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Mogi: apologies for the tardiness, something to read over the weekend?
Mongolian Bling
MONGOLIAN BLING AT TENGIS CINEMA IN ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA
Event: Tengis Cinema in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Start: July 6, 2013 5:30 pm
End: July 6, 2013 8:00 pm
Cost: ₮8000
Organizer: Tengis Cinema
Phone: 11313105
Updated: June 27, 2013
Venue: Tengis Cinema
Phone: 11313105
Address: Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Mongolian Bling is finally screening in Mongolia! We're so excited to be bringing the film back to where it all began, right in the heart of UB. Join the stars of Mongolian Bling and meet director Benj Binks at UB's Tengis Cinema. There is only one screening so make sure you come down and discover UB's hip hop world and modern Mongolia.
Tickets will be available from the Tengis Box Office for ₮8000. They go on sale on Thursday July 4 at 10am.
Click here to join the Facebook Event.
Mongolia Vote Over, Rio Copper Exports May Get Go-Ahead
June 28 (CNBC) First copper exports from Rio Tinto's $6.6 billion Oyu Tolgoi mine in Mongolia - believed to have been delayed due to populist pressures arising in the run-up to presidential elections this week - may start early next month after incumbent Tsakhia Elbegdorj secured a second four-year term, analysts said this week.
The country's election commission said Elbegdorj got 50.23 percent of the votes after polls closed on Thursday, beating a former wrestling champion, Bat-Erdene Badmaanyambuu of the Mongolian People's Party, and health minister Udval Natsag, of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, Reuters reported.
Oyu Tolgoi, which has been at the center of a prolonged dispute over revenue sharing between the government and its private sector partners, once again became mired in the political mud when Ulan Bator requested just days before the election the delay of first copper concentrate shipments from the project, which was due to start shipping on June 21.
The stoppage appears to have been "politically motivated and requested by the government," Emily Stromquist of political risk consultancy Eurasia Group wrote in an analysis on June 27. Rio Tinto reportedly disagreed with demands by the government that all revenues from shipments stay inside the country at a Mongolian bank, the Eurasia Group said.
"Delays to shipments were a last resort leverage tactic by the government ahead of the elections," Stromquist wrote. "President Elbegdorj aimed to use the delays to prove to Mongolians ahead of the elections that he would not soften his stance in negotiations with Rio Tinto."
However, following Elbegdorj's victory, "first shipments are likely to occur in the coming week or so, and while the targeted deadline to begin shipments by the end of June is likely to be missed, which is symbolically a negative development, at least for now first shipments are anticipated to begin by the first week of July," Stromquist said.
When contacted by CNBC, Rio Tinto spokesman Bruce Tobin said the company wasn't immediately able to provide a time-frame on the start of copper concentrate exports from Oyu Tolgoi.
Adrienne Lui, a Hong Kong-based economist at Citigroup also believed President Elbegdorj's re-election would help pave the way for first copper shipments from Oyu Tolgoi and help encourage the passage of "pro-business, foreign-investor" friendly policies.
"We expect the Mongolian government and Rio Tinto will come to an agreement very soon given both sides fully understand the damage to economic growth and profits the longer the delay persists," Lui wrote in a research report on June 27.
'Continuity'
Businesses operating in Mongolia were also optimistic after the election's outcome.
President Elbegdorj's re-election "provides continuity that will encourage foreign investors," said Lord Michael Howard, non-executive chairman of Toronto-listed Entrée Gold., which owns a 20 percent interest in the Heruga copper, gold and molybdenum project, the southern-most deposit of the Oyu Tolgoi complex. "We expect the president to continue to support foreign investors such as Entrée Gold and ensure that we successfully move forward with developing the game-changing Oyu Tolgoi mine."
Business representatives in Ulan Bator told CNBC that the end of the 16-month election cycle in Mongolia reduces political risk and would facilitate the passage of mining and investment laws balancing the interests of foreign investors in Mongolia with those of the country.
"The reduction of political risk should make it possible to have a fair new Minerals Law enacted in the fall parliament session," said Jim Dwyer, executive director at the Business Council of Mongolia, adding the end of the election should also smooth the way for the passage of a proposed new Investment Law "which would provide stability and a level playing field for all foreign and local investments without distinction - the larger the amount, the longer the time period of stability."
A new Investment Law would repeal the "flawed" Strategic Entities Foreign Investment Law (SEFIL) and its recent amendment which has badly hurt FDI (Foreign Direct Investment). The controversial SEFIL, passed in May 2012, was designed to restrict foreign investment in firms in sectors like mining to just 49 percent, Reuters reported on April 19.
Mining Minister: Government didn't delay the OT shipment commencement
June 28 (Business-Mongolia.com) The dispute between Rio Tinto and Mongolian Government is still ongoing. As the Mining Minister D.Gankhuyag today made a public statement on the delay of OT shipment commencement that has been delayed twice this month.
International news sources cited that a OT LLC and Rio Tinto spokesperson told them that it was a government request. Some blamed it on the presidential election, a special request from Ts.Elbegdorj.
The Mining Minister told the press that:
OT LLC is spreading news on local and foreign media that the delay was a request from the government. However, I would like to clarify officially that the government is not causing the delay, but OT LLC itself has everything to do with it. The delay caused due to OT LLC management is didn't seek approval from its' board on Sales Agreements and Contracts. The overall contract is about USD8 billion. The Company Law requires that Significant Agreements must be approved by the board, citing clause 88.1.
OT LLC is avoiding the disclosure of these Sales Agreements from Mongolian board members. Secondly, OT LLC is putting the sales income into offshore accounts. We asked them if they are not going to show us the agreements, OT LLC must process its transactions through Mongolia-based banks.
No one is winning from the delay. The shipment must commence serving the best interest of both sides. Despite the international standards that OT LLC follow, it also has to obey the local law, we hope that OT LLC will honor government's position on this. On the other hand, there aren't any specific clause regarding the sales and sales income.
Wolf Appoints Mongolian Exploration Manager
June 26 -- Mongolian oil explorer Wolf Petroleum Limited (ASX: WOF) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Lkhagvajav Baasanjav as the Company's Exploration Manager.
Mr. Baasanjav is a Mongolian citizen with a Bachelor's Degree in Fossil Fuel Geology from the Mongolian National university. He has more than 10 years of experience in the Mongolian mining and petroleum sector. Previously, he worked for an ASX-listed company, Hunnu Coal (HUN) as an Exploration Manager.
During his time with Hunnu Coal, Mr. Baasanjav managed the discovery of a number of Hunnu Coal's coal deposits.
Mr. Baasanjav will be responsible for leading Wolf Petroleum's exploration team in Mongolia, whilst working with the united States based petroleum consulting company MHA Petroleum.
The Company welcomes Mr. Baasanjav to its exploration team as one of Mongolia's leading exploration geologists.
"I am very excited to join Wolf Petroleum at this early but pivotal stage, particularly with the recent exploration results on Sukbaatar (SB) Block. As a Mongolian, I am very proud to dedicate myself and my skills to the rapidly growing Mongolian oil industry" stated Mr. Baasanjav.
ERD closed +26.3% to 12c on Thursday
Erdene Reports Encouraging Metallurgical Results for Altan Nar Gold Project
HALIFAX, NOVA SCOTIA--(Marketwired - June 27, 2013) - Erdene Resource Development Corp. ("Erdene" or "Company") (TSX:ERD), is pleased to announce that the Company has received metallurgical test results for its 100% owned Altan Nar gold project in southwest Mongolia. Exploration and metallurgical testing of the Altan Nar epithermal gold project has now determined that two styles of mineralization occur in the system. The most significant finding from the studies reported herein is that the dominant gold mineralization style is amenable to cyanidation leach with recoveries of greater than 80%.
