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Tuesday, October 20, 2015
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TRQ closed -1.71% Monday to US$2.87, -4.33% in last 5 days
Oyu Tolgoi transfers major power line asset to government of Mongolia
· Approximately 96km of high-quality transmission line connecting Umnugobi to the Mongolia-China border
· The 220kv double circuit transmission line was built in 2011, and reached operational status in July 2012
· Line has achieved 100 per cent availability and 99.8 per cent reliability over two years of commercial operations
· Population centres and industry in region benefit from access to high quality reliable power
· Line forms an important energy pathway connecting China and Mongolia, and improves Mongolia's energy security
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, 19 October 2015 (Oyu Tolgoi LLC) Oyu Tolgoi LLC today signed two major agreements with the National Power Transmission Grid company to transfer and maintain the 96km power line, built and owned by the company, running between the Oyu Tolgoi site in the Umnugobi region and the Mongolia-China border.
State Secretary for Ministry of Energy D. Delgertsogt, Erdenes MGL CEO B. Byambasaikhan, senior government representatives, Rio Tinto Country Director S. Munkhsukh and, Oyu Tolgoi Chief Financial Officer Steve Duggan participated in the signing ceremony.
State Secretary for Ministry of Energy D.Delgertsogt said "This is an important day for the energy sector of Mongolia. Our national power grid now connects to our two neighbours with reliable, high-quality infrastructure, helping Mongolia's energy security in the near term, and in the long term, supporting our transition from an energy importing nation to an exporter.
"This also supports our strategy, under the Power Sector Cooperation Agreement signed with Oyu Tolgoi, to enhance access to reliable power in the Umnugobi region to support population centres and the growth of industry."
Speaking at the event Steve Duggan said "We are proud to deliver on our commitment in transferring this high-quality asset to the Government of Mongolia. This is a noteworthy example of Oyu Tolgoi achieving goals together with our stakeholders. The power line is important not just for Oyu Tolgoi, but can be a catalyst for greater development in the region."
The line was built in 2011 to allow for the import of electricity from China to support Oyu Tolgoi's operations. The agreement completes the Company's commitment of transferring ownership of the asset to the Government of Mongolia. The transfer also ties into the August 2014 'Power Sector Cooperation Agreement' between the Government of Mongolia and Oyu Tolgoi, which aims to work towards a power solution for the Umnugobi region, providing a pathway for strengthening the power supply network in Mongolia.
Oyu Tolgoi announces Q3 2015 production update
Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, 16 October 2015 (Oyu Tolgoi LLC) Oyu Tolgoi today announced an update on its production for the third quarter of 2015.
Highlights:
· All Injury Frequency Rate of 0.31 year to date per 200,000 hours worked
· Record mine production in third quarter 2015
· Oyu Tolgoi crosses 1.5 million tonnes of concentrate shipments
Andrew Woodley, President and Chief Executive Officer, said, "Oyu Tolgoi again achieved record production in the third quarter, building on our performance from Q2 2015. We also crossed 1.5 million tonnes of concentrate shipments in September – continuing our momentum from reaching 1 million tonnes in only February this year.
"We have achieved this while maintaining an unrelenting focus on safety and, as a company delivering a higher level of productivity to ensure competitiveness and sustainability despite volatile market conditions. Our performance is clear evidence that we are headed, together, in the right direction, and that our strategy is delivering."
During Q3'15, mined production increased 8.5 per cent over Q2'15 due to shorter hauling routes and ongoing productivity initiatives. Copper in concentrates for Q3'15 increased 1.3 per cent due to higher head grades. Gold in concentrates for the quarter decreased 48.5 per cent over Q2'15 due to slower than anticipated access to gold-rich ore. Increased copper and gold production is expected in Q4'15 as higher-grade ore is accessed in the open pit.
Turquoise Hill continues to expect Oyu Tolgoi to produce 175,000 to 195,000 tonnes of copper and 600,000 to 700,000 ounces of gold in concentrates in 2015. The Company expects copper production to be at the top of the range while gold production is expected to be in the middle of the range.
Following the filing of revised schedules for the 2015 Oyu Tolgoi Feasibility Study with the Mongolian Minerals Council in August, pre-start activities are underway in parallel with an update to the capital estimate, which is expected to be completed in Q1'16. Pre-start activities include ramp-up of the owners and EPCM team, re-estimate activities, detailed engineering and early procurement for equipment and materials required for necessary critical works that are key enablers for recommencement of underground lateral development mining activity. The Company continues to expect signing of project financing by the end of 2015 and the decision for underground construction in early Q2'16.
Oyu Tolgoi Production Data
All data represents full production and sales on a 100 per cent basis
…
MSE Weekly Report: MSE ALL +0.05%, Market Cap +0.52%, Stocks ₮39.96 Million, T-Bills ₮10 Billion
October 19 (MSE) Mongolian Stock Exchange organized 5 securities trading sessions and made transaction of MNT10,039,958,250.00 with daily average transaction of MNT2,007,991,650.00 in period between 12 October 2015 and 17 October 2015.
Share trading:
27,782.00 shares of 33 joint stock companies worth of MNT39,958,250.00 were traded.
Most actively traded securities
№ | | Securities Name | Value /MNT/ |
1 | TTL | TAVAN TOLGOI | 8,393,600 |
2 | UID | ULSYN IKH DELGUUR | 7,489,079 |
3 | GOV | GOBI | 4,274,220 |
4 | SHG | SHARYN GOL | 3,482,711 |
5 | NEH | DARKHAN NEKHII | 3,114,000 |
Most active brokerage companies
№ | | Company Name | Value /MNT/ |
1 | BDSC | BDSec | 26,988,906 |
2 | MICC | MICC | 12,109,376 |
3 | APS | ASIA PACIPIC SECURITIES | 4,476,402 |
4 | TABO | TAVAN BOGD | 3,653,650 |
5 | MSDQ | MASDAQ | 3,239,335 |
Government retail bonds trading:
100,000 Government retail bonds worth of MNT10,000,000,000.00 /10 billion/ traded through one trading session.
