The restructuring proposal comes after the Detroit automaker announced last week that it would shut its plant in the city of Gunsan, southwest of Seoul, by May and decide the future of the remaining three plants in the country within weeks.

The debt for equity swap would allow GM’s business in South Korea to continue operating. It was not immediately clear how the deal would affect the interest of the state-run Korea Development Bank, which owns 17 percent of GM Korea.

GM’s decision was the latest in a series of steps it has made to put profitability and innovation ahead of sales and volume. Since 2015, GM has exited unprofitable markets including Europe, Australia, South Africa and Russia.

It was not immediately clear how much fresh capital GM has demanded from the South Korean government to keep operating its Korean business, which employs nearly 16,000 people.

Last year, the country ceded its status of leading wheat exporter to the United States. The Russian Agriculture Ministry expects to regain the status by the end of this agricultural year [July 2017 — June 2018]. It forecasts grain exports to be 45 million tons against 35.5 million tons in the previous year.

Overall, agricultural production in Russia is projected to grow three percent this year, from last year’s 120.7 million tons. That would be the best-ever harvest for Russia, even counting the Soviet era.

The country’s export market is actively expanding, according to Sizov. Russia supplies grain to Algeria, Jordan, Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey and Iran, and Saudi Arabia has announced plans to become a major hub for Russian agricultural products in the Middle East.

In the near future exports to Indonesia and Thailand will increase, as well as those to Latin American countries including Mexico.

Russia has a significant share of the European market; almost 12 percent of Russian agricultural exports, worth around $2 billion, go to the continent.

Three years ago, President Vladimir Putin set a goal of making Russia the world's largest supplier of healthy, ecologically clean and high-quality food.

According to the rule of the MBA, regular election meeting was organized, holding poll, where U.Ganzorig appointed as president of the MBA. Thus he will lead the association in 2018-2020.

B.Batchimeg

Mining and metals deals totalled $51 billion last year, up 15% from 2016. Activity was dominated by coal and steel transactions. However, the volume of deals fell 6% as M&A focus in the sector started shifting from divestment to strategic acquisitions.

"The focus for most of the sector in 2017 was consolidating balance sheet strength and maintaining capital discipline," EY said in a quarterly report on the sector, published on Monday.

Coal transactions surged 156 % to $8.5 billion as the world's move to renewables prompted miners to shift away from thermal coal.

One of the biggest coal deals last year was Rio Tinto's sale of its Coal and Allied mines to Australia's Yancoal for $2.7 billion.

Steel deals doubled to $13.3 billion, mainly comprising large Chinese mergers and divestments in Latin America. The report said overall China continued to be a key driver of activity, leading deals by value both as an acquirer ($18.7b, 36.5%) and as a target ($13.6b, 26.6%).

Gold transactions fell 34% to $7.3 billion as the volume of transactions fell 13% to 134 deals done. The number and value of deals in copper, nickel, potash all fell, while silver-lead-zinc and iron ore saw more activity.

Money raised by mining companies from IPOs and stock exchange listings rose to $2.8 billion, the highest in six years but still nowhere near the $17 billion raised in 2011 at the height of the commodities boom. Follow-on equity issues also rose to the highest since 2013 at $31 billion in 2017. Debt and loans together constituted $218 billion of the total money raised last year.

For 2018 EY expects deals to be fuelled by the industry's return to investment-led strategies aimed at building portfolios rather than the divestment-oriented deals that dominated in 2017. Companies' working capital requirements are also set to increase.

"Some of this activity will be to shape portfolios for future growth and sustain shareholder returns," said EY global mining and metals transactions leader Lee Downham, "but the return of transformational consolidation across the industry is unlikely as capital discipline is maintained":

Alongside this capital discipline, we began to see the emergence of investment strategies, with capital earmarked for organic projects and increasingly considered for acquisitions.

"With the buzz around new world critical minerals and battery technology, deals in lithium, copper and cobalt are expected to feature high on the agenda of management teams across the industry," according to the report.

The nation's gross domestic product (GDP) reached 16.9 trillion MNT based on 2017's preliminary data, an increase of 5.1 percent over 2016.

As of January 2018, the state budget’s balanced income was 530.4 billion MNT, expenditure for debt repayment was 416.2 billion MNT, giving the balance an 114.2 billion MNT surplus.