"These results demonstrate the potential for rapid, high gold recoveries and, when combined with the extensive, shallow gold mineralization identified to date across the 5 kilometre long Altan Nar project, are very encouraging," said Peter Akerley, Erdene President and CEO. "These results have the potential to significantly enhance the economics and development timeline for the project, and provide further support for prioritizing drilling of multiple new targets in our next round of drilling, anticipated in the latter half of 2013."
Altan Nar Gold Metallurgical Test Work Update
A series of two to four metre drill core composites were collected from holes across the Altan Nar property. These samples represent mineralization from the majority of the DZ and three additional prominent discoveries outside of the DZ. The samples were analyzed by Actlabs Asia LLC. The results indicate that, with the exception of localized overprinting gold-arsenopyrite breccia zones, the majority of the gold mineralization tested to date is highly amenable to cyanidation. Excluding two samples from the over-printing gold-arsenopyrite zone, 12 samples from across the Altan Nar property returned an average gold recovery of 81%.
For this metallurgical program, a number of core samples were used in composite with grades ranging from 0.7 to 11.6 g/t gold, containing varying amounts of associated sulfides. For the bottle roll test work, each core sample was crushed to minus 2mm and pulverized to 95% passing 75 microns. Duplicate samples were analyzed by fire assay to determine the average head grade of each sample. A 400 gram pulverized drill core composite sample was then bottle rolled and leached for 24, 36 and 48 hours in a diluted cyanide solution to extract the gold. Gold analyses were then undertaken on the total gold in the cyanide solution. Maximum or near maximum gold recoveries for these composites were reached within 24 hours. The 24 hour bottle roll results for this style of mineralization are summarized in Table 1.
…
Link to June 27 AGM presentation by Akerley
Entree Gold Announces the Appointment of Lord Howard as Non-Executive Chairman of the Board of Directors
Company Confirms Results of Director Elections
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - June 27, 2013) - Entrée Gold Inc. (TSX:ETG)(NYSE MKT:EGI)(FRANKFURT:EKA) - "Entrée" or the "Company") announces that, following the Company's Annual General Meeting of shareholders held on June 27, 2013, the Rt. Honourable Lord Howard of Lympne has been appointed non-executive Chairman of the Company's Board of Directors. As Chairman, he succeeds James Harris, who remains a member of the Board and assumes the role of non-executive Deputy Chairman.
Lord Howard has served as a Director and non-executive Deputy Chairman of the Company since 2007. He is the former leader of the Conservative Party in Britain, a distinguished lawyer, and served as a Member of Parliament in Britain for 27 years. He will work closely with Entrée's management and Board as the Company progresses through important milestones in the advancement of its global mining projects.
Greg Crowe, President and CEO of Entrée, commented, "We are very pleased that Lord Howard has assumed the role of non-executive Chairman. Lord Howard has been a valued member of our Board for many years now and we have benefitted from his years of international experience and strong understanding of the financial markets. He has extensive experience and many key relationships in Mongolia, and was recently awarded the Order of the Polar Star, the highest state honour that can be awarded to a non-citizen of Mongolia. I have no doubt that, as Chairman, he will play a significant role in ensuring we effectively leverage the opportunities that lie ahead as we continue to execute on our strategy and grow our business. We thank James Harris for his services as Chairman, and look forward to his continued contributions to Entrée as Deputy Chairman."
The Company also confirms that all of the nominees set forth in the Company's Information Circular dated May 23, 2013 were elected as Directors of Entrée. Peter Meredith did not stand for re-election to the Company's Board, and the Company thanks him for his valuable contributions since his appointment in 2004. The detailed results of the vote for the election of Directors are set out below.
According to proxies received, each of the following seven nominees proposed by management was elected as a Director of the Company until the next annual meeting of shareholders, or until such person's successor is elected or appointed:
Votes For | Withheld Votes | |||
Director | # | % | # | % |
James Harris | 44,191,936 | 95.43 | 2,115,976 | 4.57 |
Rt. Hon. Lord Howard of Lympne | 44,690,734 | 96.51 | 1,617,178 | 3.49 |
Mark Bailey | 43,187,362 | 93.26 | 3,120,550 | 6.74 |
Lindsay Bottomer | 44,644,069 | 96.41 | 1,663,843 | 3.59 |
Gregory Crowe | 44,616,679 | 96.35 | 1,691,233 | 3.65 |
Alan Edwards | 44,649,054 | 96.42 | 1,658,858 | 3.58 |
Gorden Glenn | 43,483,065 | 93.90 | 2,824,847 | 6.10 |
Final results for all matters voted on at the Annual General Meeting of shareholders will be filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.
Modun Resources Investor Presentation June 2013
June 26, Modun Resources Limited (ASX:MOU) --
Mongolian Resource Corp: Interim Update
June 28, Mongolian Resources Limited
-- Following the General Meeting of Shareholders held on 4th June 2013, which saw shareholders elect 4 new Directors, the new board has found it difficult to obtain the cooperation of the previous board members, all of whom reside in Mongolia.
One of the new directors, Haydn Lynch met with Tanan Jargalsaikhan (former director and CFO) on June 12 at her office in Ulaanbaatar to ascertain the location of Company assets including financial records, corporate registration papers, exploration and mining licences etc. The Company's Mongolian legal adviser also attended this meeting. No cooperation was offered from Ms Jargalsaikhan or other former directors on these points. Mr Lynch was informed by a second former director that all corporate property had recently been removed from the Company's office in Ulaanbaatar and moved to the private office of Ms Jargalsaikhan. If that is the case it was done without the knowledge or agreement of the Company.
As a result of this situation the new directors must now seek to regain control of the Company's Mongolian subsidiary companies through a drawn out and untested legal process in Mongolia.
Consequently the Company has not been able to fully assess the true position of the Company. However, we have been able to confirm ownership of the major assets and that the company has outstanding creditors of approximately $330,000 including bank loans.
The directors intend to undertake a forensic review of the past two years financial records to identify where over $11m of shareholders' funds have been allocated by the former directors.
Should there be clear evidence of breaches of Australian or Mongolian law the directors will pursue those where feasible. The directors intend to seek the continued suspension of MUB shares in place for at least two weeks or until there is confirmation the corporate situation in Mongolia has been satisfactorily resolved.
Petro Matad: Preliminary results for year ended 31 December 2012
June 28 -- Petro Matad Limited ("Petro Matad" or "the Company," AIM:MATD), the AIM quoted Mongolian oil explorer, announces its audited results for the year ended 31 December 2012.
Operational Highlights
· Significant board and management changes.
· Recent fundraising enables field operations to commence during the 2013 field season.
· Farm-out opportunities being pursued as a means of developing vast acreage.
Directors' Statement
2012 was a year of dramatic change for Petro Matad. As the year began, it became clear that the early hope of an oil discovery in North Block XX had proved illusory and that the 2010 and 2011 drilling campaign had failed to discover oil. As a consequence, the Company suffered a loss of credibility in the market and a fall in share price. The failure of the drilling campaign was compounded by the fact that all eleven unsuccessful wells had been drilled within a very small and confined portion of the extensive acreage that Petro Matad has under licence in Mongolia. By being drilled in such a small area in Block XX, the wells provided only limited new and meaningful data that might help direct future exploration across the majority of the acreage.