As of 17 October 2015, market capitalization was MNT1,319,867,831,101.00 which indicated increased of 0.52%, and MSE ALL index reached 932.37 units which indicated increased of 0.05% from the previous week.
MSE Trading Report: Top 20 -0.81%, ALL -0.45%, Turnover ₮9.9 Million Stocks
October 19 (MSE) --
Historic low ₮1,997.26/USD set September 11
BoM MNT Rates: Monday, October 19 Close
| | 10/19 | 10/16 | 10/15 | 10/14 | 10/13 | 10/12 | 10/9 | 10/8 | 10/7 | 10/6 | 10/5 | 10/2 | 10/1 | 9/30 | 9/29 | 9/28 |
| USD | 1,992.53 | 1,992.78 | 1,990.36 | 1,994.64 | 1,994.43 | 1,994.63 | 1,994.45 | 1,993.59 | 1,995.99 | 1,995.06 | 1,996.34 | 1,996.69 | 1,996.27 | 1,996.83 | 1,996.99 | 1,993.89 |
| EUR | 2,262.12 | 2,265.99 | 2,277.57 | 2,277.48 | 2,274.85 | 2,270.69 | 2,258.02 | 2,250.76 | 2,242.30 | 2,237.66 | 2,245.68 | 2,229.90 | 2,242.44 | 2,242.44 | 2,244.22 | 2,231.26 |
| CNY | 313.36 | 313.76 | 313.67 | 314.31 | 314.81 | 315.61 | 314.32 | 313.83 | 314.03 | 313.88 | 314.09 | 314.14 | 314.07 | 314.16 | 313.81 | 313.02 |
| GBP | 3,081.25 | 3,082.73 | 3,078.29 | 3,053.99 | 3,064.04 | 3,064.55 | 3,061.98 | 3,056.77 | 3,048.97 | 3,022.91 | 3,041.82 | 3,024.09 | 3,021.16 | 3,026.00 | 3,032.63 | 3,032.31 |
| RUB | 32.43 | 32.49 | 31.98 | 31.59 | 32.05 | 32.71 | 32.34 | 32.02 | 31.85 | 30.59 | 30.40 | 30.28 | 30.70 | 30.41 | 30.17 | 30.37 |
Bank rates at time of sending: TDB (Buy ₮1,987 Sell ₮1,996), Khan (Buy ₮1,986 Sell ₮1,995), Golomt (Buy ₮1,986 Sell ₮1,995), XacBank (Buy ₮1,987 Sell ₮1,996), State Bank (Buy ₮1,986 Sell ₮1,995)
MNT vs USD (blue), CNY (red) in last 1 year:
BoM issues ₮203 billion 1-week bills at 13%, total outstanding +5.8% to ₮501.9 billion
October 16 (BoM) BoM issues 1 week bills worth MNT 203 billion at a weighted interest rate of 13.0 percent per annum /For previous auctions click here/
Petroleum Import Up 2% in Volume, Down 38% in Value in First 9 Months
October 19 (Mongolian Economy) According to the foreign trade balance as of September, the value of imports of petroleum products decreased by 38 percent. Although petroleum imports rose by two percent, the monetary value declined due to the decreased prices at the border.
As of September, products' prices at the border reached USD 564.1 per tonne. The price of petroleum products at the border have been falling since the end of 2013 and reached its lowest levels in the last five years in February of this year. There was a slight rebound in March of this year, before continuing to decline in June.
The decline in the net value of imported petroleum products led to an eight percent decrease in total import products. In addition, investment products accounted for five percent of the 29 percent decrease in total imports, and consumer goods accounted for 15 percent.
GoM proposes issuing bonds to guarantee 20 of 30% mortgage down payment
October 19 (news.mn) The issue of how to reduce the prepayment on mortgage loans from 30% to 10% and for the Government to guarantee the remaining 20% by means of the "Credit Guarantee Fund" is currently under discussion. The Government, however, must have sufficient funds to facilitate this. Therefore, the Government has proposed the idea of issuing bonds as a solution.
According to the Ministry of Building and Urban Construction, the preparatory documentary works are completed. Now the signing of contracts with representatives of five sectors remains. The technical aspects are also being studied.
60.8 thousand babies delivered in first 9 months, down 1.3% from 2015, infant mortality 1%
October 19 (gogo.mn) In the first 9 months of 2015, 60,514 mothers delivered 60,849 children (live births) it has decreased by 796 mothers or 1.3 percent by 825 children or 1.3 percent compared to same period of the previous year.
In September 2015, 6,642 mothers delivered 6652 children (live births) it has decreased by 147 mothers or 2.2 percent and by 187 children or 2.7 percent from previous month.
In the first 9 months of 2015, infant mortality reached 921 it has increased by 9 children or 1.0 percent and mortality under-five reached 1098 has shown decrease of 13 children or 1.2 percent compared to same period of the previous year.
The infant mortality reached 102 in September, 2015 it has increased by 10 children or 10.9 percent, mortality under-five reached 123 it has shown increase of 13 children or 11.8 percent compared to previous month.
