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Tuesday, July 22, 2014
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Cover Mongolia
Mogi: Cover Mongolia is pleased to continue its media partnership with rescheduled Oil & Oil Shale Mongolia conference
Oil & Oil Shale Mongolia 2014 scheduled to be held on 10-11 
September 2014
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, 17 July 2014 (The Organizing Committee) - Oil & Oil Shale Mongolia 2014, International investment conference is back with a new scheduled date on 10 - 11 September, 2014 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The official decision is made by the hosts of the event - Ministry of Mining and Petroleum Authority and the organizer Minex Mongolia LLC, after State Ikh Khural, the Parliament of Mongolia passed the long waited new Petroleum Law of Mongolia on 1 July 2014.
As the key reason of postponing the original date of the event 9 - 10 April 2014 - delay in adopting the new law and current oil policy of Government of Mongolia - is now removed, the organizers are happy to assure there is no such a delay now.
The hosts, organizers and sponsors of the conference are all pleased about passing of the new petroleum law and looking forward to sharing this important policy document and other regulations, opportunities and potentials in oil and oil shale sector of Mongolia during the upcoming investment conference in September.
Once again the organizers welcome international investors and esteemed speakers of worldwide oil and oil shale industry to explore vast opportunities that exist untapped oil and oil shale resources of Mongolia.
This is the country's first international investment conference on oil, gas, and oil shale. The event will be attended by international investors, oil, gas, and oil shale companies, service providers, consultancies, equipment suppliers, and traders.
The delegates will have a unique opportunity to network with industry's key contacts and to obtain vital information on legislation and policies on oil, gas, and oil shale exploration and production regulations from the officials of the Ministry of Mining and Petroleum Authority of Mongolia.
Moreover, projects on oil refinery, exploration, production, plus oil shale projects will be presented.
Attending the Oil & Oil Shale Mongolia 2014 International Investment Conference will let you accurately assess how you could reap the rewards of Mongolia's growth, evermore favorable policies, and emerging market of oil and oil shale. Whether you are seeking new and exciting investment opportunities, or in pursuit of investment for your Mongolian projects, the conference is your ideal chance to meet, hear from and network with senior players in Mongolian business and government.
For more information please refer to enclosed brochure and/or visit our webpage: http://www.oilmongolia.com/
Ways to register:
Online: http://www.oilmongolia.com/online_registration
Call: +(976) 344488, (976) 9910-5877
Email: info@oilmongolia.com
MSE Weekly Review, July 16-18: Top 20 -4.66%, Turnover ₮20.35 Million
Ulaanbaatar, July 21 /MONTSAME/ Three stock trades were held at Mongolia's Stock Exchange July 16-18, 2014.
In overall, 22 thousand and 240 shares were sold of 35 joint-stock companies totalling MNT 20 million 351 thousand and 008.00.
"Hot development" /12 thousand units/, "Genco tour bureau" /4,017 units/, "E-trans logistics" /1,690 units/, "Arig gal" /746 units/ and "Baganuur" /585 units/ were the most actively traded in terms of trading volume.
In terms of trading value--"Bayangol hotel" (MNT four million and 350 thousand), "Baganuur" (MNT two million 513 thousand and 750), "APU" /MNT two million 093 thousand and 610/, "Sharyn gol" /MNT one million 809 thousand and 900/ and "Darkhan nekhii" (MNT one million and 659).
Link to MSE's weekly trading report
MSE News for July 21: Top 20 -0.03% to 16,284.2, Turnover ₮5.9 Million
Ulaanbaatar, July 21 /MONTSAME/ At the Stock Exchange trades held Monday, a total of 1,297 shares of five JSCs were traded costing MNT five million 906 thousand and 778.00.
"APU" /736 units/, "Shivee ovoo" /490 units/, "Gobi" /54 units/, "Merex" /nine units/ and "Moninjbar" /eight units/ were the most actively traded in terms of trading volume.
In terms of trading value--"APU" (MNT two million 877 thousand and 380), "Shivee ovoo" (MNT two million 601 thousand and 900), "Gobi" (MNT 424 thousand and 170), "Moninjbar" (MNT 2,320) and "Merex" (MNT 1,008).
