79 percent of foreign direct investment made in mining sector www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ In 2017 financial account balance of Mongolia had a surplus of USD 2.4 billion. 
Whereas, current and capital account balance had a deficit of USD 907.1 million. As mentioned in a financial stability report, current account deficit had been mainly covered by foreign loans and resource of foreign exchange reserves in 2013-2016, but it was funded by direct investment inflow in 2017.

Sustainable Agriculture in Mongolia Affected by Harsh Winters www.borgenproject.org

Mongolia sits between Siberia and China and harbors the northern tip of the Gobi desert, desert plains and its legendary steppes. These inhospitable environments do not easily lend themselves to the cultivation of crops. In response to their harsh surroundings, Mongolians developed a society around animal husbandry that has served them well over the millennia. Unfortunately, the introduction of the Soviet system in the early twentieth century, combined with an increase in adverse weather conditions due to climate change, have damaged sustainable agriculture in Mongolia. Today, the Mongolian government, in conjunction with other nations and international aid organizations, is fighting to make Mongolia self-sustaining agriculturally.

Seventy-three percent of the land in Mongolia is used for agriculture and makes up 13.3 percent of the country’s GDP. Less than 1 percent of that land is arable. This land is located mostly in the north, where the river valleys allow for irrigation. Some land in the center of the country is used for the cultivation of wheat and barley, or hardy vegetables such as potatoes, cabbage and carrots. Some fruits and vegetables are grown in and around cities.

The European Commission on International Cooperation and Development sees these small-scale gardening projects in and around cities as an excellent way to help Mongolians improve their food security. Because much of Mongolia’s fruits and vegetables are imported, the urban poor of Mongolia’s cities have less access to these foods. To increase sustainable agriculture in Mongolia and access to food, the EC helped to construct glass and plastic greenhouses in and around cities in Mongolia. The growing season for the beneficiaries increased from six to nine months and 3,000 people are now able to sustain a balanced diet.

Small-scale projects like the one led by the EC are helpful to a few people in a small area, but in time can grow to impact and influence people on a larger scale. Time is not on Mongolia’s side. Climate change has increased the presence and power of two major enemies of sustainable agriculture in Mongolia: desertification and dzuds, extended periods of harsh winter conditions.

Since 2006, the FAO has funded and supported projects to increase the sustainability of agriculture in Mongolia. Most of the funding goes to the livestock industry. The FAO, along with the Mongolian government, wants to increase the security and sustainability of herders and their livestock. This is based on both economic and historical precedent; 72.6 percent of land in Mongolia is used as pasture.

In 2009-2010, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 9.2 million heads of livestock, or 25 percent of the Mongolian livestock population, were killed due to a dzud. FAO emergency funds for the Mongolian project were used to protect the livestock in the seven most affected provinces immediately following the dzud and help replace the animals that were lost.

Urbanization and mining also contribute to the loss of pasture lands. Not all farmers are able to obtain assistance from the state after the loss of their animals during dzuds or the average harsh climate of Mongolia. Many of these farmers and their family are forced to move to cities to find work, food, and shelter.

Climate is not the only factor in the loss of farmers or pastoral lands. The edges of the Gobi desert are slowly creeping forward deeper into Mongolia, affecting the grasslands near deserts. Changes in weather patterns often whittle away at the grassland and help spread the desert soil and sands further. Tin, copper, coal, tungsten and gold are just a few materials that lie beneath the surface of Mongolia. The mining has been useful in improving the economy but is detrimental to the environment and sustainable agriculture in Mongolia.

Sustainable agriculture in Mongolia will improve with time. By working with different international bodies the government has proved that it wants to improve this sector of the economy. Food security and sustainability will also improve the quality of life in Mongolia. Hopefully, once again the families of the steppes will be able to live self-sustaining lives, now in conjunction with the Mongolians of the cities.

– Nick DeMarco

Power producers want more coal to tide over shortages www.chinadaily.com.cn

China's four major power generation groups have asked the National Development and Reform Commission, the country's top economic regulator, to increase coal supplies and regulate, reduce coal prices after snowstorms sweeping across central and southern provinces led to major losses for the thermal power sector.

The four top utilities, China Huaneng Group, China Datang Corportion, China Huadian Corporation and State Power Investment Corporation, said in a joint report they are facing pressure due to tight gas and coal supplies and have warned of potential heating and electricity shortages as blizzards continued to buffet some central and southern provinces.

The high coal prices have led to a 40.2 billion yuan ($6.3 billion) loss in the coal power sector for the country's top five power generation groups, they said.

China's thermal coal futures hit record highs on Monday, with the most-active futures CZCcv1 reaching 679.6 yuan, the highest since the contract began in 2015.

Thermal coal futures have jumped over 10 percent this year, extending a month long rally, as utilities rush for supplies to deal with soaring power demand and cold weather swept across swathes of the nation.

Analysts believe the price rally was caused by the countrywide blizzard, which has blocked highways and boosted demand for heating.

Wu Lixin, deputy director of the strategic planning research department at the China Coal Research Institute, said the price rally won't ease for the moment considering the need to ensure a warm winter for the public during the upcoming Lunar New Year starting Feb 16.

"It is challenging to temper a month long rally in coal prices. China is currently at its peak period for heating and the government needs to ensure a trouble-free holiday," she said.

However, Wu expected the coal prices to fall eventually as they were already beyond what the country's utilities could afford.

China has made great efforts to reduce emissions from coal-fired power plants, with emissions of half of the country's coal-fired power plants similar to those of gas-fired power plants, she said.