Source: www.nso.mn
Invest in Mongolia: Presentation at CAREC Investment Forum
By Delgermaa, Senior Advisor to Prime Minister of Mongolia, September 24, Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia
Mongolia: Credit rating, institutional investors and lower funding cost
By Zulbayar Badral, Chevening Scholarship recipient currently pursuing MSc in Global Finance at the University of Westminster in the UK. Previously, he was CEO of a consultancy firm in Mongolia and has worked in marketing, business development, and accounting in Mongolia and abroad. You can find him as @ZulbayarB on Twitter.
October 19 -- As a consequence of a number of global financial crisis originated by the U.S. sub-prime mortgage crisis, followed by a credit crunch crisis and European sovereign debt crisis, now the world's economies, regardless of their size and maturity, are suffering from low growth, if they are not in fact shrinking. Therefore, U.S. led developed nations have taken a number of measures to support businesses and one of them was to provide low cost financing.
In order to so, those governments have implemented (experimented) with an unconventional monetary policy called Quantitative Easing which was intended to boost the liquidity of capital markets without affecting the inflation level and interest rates. Businesses that were able to get low cost funding through financial institutions have stabilized their operations and started looking into expansion opportunities.
Companies equipped with favorable credit ratings, sensible business plans and skilled business managers, are being chosen to obtain lower cost funding with favorable terms, and are aggressively engaging in merger and acquisition activities, whether it be a takeover of competitors or suppliers in recent years.
(Picture 1) Worldwide Quarterly M&A and Number of Deals
Source: Thomson Reuters
By taking over its competitors, a company may well be able to get a bigger market share, save operational costs, and obtain new business knowledge or experience. For instance, let's imagine that "BOSA", a supermarket chain, takes over a competitor chain supermarket "Minii Delguur". As a result of the acquisition, there will be a number of savings and benefits such as a lower delivery costs for more closely located supermarkets, labor cost savings by employing a head manager who can be shared by geographically closely located supermarkets, and savings on overhead, by using the same warehouses. Most importantly, there will be fewer price competitors for goods sold in those supermarkets.
Basically, businesses seek a synergy, which is a benefit simply explained as 1+1=3 or benefits arising from a takeover or merger. Businesses are taking advantage of the merger and acquisition process, and then go to institutional investors for funding.
The latest example is the takeover bid of Anheuser-Busch InBev, producer of world famous Stella Artois, Budweiser and Corona to acquire SABMiller which is also a famous beverage company that produces Peroni and Grolsch brand beers among others.
Currently, Anheuser-Busch InBev and SABMiller own 20% and 10% of the world beverage market, respectively. If the deal is successfully closed, then, a USD 180-250 billion company will be created. No single company in the world is able to finance such a big deal by itself. Accordingly, institutional investors step in and provide financing by issuing direct loans or by purchasing their bond.
Even though those companies' bonds are not as reliable as U.S. T-bills, banks and investment funds will decide whether to buy them or not once they have evaluated associated risks and returns.
If Mongolia is able to improve its current credit rating soon, we have many potential high growth economic sectors such as energy, transportation and infrastructure which may attract institutional investors.
Mongolia
S&P | Moody's | Fitch | |
Rating | B+ | B2 | B+ |
Outlook | Negative | Negative | Negative |
Source: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/mongolia/rating
As mentioned in the previous article, if the Mongolian government pays closer attention to its current debt management situation, and improves its current credit rating, it would benefit the country greatly and attract outside investors which would provide real support for our country's private sector, and lead Mongolia to an economic growth model which is independent from China.
Parliament Agenda for Oct 19: Caucus, Working Group Meetings
October 19 (gogo.mn) Working group meetings are scheduled for today.
- "Draft Law on Trade" discussion by the Economy Standing Committee sub-working group;
- "Draft Law on Development Policy and Planning" discussion by sub-working group, established by the order of Speaker of the State Great Hural
- "Draft Law on Joint Pension" discussion by the Social Policy, Culture and Science Standing Committee working group
- "Amendments to law on 2015 Mongolian State Budget, Amendments to 2015 Budget Law for Human Development Fund, Amendments to Budget Law for 2015 Social Insurance Fund" discussion by working group, established by the order of Speaker of the State Great Hural
- "Draft Resolution of State Great Hural on Approval of State Policy on Food and Agriculture" discussion by Environment, Food and Agriculture Standing Committee working group
Mongolia thanks Friedrich Ebert Foundation for democracy advice
Ulaanbaatar, October 19 (MONTSAME) The Friedrich Ebert Foundation (FEF) gave precious advice to Mongolian democratic leaders in 1990s about keeping a unification of political parties.
It was sounded Monday by the Minister of Labor G.Bayarsaikhan MP during a meeting with Mr Stefan Hrobot who has been appointed recently the Country-director of the FEF for Mongolia. Since the start of cooperation in 1993, the FEF has been significantly contributing to delivering democratic values and ideology and to strengthening the democracy in Mongolia, Bayarsaikhan said.
In response, Mr Hrobot said the FEF can give advice concerning upgrading a legal environment of the labor sector and renovation of the labor law, one of the main documents in the labor sector.
The Minister thanked the foundation for proposing a development of the Mongolian labor sector and said the collaboration is possible also in the laws on employment, labor force and vocational training.
The FEF is a German political foundation associated with the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD), yet independent of it. Established in 1925 as the political legacy of Friedrich Ebert, Germany's first democratically elected President, it is the largest and oldest of the German party-associated foundations. The FEF currently has offices and projects in over 100 countries.
Results of self-governance trainings discussed with aimags' authorities
Ulaanbaatar, October 19 (MONTSAME) An online conference ran Monday at the State House among representatives of Councils of Bayankhongor, Gobi-Altai, Tov and Sukhbaatar provinces to highlight results and a significance of several workshops on improving of a capability of self-governance bodies.