The year ended with a strengthened board and a new management team in place, the management personnel responsible for the previous drilling campaign having left the Company. Most positively, the interpretation and evaluation of the total acreage, as opposed to one small corner of that acreage, has shown that the Company's three blocks have significant untapped exploration potential. This has not yet led to restoring full credibility in the Company and, in truth, we recognise that that may take some time and be dependent on the current board and management demonstrating that we are worthy of that trust. However, we hope that when you read the account of what has been done, both in this statement and in the technical review, you will agree that we are on the right track.
The major personnel changes that took place during the year began in March 2012 with the appointment of three new board members with considerable knowledge and experience in the global oil and gas industry. Dr Philip Vingoe has nearly 40 years' experience of the oil and gas industry, including 20 years with BP where he was Chief Geophysicist and General Manager for worldwide exploration. Since leaving BP, he has been involved with the start-ups and IPOs of Novus Petroleum and Panoro Energy, among others. David Skeels is a geologist with over 40 years' experience working in the oil and gas industry, including 20 years at Conoco focusing on upstream development and 10 years at BG Group where he was General Manager in Kazakhstan. Dr George Watkins has over 40 years' experience in the oil and gas industry including 30 years with Conoco where he was Vice President, Exploration and Production in both North America and the UK. Since retiring from Conoco, he has held non-executive directorships at companies such as Paladin Resources plc and Abbot Group plc.
Mr. John Henriksen was appointed CFO to the Company on 17 April 2012. Mr. Henriksen is a Qualified Accountant (Canada) with 36 years' experience in the oil and gas industry. For the previous five years, he was Country Manager (Indonesia) for Salamander Energy Plc. Prior to that, he had managerial positions in the finance departments of Vico, ENI and Lasmo plc.
Then in August 2012, Mr Ridvan Karpuz joined Petro Matad as Exploration Director from Austrian listed integrated oil and gas company OMV where he spent the last five years as an Exploration and Reservoir Manager working in Iran, Yemen and Tunisia. Mr Karpuz has 23 years' experience in oil and gas exploration and production and a proven track record of significant oil discoveries. Most significantly, Mr Karpuz has substantial experience establishing and building strong subsurface exploration teams and leading them to deliver successful 'fast-track' exploration programmes.
Both Mr. Henriksen and Mr Karpuz reside in Mongolia, operating from the Company's operating office in Ulaanbaatar, along with the other executive management team and technical personnel. Messrs Henriksen and Karpuz were appointed as board directors of the Company in December 2012.
Two other decisions flowed from the personnel changes. Petro Matad closed its representative office in Perth, Western Australia, from where certain functions of the group had been supported since the Company's inception. These functions are now supported by the Ulaanbaatar operational office. In May 2012, the Company also announced that the board had determined that further drilling or testing on Block XX should not be pursued before conducting a thorough re-appraisal of the exploration potential of that Block plus Blocks IV and V.
This re-appraisal began in August 2012 under the guidance of the Company's new Director of Exploration, Mr Ridvan Karpuz. In order to accomplish this task in the shortest possible time, Petro Matad's internal exploration team of 12 explorationists and geoscientists was supplemented at various stages by appropriate international technical consultants working in our offices in Ulaanbaatar and abroad.
This programme of work has included basin modelling and play fairway analysis across all three PSC Blocks IV, V and XX. The available seismic and geological data has been re-interpreted to provide a structural and depositional history of the individual basins. Geological field work has also been undertaken in Blocks IV and V in central Mongolia. The data from this field work, when integrated with the geologic section observed in the two stratigraphic holes drilled along the basin margins in those blocks, has also contributed to a better definition of basin evolution and hydrocarbon generation potential in the region. Most importantly, it has confirmed that the geologic section present in these basins matches that encountered in the prolific oil producing basins to the immediate south in China. As you will see described in the Technical Review, this analogy with the basins in China is very significant.
Review of all the data in Block XX threw up another interesting observation. The failure of the 2010 and 2011 drilling programme in Block XX has obscured the fact that the Competent Person's Report ("CPR"), prepared by ISIS Petroleum Consultants Pty Limited ("ISIS") in 2008 in connection with the Company's admission to AIM, identified three graben areas that lie on trend or en-echelon with the producing fields in the Tolson Uul Graben in Block XIX to the north. The ISIS CPR noted that "one or more of the grabens could contain the equivalent or a greater sedimentary section than has been defined in the Tolson Uul Graben". None of these grabens was tested by the drilling programme. Additionally, the interpretation work over the last six months has also identified a number of similar basins in the southern part of Block XX. Block XX has enormous unexplored potential and it was therefore a significant achievement for the Company when the Petroleum Authority of Mongolia ("PAM") granted a five year extension to July 2017 for the PSC on the block.
More information and discussion on the analogy with the basins in China and the potential of the PSCs for Blocks IV, V and XX is given in the Technical Review section.
Alongside the major effort being applied to a technical re-appraisal, the board also initiated an administrative review. Corporate governance has been strengthened by the introduction of a procurement policy document that sets out the process to be followed as well as authority limits for management and the board. A procurement committee has been established.
Ongoing costs for steady state management of the business, as opposed to costs associated with work programmes for seismic acquisition, processing and interpretation, etc. have also been reduced by one third, from $600,000 per month in the first half of 2012 to about $400,000 today. This has been achieved by looking carefully at all expenditures and not replacing many of the people who have left the group. While some of these positions may need to be filled when Petro Matad commences field operations again, it is likely that many of these roles can be undertaken by contractors and so avoid creating a higher base line cost for the longer term.
However, even though a number of good things were happening within the Company, there can be no disguising that, by the end of 2012, the Company needed additional funding in order to execute the sort of programme that the next phase of exploration demands.
In February 2013, with this in mind, the Company's Exploration Director, Ridvan Karpuz, gave a presentation at the 57th Oil Barrel conference in London to provide an update on the Company's portfolio of exploration assets in Mongolia and to advertise Petro Matad's strategy to seek farm-out partners in order to accelerate the exploration of the Company's acreage.
At the same time, Petro Matad announced that it had engaged Macquarie Capital (Europe) Limited ("Macquarie") to find a strategic partner to progress exploration activities. The three blocks comprise over 60,000 square kilometres and it is felt that the optimal means of exploring this vast acreage is through farm-outs and joint venture agreements.
Following the conference, a copy of the Company's presentation to delegates at Oil Barrel was made available on the investors' section of the Company's website. A link was also added to the website to allow access to information regarding the farm-out.
A virtual data room was opened in mid February 2013 for interested parties and a physical data room was opened in Macquarie's London office from early March. Access to the data rooms was restricted to industry participants on the basis of a signed confidentiality agreement.
In parallel, during April 2013, Petro Matad embarked on a round of institutional visits to inform shareholders and potential investors of the positive results of the recent interpretation work. Also, with one or two exceptions, Petro Matad had not met with any UK institutions for nearly 24 months and this road show round corrected this. While it was soon clear that the current market was not conducive to raising funds for small cap oil and gas companies, we nevertheless believe that this was a useful exercise. We are cognisant that market sentiment can change quickly and believe that these discussions will provide a useful background when considering possible fundraising in the future.
For the moment, we are fortunate to have a supportive shareholder in the Petrovis Matad Inc. (Petrovis) group who has agreed to an equity injection of $5 million into the Company which will allow the Company to commence preliminary field operations during the 2013 field season. As previously noted, the Company is also in the process of conducting a farm-out. The Company has had a number of international companies visit the data room. The data room is now closed and the Company is in discussions with those companies that have expressed an interest in pursuing the opportunity further. While there can be no guarantee that these discussions will result in a concluded transaction, the level of interest shown encourages the Petro Matad board in our technical evaluation of the merits of the acreage that we have under licence.
