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BCM HIGHLIGHT
MONGOLIAN ECONOMIC FORUM: NEW REVIVAL POLICY 2022
The Mongolian Economic Forum hosted a series of six-preliminary discussions on March 21-30, 2022, under the framework of the New Revival Policy. We are presenting a series of presentations made during these discussions. Click the source linked below to view the presentations.
Source: BCM
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Source: BCM
BCM QUARTERLY REPORT
The Business Council of Mongolia delivers you its First Edition of the BCM Quarterly Report of 2022. The first edition covers all events organised by the BCM through the months of January - March. The fuller version of the articles can be found in the highlighted "details" part on the report.
PDF: 2022 First Quarterly Report
Source: BCM
ECONOMY
MONGOLIA’S GROWTH TO STAY MUTED FOR 2022 AT 2.3 PCT BEFORE CLIMBING IN 2023 — ADB
Mongolia’s economic growth is expected to be constrained by high inflation, persistent trade disruptions, tighter external financing conditions, and complex geopolitical risks before accelerating in 2023 as coronavirus disease (COVID-19) concerns and trade disruptions ease, says a new report by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) released today.
In its flagship economic report, Asian Development Outlook (ADO) 2022, ADB projects Mongolia’s economic growth to expand by 2.3% in 2022 compared to the 1.4% growth in 2021 before climbing to 5.6% in 2023, supported by domestic demand, investment, and recovery in industry, agriculture, and services.
“Mongolia faces the unprecedented twin shocks of the continued border closure with the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and the Russian invasion of Ukraine in an environment where inflation is already high and economic growth is subdued,” said ADB Country Director for Mongolia Pavit Ramachandran. “This situation requires an immediate policy response to avoid the risk of stagflation.”
Source: ADB
WORLD BANK LOWERS MONGOLIA'S ECONOMIC GROWTH FORECAST TO 2.5 PCT FOR 2022
The World Bank has lowered Mongolia's gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast for 2022 to 2.5 percent from a 5.2-percent forecast in October 2021, according to a World Bank report released on Tuesday.
In a downside scenario, Mongolia's economic growth could fall to 0.7 percent this year due to some external factors, said the report.
This forecast reflects the impact of the situation in Ukraine through higher prices of imported food, fuel and fertilizers coupled with lingering border restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, it said.
Over the medium term, Mongolia's economic growth is expected to accelerate to above six percent in 2023-2024, as the underground mining phase of the mineral-rich country's largest copper mine Oyu Tolgoi becomes fully operational during the second half of 2023, according to the World Bank.
The Asian country's GDP expanded 1.4 percent year on year in 2021.
Source: News.cn
See also: East Asia and Pacific Economic Recovery Faces Risks from the War in Ukraine, U.S. Monetary Tightening, and China Slowdown
CHINA-MONGOLIA LAND PORT SEES ROBUST GROWTH IN FREIGHT EXPORTS
The land port of Erenhot in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region saw its freight transport export volume increase 41.4 percent year on year in the first quarter of this year, local authorities have said.
In the first three months, 642,000 tonnes of freight were exported via the port, according to the Erenhot station under the China Railway Hohhot Group Co., Ltd.
During the period, the port logged 734 China-Europe freight trains, up 25.7 percent year on year, said Yun Zhijun, director of the Erenhot station's dispatch desk.
Currently, 57 China-Europe freight train routes pass through Erenhot Port, the largest land port on the China-Mongolia border.
Source: Xinhua
'PLANTING TREES HOLDS THE KEY TO REVITALISING COUNTRYSIDE AND IMPROVING AIR QUALITY'
In Mongolia, there is a high rate of migration from rural to urban areas.
I am from a town in Bulgan province.
Our hospitals are inadequate and have little equipment, so our people have to go to bigger cities to get diagnosed and treated for serious illnesses.
Recently during Covid-19, there were not enough hospital rooms and only one doctor and one nurse who had to be in isolation with all their patients for seven days in a row.
There are no dentists, ophthalmologists, and visceral doctors in the isolated provinces, so people have to go to big cities to be diagnosed and treated for serious diseases.
Our local schools do not provide a good education because rural teachers lag behind their peers in cities.
Since there are not enough teachers, one will teach at least two different subjects.