These workshops had been organized under a leadership of Pop Van Huff, an international consultant to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), in frames of a project on empowering local self-governance bodies. This project is being co-implemented by the Parliamentary Office of Mongolia, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) and the UNDP.
During the above conference, which was chaired by B.Boldbaatar, the Secretary-General of the Parliamentary Office, the gathered discussed an importance of these workshops, "there were vital in terms of sharing experiences, making decisions accorded with public interests, improving trust between the state and citizens, boosting the collaboration and promoting representatives' participation in making policies". They also considered as necessary to continue such workshops.
Mongolia signs methane gas processing project with Germany's ThyssenKrupp
October 19 (gogo.mn) During Mongolian-German Economic Committee meeting, held on October 13 in Ulaanbaatar, the Ministry of Energy of Mongolia and ThyssenKrupp of Germany established a memorandum of understanding on a methane gas processing project.
During her state visit to Mongolia in 2011, German Chancellor Angela Merkel pledged to provide assistance for coal processing. Following her visit, the intergovernmental working group was established, and the Government of Germany selected ThyssenKrupp as the company to cooperate on the project with Mongolia.
President of Mongolia Ts.Elbegdorj visited Germany in 2012, during which authorities of the former Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy and ThyssenKrupp signed a memorandum of understanding on the project to produce fuel by diluting coal, as well as MOU in the minerals, industrial, and technological sectors.
The signing of the memorandum to establish a methane gas production factory has been discussed, but delayed as Mongolia's gas supply matter was indefinite. One of Mongolia's options for generating a natural gas reserve is to extract natural gas by processing coal.
In 2015, Mongolian lawmakers amended the Law on Energy in regards to natural gas and methane, opening up possibilities to build a factory like the one being discussed now with ThyssenKrupp. The German company owns an environmentally-friendly technology for coal processing and extracting methane gas.
The Office of Media and Public Relations of the Cabinet reported that the memorandum states that ThyssenKrupp will work on a feasibility study and ensure personnel preparedness, while the Ministry of Energy will issue a license and provide support in creating conditions to build the factory. The Mongolian side will also select a Mongolian project contractor and provide assistance in raising funds for building the factory.
Photo and news source: Ministry of Energy, Mongolia.
Wheat harvest at 75.8%, potato, vegetable at 98-99.6%
October 19 (gogo.mn) As of October 16th, potato and vegetable harvest is at t 98.0-99.6 percent, grain harvest is at 75.8 percent.
Specifically,
- 176.2 thousand tons of grain
- 147.8 thousand tons of potatoes
- 68.9 thousand tons of vegetable
- 34.7 thousand tons of fodder
- 11.7 thousand tons of oil plants were harvested.
This year, total of 512.3 thousand hectares of land were cultivated, of which 389.3 thousand hectares to grain, 360.7 thousand hectares to wheat, 12.5 thousand hectares to potatoes, 7.1 thousand hectares to vegetables, 78.5 thousand hectares to oil plants, 19.5 thousand hectares to fodder plants and 5.4 thousand hectares to medicinal herb were sown respectively.
Preliminary, 265.0 thousand tons of grain, of which 252.3 thousand tons of wheat and 117.3 thousand tons of potato, 75.3 thousand tons of vegetable, 28.7 thousand tons of oil plants, 53.9 thousand tons of fodder plants are expected to be harvested, reported by the Ministry of Food and Agriculture.
Training held for managers of ASEM certified hotels
Ulaanbaatar, October 19 (MONTSAME) Trainings for hotel managers are being held in Corporate-1 hotel on October 19-20, in a scope of a preparation for the 11th ASEM Summit.
In total, 44 hotels have been granted permits to shelter guests of this grand event that will run in Ulaanbaatar in July of 2016.
The trainings, specially dedicated to the hotel managers who will be serving heads of states, PMs and other high guests, have been led by diplomats and leaders of State Protocol Department. The trainings' programme includes themes such as receptions, banquets, feast protocols, hotel management, contemporary issues of service technologies, ethical body conduct around high guests, dressing for ceremonies.
Mongolia to host its first e-Commerce conference
Ulaanbaatar, October 19 (MONTSAME) The first conference of online trade-2015 Ulaanbaatar will take place this October 23.
It will be co-organized by the IT Department of Ulaanbaatar, the Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Golomt Bank, and the "Bayar" agency. The event is expected to attract creators of eco-system of online trade, representatives of IT industry, trade and service centers, financing, banking, insurance, transportation, logistics, the Internet providers and software engineering companies.
"Z pay" system and the "Mongol content" have been selected as golden sponsors of the conference, other sponsors are the apm.mn, mmarket.mn, ubshop.mn websites; "KGB", "Greensoft" and "Asterisk Technologies" LLCs.
2015 Leather, Cashmere Products Fair Ends Today
October 19 (gogo.mn) "Leather and Cashmere Products - 2015" fair which is being held for the 9th year is traditionally taking place during October 15 - 19. Today is the last day of the fair.
Local companies creating end products with leather, cashmere and other wools are presenting their products at the fair which is being exhibited at Misheel Expo.
120 entities including Darhan Nehii, Darhan Minj, Master DoDo, Agni, Monglans, MR, Best Shoes, Gobi, Buyan, Evseg, Goyo and Blue Cashmere are participating at the fair and exhibiting the latest fashion trends made by wool, cashmere and leather.
Products at the expo are being sold at its lowest prices and you are enabled to buy products at 5-50% of discounted price.
