In this transaction, Frontclear borrowed USD 30 million in US Treasury bonds from the EBRD and then on-­lent them to the State Bank LLC in Mongolia against Mongolian local currency government bonds in a collateral swap transaction. Front­ clear guaranteed the transaction to EBRD. With the US treasuries in hand, State Bank LLC borrowed funds in a repo transaction with ING Bank N.V. Singapore branch.

"State Bank is delighted for successfully executing this inaugural transaction that provides possibilities to prac­tice the financial instrument in line with international best practice and facilitates development of interbank money market in broader perspec­tive in Mongolia" said Chinbat Lkhagvasuren, Director General of Treasury Department at the State Bank of Mongolia. State bank of Mongolia expects the long term, USD denominated financing will help increase affordable business loans in Mongolia.

"We are planning to install the device on 25 buses within July in the first phase," Khurelbaatar Bulgaa, deputy head of the Ulan Bator city's transportation department, told Xinhua.

According to Khurelbaatar, the installation of diesel particulate filter (DPF) on public buses has just started with non-refundable aid by the Japanese International Cooperation Agency.

He added that the filter can remove 80 percent of diesel particulate matter.

"The filter should be cleaned after every 250 kilometers. A public bus runs in the capital city 200-300 kilometers per day. So, we decided to install the three DPFs on a bus in order to not disrupt the operation of public buses," he said.

Currently, more than 930 public buses are operating in the capital Ulan Bator, he said, and the cost of the installations of three DPFs on a bus is some 40 million Mongolian Tugriks (16,200 U.S. dollars).

Air pollution is the most pressing issue in Ulan Bator where more than 800,000 residents, over half of the city's population, live in slums. They have to rely on burning raw coal and other flammable materials such as plastics and old tires to stay warm and cook meals during the six-month-long winter season.

The Mongolian government announced in March that it would impose a ban on the burning of low-grade coal for domestic use in the capital beginning on May 15, 2019.

Since the early 2000s, the government of Mongolia in cooperation with international organizations have carried out a number of measures directed at reducing air pollution in Ulan Bator. However, the city has not seen a significant reduction in air pollution levels.

The city's air pollution on Jan. 30 exceeded 133 times above the safety level set by the World Health Organization.

Rosneft reported a sevenfold increase in its net profit for the first quarter of this year on the back of higher oil prices, event though production was lower. The company accounts for about 40 percent of Russia’s total oil production, which has made it key for the production cut Russia agreed with OPEC.

Now that production is once again on the rise following loud complaints from some of the biggest importers of crude, Rosneft stands to benefit more than smaller companies.

The company has made it clear that despite the production cuts, it was eager to boost production both domestically and internationally. It has also launched an ambitious overhaul that should see Rosneft buy back $2 billion in stock, slash capex by as much as 20 percent and raise its working capital by US$3.15 billion (200 billion rubles) by the end of this year.

Meanwhile, the company is growing in places like Kurdistan and Nigeria. In May, the company announced the discovery of a potentially huge oil field in southwestern Iraq, and a month later, media reported that Rosneft would be partnering with a Nigerian company to develop 21 oil blocks across Africa.

Rosneft doesn’t have a significant presence in Africa except for a 30-percent stake in the giant Zohr gas field offshore Egypt in the Mediterranean, as well as some prospects in Mozambique.

Gaining access to more projects in Africa could be an important development for Rosneft to expand its global footprint, especially since US sanctions on Russia are not seen to be an issue in this region.

972-apartment building for rental purpose is under construction in Buyant Ukhaa-2 apartment complex. A portion of the USD 500 million loan from South Korea will be spent on the program.

Furthermore, the corresponding Ministries are studying possibilities and experiences from Asian countries and exchanging views with them on attracting investment from international market by issuing certified mortgage bonds. It is estimated to be possible to issue bonds secured by asset-backed loan of MNT 4.2 trillion. 
M.Anudari

By using the drone, it will become easy to monitor, document illegal activities and to estimate size of broken land using the special software.

The drone will be used not only in detecting illegal mining also in examining whether licensed entities are excessing amount of their field as well as combating with poaching and illegal logging.

The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation granted these drones to the GASI for inspection of artisanal and illegal mining activities.

B.Batchimeg

The tenth forum will be a major event for intensifying relations and development of neighboring areas of Mongolia, Russia and China and improving trilateral relations and cooperation as agreed by the heads of state of the three countries in the new circumstances of the implementation of China’s initiative One Belt, One Road.

The sides have regarded Erenhot as an active area for further deepening economic and trade exchanges within the One Belt, One Road initiative.
M.Anudari

Compared with the same period of previous year, total sown area decreased by 22.1 thousand hectares or 4.2 percent, thereof the wheat area decreased by 6.1 percent, industrial crops by 13.6 percent, medicinal herbs by 63.2 percent and potatoes area by 14.9 percent. However, fodder crops increased by 60.0 percent and vegetables by 3.9 percent respectively.

M.Unurzul

As of Monday, the central bank's average gold purchase price was 97.09 tugrik (4 U.S. cents) per gram, corresponding to a low rate on London Metal Exchange, according to experts from the Apex bank.

To encourage gold miners and individuals to sell gold to it and commercial banks, the central bank has carried out a number of measures, including a five-month campaign, "National Gold to the Fund of Treasures", started in May.

The bank's gold purchase is expected to grow as the three-month peak season for gold mining starts in August.

Gold miners submitted 20.01 tons to the central bank in 2017, worth over 800 million U.S. dollars.

The annual gold production has remained below 21 tons since 2005, when Mongolia reached its record high at 25 tons.

As the largest municipal engineering project currently in Mongolia, the bridge will greatly improve traffic congestion in the capital.

The 4,312.2-meter interchange designed with a two-way, four-lane road is the main route to Chinggis Khaan International Airport and the development zone from downtown Ulan Bator.

After the opening of the Yarmag overpass, the road from the city to the airport will be increased from two lanes to six lanes, and the transit time can be shortened by more than half.

The total investment of the project is 30.26 million U.S. dollars and it enjoyed Chinese government's preferential aid loan and export buyer's credit. It is constructed by the China Railway 20 Bureau Group under a design-procurement-construction general contract.

The project started construction in April 2017 and the construction of the ramp roads and repair of the old bridge will be completed by the end of 2018.

(Edited by Yang Qi, kateqiyang@xinhua.org)