Differences between the urban and rural quality of education are often reflected in foreign language levels.
Source: The Mirror
MONGOLIA ISSUES WARNING OVER WILDFIRES
Mongolia's National Emergency Management Agency on Monday issued a warning of forest and grassland fires.
There is a high risk of wildfires this spring due to the dry and windy weather in most parts of Mongolia, the agency said, warning the public to prevent possible wildfires.
Four wildfires were reported in the country over the weekend, burning over 25,000 hectares of forest and grassland, according to the agency.
People's negligence was the main cause of these wildfires, it said, urging citizens not to make open fires or throw cigarette butts on the ground.
Source: Xinhua
LETHAL SANDSTORMS THAT SHROUD LAND IN DARKNESS THREATEN NOMAD WAY OF LIFE - EDITORIAL
In traditional dress, nomadic herder Zorigoo Delger stands proudly next to one of his camels in Mongolia’s wilderness.
His family have been herders for centuries, but now the nomad way of life, of huge symbolic significance to the landlocked country, is at risk.
Climate driven extreme weather events, such as sandstorms and desertification, make life very difficult for the herders.
In March 2021, Mongolia experienced its worst sandstorm in a decade, which started in the Gobi Desert and reached most of northern China and even western parts of South Korea.
Zorigoo, a 45 year-old herder from Umnugobi, a province in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert, says: “Everything went dark, it was like the sky and the earth had collapsed together and I could barely see.”
It is common for herds to go missing during such storms, but Zorigoo was more worried about his fellow herders.
Source: The Mirror
OVERWORKED AND UNDERPAID: THE LIFE OF ASSISTANT HERDERS - EDITORIAL
Allegations of herders abusing their assistants have spotlighted a key occupation that often falls beyond the boundaries of the law.
More than 18,000 assistant herders work in the country, according to the National Human Rights Commission of Mongolia, many of whom have little formal education or legal knowledge to challenge their bosses. With few regulations to protect these workers, assistant herders are often overworked and underpaid — a major human rights and labor safety challenge in a largely rural country.
The National Statistics Office of Mongolia estimates that 300,000 of the country’s 3.4 million people are herders. Many herders recruit assistants to help care for livestock. While labor law in Mongolia states that a typical workday should last eight hours, the National Human Rights Commission found that 84% of assistant herders who participated in a recent survey work overtime throughout the year. More than 40% are responsible for their own medical treatment in the event of an injury.
Source: Global Press Journal
POLITICS
MONGOLIA’S YOUTHS DEMONSTRATE FOR THE BETTER FUTURE
Young Mongolians, mostly students, demonstrated yesterday (7 April) at Sukhbaatar Square, a center of Ulaanbaatar demanding authorities do their jobs better. Youths have demanded to deduct taxes by 50 percent, to increase salaries, and to develop industries and to build more jobs. Demonstrators say that they do not want to flee to foreign countries for a better salaries; but want to build a better life in Mongolia.
The peaceful demonstration is continuing today (8 April).
Inflation in Mongolia has hovered around 13 percent since January and now it topped 14.3 percent. Due to increase of fuel price and decline of Tugrik against dollar, prices of foods and other products are now soaring in Mongolia, but salaries of doctors and teachers remained same in 2019.
As for today (8 April), one US Dollar is equal to roughly 3014 Mongolian Tugrik. Since the beginning of the 2022, the cost of AI 92 gasoline has risen to MNT 2985.
Source: News.mn
MONGOLIA KICKS OFF FORUM FOR ECONOMIC REVIVAL
The 2022 Mongolia Economic Forum kicked off here on Thursday, with the aim of putting Mongolia's economy on a path of renewal and recovery through public-private partnerships.
Hundreds of representatives from government, private sector, civil society and academia are participating in the two-day forum to discuss the pressing issues in the country's each sector.
"A very difficult crisis between Russia and Ukraine that began on Feb. 24 has become one of the most pressing geopolitical challenges for the world. This is a blow to the economies of countries that have just been recovering from the two-year pandemic and to the positive outlook of the world's banking and financial institutions on economic growth," Mongolian Prime Minister Luvsannamsrai Oyun-Erdene told the opening ceremony of the forum.