Tax income increased by 29.8 percent compared to 2016, reaching 468.6 billion MNT.

Income tax increased by 44 billion MNT,
Social insurance income by 24.5 billion MNT,
Excise tax income by 24.1 billion MNT,
Foreign activity income rose by 10.6 billion MNT over January 2017.
Foreign trade volume reached 785 million MNT, with export totaling 423.8 million USD and import 361.1 million USD.

The consumer price index increased by 1.4 percent over December 2017, and by 6.9 percent compared to January 2017. Retail sector sales reached 15.6 trillion MNT in 2017, which increased by 18.4 percent over 2016.

Dividends per share will be 170 MNT. The company will finalize its shareholder list by April 6, and begin granting dividends at its official headquarters on July 1.

“MAKHIMPEX”

According to the Resolution No.:01 of “Mongol Post”JSC’s Board of Directors Meeting held on 13 February 2018, the Decision to distribute dividends of MNT100.00 per share from net profit of 2017 financial year has been approved.

The record date will be the registration date of Shareholders Annual Meeting5 April 2018 , and dividends will be paid to shareholders by cash at company building starting from 1 October 2018.

“MONGOL POST”

According to the Resolution No.:18/01 of “Mongol Post”JSC’s Board of Directors Meeting held on 13 February 2018, the Decision to distribute dividends of MNT 273.4 million or MNT2.74 per share from net profit of 2017 financial year has been approved.

The record date will be the registration date for 2018 Shareholders Annual Meeting, and dividends will be transferred to shareholders’ account at Mongolian Central Securities Depository /MCSD starting from 1 May 2018.

“ADUUNCHULUUN”

According to the Resolution No.:2 of “Aduunchuluun”JSC’s Board of Directors Meeting held on 7 February 2018, the Decision to distribute dividends of MNT 409.7 million or MNT130.00 per share from net profit of 2017 financial year has been approved.

The record date will be the registration date for 2018 Shareholders Annual Meeting, and dividends will be transferred to shareholders’ account at Mongolian Central Securities Depository /MCSD.

“TAKHI KO”

According to the Resolution No.:5 of “Takhi Ko”JSC’s Board of Directors Meeting held on 5 February 2018, the Decision to distribute dividends of MNT 128.5 million or MNT108.00 per share from net profit of 2017 financial year has been approved.

The record date will be the registration date for 2018 Shareholders Annual Meeting, and dividends will be transferred to shareholders’ account at Mongolian Central Securities Depository /MCSD/ within 1 May 2018.

The Labor Law was ratified in 1999, and the authors of the amendments believe that a number of the law's articles don’t meet today’s needs and are outdated. The amendments cover relations between employers and employees, clarifying rights and obligations.

The amendments also include articles that would place restrictions on the employment of minors, workplace discrimination, establishing employment agreements without time constraints for permanent employment, part-time employment regulations, remote working regulations, basing salaries on skills and abilities, annual vacation requirements, and new regulations for vacation days for mining sector employees who work far from home for extended periods.

D.Tsogtbaatar, whose country maintains diplomatic ties with the North, met senior North Korean officials in Pyongyang earlier this month.

Kono and D.Tsogtbaatar could meet as soon as Thursday, the source said. Tsogtbaatar’s visit will be his first to Japan since becoming foreign minister in October.

According to the source, Kono will likely ask Mongolia to increase pressure on North Korea over its development of nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles. He will also seek cooperation on the issue of Japanese nationals abducted by North Korea in the 1970s and 1980s.

D.Tsogtbaatar met in Pyongyang with North Korea’s nominal head of state Kim Yong Nam and Ri Su Yong, the top official in charge of foreign affairs, the source said.

Wary of the recent thaw between North and South Korea over the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in the South, the Japanese government wants to use Mongolia’s ties with North Korea to “gain whatever information it can” on leader Kim Jong Un’s “true intentions,” the source said.

Japan and Mongolia agreed in March last year to urge North Korea to comply with U.N. Security Council resolutions against its weapons programs.

They also agreed on a five-year action plan to further develop bilateral ties including in security and the economy.

Kono will aim to confirm progress on the plan with D.Tsogtbaatar and strengthen the strategic partnership between Japan and Mongolia, the source said. (Kyodo)