Minter Ellison: Mongolia Australia Partners for Development Seminar, 20 October, Brisbane
Tuesday 20 October 2015
5.30pm - 7.30pm
Brisbane
Level 22, Waterfront Place
1 Eagle Street, Brisbane
Enquiries
Lauren Smith on
+61 7 3119 6574 or email.
RSVP by Friday 16 October 2015.
Our Partners would be delighted if you could join them for a discussion on the current opportunities and challenges for those conducting business in Mongolia.
Hosted by Byambajav Dalaibuyan from Mongolia Australia Partners for Development with Elisabeth Ellis and Sebastian Rosholt from Minter Ellison's Ulaanbaatar office, we will explore some of the recent economic and legal developments, as well as the opportunities and hear an update by Rio Tinto on the Oyu Tolgoi project.
We hope you can join us.
Speakers
…
Ulaanbaatar Public Clean Up Day Held on Saturday
October 19 (news.mn) On Saturday 17th October a public clean-up took place. This was to mark the 376th anniversary of the founding of the Mongolian capital. The City Administration's executive department and related authorities, universities, high-schools, companies and the general public were all involved in the clean-up. Under the plan, the public streets, roads, squares, residential and ger districts, parks and green areas as well as the River Tuul and River Dund were cleaned of litter.
Source: City Administration
Bad weather cancels German president's trip to former Mongol capital
Ulan Bator, October 16 (dpa) - German President Joachim Gauck cancelled a planned daytrip to the former capital of the Mongol Empire Karakorum on Friday, the last day of his visit to Mongolia, due to an unexpectedly early onset of winter weather.
The visit to the former seat of ruler Genghis Khan had been scheduled as the last point of his weeklong trip to Asia.
The site 300 kilometres from the present-day capital Ulan Bator is the country's largest archeological dig, funded in part by the German state for around 20 years.
Gauck had planned to inaugurate a reconstruction of the so-called Great Hall, a religious structure in the city, together with the German Archaeological Institute.
The structure was for a long time believed to have been the emperor's palace, but is now thought to have been a Buddhist temple.
Gauck was received with military honours in Ulan Bator Thursday by President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj, who said he would work to improve conditions for foreign investment.
Gauck also spoke with students and teachers at the German-Mongolian Institute for Resources and Technology.
He was to fly back to Germany on Friday as scheduled.
Energy projects with German financing to be accelerated in Mongolia
Ulaanbaatar, October 19 (MONTSAME) The Minister of Energy Mr D.Zorigt last Friday met a delegation headed by Mr Matthias Machnig, the State Secretary at Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.
Noting that a new history of the Mongolia-Germany developmental cooperation started 23 years ago, Mr Zorigt said bilateral cooperation in the energy sphere has been contributing to the friendly relations. "In this sector several projects are being implemented with loans and capitals from the Federal Ministry of Economic Development and the Credit Bank of Reconstruction, and a realization must be accelerated of those that received non-refundable aid of EUR 10.20 million and a soft loan of EUR 19.0 million".
He also said Germany's side tackled a matter on granting the Mongolian energy a soft-loan of some EUR 40 million in accordance with a Mongolia-Germany intergovernmental agreement on developmental policy.
Mentioning that the bilateral cooperation has been brought into a newer level of development--from a stage of loans and assistance--he said he is happy with a possibility of Germany to augment a loan size for several projects such as a renovation of the thermal power stations in Darkhan and Erdenet cities and investing a feasibility study of high electric lines between Ulaanbaatar and Mandalgobi soum of Dundgobi aimag. He asked the German side to focus on collaboration in these projects. The Minister also expressed a satisfaction with the establishment of a cooperation memorandum with Germany's Tussen Group on erecting a factory of producing methane from coal, which was done at the 5th meeting of the bilateral economic committee. "This memorandum will contribute to the air pollution reduction in Ulaanbaatar," he said.
In response, Mr Matthias pointed out that his country will activate the cooperation with Mongolia in the energy and in increasing its effectiveness. "It is vital now to accelerate small-sized projects instead of focusing on mega ones. We intend to launch a realization of several projects in near future," he said.
Germany to finance upgrade of Darkhan, Erdenet power plants
October 19 (gogo.mn) Today consultative pre-meeting of Development Cooperation between Government of Mongolia and Federal German Government was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
At the beginning of the meeting, two parties have exchanged their views on current situation of economic cooperation between Germany and Mongolia as well as further policies to be implemented.
Moreover, our relevant Ministries made presentation on projects to be implemented in three sectors including "Support the sustainable management of mineral resources", "Biodiversity change" and "Energy Efficiency".
During the meeting, two sides have signed "Economic cooperation agreement of 2013", Economic cooperation agreement of 2014/2015 which are to confirm the commitment of Intergovernmental Development Cooperation Agreement of two countries.
In scope of such financing, the Rehabilitation Project for the Darhan-Erdenet power plant and Ulaanbaatar-Mandalgobi high-voltage transmission line project are expected to be implemented.
Meeting was attended by the representatives of the Ministry of Environment, Green Development and Tourism, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Mining, Ministry of Energy, Ministry of Education, Culture and Science, Ministry of Labor and Ministry of Industry from Mongolia which was led by the State Secretary to the Ministry of Finance H.Gantsogt.
Representatives chaired by Mrs.Gisela Hammerschmidt, Deputy Director General of the German Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, have attended from Germany side.
The Germany to host Development Cooperation Intergovernmental Forum in 2016 and today`s consultative meeting was the preparation for that event, stated by the organizers.
German First Lady Daniela Schadt visits UNICEF programme sites
October 16 (UNICEF Mongolia) A delegation headed by the First Lady of the State of Germany Daniela Schadt visited the remote district of Nalaikh in the capital city Ulaanbaatar. An avid supporter of UNICEF, Schadt went to see UNICEF's work on ground and met with children in kindergarten.