In concluding, the board would like to express their great appreciation for our staff, both technical and non-technical, who have worked with enthusiasm and diligence through what has been, and in some sense continues to be, an uncertain time for the Company. There is no doubt that, without their efforts, the Company would not have been able to make the progress that it has over the last year.
Technical Review
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Power Capital Global Ltd : Audited results for the year ended 31 December 2012
June 28 -- Power Capital Global Limited (AIM:PCGB), the Asia based natural resources trading and logistics business, has today published its audited results for the year ended 31 December 2012.
· Parallel investment programme targeting partner companies offering in-market access to commodity trading opportunities that might otherwise be inaccessible progressed in Indonesia, Mongolia, Afghanistan and Myanmar;
· In Indonesia, $1.06m (£0.67 million) of thermal coal shipments profitably completed through majority owned in-country joint venture, increasing to $1.5million post year end to date; and
· In Mongolia, a 1.2% equity stake taken in the country's leading foreign invested conglomerate, Asia Pacific Investment Partners Limited, which the Company believes will provide it with fast track opportunities in Mongolia's burgeoning natural resources sector.
· In April, financial restructuring completed through the conversion of all issued convertible loan notes, resulting in an increase in the free float of the Company from 21% to 38% and a substantial reduction in the gearing of business;
· In Indonesia, an off-take agreement entered into with PT Perdana Maju Utama to acquire up to one million metric tonnes of thermal coal;
· Further coal off-take, supply chain and non coal related opportunities being advanced in Indonesia including potential investment into a vertically integrated tin dredging and smelting operation located in Bangka; and
· Terms of $1 million (£637,000) loan to TSI being substantially revised.
Chairman of Power Capital Global, Kung-Min Lin, commented:
…
In May 2012, the Company announced that it has subscribed, through its wholly owned subsidiary PCG Mongolia Limited, for a 1.2% equity stake in Asia Pacific Investment Partners Limited ("APIP"). The Company believes that its direct investment in Mongolia's leading foreign invested conglomerate will provide the Company with fast track opportunities in the burgeoning natural resources sector in Mongolia. APIP is currently developing an early stage exploration license targeting an identified major copper-gold porphyry system located in the South Gobi and also operates the country's third largest cement crushing facility which is located in the capital city, Ulaan Baatar.
…
Origo Partners: Posting of Annual Report and Notice of AGM
June 28 -- Origo Partners Plc ("Origo" or "the Company") has posted its 2012 Annual Report and Accounts to shareholders together with the Notice of Annual General Meeting.
The Annual General Meeting of the Company will be held at 4th Floor, 1 Circular Road, Douglas, Isle of Man, IM99 3NZ on Wednesday 24 July 2013 at 10:00am.
Copies of the Annual Report and Accounts are available in accordance with the AIM rules on the Company's website at: www.origoplc.com
Nova Resources: Final Year Results for the year ended 31 December 2012
June 28 -- The Board of Nova Resources Limited (AIM: NOVA.L) is pleased to announce the Company's Final Results for the year ended 31 December 2012, as follows:
Results Highlights
The operating loss on ordinary activities of the Group for the year amounted to £3,082,065 (2011: £274,831) and the loss after tax for the year was £3,167,606 (2012: £156,223). This was mainly as a result of impairments against goodwill arising from the acquisition of Nova Mongolia Pte Ltd (£2,255,143) and provisions against the loan to Hoddle Ltd (£320,986).
The loss per share for the year was 3.11p (2011: 0.23p).
At 31 December 2012, the Group had cash and cash equivalents of £119,016.
At 31 December 2012, 21,415,861 ordinary shares in European Islamic Investment Bank Plc ("EIIB") are held by the Company. The EIIB shares are traded on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange. At 31 December 2012, the investment in EIIB was valued at the market bid price resulting in a fair value loss adjustment through the income statement of £117,787.
Group Development
During the year, we raised £975,000 by way of a share subscriptions and a further £60,000 by way of convertible loan notes, to enhance the funds available to us.
We acquired the outstanding 30% of the issued shares of Nova Mongolia Corp Pte Ltd in Singapore, satisfied by new shares.
In December 2011 we loaned Hoddle Limited ('Hoddle'), a company whose then subsidiaries or related companies are also engaged in the transportation of coal in Mongolia, USD500,000. Discussions are ongoing with Hoddle with respect to the loan.
In January 2012, the Group's Mongolian subsidiary entered into a contract to transport coal within Mongolia and commenced on 5 June 2012, for one year, with the option to extend for a further year, if agreed by both parties. The contract expired on 15 April 2013, and discussions are still ongoing with respect to renewal of the contract. However, no final decision has been reached yet.
The Company has secured a loan of US$2million for the acquisition of trucks and to provide further working capital. In addition, we have raised additional short term loans of £372,975 and have a trade finance facility with Khan Bank of Mongolia (drawn down by £697,000).
The Group will continue to seek further opportunities in line with its investing policy.
Investing Policy
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Mogi: this EIN News should be prosecuted for market manipulation!
EIN News: Mining Companies May Take Hit As 'Resource Nationalist' Mongolia President Reelected
WASHINGTON, June 27, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Foreign mining interests took a hit Wednesday as Mongolia's president was reelected, campaigning with a pledge to impose more controls on foreign mining investments.
The incumbent, Tsakhia Elbegdorj, is known as a "resource nationalist," (Mogi: WTF!) proposing laws to give the country free shares in strategic mineral deposits, authority to change tax rates, and making it easier for Mongolia to take back leases.
Concern about these measures triggered a slump of 17 percent in foreign direct investment during 2012 and another 12 percent in the first quarter of 2013.
Mongolia's economy is heavily tied to copper and coal extraction. The country's $6 billion Oyu Tolgoi mine was scheduled to make its first shipments to China this month, but the government has told mine operator Rio Tinto to delay shipments pending settlement of a dispute over allocation of profits.
Elbegdorj's political party heads a parliamentary coalition that supports tighter controls on mining companies and a greater share of profits from resource developments.
EIN News, a leading media monitoring company, provides in-depth 24-hour coverage of mining news, and countries important to resource extraction via many web sites and news feeds, including:
Mongolia Mining News -- http://mining.einnews.com/country/mongolia
Mining News Today -- http://mining.einnews.com/
Mining Companies News Topics -- http://mining.einnews.com/sections
Coal Shipping News -- http://shipping.einnews.com/news/coal-shipping
NatSec Daily MSE Update: Top 20 +0.79%, Turnover ₮22.2 Million
June 25 (National Securities) On the 25th of June 2013, the MSE TOP-20 was 14,532.21 up by +0.79%. Out of the 18 stocks that were traded with a value of 22.2 million, share price of 7 were increased and 5 were lower. The intra-day volumes were 97,506.
On the gainers side, most gains were marginal relative to recent volatililty. Today's top gainer was Darkhan Nekhii (NEH) up 2.3% to 6,900MNT. On the flip-side, Almaz (ALM) plunged -14.45% to 1,260 MNT. The most actively traded stock was Hermes Centre (HRM) up +1.85% on volumes of 66,185 and trading value of 7.2 million MNT. Remicon (RMC) followed next with 23,300 stocks traded and a value of 3.9 million MNT.
