1 PRIME MINISTER OYUN-ERDENE VISITS EGIIN GOL HYDROPOWER PLANT PROJECT SITE WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2025/04/30      2 ‘I FELT CAUGHT BETWEEN CULTURES’: MONGOLIAN MUSICIAN ENJI ON HER BEGUILING, BORDER-CROSSING MUSIC WWW.THEGUARDIAN.COM PUBLISHED:2025/04/30      3 POWER OF SIBERIA 2: ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY OR GEOPOLITICAL RISK FOR MONGOLIA? WWW.THEDIPLOMAT.COM PUBLISHED:2025/04/29      4 UNITED AIRLINES TO LAUNCH FLIGHTS TO MONGOLIA IN MAY WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2025/04/29      5 SIGNATURE OF OIL SALES AGREEMENT FOR BLOCK XX PRODUCTION WWW.RESEARCH-TREE.COM  PUBLISHED:2025/04/29      6 MONGOLIA ISSUES E-VISAS TO 11,575 FOREIGNERS IN Q1 WWW.XINHUANET.COM PUBLISHED:2025/04/29      7 KOREA AN IDEAL PARTNER TO HELP MONGOLIA GROW, SEOUL'S ENVOY SAYS WWW.KOREAJOONGANGDAILY.JOINS.COM  PUBLISHED:2025/04/29      8 MONGOLIA TO HOST THE 30TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF ASIA SECURITIES FORUM WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2025/04/29      9 BAGAKHANGAI-KHUSHIG VALLEY RAILWAY PROJECT LAUNCHES WWW.UBPOST.MN PUBLISHED:2025/04/29      10 THE MONGOLIAN BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT AND FDI: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITY WWW.MELVILLEDALAI.COM  PUBLISHED:2025/04/28      849 ТЭРБУМЫН ӨРТӨГТЭЙ "ГАШУУНСУХАЙТ-ГАНЦМОД" БООМТЫН ТЭЗҮ-Д ТУРШЛАГАГҮЙ, МОНГОЛ 2 КОМПАНИ ҮНИЙН САНАЛ ИРҮҮЛЭВ WWW.EGUUR.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/30     ХУУЛЬ БУСААР АШИГЛАЖ БАЙСАН "БОГД УУЛ" СУВИЛЛЫГ НИЙСЛЭЛ ӨМЧЛӨЛДӨӨ БУЦААВ WWW.NEWS.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/30     МЕТРО БАРИХ ТӨСЛИЙГ ГҮЙЦЭТГЭХЭЭР САНАЛАА ӨГСӨН МОНГОЛЫН ГУРВАН КОМПАНИ WWW.EAGLE.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/30     "UPC RENEWABLES" КОМПАНИТАЙ ХАМТРАН 2400 МВТ-ЫН ХҮЧИН ЧАДАЛТАЙ САЛХИН ЦАХИЛГААН СТАНЦ БАРИХААР БОЛОВ WWW.EAGLE.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/30     ОРОСЫН МОНГОЛ УЛС ДАХЬ ТОМООХОН ТӨСЛҮҮД ДЭЭР “ГАР БАРИХ” СОНИРХОЛ БА АМБИЦ WWW.EGUUR.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/30     МОНГОЛ, АНУ-ЫН ХООРОНД ТАВДУГААР САРЫН 1-НЭЭС НИСЛЭГ ҮЙЛДЭНЭ WWW.MONTSAME.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/29     ЕРӨНХИЙ САЙД Л.ОЮУН-ЭРДЭНЭ ЭГИЙН ГОЛЫН УЦС-ЫН ТӨСЛИЙН ТАЛБАЙД АЖИЛЛАЖ БАЙНА WWW.MONTSAME.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/29     Ц.ТОД-ЭРДЭНЭ: БИЧИГТ БООМТЫН ЕРӨНХИЙ ТӨЛӨВЛӨГӨӨ БАТЛАГДВАЛ БУСАД БҮТЭЭН БАЙГУУЛАЛТЫН АЖЛУУД ЭХЛЭХ БОЛОМЖ БҮРДЭНЭ WWW.MONTSAME.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/29     MCS-ИЙН ХОЁР ДАХЬ “УХАА ХУДАГ”: БНХАУ, АВСТРАЛИТАЙ ХАМТРАН ЭЗЭМШДЭГ БАРУУН НАРАНГИЙН ХАЙГУУЛЫГ УЛСЫН ТӨСВӨӨР ХИЙЖЭЭ WWW.EGUUR.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/29     АМ.ДОЛЛАРЫН ХАНШ ТОГТВОРЖИЖ 3595 ТӨГРӨГ БАЙНА WWW.EGUUR.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/29    