Nalaikh is a poor peri-urban district of Ulaanbaatar. It is 36 km east of the city and hosts a population of about 34,000, out of which about 42 per cent lives under the poverty line. The district is also showing large disparities in relation to Ulaanbaatar and to national-level indicators. To tackle these challenges, UNICEF supported the Nalaikh local authorities to design and adopt the local Child Friendly Community strategy with parameters for accountability in the delivery of basic social services, monitoring of benchmarks through a set of indicators and the mobilization of local financial resources for increased investment on children.
The delegation visited and met with children in mobile "ger" kindergartens with built-in indoor washroom facilities. Due to enrollment over demand following migration pressure, the Early Child Development team at UNICEF helped to establish an additional ECD space, by attaching two "gers", one used as a classroom and another as a nap and play room. The WASH Container House is attached to a ger; it's indoors, heated and the running water is safe for handwashing. If and when the time comes, the WASH Container House can be moved and reattached in a different location making it a sustainable long term investment. There are currently 33 children in the ger-kindergarten.
Schadt praised UNICEF Mongolia's efforts in bringing cost effective solutions at local level and highlighted how impressed she was with all the work that UNICEF and the local government has been doing for the well-being of children.
The visitors also stopped by the family health center where UNICEF works to integrate mother and child nutrition services in routine health services. As a result of the continuous training and local health department's active supervision, counselling on maternal nutrition and Infant and Young Child Feeding has become part of the routine health service in primary health facilities.
Ulaanbaatar to host Asian Security Cooperation Conference
Ulaanbaatar, October 19 (MONTSAME) The 10th General Conference of Council for Security Cooperation in the Asia Pacific (CSCAP) will run here this October 22-23, with a welcoming dinner on October 21.
Themed "Confidence Building in the Asia Pacific–The Security Architecture of the 21st Century" event is to organized by the CSCAP Mongolia Secretariat and the Institute for Strategic Studies at the National Security Council of Mongolia. Participation is expected of some 150 delegates from 20 countries.
The CSCAP is a non-governmental organization that acts as a platform for scholars and researchers on regional security environment and facing challenges in the area, submits recommendations, conclusions and initiatives to related state authorities of the countries and aims to promote cooperation in security. Mongolia joined the organization in 1996.
Board meetings of CSCAP are held twice each year, while the general conferences biannually assemble the high-rank government officials, ambassadors and distinguished scientists.
Today, political-military and economic competitions between the North-East Asian Countries are advancing, whereas the circumstances of Korean peninsula remains unstable. There is also a major possibility of tension in East Asia, caused by territorial disputes. At the general conference, the scholars and scientist will seek solutions to these problems and to strengthen mutual understandings.
U.S. Ambassador pledges to boost bilateral ties with Mongolia
Ulaanbaatar, October 19 (MONTSAME) The Chairman of the State Great Khural (parliament) Z.Enkhbold Monday received Ms Jennifer Zimdahl Galt, the US Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to Mongolia.
The Speaker talked about a regular meeting of the General Agreement on Trade and Investment held in 2015 and the first consultative meeting of the Mongolia-USA Economic Policy. A regular consultative meeting between Mongolia's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the US Department of State ran this September, he added and expressed a satisfaction with an active cooperation between the two countries.
The Mongolia-USA-Japan trilateral meeting successfully ran during the 70th Session of the UN General Assembly, he said, noting an importance of regularizing this trilateral meeting.
In response, Ms Galt thanked the Speaker for the audience and said the Mongolia-USA relations and cooperation have been developing in many sectors, adding that, during her office term she will make efforts to boost the bilateral ties.
Present at the meeting were also O.Baasankhuu MP, a member of the Mongolia-USA inter-parliamentary group at the State Great Khural; and other officials.
Defense Minister attends Xiangshan Forum of defense leaders in China
Ulaanbaatar, October 19 (MONTSAME) Mongolia's Minister of Defense Ts.Tsolmon has participated in international forum of defense leaders, which ran October 16-18 in Beijing of China themed "Asia-Pacific regional security cooperation: Present situation and tendency".
Co-organized by the Society of Military Sciences of China and the International Society for Strategy Studies, the forum brought together Defense Ministers of 16 countries, 500 high ranking military, and scholars from five countries. The Mongolian Minister Tsolmon was accompanied by Colonel G.Saikhanbayar, a head of the Ministry's Department of Strategy, Policy and Planning, and by Lieutenant-General Ts.Dashzeveg, a researcher at the Scientific Institute of Defense.
Biker doctors: Ensuring nomadic families don't miss out on health care
October 16 (UNICEF Mongolia) Earlier this year three-year-old Bat-Ireedui needed to see a doctor urgently. "My son got sick and his legs became paralysed," his father Bayardalai explains. "We called the bagh doctor, he came to our home straight away, examined Bat- Ireedui and took him to Murun for further medical assistance."
While Bat- Ireedui received medical treatment in Murun and his paralysis subsided, his condition is ongoing, needing constant monitoring and regular visits from the doctor.
Bat- Ireedui and his family, father Bayardalai, mother Shuren-Erdene, who is five months pregnant, and sister Nandintsetseg, four, a nomadic herders in Khuvsgul province, northern Mongolia. While they live approximately 30 kilometres from Murun, Khuvsgul's provincial center, at the moment, it takes nearly an hour to drive there in good weather and the location is very isolated.
Providing medical care to nomadic families in Mongolia is challenging. Doctors must be able to travel long distances, over difficult terrain, in all types of weather. And sometimes it can take all day to reach one family.