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NatSec Daily MSE Update: Top 20 -0.89%, Turnover ₮85.2 Million
June 27 (National Securities) The 27th of June 2013 was the TOP-20 Index down slightly -0.89%. to 14,403.31. 357,462 shares in 19 JCS's were traded with a value of 85.2 million MNT. 5 share prices increased, 5 shares decreased and 9 shares were stable.
Today's the top gainer was Khasu-Mandal (HSR), a construction, agri and shopping centre play, limit-up 15% to 2,530MNT. On the contrary, the lowest stock was Uvs Chatsargana (CHR), which is focused on fruits, plunged -12.73% to 2,522 MNT. The volume leader was Remicon (RMC) with 311,260 shares were traded on a value of 52.8 million MNT. The price rose 0.56% to 169.95 MNT. This single stock's trading volume was 87% of total daily trading volume of the MSE today.
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Economy
NEW STRATEGY FOR MONGOLIA: EBRD TO SUPPORT PRIVATE SECTOR IN INFRASTRUCTURE
Strategy names transparent management of mining wealth as main challenge for Mongolia and calls for diversification
Author(s): | Svitlana Pyrkalo |
Date: | 25 June 2013 |
The Board of Directors of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (ERBD) has today approved a new three-year strategy for Mongolia, which became a country of EBRD operations in 2006.
The strategy, which was approved on the eve of the presidential election in the country, notes that Mongolia remains committed to democratic values, has developed a competitive political party system and has established a vibrant civil society, although challenges on the path to a consolidated democracy remain. The EBRD continues to support Mongolia in its transition to a full market economy.
The EBRD is currently the largest foreign investor in Mongolia. All projects that the Bank has supported – totalling just under US$ 1 billion – have been in the private sector, while almost all of these involve local entrepreneurs or banks.
One of the priorities for the EBRD in Mongolia over the next three years will be to support infrastructure projects with private sector participation, including public-private partnerships (PPPs). The EBRD is prepared to finance new projects in the energy and rail sectors, including in the South Gobi region.
Read about the EBRD's support for renewables in Mongolia
The main challenges, according to the new strategy, are fair, efficient and transparent management of the wealth generated by the natural resources boom and a sustainable development model. "The country's key task is to put in place institutions and policies that ensure the whole society benefits from the boom," said Olivier Descamps, the EBRD's Managing Director for Turkey, Eastern Europe, Caucasus and Central Asia. "The EBRD, together with other international financial institutions, will work as partners with the government of Mongolia to help build those institutions and policies, from fiscal policy to inclusive regional development," he added.
The strategy defined the main priorities for the EBRD's work in Mongolia over the next three years. They are:
Diversification. The Bank will aim to expand its engagement with the non-extractive private sector.
· Sustainable growth. The Bank will support the financial sector through small and medium-sized enterprise (SME)-debt programmes, equity and technical assistance.
· Responsible mining and institutions. The Bank will continue to offer debt and equity finance to reputable mining companies which meet its high standards and will support institutional building – all of the Bank's support in the mining sector has thus far been directed to local enterprises.
· Infrastructure and private sector development. The Bank will support Mongolia's infrastructure-building – including through the development of renewable energy – and will promote private sector involvement where possible.
The EBRD has invested US$ 955 million in 55 projects in Mongolia, while also mobilising approximately US$ 2 billion from other sources of financing. While some 18 transactions were made in the natural resources sector, and two in the energy sector, the majority of projects – 35 – have been in the manufacturing and services sector. The EBRD in Mongolia also runs an extensive small business support programme for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.
BoM holds FX auction
June 27 (Bank of Mongolia) On the Foreign Exchange Auction held on June 27th, 2013 the BOM has sold 8 million USD and 71 million CNY to local commercial banks.
On June 27th, 2013, The BOM has sold 150 million USD for Swap agreement and refused the offer for Forward agreement from local commercial banks.
BoM issues 1-week bills
June 28 (Bank of Mongolia) BoM issues 1 week bills worth MNT 100 billion at a weighted interest rate of 10.5 percent per annum /For previous auctions click here/
First 6 days of the new mortgage program
June 25 (Business-Mongolia.com) Bank of Mongolia released an information on first 6 days of newly implemented mortgage program. The new program in collaboration with MIK (Mongolian Mortgage Corporation), Bank of Mongolia and the government will lend to those households who are purchasing an apartment no more than 80 square meters and those who can pay the down payment of 30%. The mortgage is up to 160 million MNT (USD112,000 as of today). Previous mortgage holders of 15-22% can switch to the new 8+ 1 EAR mortgage easily.
Last week, banks received a request of MNT587.1 billion (USD411 million as of today) for re-financing the previous mortgages. Banks switched MNT 195.2 billion (USD137 million) of the request into the new rate. MNT8.8 billion worth of new mortgages were issued out of MNT90.9 billion worth of application made by 207 people.
World Economic Forum Strategic Dialogue on the Future of Mongolia
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia 14-15 September 2013
World Economic Forum Strategic Dialogue on the Future of Mongolia
Mongolia is currently one of the world's fastest growing economies, with GDP growth for 2013 forecasted to be between 14-16%. The country is benefiting from a booming mining industry, which is still far from realizing its full potential, and the government has strong ambitions to use this wealth to improve infrastructure and foster growth across different sectors, ultimately improving the lives of its people.
Given these positive foundations, Mongolia is at a crucial turning point. Its future prosperity is affected by highly uncertain drivers of change, from the reliability of foreign investments to fluctuating commodity prices and the future of geopolitical relations with neighbouring Russia and China.
The World Economic Forum Strategic Dialogue on the Future of Mongolia is an unparalleled opportunity to bring together the Mongolian government and other leading domestic and international stakeholders to explore economic pathways. The meeting forms an essential part of the World Economic Forum's project Scenarios for Mongolia, the outcomes of which will be presented at the Forum's Annual Meeting in Davos-Klosters, January 2014.
For more information, please contact: Mongolia@weforum.org. For further details on our Strategic Dialogues, please use the following link http://www.weforum.org/content/pages/current-projects-0.
Links for Participants
Partners
The World Economic Forum gratefully acknowledges its Partners
Video: Mongolia walks a resources tightrope
June 27 (Reuters) Mongolians have voted to give their president another term. His next task? To figure out how to turn the foreign investment taps back on without draining wealth from his country. Max Duncan reports.
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Prosecutor General gives go ahead for criminal investigation into MP Bayartsogt
June 28 (news.mn) The Prosecutor General`s Office has affirmed that it is reasonable to start a criminal proceeding for MP S.Bayartsogt.
The Investigation Department of the Anti-Corruption Authority filed a request to the Prosecutor General`s Office to begin an investigation into the Member of Parliament. The Prosecutor General`s Office accepted the request so the Anti-Corruption Authority has initiated an investigation.
An official from the Anti-Corruption Authority confirmed that a criminal proceeding has been started for S.Bayartsogt but the official refused to give any details about the proceeding without permission from the Prosecutor`s Office.
An official from the City Prosecutor"s Office gave a statement that a criminal investigation ha been started into MP S.Bayartsogt on the ground of unexplained wealth crimes.
The discovery of a secret Swiss bank account and offshore entity led to the resignation of the former Deputy Speaker from his position in April. Parliament accepted his resignation.
After it was revealed that MP S.Bayartsogt fail to include his secret Swiss bank account and offshore entity in the income and asset declaration as a State official the Ethics Sub-Committee of Parliament discussed the issue, but decided that there were no grounds to dismiss S.Bayartsogt from his position as MP.
S.Bayartsogt confirmed that he did make a mistake by failing to include his offshore company and Swiss bank account in the income and asset declaration.