Coal is expected to remain the primary energy source in China, making up some 50 percent of total energy consumption in 2030, unless there are any significant breakthroughs in renewable energy storage technology, she added.

Chinese utilities are under particular pressure this winter because of low natural gas supplies after Beijing ordered millions of households and some industrial plants in northern China to change to gas heating from coal as part of its war on pollution.

The prices of 5,500 kilocalorie coal in the northern ports has risen to 740 yuan per metric ton, up 130 yuan per ton compared with the same period last year.

With the upcoming Spring Festival and potential large-scale extreme weather, there are concerns heating could not be ensured for households.

Local authorities in Jiangsu asked utilities to ensure sufficient power for heating because of bad weather and snarled transportation last week. The province has 7.46 million tons of coal inventory, enough for 13 days of demand, but seven utilities have less than seven days of stock, it said.

Tax increases for personal income tax waived www.gogo.mn

Prime Minister U. Khurelsukh reported on his first 100 days in office on January 29, joined by members of his Cabinet.

National working group on trilateral economic corridor meets www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to organize the regular trilateral meeting on the Mongolia-Russia-China Economic Corridor Program within the first quarter of 2018 in Ulaanbaatar.

Anglo American exits South African coal with sale of New Largo mine www.mining.com

Anglo American (LON:AAL) has officially left the coal sector in South Africa with the sale of its New Largo mine to a group of black-controlled companies.

Mongolia performs first liver transplant from living donor www.china.org.cn

ULAN BATOR, Jan. 29 (Xinhua) -- Surgeons at the National Cancer Center of Mongolia successfully performed the nation's first liver transplant from a living donor on Sunday.

China's first official Belt and Road bond issued in Shanghai www.rt.com

A 300 million yuan ($47 million) three-year corporate bond has been issued on the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE), becoming the first official bond related to China’s massive Belt and Road infrastructure initiative.

Cryptocurrency investors could lose everything, warns Deutsche Bank www.rt.com

Bitcoin investors should remember issues like high volatility, possible price manipulation and data loss or data theft, according to Markus Mueller, global head of the Chief Investment Office at Deutsche Asset Management.

Davos participants eye Belt and Road in pursuing a shared future www.chinadaily.com.cn

DAVOS - Participants of the Davos World Economic Forum (WEF) annual meeting, which closed Friday, have turned to the Belt and Road Initiative for cures for the fractured world and to create a shared future.

They expected the initiative to tie together the destiny of people living in different countries and regions through further specific actions to promote connectivity, improve living standards, boost free trade, among others.

Proposed by Chinese President Xi Jinping in 2013, the Belt and Road Initiative is aimed at promoting the connectivity of Asian, European and African continents and their adjacent seas and realizing diversified, independent, balanced and sustainable development in the countries involved.

Wide support

Embracing the spirit of peace and cooperation, openness and inclusiveness, mutual learning and mutual benefit, the initiative has gained support from more than 100 countries and international organizations.

"The Belt and Road is the best place to start working on the fractures in the world and creating connectivity," Pakistani Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi said in a panel discussion.

He said the Belt and Road can link countries and create shared prosperity, which coincides with the theme of this year's gathering -- creating a shared future in a fractured world.

"We feel that something concerning the fractured world is discussed in Davos, Belt and Road is probably the best way to address this," said Kirill Dmitriev, chief executive of the Russian Direct Investment Fund, Russia's sovereign wealth fund with a reserved capital of $10 billion.

Chan Chun Sing, Singapore's minister in Prime Minister's Office, said the impact of the Belt and Road Initiative is threefold. Firstly, it connects markets, facilitates trade and improves people's livelihoods. Secondly, it catalyses local economies. Thirdly, it sets a system for the global economy.

Mutually beneficial projects

With regard to specific projects under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, Abbasi said China-Pakistan Economic Corridor is a "visible part."8 Dmitriev said that from the Russian point of view, the time cost of cross-border transportation of goods has been markedly reduced thanks to the completion of a bridge linking China's Tongjiang city in the northeastern Heilongjiang province and the Russian town of Nizhneleninskoye.

Calling for "significant collaboration," US businessman Michael Burke said: "The size and scale of infrastructure projects along the Belt and Road cannot be done by any one country, neither private sector alone or public sector alone."

Burke is the chairman and chief executive officer of AECOM, an American firm which designs, builds, finances and operates infrastructure assets in more than 150 countries and regions.

Burke said his company has been involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, collaborating with state-owned enterprises in various countries in an effort to combine "their expertise together with our private expertise."

Guiding strategy

As regards the strategy of investing in infrastructure along the Belt and Road, Jin Liqun, president of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), an international lender created by China that has attracted 84 members so far, laid out three basic criteria -- financial sustainability, environment impact and local support.

"We would be very much willing to consider any projects proposed by member countries, but we have to look at the basic requirements of those proposed projects." Jin said.

Jin said the AIIB would finance infrastructure projects in ways that will neither "leave a big footprint" on the environment, nor create problems for local communities.

In addition to infrastructure projects, WEF participants were also interested in seeing the Belt and Road Initiative play a more prominent role in strengthening financial collaboration among relevant countries.

"Growing collaboration in the financial and investment sphere is an integral part of this cross-linking of integration initiatives," said Sergey Gorkov, chairman of Russia's Vnesheconombank, a state-owned development bank

The integration of the Belt and Road Initiative and the Eurasian Economic Union will tap the potential of national, regional as well as international development institutions operating in the Eurasian region, he added.

Proposed by Russian President Vladimir Putin in 2014 to draw closer economic ties among former republics of the Soviet Union, the Eurasian Economic Union is a regional cooperation mechanism that includes Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Russia.