from Ukraine, this major crisis nonetheless affects the country's security architecture, which has worked well over the past three decades.
Tactical wisdom dictates that you should strive to seize the initiative. In ground combat, forcing your opponent to react to your movements, instead of the other way around, creates opportunities to secure victory. On the surface, this is what Putin appears to have done on the issue of Ukraine: he is forcing the US to react to his moves.
Except geopolitical strategy is more nuanced.
Source: Mongolia Weekly
‘MEDIA OUTLETS SHOULD NOT BE PENALIZED FOR PROFESSIONAL MISCONDUCT’ - EDITORIAL
The Standing Committee on Justice held a press conference on January 24 to provide information on its work during the 2021 fall session of Parliament.
Chairman of the standing committee S.Byambatsogt reported that the standing committee met 13 times. Another three meetings were held with the Standing Committee on Innovation and e-Policy during the fall session.
He noted that the standing committee reviewed 91 bills, seven parliamentary resolutions and 10 draft resolutions of the standing committee. Moreover, a working group was established to discuss and prepare draft decisions of Parliament and monitor the implementation of laws. The working group met 39 times and prepared 12 bill presentations.
During meetings, the standing committee reviewed one conclusion of the Constitutional Court and 11 issues on appointment and dismissal of officials. It prepared and discussed 18 opinions, six presentations and 118 dissenting opinions, and approved 80 bills and six parliamentary resolutions at the fall session.
Source: The UB Post
WHY DID RUSSIA REFUSE MONGOLIA TO BUILD A HYDROPOWER STATION? - EDITORIAL
In 2011, Mongolia proposed to build a hydropower station in the upper reaches of the Eg River in Selenge Province. The completion of the hydropower station
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