For Bat- Ireedui's family they receive primary health care from the local bagh doctor. Each bagh in Mongolia, a sub-district which groups nomadic families in one small area together, has a local doctor who is responsible for the primary health care of all the families in their area. If cases require further attention, they are referred to the soum (district) and provincial health services.
"Our local bagh doctor is Davaasuren", Bayardalai says. His a good local doctor. Whatever happens, we call him. If we need medicine, or someone has a fever or is sick, we call him. Whenever we call him he comes right way."
Davaasuren provides over 140 households with primary health care, with regular visits to check on people's heath and responding to emergency calls. He says he spends a lot of time travelling to and between families to provide them with medical care.
Reaching people in need
Until recently Davaasuren was not provided with any form of transportation and would have to find his own way to reach his patients.
"For a bagh doctor, transportation is the most important thing," he explains. "When you have good transportation you can reach patients in a timely and safe manner, and you can be a better doctor."
However this changed when he and all the other bagh doctors in the district, were provided with motorbikes. The motorbikes were funded by the local development fund (LDF).
Since getting the motorbike, Davaasuren says he is able to provide better medical care to the families in his bagh. "With the bike I can go anytime to do routine visits and respond to emergencies," he explains. "It has made such a difference. I can reach all the families, and if I need to transport a patient for further medical care, if they are not too sick, I can take them on the motorbike."
And his patients have noticed a positive difference since Davaasuren got the motorbike. "We see him more now," Bayardalai says. "He comes a least once a month to check up on us and share information about how to stay healthy and prevent getting sick."
Local Development Fund
The motorbikes were purchased with money from the LDF. The LDF is an initiative that provides additional funds to local governments but stipulates that local communities must be involved in the decision making and budgeting processes of how these funds will be used.
In the case of the motorbikes for the bagh doctors, the local community had identified the lack of transportation as an issue that affected the quality of medical services and prioritized buying motorbikes for the doctors.
Bayardalai was part of the process that decided to give the bagh doctors a motorbike. "We received a short survey and filled it out," he explains. "It asked us what we wanted to spend the LDF on and we said motorbikes for the bagh doctor. After the surveys there was a vote about how to spend the LDF. There we voted for the bagh doctors to get the motorbike and they did".
Just like in Erchim bagh the LDF puts decision making and budgeting power back into the hands of local communities, who prioritize funds based on their individual needs. It is part of the efforts by the Government of Mongolia to decentralize the country's budget.
UNICEF Mongolia's social policy chief Enkhnasan Nasan-Ulzii believes communities across the country can use the LDF to improve the lives of children. "What Erchim bagh did was to use the LDF to improve access to health care for vulnerable children and their families," she says.
"Other communities can use the LDF to fund projects for children," Enkhnasan continues. "UNICEF has been actively engaging local government and communities to encourage them to use the LDF to improve the lives and situation of children, and we are hopeful that we will see more great projects like the motorbikes for doctors that benefit children being funded by the LDF".
Author
Zetty Brake, Communications and External Relations Officer, UNICEF Mongolia
Forum Held on 70th Anniversary of Public Referendum on Independence
Ulaanbaatar, October 19 (MONTSAME) A scientific conference dedicated to the 70th anniversary of the Public Referendum of 1945 of the People's Republic of Mongolia (the former name) was held last Saturday. The anniversary is to be marked on October 20.
The opening speech was given by the Speaker of Parliament Z.Enkhbold. He said parliament considers the 1945 Public Referendum as the first democratic voting that had a great historic significance in the country's independence.
During the early 1945's, at the Yalta Conference, leaders of the allies of the World War II–the USA, the UK and the former Soviet Union--considered that the independence of the PR of Mongolia must be acknowledged by its neighbor, the Republic of China. In response, the latter's authorities delivered a note on "considering of Mongolia's independence on the basis of a public referendum". Following the note, the deputies of the People's Baga Khural (lower house of parliament of Mongolia) had issued a resolution on organizing a public poll on independence. On October 20 of 1945, 494 thous.960 people, or 98.5 of the population, participated in the referendum and backed the independence of their own country with 100 percent approval.
Thanks to the invincible efforts of the Mongolian people, China submitted a note on acknowledging the independence of the People's Republic of Mongolia on January 12 of 1946.
In a scope of celebrating the 70th anniversary of the above event, the conference was hosted by the Institute of History and Archaeology of the Academy of Sciences, the National Archives, Mongolian National Museum of History and the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP). The scholars from the Institutes of History and Archaeology and of International Relations, the National Archives, the Mongolian State University, the University of Education and Ulaanbaatar University gave presentations on historic importance and the preparation for the Public Referendum, based on the archived sources.
Present at the conference were also Deputy PM Ts.Oyunbaatar, Minister of Environment Green Development and Tourism N.Battsereg, Minister of Construction and Urban Developemnt Z.Bayanselenge, Minister of Health and Sports G.Shiilegdamba and the chairman of MPRP N.Enkhbayar.
Man's best friend first appeared near Nepal and Mongolia: DNA reveals origins of domesticated dogs
· Researchers did not say when first dogs appeared
· Analyzed DNA from 549 dogs that represented 38 countries
October 19 (Daily Mail) Domesticated dogs first arrived in Central Asia, researchers have revealed.
A DNA study found man's best friend may have evolved somewhere near what is now Nepal and Mongolia, researchers say.
Previous studies have suggested southern China, the Middle East, Siberia and Europe as the place where our first domesticated animal arose from wolves at least 15,000 years ago.
For the new work, Adam Boyko of Cornell University and others analyzed DNA from 549 dogs that represented 38 countries in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, India, the Middle East and islands north and east of Australia.