"Now, we are also facing the challenge of how to grow the Mongolian economy in these difficult times. But we are optimistic," Oyun-Erdene said, noting that Mongolia has already started working on the restoration of the economy.
Source: Xinhua, Montsame
See also: Current situation of international relations discussed
“It is possible to earn MNT 60 billion from transit flights”
MONGOLIA AUTHORIZES USD 200 THOUSAND FOR HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE TO UKRAINE
On 4 April, the Government of Mongolia decided to provide USD 200 thousand in emergency humanitarian assistance to assist the people of Ukraine who are facing hardship in Ukraine and neighboring countries. The assistance will be distributed through UN Crisis Relief and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.
Just one month before Russian troops entered Ukraine, on January 21, Mongolia and Ukraine celebrated 30 years of diplomatic relations. Mongolia is carefully supporting a peaceful dialogue between Russia and Ukraine, while focusing on protection of civilians.
The latest numbers from the U.N. say that there are 6.5 million internally displaced people, which means Ukrainians who have left their homes but are still inside the country. About 4 million have fled altogether. And then on top of all of that, there are 13 more million people still living in the places where the fighting is taking place.
Source: News.mn, Montsame
See also: Mongolian MP donates month’s salary for Ukraine refugees
PM: GOVERNMENT TO PROVIDE ALL-ROUND SUPPORT TO CENTRAL BANK ON INCREASING FOREIGN EXCHANGE RESERVES
It was noted that economic sanctions due to tensions between Russia and Ukraine could lead to currency shortages.
"Our country has USD 3.2 billion in foreign exchange reserves. Exchange rates began to show rapid fluctuations in a short period of time. Therefore, there is a need to limit some foreign exchange payments, control the export of Mongolian currency, involve law enforcement agencies, and strengthen the borders. The government plans to take measures to increase foreign exchange reserves. The second important provision of this law is to create a legal environment for the state to assume responsibility, along with the Central Bank, for monetary and fiscal policy over a certain period of time”.
The bill states that the following measures will be taken to increase foreign exchange reserves:
-Provision of working capital financing and advance payments to gold mining companies from the Central Bank,
-A package of measures for the purchase of gold in the external and internal markets with a 5 percent premium to the price on the London Metal Exchange.
Source: Montsame
B.JAVKHLAN: THE GOVERNMENT WILL PAY ATTENTION TO STABILIZE THE PRICES OF MEAT, FLOUR AND FUEL
A non-regular cabinet meeting was held on April 4. The meeting discussed the price increase.
B.Javkhlan, the Minister of Finance, said, “We need to analyze the situation properly. This time, the price increase is different from normal. The external situation is directly affecting it. The increase in meat prices will be stable until July 1 by selling reserve meat. Meat prices will be held at current levels. A law related to this must be made. Private sector involvement and accountability are more important. We will focus on fuel, meat and flour prices and cooperate with the private sector. Operations of the companies will be normal when they have fuel. We cannot influence fuel prices. We cannot stop supplies, so businesses must make purchases. To do this, estimate how much funding they need. Thus, we will estimate how much funding they need.
Source: GoGo News
BILL TO PREVENT RISE IN PRICE AND SHORTAGE OF KEY COMMODITIES SUBMITTED TO SPEAKER
On April 5, Prime Minister L.Oyun-Erdene submitted to the Speaker of Parliament G.Zandanshatar a Bill to prevent the rise in price and shortage of key commodities caused by the international crisis and reduce their impact.
At its irregular meeting on April 4, the Cabinet made a decision to submit the Bill to prevent risks as the world facing economic difficulties caused by the international tensions. The Bill regulates eight issues as follows;
-Parliament shall urgently discuss relevant bills and draft resolutions
-The Bank of Mongolia shall take measures on providing meat and flour suppliers and oil importers with the necessary funds on discounted terms, and mitigating foreign exchange risk by using other financial instruments
-With a purpose to increase the country's foreign exchange reserves, the Bank of Mongolia shall provide gold mining companies with financing and down payments, and purchase gold from foreign and domestic markets at a 5 percent increase on the price of London Metal Exchange price.
Source: Montsame
LABOUR MIGRATION LAW EFFECTIVE FROM 01 JULY 2022
On 24 December 2021, the Parliament of Mongolia passed the Labour Migration Law (the “LML”) effective from 01 July 2022. The LML, once effective, its preceding law, the Law on Sending Labour Force Abroad and Receiving Labour Force and Specialists From Abroad (12 April, 2001) shall no longer be in force.