The total market capitalization was set at MNT one trillion 677 billion 111 million 735 thousand and 498. The Index of Top-20 JSCs was 16,284.27, decreasing by MNT 4.27 or 0.03% against the previous day.
Mogi: a new rec…, oh why bother
BoM MNT Rates: Monday, July 21 Close
| 7/21 | 7/18 | 7/17 | 7/16 | 7/10 |
USD | 1,843.90 | 1,841.93 | 1,840.25 | 1,836.95 | 1,838.54 |
EUR | 2,493.78 | 2,492.32 | 2,490.50 | 2,489.99 | 2,506.67 |
CNY | 297.06 | 296.98 | 296.72 | 296.07 | 296.67 |
GBP | 3,148.27 | 3,150.25 | 3,148.39 | 3,149.45 | 3,149.05 |
RUB | 52.52 | 52.46 | 52.82 | 53.48 | 54.27 |
July MNT vs USD, CNY Chart:
Changes Proposed to Credit Guarantee Fund to Meet SME Demand
July 21 (Mongolian Economy) The Government is currently aiming to promote businesspeople of small- and medium-sized enterprises within Mongolia. There are currently over 40,000 companies in operation and of these businesses, only 20,000 are registered and located in the capital city of Ulaanbaatar. The rest are situated in the countryside. These enterprises face many barriers when trying to conduct activities. For example, the biggest obstacle these businesses endure is paying rent for their places of operation.
To combat this and other issues, businesspeople from these companies requested to be included within the 8% mortgage loan plan (Mogi: 8% is completely unsustainable when inflation is near 15%). In response, the government, in order to promote the private sector, decided to change some laws in the Credit Guarantee Fund of Mongolia. These changes aim to promote employment levels as well as increase required financing opportunities.
Small- and medium-sized enterprises consistently undergo obstacles relating to guaranteed capital. The changes made to the Credit Guarantee Fund will help alleviate these problems. During the first half of 2014, the government issued MNT 11 billion of guarantees for small- and medium-sized enterprises. However, this money only helped 0.45% of 36,800 enterprises consisting of no more than 50 employees. Ch. Ulaan, the Finance Minister, said that this number shows us that current demand is not being met.
The government will recapitalize the source of the Credit Guarantee Fund of Mongolia and promote local small-and medium-sized business owners around Mongolia. In addition, they will also attempt to expand operations not only in the city, but locally. The main idea behind these legal changes is for the government to promote countryside businesspeople in order to reach their goal to develop local areas. This will be submitted to Parliament this fall.
International Co-operative Alliance Invites Mongolia to Chair 11th ICA Asia-Pacific Session
Ulaanbaatar, July 21 /MONTSAME/ Regional Director of the International Co-operative Alliance's (ICA) Asia Pacific office Mr Balasubramanian Iyer is paying a working visit to Mongolia.
On Monday, Mr Iyer started the visit by holding official meeting with Mr N.Enkhbold MP, the president of the Mongolian National Unified Association of Co-operatives.
Starting the meeting, Mr Enkhbold congratulated Mr Iyer on visiting Mongolia after being appointed on the position, and then introduced to him a present situation of the co-operative's development in Mongolia and governmental works for supporting the movement of co-operatives. In addition the parties exchanged views on role of co-operatives in realizing the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) put forward by the UN, and the collaboration between co-operatives and supporter organizations in ensuring the co-operatives' development.
The sides also discussed an importance of developing the direct ties among co-operative organizations, and reached an agreement to do some works for this.
Mr Iyer interested in a legal regulation for co-operatives. In response, Mr Enkhbold introduced to Mr Iyer a bill on co-operatives which is about to be submitted to parliament.
The ICA Regional Director granted an invitation to Mr Enkhbold to attend and chair the 11th session of the ICA Asia-Pacific Region to be held in September in Indonesia.
President Ts.Elbegdorj arrives in Japan
Ulaanbaatar, July 21 /MONTSAME/ The President of Mongolia Ts.Elbegdorj has started a working visit to Japan.
