Mongolia-Russia Initiative 2018 to take place in Ulaanbaatar www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ A series of events ‘Mongolia-Russia Initiative 2018’ is to take place on June 7-9 in Ulaanbaatar, aiming at developing and strengthening trade, economic, industrial and investment cooperation between Russia and Mongolia.

UB Railway denounced for money laundering scandal www.zgm.mn

Ganzorig Bor, Chairman of the Board of “Uls Turch” (translation: Politician) media outlet, held a press conference yesterday, announcing that they have issued a request to the Independent Agency Against Corruption to inspect the Chairman of Ulaanbaatar Railways JV (UBRW) Jigjidnyamaa Damdinsuren and Deputy Minister of Road and Transport Development Tsogtgerel Batchuluun. The media outlet suspects the two people for a potential money laundering, claiming that they have abused their power and imported nearly a thousand units of scrap wagons. Ganzorig Bor remarked, “These two people have purchased 977 units of over 20 years old decommissioned wagons manufactured in Russian Federation between 1992 and 1995, at MNT 26 billion on August 23, through a UK based company Max Bridge Logistics L.P, which is registered in an offshore country Dominican Republic.” He added that UBRW is currently using over 6 hundred of these decommissioned wagons and some of them are already damaged and unserviceable. He further claimed that Tsogtgerel Batchuluun encouraged the irresponsible act instead of stopping it. UBRW also brought in two rail repair trucks for USD 5.6 million in 2014; however, they have never been used, and the company bought another truck of the same model for USD 1.7 million in 2017. Mr. Ganzorig Bor revealed that the market price of this truck is around USD 900 thousand, which begs the question of the remaining fund of USD 770 thousand. He then underlined that the 50 percent of prepayment transaction of these rail repair trucks were conducted through LordWest Trade L.P, a Dominican company, further claiming that both MaxBridge Logistics L.P and LordWest Trade L.P are owned by a single person.

Agreement established to improve regulation of coal transportation www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/ Last weekend, the National Auto Transportation Center (NATC) and Tavantolgoi Company established a cooperation agreement with a purpose to upgrade regulations of coal transportation.

S.Batbold: Highway to be built within Silk Road project www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Governor of the Capital City and Mayor of Ulaanbaatar S.Batbold attended ‘Business Breakfast’ meeting today held by the Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

Belarus suggests developing dairy cluster in Mongolia www.eng.bela.by

MINSK, 4 June (BelTA) - Belarus can develop a dairy cluster in Mongolia, Belarus Prime Minister Andrei Kobyakov said as he met with Mongolia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Damdin Tsogtbaatar, BelTA has learned. “Given the attention that the governments of our countries attach to agriculture, cooperation in crop production, animal husbandry, and veterinary medicine holds great promise. Currently, we are studying the possibility of implementing a comprehensive project to set up Mongolia's first dairy cluster, Andrei Kobyakov said. The Belarusian side is also ready to share modern storage, processing and agricultural production technologies. Moreover, Belarus would like to increase supplies of farm machines and special-purpose equipment, and also passenger buses, utility vehicles, equipment and technologies to Mongolia. The prime minister suggested industrial cooperation projects. The Belarusian side is ready to set up joint ventures with Mongolian partners to produce machinery engineering goods. There is a mutual interest in cooperation in the prevention of emergency situations, and humanitarian cooperation: science, education, culture and sport. Andrei Kobyakov stressed that Belarus pays special attention to the development of relations with countries in the Asia-Pacific region and considers Mongolia as a promising partner. “In 2017 we marked the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our two countries. It is safe to say that for the past quarter of a century we have maintained the ties of friendship, mutual respect and partnership, thus laying a good foundation for comprehensive cooperation in the future,” the Belarusian head of government said. “It is obvious that there are many untapped opportunities for cooperation between the two countries and the goal of the two governments is not to miss them, to create the conditions for turning them into specific mutually beneficial economic projects. We are prepared to discuss any areas of cooperation,” Andrei Kobyakov said. Mongolia's Minister of Foreign Affairs Damdin Tsogtbaatar noted that Mongolia values its long-standing relations with Belarus, and is ready to further develop cooperation.

Japanese Wallet Firm Buys Mongolian Mine, SBI Exchange Launched? www.cryptonews.com

Two Japanese companies announced its crypto business expansion news. Cryptocurrency wallet provider Ginco will move into the cryptocurrency mining industry, and has established a base in Mongolia. Meanwhile, financial giant SBI Group has finally showed its long-awaited cryptocurrency exchange platform.

Myanmar reviews $9bn China-backed port project on cost concerns www.asia.nikkei.com

YANGON (Financial Times) -- Myanmar’s government is reviewing a $9bn deepwater port project backed by China over concerns it is too expensive and could ultimately fall under Beijing’s control if Myanmar were to default on its debt.

Two people with direct knowledge of the discussions within Aung San Suu Kyi’s government said that economic officials were looking for ways to negotiate down costs for the planned port at Kyaukpyu in Myanmar’s western Rakhine state.