Radio: Mongolian president secures second term in office
June 28 (Radio Australia) The President of Mongolia, Elbegdorj Tsakhia, has won a second term in office after securing more than 50 per cent of the vote in his country's election.
His victory is being hailed by his supporters as an affirmation of his efforts to crack down on corruption, and further integrate Mongolia into international society.
The candidate for the main opposition Mongolian People's Party, Baterdene Badmaanyambuu, won just under 42 per cent of the vote, while the country's first female presidential candidate, Health Minister Udval Natsag managed just 6.5 per cent.
Associate professor Julian Dierkes from the University of British Columbia has been watching events unfold in the Mongolian capital, Ulaanbaatar.
Presenter: Richard Ewart
Speaker: Julian Dierkes, associate professor at the University of British Columbia's Institute of Asian Research
Mongolian President Wins Re-Election in Preliminary Tally
By Michael Kohn
June 27 (Bloomberg) - Mongolian President Tsakhia Elbegdorj defeated a wrestling champion and a pediatrician to win re-election without the need for a run-off vote.
Democratic Party candidate Elbegdorj won 50.23 percent of the vote with all counting completed, Choinzon Sodnomtseren, head of the General Election Commission, said at a briefing in the Mongolian capital of Ulaanbaatar today. Former wrestling champion Badmaanyambuu Bat-Erdene took 41.97 percent and Health Minister and former doctor Natsag Udval was third with 6.5 percent. The results will be made final within five days.
Elbegdorj's victory would ensure that the Democratic Party holds all major political posts until Parliamentary elections in 2016. The president, prime minister, parliamentary speaker and Ulaanbaatar mayor are members of the party, which also has a majority in the legislature. The lack of an opposition may relieve bottlenecks in passing legislation needed to keep the economy growing.
"The parliament of Mongolia, the government of Mongolia and the president of Mongolia will work as one team in the remaining period," Prime Minister Norov Altankhuyag said at a briefing late yesterday. "We work to improve the lives of all Mongolians and eradicate corruption."
Gross domestic product growth reached 17.5 percent in 2011 -- the fastest rate in the world -- before slipping to an estimated 12.3 percent last year, according to data from the International Monetary Fund.
Cabinet Secretary Chimed Saikhanbileg said yesterday that Elbegdorj was planning to deliver a victory speech at 11:40 a.m. today in Ulaanbaatar's main square.
Mongolian president wins second term amid focus on mining curbs
June 27 (Reuters) - Mongolia's incumbent president, Tsakhia Elbegdorj, who wants more controls on foreign mining investments, has emerged as the winner of Wednesday's polls with a narrow majority of votes cast, the country's election commission said on Thursday.
Elbegdorj, 50, who has served as president since 2009, was the overwhelming favorite in the contest, played out amid worries about Mongolia's faltering economy as well as the growing role of foreign mining firms.
The commission said Elbegdorj got 50.23 percent of the votes, beating a former wrestling champion, Bat-Erdene Badmaanyambuu of the Mongolian People's Party, and health minister Udval Natsag, of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party.
The lower-than-expected margin of victory could be traced to low turnout, said Julian Dierkes, an expert in Mongolian politics at the University of British Columbia, adding that participation was 10 percent lower than the last election.
"The consensus was that Elbegdorj was winning and I suspect that a lot of potential voters thought he was winning anyway, and didn't vote," said Dierkes, who is in Ulan Bator to monitor the election.
Elbegdorj's narrow victory, even if it is not contested by the opposition, is not expected to allay the concerns of foreign investors worried about growing government interference in the country's booming mining sector.
The win preserves the dominance of the Mongolian Democratic Party, which won the most seats, though not an absolute majority, in last year's parliamentary vote, and heads a coalition government keen to regulate foreign investments.
Elbegdorj is a free-market advocate, but his government (Mogi: it's not his government, Mongolia is a parliamentary democracy with PM as head of government) has increasingly adopted a more "resource nationalist" approach, with laws to give the country a bigger stake in "strategic assets", such as mines.
It also aims to rework a landmark 2009 investment pact to develop the massive Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold mine. (Mogi: rework is a dangerous word to use here)
The vote took place amid rising concern over Mongolia's resource-dependent economy, with falling commodity prices and weakening demand from China expected to erode growth and undermine spending plans.
The economy grew 12 percent last year and 17 percent in 2011, as mining investment poured in and mineral exports to China surged.
But growth could slow to 5.5 percent in 2013, the Mongolian Investment Banking Group said this week, if the Oyu Tolgoi project is not launched on schedule. (Mogi: pessimistic I think)
Mongolia is in dispute with Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto over how it will repatriate profits from Oyu Tolgoi, whose launch has been delayed twice this month.
A controversial new mining bill championed by Elbegdorj will also be high on the agenda. (Mogi: but later withdrawn)
"The biggest implication is continuity -- his campaign was that he had done well for four years and wanted a chance to do more," said Dierkes. "But mining and resources is on the top of everyone's agenda and here he will keep going."
(Reporting by Max Duncan, Terrence Edwards and David Stanway; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
Mongolian president wins a second term
By Leslie Hook
June 27 (FT) Mongolia's incumbent President Ts Elbegdorj is set for a second term in office after being re-elected in Wednesday's election, paving the way for a period of stability in Mongolian politics as the country seeks to develop its vast resources of copper, gold and coal.
Mr Elbegdorj won more than 50 per cent of the vote, avoiding the need for a run-off election and handing him a strong mandate to continue the business-friendly policies that have been his hallmark over the past four years.
With the election out of the way, Mr Elbegdorj and the ruling Democratic Party, which supported his candidacy, have solidified their control of the government and are set to make a series of key decisions that will shape the future direction of Mongolia's mining development.
First is the future of the giant copper-gold mine in the Gobi Desert, which is co-owned by Rio Tinto and the Mongolian government. The $6bn facility has been completed and is ready to start exporting copper. But its inaugural sale has repeatedly been delayed due to negotiations between Rio and the government. With the re-election of Mr Elbegdorj, analysts believe the negotiations will be swiftly concluded and the mine will start exporting copper – bringing in a crucial source of revenue to the Mongolian authorities.
Another key policy test for Mr Elbegdorj and the Democratic Party will be rewriting Mongolia's mining law, a task that proved divisive when parliament tried to tackle it earlier this year.
Mr Elbegdorj is the son of a herder who grew up in the Mongolian countryside before being educated in the Soviet Union and later at Harvard's Kennedy School. He was one of the leaders of Mongolia's democratic revolution in 1989 and 1990, when the country ended more than 60 years of communist rule and established a democratic political system.
Fighting corruption has become one of his chief priorities, and during his time in office he passed a series of judicial reforms aimed at making the legal system more independent. One of the more controversial targets of the government's recent corruption campaign was former prime minister Nambaryn Enkhbayar, who ran against Mr Elbegdorj in the 2009 presidential election and was imprisoned last year on corruption charges.
In an interview with the FT in 2012, Mr Elbegdorj said Mongolia's political freedoms are its greatest guarantee against the "resources curse" that has plagued many countries endowed with mineral wealth. "We are proud that Mongolia has evolved as the nation with the freest economy, politics and society in the region," he said.
Mongolia President Elbegdorj Wins Vote
ULAN BATOR, June 27 (AFP)--Mongolian President Tsakhia Elbegdorj won a second term, according to preliminary results Thursday, defeating a wrestling champion and the country's first woman presidential contender in an election dominated by a debate over mining wealth.