On Monday afternoon, the President and accompanying him officials landed on the "Haneda" international airport of Tokyo. He was welcomed there by Mr S.Khurelbaatar, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Mongolia to Japan, and other diplomats of our Embassy.
Today at 17 pm the leader of Mongolia will receive Mr Hayashi Motoo, a head of the group for developing the Japan-Mongolia relations at the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan (LDP); his deputy Mr Shiozaki Yasuhisa; and Mr Nishimura Yasutoshi, the group's secretary-general.
The visit will continue until July 24 focusing on the bilateral economic cooperation.
On Tuesday, the President will leg the headquarters of the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren), where a Mongolia-Japan business forum will take place.
The visiting group has 150 delegates such as authorities of the largest companies; Ch.Saikhanbileg, a head of the Cabinet Secretariat for Government; N.Zoljargal, a president of the Bank of Mongolia; also Vice Ministers and State Secretaries.
Canadian FM Baird to Visit Mongolia
By Julian Dierkes
July 20 (Mongolia Focus) According to Mongolian news sources (24 Tsag | infomongolia.com), Canadian Foreign Minister John Baird will be visiting Ulaanbaatar July 23-25. There's no official Canadian announcement as of July 20, but let's assume that this visit is really happening, after a number of planned official visits by Canadians that had been aborted in previous years.
Why is John Baird Going to Mongolia?
For once, this is not foreign diplomacy that's motivated by Canadian domestic electoral politics. While the number of Mongolians living (and presumably voting) in Canada is growing, they are neither numerous nor concentrated enough to be an attractive group to address even for micro-targetting politician strategists.
Instead, this visit will be a further step in a slowly deepening bilateral relationship that is rooted in democracy and natural resources. It would follow on the October visit of the Governor General.
Mongolia has long fit the profile of a country that is of interest to the Harper government because of this combination of political and economic shared interests. Mongolia seems to be firmly committed to democracy (though worries have been expressed recently), and its economic and thus social development depends almost entirely on resource development.
Current Developments
FM Baird is arriving just after Naadam, the annual summer festival that celebrates wrestling, archery, and horseback riding. Generally, the period from after Naadam to the end of summer is rather slow in Mongolia, a little like France that way, with many people, including officials, away to the countryside.
If I had a chance to speak to the Mongolian foreign policy establishment, the top item on my agenda would be the squeeze that Pres Putin's overtures to Pres Xi potentially puts on Mongolia. This Spring has changed Mongolia's foreign policy environment rapidly in the aftermath of the Crimea annexation and opposition to it from OECD countries. I would offer strong moral support for democracy and for Mongolia's independence, especially in light of the upcoming visits by Pres. Xi and Putin. The coming months may well be a time when Mongolia will need to cash in some friendship chips with the "3rd neighbours" it has been cultivating for years – including Canada -, to negotiate a viable course between pressure from its two overbearing neighbours. I imagine that German FM Steinmeier had discussions along these lines on his visit last month. This pressure can be seen in the international sphere in noises about a Russian-Mongolian and possible Russian-Chinese-Mongolian customs union, or in apparent suggestions that Mongolia accelerate its accession to the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. These are developments that are not obviously in Mongolia's interest, but might be seen as desirable by its direct neighbours.
The other topic that I would emphasize with current officials is the importance of a balanced approach to governing even with a solid majority in place. Of course, FM Baird as a member of the majority Conservatives might be an odd person to deliver such a message.
Concrete Outcomes?
There are two broad areas where the visit might lead to announcement of concrete outcomes, though I've been entirely wrong on second-guessing government intentions and discussions in the past.
1. FIPA. Negotiations for a Foreign Investment Protection Agreement have been stalled for some time, apparently due to objections or a lack of interest by Min of Econ Development, N Batbayar. Recently, there have been some noises about a re-initialization of these discussions.
2. A Canadian aid program for Mongolia. Last month, it was announced that Mongolia had been added to DFATD's countries of focus list for foreign aid. A bilateral aid program has been under discussion/in the making for some years, so the visit by the Foreign Minister would seem like an opportune moment for an announcement.