The port is set to give China’s south-west a direct trading corridor to the Indian Ocean via Myanmar, allowing companies to avoid the Malacca Straits if needed. As such, it is part of Beijing’s $1tn push to shore up transport and energy supply routes across Eurasia under its so-called Belt and Road Initiative. The port at Kyaukpyu will be one of the biggest infrastructure projects in Myanmar’s history.

The project “should be welcomed as a useful addition to the country’s stock of infrastructure,” said Sean Turnell, an Australian academic who advises Myanmar’s government on economic policy, However, he added: “It would seem at first glance also to be a project that comes at excessive financial cost and, with this, poses grave risks for Myanmar it may require the country to take on to participate.”

The current estimated costs of the port, which sits at the terminus of recently built oil and gas pipelines that run to southern China’s Yunnan province, are about $7.5bn, with another $2bn envisaged for an adjoining economic zone.

The project is due to be built by a consortium led by Citic Group, one of China’s largest and most powerful state-backed conglomerates. Citic won a tender in 2015, with the Chinese side taking 70 per cent and Myanmar’s government and local companies taking 30 per cent.

“A port of [that] scale that could be usefully employed by Myanmar, under any plausible scenario, should cost just a fraction of this,” said Mr Turnell, an economics adviser who is on secondment from Australia’s Macquarie University as a close adviser to Myanmar’s government. He noted that his comments were his “personal assessment” but also confirmed that officials were looking at ways to negotiate the project’s cost down.

A second foreign official in Myanmar briefed on the discussions inside the government was blunter, saying the project was giving policymakers “nightmares”, amid fears the port could come under Chinese control if Myanmar failed to service its debt.

“If the project doesn’t do well, there is the risk of defaulting and becoming a Chinese-owned port,” said the official, who asked not to be quoted by name because of the sensitivity of the project.

Similar problems have already arisen elsewhere in Asia. Sri Lanka last year handed control of its port at Hambantota to China on a 99-year lease after failing to pay the project’s debts.

Mr Turnell estimated that the amount of debt Myanmar would need to take on for its share of the project would be about $2bn, or about 3 per cent of GDP, representing what he called “a substantial addition to the country’s debt stock”.

Citic Construction did not respond to an emailed request for comment, and Myanmar’s government did not respond to requests for comment.

Myanmar’s review of the project comes at a delicate time for the country, as it faces condemnation from western countries over its recent military crackdown on Rohingya Muslims, which some analysts believe could push the country into China’s orbit.

The country’s previous government angered China in 2011 by suspending the $1.5bn Myitsone dam project in northern Myanmar, which it shelved because of its environmental and social impact.

Stock exchange weekly report /May 28- May 31/ www.mse.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ During the week spanning May 28 to May 31, 2018, MNT8,691,937,112 worth of securities were traded through 4 trading sessions on the MSE. The daily average MNT volume was MNT2.2 billion.
1. STOCK TRADING:
Primary market trading:
16.9 million shares worth MNT6.4 billion of 'Mongol Basalt' JSC were traded.
date Securities Name Symbol Price per share Volume Amount
18.05.28 Mongol Basalt MBW 380.00 16,925,100 6,431,538,000.00
Total 16,925,100 6,431,538,000 A total of 40 companies’ 9,302,662 shares worth MNT2,104,228,160 were traded.
Most actively traded stocks:
№ Symbol Securities Name Volume Amount
1 MBW Mongol Basalt 3,777,486 1,571,389,909
2 LEND LendMN 5,288,936 274,960,296
3 GTL Gutal 3,532 77,703,900
4 SUL Juulchin Duty Free 441 41,670,320
5 APU APU 62,987 39,590,941Most active brokerage firms:
№ Symbol Company Name Volume Amount
1 GAUL Gauli 2,743,374 1,112,212,578
2 BUMB Bumbat-Altai 1,551,619 605,050,386
3 BDSC BDSec 1,090,217 402,606,227
4 BZIN Mirae Asset Securities Mongol 6,625,602 391,705,5872. GOVERNMENT SECURITIES TRADING:
Most active brokerage firms for Government securities secondary market trading:
№ Symbol Company Name Volume Amount
1 BDSC BDSec 2,000 203,600,000.00
3 GAUL Gauli 192 19,200,000.00 
3. CORPORATE BONDS TRADING:
№ Symbol Company Name Volume Amount
As of May 31, 2018, total market capitalization of MSE is MNT2,487,830,865,858 The TOP-20 index increased by 0.44% to stand at 20,024.7 units.

Over 500 non-banking financial institutions active in Mongolia www.news.mn

As of the first quarter of 2018, over 500 non-banking financial institutions (NBFI) and their 177 branches are reported to be active in Mongolia across the 21 provinces. According to the Mongolian Financial Regulatory Commission, over 2500 people are working in such institutions.

MBD business delegates are heading to London www.mongolianbusinessdatabase.com

MBD business delegates on mining, education, transportation, foreign trade and tourism are heading to London UK tomorrow for Frontier's "Invest Mongolia London Forum" and "International Festival for Business 2018" in Liverpool.