Events

Name organizer Where
MBCC “Doing Business with Mongolia seminar and Christmas Receptiom” Dec 10. 2024 London UK MBCCI London UK Goodman LLC

NEWS

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Process eyed to solve Belt, Road disputes www.chinadaily.com.cn

China may create a procedure and organization to handle the resolution of disputes arising from issues related to the Belt and Road Initiative, the second meeting of the Leading Group for Deepening Overall Reform concluded on Tuesday.

The meeting, chaired by Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, approved a guideline about establishing such a procedure and organization.

The goal is to lawfully settle commercial, trade and investment disputes regarding the Belt and Road Initiative, protect the lawful rights and interests of Chinese and foreign individuals on equal footing and create a stable, fair and transparent business environment with the rule of law, those at the meeting decided.

China has signed deals related to the Belt and Road Initiative with more than 80 countries and organizations.

Investment made by Chinese enterprises in countries involved in the initiative have totaled more than $50 billion and generated close to 200,000 new jobs, Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday.

Efforts to set up the procedure and the organization to handle disputes should follow the principles of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits and should be based on China's existing judicial, arbitration and mediation institutions, the leaders agreed.

Such efforts should integrate domestic and foreign legal services and establish a diversified resolution procedure that leads to effective synergies in arbitration and mediation processes, the leaders determined.

Xi said ensuring success in the reform is of great significance, as this year marks the first for fulfilling the spirit of the 19th CPC National Congress as well as the 40th anniversary of China's reform and opening-up.

The officials approved the Leading Group's key missions this year and a review report on the group's work from last year.

They approved a plan to boost China's role in leading and organizing major science plans and major science projects that involve global efforts.

Those at the meeting also approved a pilot guidance on works related to the transfer of China's intellectual property rights overseas.

The scope, contents and mechanism of screening such transfers should be tackled to reinforce management of the transfers relating to national security, they said.

They also approved guidelines on efforts such as boosting government information transparency in the area of public welfare, improving treatment for technical workers, managing the country's science data and promoting production safety.

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Mongolia to back Vietnam for seat on UN Security Council www.news.mn

During his visit in Hanoi, the Speaker of the Mongolian Parliament M.Enkhbold has met with Vietnam’s President Tran Dai Quang. The meeting took place on Monday 22 January.

The Vietnamese president lauded the visit of Mongolia's top legislator visit to Hanoi, expressing his belief that the visit will contribute to the strengthening of friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

He also expressed his pleasure at the growing Vietnam-Mongolia ties over the past years, including cooperation between the two parliaments.

For his part, Mr M.Enkhbold affirmed that Vietnam is an important partner of Mongolia in the Southeast Asian region.

Briefing his host on his talks with his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, Speaker Enkhbold said that the two sides agreed to bolster political, economic, trade cooperation as well as people-to-people contact by organising culture days in their respective countries in order to celebrate the 65th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic ties in 2019.

President Quang spoke highly of the expressed intentions for deepening Vietnam-Mongolia relations outlined by the two parliament leaders, stressing the need to increase delegation exchanges between the two countries.

He thanked Mongolia for supporting Vietnam at regional and international forums, while asking Mongolia to support Vietnam’s candidacy as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.

He pledged that Vietnam's willingness to share its experience in international integration, and to help connect Mongolia with the ten ASEAN countries.

