Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono met with Mongolian Foreign Minister Damdin Tsogtbaatar in Tokyo on Thursday.

In the meeting, Kono said the international community must be united in dealing with North Korea. He stressed the necessity of maximizing pressure on the North in various areas, including the implementation of UN Security Council sanctions.

They agreed to work together to boost pressure on the country after the PyeongChang Olympics and Paralympics now under way in South Korea.

Kono asked for Mongolia's support to resolve the issue of abductions of Japanese nationals by North Korea. He also said Mongolia should swiftly implement the austerity measures necessary to receive financial assistance from the International Monetary Fund and others.

Tsogtbaatar met with Kim Yong Nam, the president of North Korea's Presidium of the Supreme People's Assembly, in North Korea earlier this month.

LendMN Company plans to raise MNT 5 billion from the market, selling 25 percent of its outstanding shares at MNT25 per share. The company expects to attract MNT 2.5 billion from strategic investors, anothet MNT 2.5 billion from the public.

LendMN Company was officially launched its operation in 2017, offering micro credit on consumption with amount of MNT 50 thousand to MNT 1 million to customers through mobile application without collateral and in short time. Currently, the company granted MNT 16.7 billion loan. Through lendmn application, customer’s number reached 30 thousand and 5-6 thousand customers are being newly registered monthly. Loan repayment is 98 percent and poor loan quality makes up 0.8 percent now. The company plans to issue MNT 196 billion loan to 59 thousand customers in 2018.

LendMN is the 18th IPO of the MSE and the first non-banking financial institution which is launching IPO on the MSE.

Primary market order of the LendMN Company will close at 1PM, on March 13.

The carmaker said its inquiry had concluded that some of Raj Nair's conduct had been "inconsistent with the company's code of conduct".

Ford did not specify why the investigation was started nor what it uncovered.

Mr Nair said in a statement that "I sincerely regret" certain behaviour.

Ford President and Chief Executive Jim Hackett said in a statement: "We made this decision after a thorough review and careful consideration. Ford is deeply committed to providing and nurturing a safe and respectful culture and we expect our leaders to fully uphold these values."

Mr Nair had been President of Ford North America since 1 July. He was previously head of global product development and chief technical officer.

He apologised, without elaborating on the reasons for his going.

"I sincerely regret that there have been instances where I have not exhibited leadership behaviours consistent with the principles that the company and I have always espoused," Mr Nair said.

He added: "I continue to have the utmost faith in the people of Ford Motor Company and wish them continued success in the future."

A spokesman for the US's second biggest carmaker said the company would not be commenting on the nature of Mr Nair's departure.

'Rising star'
In August, Ford agreed a multi-million-dollar settlement after an investigation into sex and race harassment at two factories in Chicago.

The inquiry was conducted by the US Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, which said female and African-American employees had been subjected to sexual and racial harassment and found the carmaker retaliated against employees who complained about the harassment or discrimination.

In an open letter about the matter, Mr Hackett wrote "there is absolutely no room for harassment at Ford Motor Company.... We don't want you here, and we will move you out for engaging in any behaviour like this."

Michelle Krebs, an analyst at Autotrader, said the departure of Mr Nair, a "rising star" who had been with the carmaker for 30 years, comes at a "particularly bad time" for Ford.

She told the Reuters news agency: "Investors and analysts have been unhappy with the seeming lack of a clear direction for Ford, especially in terms of future mobility services.

"The stock price has fallen. The pressure is on Jim Hackett, anointed CEO last spring, to lay out a clear road ahead for Ford."

During the four days in the Japanese capital, D.Tsogtbaatar will hold official negotiations with his counterpart, Taro Kono, and exchange views on regional and global issues. The official visit is taking place to strengthen Mongolia's strategic partnership with Japan, a third neighbor nation, as well as enhancing political relations and expanding cooperation, particularly at the economic level.

In addition, Minister D. Tsogtbaatar is planning to meet with officials from the Mongolia-Japan Friendship Group in the Japanese Parliament and with Japan's ministers of energy, commerce and industry, health, and labour and welfare. His schedule also includes meetings with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industr, and Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO).

Transit shipments of containers through Mongolia increased 2.7 times and labour productivity was up 20%.

Oleg Belozerov discussed issues affecting the development of cooperation between Russia and Mongolia in the railway sector during visit in Ulaanbaatar earlier this month. Speaking about the infrastructure component, Oleg Belozerov said that the Central Railway Corridor between Ulan-Ude – Naushki – Sukhe-Bator – Ulan-Bator – Dzamyn-Uud – Erlan was a priority in implementing the programme to create the Russia – Mongolia – China economic corridor.

JSC Ulaanbaatar Railways plays a key role in providing Mongolia’s transportation links. Rail transport accounts for over 60% of the country’s freight traffic. The company was established on 6 June 1949 on the basis of an agreement between the governments of the USSR and the Mongolian People’s Republic. Each side had an equal holding of shares in the joint-stock company's authorised capital.

According to online trading firm Angel Broking, the new guidelines — aimed at boosting investment, output and the introduction of better technology — could be the first step towards the full privatization of India’s mining, it said in a note Tuesday.

Anil Agarwal, the chairman of India’s largest miner and No. 1 iron ore exporter Vedanta (LON:VED), admitted his company is very keen to participate in the coal sector. However, he told BloombergQuint, his company will likely have to compete for assets with top miners, including BHP, Rio Tinto, Anglo American and Glencore, which have long been waiting to gain a toehold in the world's third-largest producer of the fossil fuel.

In an interview with CNBC TV18, Coal Secretary Susheel Kumar said the government has already got "feelers" from international mining companies to invest in the local coal sector. It noted Delhi had also identified big coal blocks with 40 million tonnes to 50 million tonnes reserve for bidding.

While the move ends the monopoly of state-owned Coal India Ltd (CIL), which currently accounts for over 80% of domestic output, the miner said it expected to remain the dominant force in the market.

Coal India has a mandate to supply at least 75%of its output to the power sector and the rest can be offered to others like cement and steel. However, the private miners are most likely to be exempted from the clause.

"The reform states that private miners can sell or utilize coal in any manner they like,” CIL officials told Business Standard. “Thus, compared to us, the power sector is not a mandated priority for them.”

The state miner also believes private interests will prioritize short-term supply agreements, allowing CIL to retain long-term supply contracts and giving it greater flexibility to react as per global trends and earn higher margins.

India is believed to have 300 billion tonnes of coal in reserves, with West Bengal, Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, and Madhya Pradesh being the major coal bearing states.

One dollar buys 2397.63 Mongolian Tugrik on Tuesday, down from 2423.37 Mongolian Tugrik a month ago.

Meanwhile, the Mongolian Tugrik has also gained ground against the Chinese Yuan. One yuan buys 377.69 Mongolian Tugrik on Tuesday, down from 382.62 Mongolian Tugrik a month ago.

Imports of gasoline decreased by 10,000 tons compared to the same period of previous year.

An average import price per 1 ton of gasoline rose by 14%, reaching $668 in January 2018.

In January 2018, import of diesel fuel reached 81,000 tons, with an increase of 17,000 compared to the same period of previous year.

An average import price per 1 ton of diesel fuel reached $628, with an increase of 19%.

The two governments signed the document on August 31, 2017 in Busan, the Republic of Korea, in a bid to enhance bilateral relations.

Under the agreement, Mongolian citizens will be allowed to stay up to 90 days in Argentina without a visa.