Canada's excellent ambassador to Mongolia, Greg Goldhawk, is due to leave Ulaanbaatar in August. So far, no word of a successor has come, but perhaps this is something that FM Baird will share with his Mongolian hosts at least, if not with the interested Canadian public.
There have been some hints that Mongolian President Elbegdorj would be interested in visiting Canada, possibly this Fall. If this were to be moving toward a concrete plan rather than a rumour, the visit by Foreign Minister Baird could be a time to announce such a plan, though that strikes me as somewhat unlikely.
Russia Invites Prosecutor General of Mongolia to Int'l Conference on Combating Transnational Organized Crime
July 21 (InfoMongolia) On July 18, 2014, Prosecutor General of Mongolia and Senior Advisor for State Legislation, Mr. Damba DORLIGJAV received in his office the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Mongolia, Mr. Iskander Kubarovich Azizov upon his request.
During the meeting Ambassador I.K.Azizov handed over an invitation from the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation, Mr. Yury Yakovlevich Chaika to his counterpart to pay a working visit to Russia.
The visit objective is to participate at the International Conference on Combating Transnational Organized Crime, which is planned to take place in Irkutsk, Russia on August 26-28, 2014, where over 20 Prosecutor's Offices from Asia and Europe are invited and the meeting is hosted by the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation.
Social, Environmental and Other
Orbis Launches Seventh Flying Eye Hospital Program in Mongolia to Support Long Term Development Activities
The Flying Eye Hospital will provide intense thematic and subspecialty training in Ulaanbaatar over two week program
NEW YORK, July 21, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Orbis Flying Eye Hospital (FEH) is visiting Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia for the seventh time to conduct an intensive and comprehensive training and skills exchange program aimed at strengthening ophthalmic services in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia. The program focus is on subspecialty training in the areas of cataract, glaucoma, medical retina for adults and pediatric cataract, strabismus and oculoplastics. The comprehensive activities will provide hands-on training to the local eye care community including doctors, nurses and biomedical engineers.
"The Orbis Flying Eye Hospital team is pleased to be back in Ulaanbaatar," said Dr. Ahmed Gomaa, Medical Director of the Flying Eye Hospital. "We look forward to reconnecting with past trainees we have mentored over the years as well as working alongside the next generation of ophthalmologists and eye health workers. We are excited to continue working together to deliver the highest standards of training, so that in turn the ophthalmic community in this country can continue to build a strong, high-quality service."
The Flying Eye Hospital program is focusing on strengthening and supporting the Model of Excellence in Modern Ophthalmology (MEMO Mongolia) Adult and Pediatric Vision Network projects that have been planned in cooperation with the Mongolian Ministry of Health. MEMO Mongolia is aimed at building capacity in adult and pediatric ophthalmology.
"Orbis has a long tradition of working in Mongolia. We have conducted various programs since the 1990s," explains George Smith, Director of the Orbis North Asia. "In September we will launch the Pediatric MEMO initiative in collaboration with the National Center for Maternal and Child Health in Ulaanbaatar, the main provider of children's eye care in Mongolia, and 5 Aimag (county-level) hospitals in rural Mongolia to create a model comprehensive vision care network. The FEH program networks for the future."
During the first week of the program, the focus will be on subspecialty training of pediatric eye care at the National Center for Maternal and Child Health. Week two will take place at the State Central Third Hospital focusing on adult care including training in MSICS and Phaco techniques for adult cataract, glaucoma and medical retina with a focus on diabetic retinopathy.
About Prevention of Blindness Worldwide
On a global scale, 285 million people are visually impaired. An estimated 80 percent of all visual impairment can be avoided or cured. Approximately 90 percent of all visually impaired people live in developing countries.
About Orbis
Orbis prevents and treats blindness through hands-on training, public health education, improved access to quality eye care, advocacy and partnerships with local health care organizations. By building long-term capabilities, Orbis helps its partner institutions take action to reach a state where they can provide, on their own, quality eye care services that are affordable, accessible, and sustainable. To learn more about Orbis, please visit www.orbis.org.