Speaker M.Enkhbold affirmed Mongolia’s backing for Vietnam’s candidacy for a non-permanent seat in the UN Security Council. (Vietnam net)

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Bitcoin dips 12% as South Korea announces taxation of cryptocurrency exchanges www.rt.com

The cryptocurrency market has extended losses on Tuesday following the news that South Korea is planning to introduce taxation on digital money trading.
A total of 96 out of the top 100 cryptocurrencies are down 10 to 20 percent, with market leader bitcoin over 12 percent in the red, according to data on Coinmarketcap.

The South Korean government announced on Monday it will collect up to 24.2 percent of corporate and local income taxes from the country’s cryptocurrency exchanges this year, local news agency Yonhap reported. The country has one of the world's biggest private bitcoin exchanges, with more than 2 million people holding bitcoin.

Bitcoin was trading near the $10,400 mark on Tuesday following the news, as cryptocurrency investors are worried that regulation will become tighter. Ethereum was down 11 percent at $951, ripple plunged 11 percent to $1.25.

Last month, South Korea announced it was banning cryptocurrency exchanges from issuing new trading accounts. If the ruling is violated, the exchange can be shut down, authorities said. The South Korean commission added that all cryptocurrency trading should be done under individuals’ real names.

Regulators will have trouble banning cryptocurrencies, as the internet allows people to register new domains anywhere in the world.

“The widespread announcement of measures to tackle mining and trading of cryptocurrencies in some countries results in the short-term emotional consequences. They, first of all, negatively influence the confidence in this young market, but they can hardly cause a deep protracted fall of the latter,” Vladimir Rozhankovsky, investment analyst at Global FX, told RT.

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U.Khurelsukh: Reducing disaster risk is priority of Government policy www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Prime Minister U.Khurelsukh met Loretta Hieber Girardet, the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction 's (UNISDR) Chief of Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific on January 23.

Reducing disaster risk, protecting the country, people and environment from natural and other disasters are priorities of Government policy and Mongolian Government highly appreciates implementing actions by the UNISDR to coordinate international efforts in reducing disaster risk, emphasized the Prime Minister. He also mentioned the Government is working to ensure social, economic and environmental sustainable development at national level and in the region through reducing disaster risk and adapting in climate change. Moreover, the Government pays special attention on coherence and efficiency of implementation of Sustainable Development Goals 2030, Paris Agreement on Climate Change and The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction. PM U.Khurelsukh affirmed that United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was invited to the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction.

Ms.Loretta Hieber Girardet expressed her gratitude on Mongolia's host the Asian Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, leading the region in disaster risk reduction. She said she believes that the Conference will provide opportunity to promote policies and actions in disaster risk prevention and to work in wider range.

B.Batchimeg

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Rio Tinto under pressure from Mongolia to lower Oyu Tolgoi building costs www.afr.com

Rio Tinto is under fresh pressure from the Mongolian government over the cost of the $US5.3 billion ($6.6 billion) Oyu Tolgoi copper expansion, and says it is willing to "explore" ways to reduce the financial impact of the project.

The Mongolian government is a 34 per cent owner of the mine, but the nation's inability to fund its share of development costs has caused complications on several occasions.

The establishment on Wednesday of a "working group" between the government and Rio to "explore" the issues is the third sign of renewed sovereign risk in Mongolia within a week, after the Asian nation lobbed a fresh tax grab for $US155 million last week and after copper exports from the mine were halted by protests at the Chinese border.

Rio said the working group will explore "whether funding costs can be reduced to improve benefits from the Oyu Tolgoi project for all shareholders".

It is believed that reducing interest rates on loans linked to the project will be a particular focus.

Mongolia has in recent years offered to reduce its equity stake in the project in return for higher royalties once in production, and Rio accepted a change to the way royalties are calculated in 2015 as part of a tax settlement that saw the miner yield about $US148 million of value to the government.

No viable source
Rio owns 50.79 per cent of Turquoise Hill Resources, which owns 66 per cent of Oyu Tolgoi, and the mine is considered Rio's most important growth project.

The working group will also seek to accelerate plans for the mine to be powered by a Mongolian power source, as opposed to the current situation where it buys power from utilities in the nearby Chinese province of Inner Mongolia.