In accordance with the concept of “Private Employment Agencies” Convention, No.181 of the International Labour Organisation, to which Mongolia is a party, the legal basis for employment agency service of Mongolian citizens abroad, has been updated. In this tax and legal alert, we highlight the key aspects of the LML.
Application of the law
This law shall apply to the following:
- relations concerning employment or apprenticeship of Mongolian citizens abroad, protection of their rights and legitimate interests;
- procedure for granting work permits to foreign citizens and stateless persons to work in Mongolia.
Source: PwC Mongolia
LEGAL ALERT: NEW LAW ON PROTECTION OF PERSONAL DATA IN MONGOLIA
The Parliament of Mongolia (State Great Khural) passed a new Law on Protection of Personal Data on December 17, 2021. The law will become effective from May 1, 2022. The Law on Personal Secrets which was adopted in 1995 provides very general provisions that individuals were to determine and protect their secrets themselves. Compared to this law, the new law is featured that it provides more comprehensive regulation on the Protection of Personal data.
An overview of highlighted new regulations of the Law on Protection of Personal Data is outlined in this legal alert.
Source: Grata International
Click here to view the full legal alert
SET OF GUIDELINES ISSUED BY GREEN FINANCE REGIONAL FORUM
At the Green Finance Regional Forum organized at the initiative of the President of Mongolia, discussions were held on accelerating regional cooperation in fighting against climate change, desertification, and soil degradation, resolving pressing issues, developing sustainable, green financing, and implementing a policy on 'Revival of Green Development'.
At the end of the forum, a set of guidelines was issued which included the following:
ONE. GREEN FINANCE – MULTILATERAL COOPERATION
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TWO. IMPLEMENTATION OF NATIONALLY DETERMINED CONTRIBUTION
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THREE. BOOSTING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF ‘REVIVAL OF GREEN DEVELOPMENT’ IN THE FRAMEWORK OF THE NEW REVIVAL POLICY
Source: Montsame
LATEST ON COVID-19 IN MONGOLIA
Below are headlines from the past week concerning Covid-19 in Mongolia:
Source: Various
ALMOST 75 PERCENT OF MONGOLIA’S MEDIA OPERATIONS CONTROLLED BY POLITICIANS
According to Reporters without Borders (RSF – Reporters sans Frontières), the international non-governmental journalists’ organisation, almost 75 % of Mongolia’s media operations are controlled by politicians or people with close ties to politicians.
In cooperation with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, which is close to Germany’s Social Democrats, the DW Akademie helped to establish the Media Council of Mongolia (MCM) in 2015. DW Akademie is Germany’s biggest media development organisation.
The Media Council of Mongolia is a private institution for the self-regulation of the media sector; it follows the European model. The MCM adopted a national ethics code and established a complaint mechanism. It appointed journalists, owners of media houses and representatives of civil society to its ethics commission, which has dealt with 500 complaints since 2015. Its decisions are public – and well argued.
Source: News.mn
MONGOLIA REQUESTS CHINA TO IMPROVE PORT OPERATION CAPACITY AND SHIPMENT
Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Thursday held a phone conversation with Mongolian Foreign Minister B.Battsetseg at the latter’s request.
Mrs. B.Battsetseg said that the Mongolian side looks forward to giving full play to the Mongolia-China “green lanes” to further improve port operation capacity and shipment, and effectively cope with the negative impact caused by the spillover of the Ukraine crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic.
Recently, the “green lanes” between China and Mongolia have been reopened, and positive progress has been made in railway transportation, road freight, customs clearance and energy and mineral trade.
China is willing to work with Mongolia to speed up the construction of the China-Russia-Mongolia Economic Corridor and promote the connectivity of railway lines between China and Mongolia, Wang Yi said.
China will continue to provide Mongolia with anti-epidemic materials and equipment, support the country’s efforts in epidemic prevention and control and ensure the smooth operation of the border ports, he added.
Source: News.mn, ECNS.cn
WHO EXPRESSES SUPPORT FOR PRESIDENT'S DECREE ON REDUCING ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION
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