The animals weren't house pets, but rather 'village dogs' that wandered freely in the streets or fields.
The researchers examined the DNA for signals of where the dogs had the most ancient roots.
That pointed to Central Asia.
The analysis did not tackle the contentious question of when dogs appeared.
Results were reported in a paper released Monday by the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Even Boyko doesn't think the work will end the debate among scientists.
HOW SCAVENGING FOR FOOD DOMESTICATED DOGS
It may come as no surprise to most dog owners, but canines became domesticated simply to make it easier to get food, researchers have said.
In a study last year, they found that the key difference between wolves and dogs is that centuries of eating human food has meant dogs possess genes for digesting starches, allowing them to thrive on a human diet.
The Swedish team say the dog's love of human food supports the idea that dogs became domesticated by lingering around human settlements.
While it's possible that humans might have gone out to take wolf pups and domesticated them, it may have been more attractive for dogs to start eating from the scrap heaps as modern agriculture started,' said Kerstin Lindblad-Toh, a geneticist at Uppsala University in Sweden, who led the work.
Lindblad-Toh and her team catalogued the genetic changes involved in domestication by looking for differences between the genomes of 12 wolves and 60 dogs from 14 different breeds.
Their search identified 36 regions of the genome that set dogs apart from wolves, and the team believe these are the reason dogs are so much more friendly than wolves.
'I'm not pretending my study alone is enough to rally the community together,' he said.
He's right. Robert Wayne of the University of California, Los Angeles, who proposed a European origin for dogs in 2013 based on analysis of ancient DNA, said he didn't buy the conclusion about Central Asia.
In an email, he questioned Boyko's use of modern-day genetic material as a guide to the distant past.
Another expert, Greger Larson of Oxford University, called the paper 'a major step forward' but said he also suspected that modern DNA isn't the way to go.
Now that Central Asia has been added to the mix, 'Everyone with a favorite region can point to at least one paper that supports their suspicions,' Larson wrote in an email.
Larson is involved in an international project to tackle the question with ancient DNA and anatomical comparisons.
Boyko said that research will provide an important test of his own work.
Sports
Mongolia takes 2 gold, 1 silver, 4 bronze at Judo Paris Grand Slam
Ulaanbaatar, October 19 /MONTSAME/ Judokas of the men and women' national teams of Mongolia have grabbed seven medals in the Paris Grand Slam tournament which concluded on Sunday in France.
The gold medals have been won by the 2013 World champion and current World No1 M.Urantsetseg in women's under 48kg contest and by D.Tomorkhuleg IMS in the men's -66kg bout. In the final he beat Georgii Zantaraia, the 2009 World champion from Ukraine.
Bronze medalist of the 2015 World Championships D.Sumiya won a silver medal in the women's -57kg contest. In the final bout, she was defeated by a Portuguese Telma Monteiro.
Bronze medals went to D.Amartuvshin (men's -60kg), D.Altansukh (men's 66kg), O.Uuganbaatar (men's 81kg) and L.Otgonbaatar (men's -90kg).
By the team results the Mongolians took the 3rd place, after Japan and France.
Mongolian Archers Bring Home Gold Medals from Georgia
Ulaanbaatar, October 19 /MONTSAME/ Archers of the national selected team have won medals in international tournament which was held October 14-17 in Batumi of Georgia. The tournament attracted 52 male and 32 female archers from 12 countries.
On the first day of the tournament, N.Ariunbileg IMS captured a gold medal in the women's individual contest, whereas J.Gantogs IMS won a silver medal in the men's individual division.
On the third day, gold medals went to the Mongolian mixed team comprising J.Gantogs and D.Miroslova IMSs; to men's team comprising J.Gantogs, G.Gan-Erdene and B.Otgonbold; and to women's team including D.Miroslova, N.Ariunbileg and Ch.Oyuntungalag MS.
As of present, our archery team has started intensive training for the Asian Championship in order to gain rights for competing in the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Renowned Pianist Elmar Gasanov to Play at Grand Opening of Corporate Concert Hall
October 19 (gogo.mn) The Corporate Hotel and Convention Centre is ready to unveil a world-class concert hall, this marks a new page in the history of Mongolian art and culture.
Recognized by the world for his talent, the famous Russian pianist Elmar Gasanov has been invited to play at the grand opening of our concert hall. This elite event is organized in collaboration by The Corporate Hotel and Convention Centre and KAWAI Mongolia. Pianist Elmar Gasanov will be performing with the popular up and coming violin quartet, Rusquartet.
We cordially invite our distinguished Mongolian enthusiasts of classical music to enjoy the concert of Elmar Gasanov who is going to perform the highlights of classical music composed by Beethoven, Rahmaninov and Brams. Please, spend the evening with us and feel the brilliance of KAWAI sound - a signature of world class masterpieces that has been developed over the last 90 years and has become the favorite instrument of piano professionals.
Event tickets will be available starting October 13th at Quintessentially, HiFi records' branches and www.ticket.mn Prices for the ticket is at MNT 80,000 and MNT 120,000 according to visibility.
For additional information, please contact at 99111355, 99110342, 88102329.
Where: Concert Hall at Corporate Hotel & Convention Centre
When: October 30, 2015 at 08:00PM
Mohanik Album Now Available on iTunes
OCTOBER 19, 2015 / LCKNAPP (LIVE FROM UB) I'm so excited to announce that Mohanik's second album, At Amarbayasgalant, is available for purchase on iTunes! Please do yourself a favor and buy this wonderful album – you'll be getting some fantastic original music and will be supporting independent Mongolian musicians.
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4 Peace Avenue, Chingeltei District 1
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