PM Attends Annual Buryat Festival "Altargana" in Khentii
Ulaanbaatar, July 21 /MONTSAME/ The Prime Minister N.Altankhuyag has greeted participants of the "Altargana" international festival of the Buryats.
The festival commenced last Friday in Khentii aimag's Dadal soum under auspices of the PM. Mr Altankhuyag made the opening remarks at the opening, stressing that this international festival for arts and sports of the Burayts, organized since 1994, will not be left without the government's attention.
The "Altargana" is running 13 sports events and art and other art measures with a participation of some 2,000 delegates, he noted and said that the history and traditions of Mongolians and Burayts are enriching.
As of present, some 40 thousand Burayts live in Mongolian Khentii, Dornod, Tov, Selenge, Darkhan-Uul, Bulgan, Khovsgol and Omnogobi aimags. They also live in Russia and in Chinese Inner Mongolia.
Mogi: son of former PM Batbold Sukhbaatar (MPP)
The Coming of a Digital Economy in Mongolia
By Battushig Batbold, World Economic Global Shaper from Mongolia
ULAN BATOR, Mongolia, July 21 (Huffington Post) -- I was pleasantly surprised when I saw the front cover of the New York Times last year with the story of a Mongolian boy, titled "The Boy Genius of Ulan Bator" in the September 13th, 2013 issue. At age 13, he had built a sensor system to keep his sister out of harm's way from cars in Mongolia, and at age 15 he received a perfect score on an online MIT class (MOOC) that was offered to 150,000 students globally.
As I got to know him during his studies in the past year at MIT, I came to realize that if we as a country can support young children through technology promotion and innovation, we may very well be able to expand from our dependence on the mining sector and natural resources and begin to diversify into human resources and services. The potential of the children in Mongolia looks bright, but the environment for them to succeed must exist.
During business school, I began to learn more about the tech sector in the U.S. and emerging markets. However, this is not about what I learned, but about what I have seen that has inspired me to think of ways to help my country.
During my time in Boston, I attended an event at a non-profit organization called "Mass Challenge." The offices I walked into were basically open spaces in a warehouse, consisting of an assortment of long tables, desks and workspaces. Their aim there is simple: Create a competition for startup companies, choose the most promising ones, and provide the resources for them to reach the next level in their endeavors.
By providing offices, communal space and advisory services, the best companies will be positioned to become very successful. Emerging markets across the globe, such as parts of Africa, have already solved some of their socioeconomic problems -- local issues like power outages, for instance -- through technological innovation.
With this in mind, I feel that Mongolia would greatly benefit from the creation of a tech incubator, and I hope to take part in this initiative. Given the early stage of our technology sector, there may be challenges, but with the support of the community, I believe that we can accomplish it.
When one thinks of the digital age in Mongolia, it may be taken with a bit of a surprise given that we come from a nomadic background and are still considered a frontier market. Currently, the GDP of Mongolia stands at a little over 10 billion dollars. To put this in perspective, over the past few years tech companies such as Uber, WhatsApp, Dropbox and Palantir have all received valuations of more than 10 billion dollars each.
With this in mind, if just one Mongolian child can create a startup company that ultimately succeeds, he or she might just be able to double the GDP of the entire country.
It's a difficult task to be sure, but by starting somewhere, we can start getting the attention of people who can help. In the last few years, Mongolia has become a tourist destination for its beautiful nature, transcending culture and nomadic heritage. While some of the world's foremost engineers, founders, and academics come to Mongolia, they get an insight into the tech potential that may lead to partnerships in the future.
So I hope with this in mind, as we look at the future and think of ways to diversify the economy, the idea of locally-created technology helping the local economy should not be too far-fetched for any country -- including Mongolia.
About Battushig Batbold (from personal blog)
Battushig Batbold is a recent graduate of the Harvard Business School class of 2014. He is currently a Governing Board member of New York Needs You, a non-profit that fights for economic mobility for ambitious, low-income college students in New York. Previously he was an analyst at Morgan Stanley in London within the Investment Banking Division. He is a board director of Altai Holding, a Mongolian private company. He is also affiliated with the Brookings Institute and One Young World, a non-profit for socially committed individuals with leadership potential.
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