The incumbent gained 50.23% of votes, Mongolia's General Elections Commission chief Sodnomtseren Choinzon said, after announcing that all ballots had been counted.
The result comes after election officials in Ulan Bator received information from all of Mongolia's 1,896 polling stations and from counters for overseas voters, but they wouldn't be classed as official until the ballot papers were counted again on delivery to the capital, the elections commission chief said.
Results announced through the night suggested that Mr. Elbegdorj, a former journalist who played a leading role when Mongolia peacefully threw off 70 years of communist rule in 1990, was on course for victory.
The Democratic Party candidate is expected to continue his policy of using foreign cash to power Mongolia's economy, which has been expanding rapidly in recent years.
The exploitation of Mongolia's vast coal, copper and gold reserves has helped transform an economy once characterized by nomadic lifestyles not far removed from its famous empire-building hero, Genghis Khan, 800 years ago.
But rising inequality in the cities and environmental damage in rural areas have dominated the political debate, while recent falls in commodity prices and slowing demand in the key market of China sparked uncertainty ahead of the election.
Mr. Elbegdorj's main challenger Badmaanyambuu Bat-Erdene won 41.97% of the vote, according to the results. The champion wrestler is the opposition Mongolian People's Party's candidate.
The third candidate, Natsag Udval from the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party, is the first woman to contest the presidency. She won 6.5%, according to the preliminary figures.
Similar:
Mongolia Re-Elects Leader to Another 4-Year Term – The New York Times, June 26
Mongolian leader re-elected on anti-graft agenda – GANBAT NAMJILSANGARAV via AP, June 27
Mogi: only thing good about this article is the headline
Elbegdorj scrapes home: Foreign investors will cheer the incumbent's narrow triumph
June 29 (The Economist, print edition) SINCE throwing off Soviet domination and embracing democracy 23 years ago, Mongolians have got used to electing their leaders. But their sixth free presidential election, held on June 26th, marked something of a departure from the high drama of earlier contests. This time there was less acrimony, less campaign buzz, and lower voter participation. Yet for the incumbent president, Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, turnout was enough to avoid an invalid result, and his support, at 50.9% (Mogi: 50.23%), was—just barely—enough to avoid a run-off.
Mr Elbegdorj, of the Democratic Party (DP) held off two rivals. One was Badmaanyambuu Bat-Erdene, a renowned national wrestling champion and a three-term member of parliament from the former ruling party, the Mongolian People's Party (MPP). The other was Mongolia's first female candidate for the presidency, Natsag Udval of the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP), which splintered from the MPP in 2011. She is the nation's health minister, and a close ally of Nambariin Enkhbayar, a former president and prime minister, who is now in the middle of a two-and-a-half-year jail sentence for corruption.
Mr Bat-Erdene received 42.5% (Mogi: 41.97%) of the vote and Ms Udval 6.6% (Mogi: 6.5%), according to preliminary results from the election commission. Mr Elbegdorj's victory cements the DP's political dominance, giving it control of the presidency, the prime minister's office and the parliamentary speakership. That dominance will probably last until the next parliamentary election in 2016.
Oyungerel Tsedevdamba, a DP member of parliament representing a district in the south of the capital, Ulaanbaatar, said that since her party had only ever enjoyed such control for two single-year stints during the 23 years of democratic rule (Mogi: false, DP controlled parliament/government for a full four years '96-'00), it now had an unprecedented opportunity. "The DP finally has the chance to show what it can do. For the first time we will really be allowed to implement our programme," she said at the party's jubilant campaign headquarters late on election night.
That programme features promises that were also touted by the other candidates, on issues that are widely recognised by businessmen and development experts in Mongolia and abroad as most important to the nation's future. These are the management of the vast mining and resource boom, improvements in transport and power infrastructure and coping with the stubborn prevalence of corruption.
The biggest emblem of Mongolia's stalled development is the Oyu Tolgoi (OT) copper and gold mine in the Gobi desert. Rio Tinto, a mining giant, has invested more than $6 billion in the project but has been frustrated by repeated, highly politicised efforts by the Mongolian authorities to restructure the terms of their investment agreement with Rio's subsidiary. Twice in recent weeks the government has delayed the mine's inaugural shipment of copper. Moody's, a large ratings agency, warns that the delay "lowers investor confidence and underscores institutional weaknesses" in Mongolia.
Olivier Descamps, a managing director of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development with responsibility for Mongolia, sees hopeful signs that the country is improving transparency but says the OT mine "is the ultimate test" of Mongolia's ability to prove itself a reliable long-term partner for foreign investors.
Hopes run high that the DP's victory will put an end to political squabbling over such projects. A new foreign-investment law has long been stalled (Mogi: just an "investment law" that doesn't discriminate). But, as he voted, Mr Elbegdorj predicted that its progress will be quicker after the election. "In the coming autumn session of parliament," he said, "I hope you will have that law."
Another highly touted initiative of Mr Eglbegdorj's party has been the decentralisation of budgeting decisions. Julian Dierkes, a Mongolia analyst at the University of British Columbia, says moves to devolve spending decisions to province- and county-level authorities have been very popular in rural areas and certainly boosted votes for Mr Elbegdorj.
But some in the defeated MPP worry that the concentration of power in the hands of the DP, along with the term limit that prevents Mr Elbegdorj from standing for the presidency again, could prove dangerous. They worry he might engage in an unhealthy attempt to use the presidency's judicial powers to mount politically motivated corruption investigations. Political rivals have reason to worry. But foreign investors are conscious that, in a campaign marked by appeals to resource nationalism from all three candidates, the president's was the most moderate voice. They, at least, will be relieved at his victory.
Digesting the Results of the Presidential Election
By Julian Dierkes
June 26 (Mongolia Focus) I will be updating, changing, adding to and deleting from this post continuously this morning (June 27 in Ulaanbaatar) as I sort my thoughts and understanding of the result of the presidential election.
At 8:30h it seems like the GEC is set to announce preliminary (I presume) results that make Elbegdorj a just-barely winner at 51% with Bat-Erdene getting 42% of the votes, and Udval 7%. All this on a low participation of record-low participation of 64%.
Predictions
In the run-up, I was quite hesitant to make predictions, in part because there is no systematic basis for such predictions in the absence of polls and social statistics. I did suggest some outcomes and here's my brief list of I-told-you-sos:
· Elbegdorj won, but barely
· Udval would show around 8%
· turn-out was a real issue
Puzzles
· Turn-out: even lower than I expected and higher in Ulaanbaatar than country-side
· Udval: result on the low end of expectation
· Elbegdorj support: what worked in campaign, though absent exit polls, we won't know
Results
I'll try to pull together the actual figures as the GEC posts them or as they get picked up on-line.
A news.mn post offers numbers – though still incomplete – from this morning's GEC announcement. A number of aimags were still missing and there now seems to be a GEC press conference planned for 11:30h.
It's immediately obvious that Elbegdorj won big in Ulaanbaatar (with big numbers of citizens, of course). If we add the big six city districts (Bayangol, Bayanzurkh, Songinokhairkhan, Sukhbaatar, Khan-Uul, and Chingeltei) together, they gave Elbegdorj 530,000 votes compared to Bat-Erdene's 290,000.
Implication
Stability, stability, stability! Isn't that what happens when an incumbent is re-elected?
The very close result is not one that will obviously embolden Elbegdorj, nor his fellow DP leaders who may have an eye on the 2016 parliamentary election already. On the other hand, Elbegdorj hardly seems like a leader who will let himself be pushed into a lame duck position, just because this is his final term.
The most likely trajectory in the medium term is thus that Elbegdorj will continue to focus on the areas that he's been somewhat focused on for the past four years and that are within the purview of the presidency: foreign relations and the judiciary. He will also continue to insert himself into governance questions at the highest level (especially Oyu Tolgoi), but also at a grass roots level through the citizens halls he has created.
Vote Shares by Regions
By Julian Dierkes
June 27 (Mongolia Focus) Among the data that the General Election Commission has made available quickly is the breakdown by Aimag and Ulaanbaatar ridings.
It's quite clear from a glance that Elbegdorj has won this election on the strength of his showing in the capital, but there are other patterns in the regional distribution as well.
[In the discussion below, I have rounded some figures resulting from re-calculations. I have based these calculations on the data supplied by the GEC and would be happy to send the spreadsheet that I've assembled to anyone to check my calculations.]
MPRP – Udval
Let's first look at Udval's result for the election. With just over 80,000 voters, Udval received 6.5% of the votes nationwide.
Udval received the most votes in Arkhangai (12.98%), Bulgan (10.29%), and Selenge (9.79%). This shows a bit of a regional concentration in that these are neighbouring aimags to the West and North of Ulaanbaatar. She received the least votes Khentii (2.55%), the Bagakhangai district of Ulaanbaatar (3.02%), and Zavkhan (3.04%). Noticeable among these is Khentii, Bat-Erdene's home province where he did extremely well. This relationship suggests that Udval and Bat-Erdene split votes in many jurisdictions.
In terms of the absolute number of votes – the only figure that matters for the outcome of the election – Udval received the most votes in the Ulaanbaatar city districts of Songinokhairkhan, Bayanzurkh, and Bayangol. If we add up her votes from the big six city districts, these amount to over 30,000 out of her total of over 80,000.
MPP – Bat-Erdene
Bat-Erdene received by far the greatest share of the vote in his home province of Khentii with 62.5%. In the home province race, he thus beat Elbegdorj for whom 61.17% of his fellow Khovd-ians voted. Surely the MPP supporters in Bat-Erdene's hometown of Omnodergel – shown here at their final rally on Monday evening on a hill overlooking their broad valley – were among those Khentii voters supporting Bat-Erdene.
After Khentii, Bat-Erdene's highest vote shares were from Sukhbaatar aimag (54.49%), and from Dundgobi (53.81%). Note that Bat-Erdene received high shares of votes all across the Gobi desert, that is across the South of the country.
In addition to his top three vote getters, he won a majority of the vote in Dornogobi, Bagakhangai, and Tov, six electoral districts in total. But these districts where Bat-Erdene won a majority only add up to 76,500 votes.
Beyond these six districts, Bat-Erdene won a plurality of votes in Gobi-Sumber, Baganuur, Bulgan, and Gobi-Altai. If we add these to the districts where he won a majority, these votes total 109,000 or less than 20% of his nation-wide vote total.
Numerically, Bat-Erdene (like the other candidates) won the most votes in the six big city districts. These total to 205,000 or roughly 40% of his nationwide votes.
DP – Elbegdorj
Elbegdorj received his highest share of votes among the diaspora, at 64.57%, followed by Khovd (61.17%) and the Bayangol city district (57.08%). He won a majority in these three districts and 11 more: Bayanzurkh, Sukhbaatar district, Khan-Uul, Songinokhairkhan, Chingeltei, Bayan-Olgi, Dornod, Khuvsgul, Orkhon, Nalaikh, and Darkhan-Uul. These majority districts add up to 427,000 votes just over two thirds of his total of 623,000.
Districts were Elbegdorj won a plurality of votes are: Zavkhan, Bayankhongor, Selenge. Majority and plurality districts added together contributed 479,000 votes or more than 3/4 of his total.
Beyond the city districts, Elbegdorj did particularly well in the West (Khovd, Bayan-Olgi, Khuvsgul, though not in Gobi-Altai where the DP has never fared very well.
The lowest share of votes for the DP came from Khentii (33.37%), Dundgobi, and Dornogobi.
Ulaanbaatar vs. Countryside
The DP has done far better in the city than in the countryside in past elections. While there are pockets of DP support outside of Ulaanbaatar, the large number of voters in the city (even outpacing turnout in the countryside) helped Elbegdorj to his overall win. If we add all the Ulaanbaatar city districts together, these contributed roughly half (306,000) of his overall votes. This compares with 218,000 votes for Bat-Erdene and 32,000 votes for Udval. The difference between Bat-Erdene and Elbegdorj amounts to 88,000 votes nearly totalling the overall differences between their votes (102,000). If we compare vote shares for all the city districts combined, Elbegdorj received 55%, Bat-Erdene 39.19% and Udval 5.8%.
If we add all the non-Ulaanbaatar districts minus the diaspora, respective shares are 47.36% for Elbegdorj, 45.4% for Bat-Erdene, 7.25% for Udval. Using this same definition of country vs. city, 54.23% of all votes were cast outside of Ulaanbaatar.
While Elbegdorj clearly performed better in the city, he still won a plurality of countryside votes, beating Bat-Erdene by 13,000 votes.
Similar:
Mongolia's election competitive and effectively administered, but restrictive and inconsistent legal framework could be improved, observers say – OSCE, June 27
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PetroChina to pay MNT1.3 billion for environmental damages
June 27 (Business-Mongolia.com) As Mongolia moves to improve its safety and environmental standards many companies have been affected by the law. One of them is "Petrochina Dachin Tamsag" Co.ltd – a oil company operates far east of the country. The wholly China owned company is deemed to pay MNT1.3 billion after three levels of the court established the company guilty for the huge environmental damages it caused in the area. However, the company requested to put the case under review due to new and previously undiscovered evidence and situation.
The court ruled that the "new" evidences submitted the court is nothing new and it is unnecessary for another review on 25th of June.
Now, "Petrochina Dachin Tamsag" Co.ltd is deemed to pay the forfeit of MNT1.3 billion (USD960 thousand) within the time-frame stated in the law.
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Obama congratulates Mongolian president on re-election
WASHINGTON, June 28, 2013 (AFP) President Barack Obama praised the democratic pedigree of Mongolian president Tsakhia Elbegdorj late Thursday as he congratulated him on his re-election.
"President Elbegdorj has been an important leader in advancing democracy and freedom in his country and a key partner for the United States in Asia and globally," Obama said in a White House statement.
"Through its impressive democratic achievements and its progress on economic liberalization, Mongolia serves as a significant example of positive reform and transformation for peoples around the world."
Obama said that he looks forward to working with Elbegdorj "to further strengthen the friendship and ties between our two countries."
Elbegdorj, a former journalist who helped throw off decades of communist rule, defeated two opponents to win re-election in Wednesday's presidential election.
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Social, Environmental and Other
Channing Tatum was up for the lead in director Bodrov's Genghis Khan epic
June 27 (Daily Express) CHANNING TATUM has revealed he came close to playing his hero GENGHIS KHAN in a 2007 movie.
Japanese actor Tadanobu Asano landed the lead in Mongol: The Rise of Genghis Khan, but Tatum admits he was considered by Russian director Sergey Bodrov.
The Magic Mike star tells The Hollywood Reporter, "We met... At that time, he hadn't decided he was going to use an Asian actor because Genghis Khan is rumoured to have had freckles and green eyes and red hair, because he was more from northern Mongolia. Back in the day, the Mongolians didn't have the dark features they have today.
"He (Bodrov) gave me a book on him (Genghis Khan) and I've been obsessed with him since then."
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