Rio was supposed to have found a Mongolian power source for the mine by 2017, but with no viable source available in the developing nation, it won permission in May 2017 to continue sourcing power from China while a Mongolian solution is developed.

The working group will also focus on community development in towns surrounding the project.

Rio said the establishment of the working group was a "win win" for the mine partners, but it did not prove to be a winner for Turquoise Hill shares, which slipped by more than 3 per cent in Tuesday trading Canadian time.

Turquoise shares have slipped by more than 10 per cent over the past week on the back of the tax grab, the interruption to copper exports and signs Mongolia wants to revisit the terms of the Oyu Tolgoi partnership.

On the several occasions in recent years that Mongolia has pushed for a bigger share of wealth from the mine, Rio has pointed to a 2009 investment agreement that outlined the terms of the partnership between the nation and the company, and Rio chief executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques hinted that he would not tolerate changes to the investment agreement.

"We want to work with the government of Mongolia to create long-term sustainable solutions that benefit all stakeholders and the country while staying true to the established investment frameworks," he said.

"We will continue to work together to solve outstanding issues as the joint working group progresses win-win solutions on matters such as power and community development."

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Pre-agreement of Mongolia-China-Laos railroad discussed during 26th APPF www.gogo.mn

The 26th Asia-Pacif ic Parliamentary Forum (APPF) has taken place in Hanoi, Vietnam. Within the frames of the forum, Parliament Speaker Enkhbold Miyegombo held several bilateral meeting with foreign delegations.

First on the list was Fidel Espinoza Edgardo Sandoval, President of the Chamber of Deputies of the Republic of Chile. The sides discussed to intensify bilateral cooperation and the need for establishing Trade and Economic Partnership. Mr. Fidel Sandoval informed to establish Mongolia-Chile group in the National Congress of Chile.

The meeting continued by covering the consumption of natural resources, specifically copper extraction, processing, trade and price. Chilean side stated the importance of establishing a trilateral agreement between Chile, Peru and Mongolia to become a major player in the copper market.

In order to conduct effective cooperation between the Parliaments, sides agreed to cooperate on increasing transparency of legislative bodies and responsibility of its members. Chilean delegation noted that Chile has been focusing on education sphere and is making a system reform; thus, the delegation offered cooperation in this field.

In response, Mr. Enkhbold Miyegombo expressed his interest to study the practices of Chile's investment and resource funds, as well as pension insurance system.

Furthermore, Mr. Enkhbold Miyegombo addressed the significance of extending the traditional cooperation in agriculture and health sector, as well as the opportunities of exporting carpets, meat and meat products to Laos and import woodworks and fruits, during his meeting with Lao Defense Minister Sengnuan Saiyalath.

He said, “The two countries should cooperate on Belt and Road initiative of People’s Republic of China and use the Kunming- Vientiane route railroad, which will establish soon. Therefore, it is important to prepare preagreement on establishing Mongolia-China-Laos route railroad."

After noting the importance of mutual support in the international and regional cooperation, Mongolia requested Laos’ support in joining ASEAN.

Mr. Sengnuan Saiyalath expressed his shared opinion with Mongolia’s Parliament Speaker on the economic cooperation and requested to exchange practice of law making and monitoring, as well as to cooperate on staff training.

Tugsbilig.B

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EU removes 8 countries from tax haven blacklist www.rt.com

A month after blacklisting 17 countries for refusing to cooperate on tax evasion, the European Union (EU) has announced it is delisting half of them.

The decision follows “commitments made at a high political level to remedy EU concerns,” according to an EU press release on Tuesday. “Barbados, Grenada, the Republic of Korea, Macao SAR, Mongolia, Panama, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates are moved to a separate category of jurisdictions subject to close monitoring,” the statement said.

It added that the European Council had agreed that the step was justified in light of an expert assessment of the commitments made by those countries.

“Our listing process is already proving its worth,” said Vladislav Goranov, minister for finance of Bulgaria, which currently holds the EU Council presidency. “Jurisdictions around the world have worked hard to make commitments to reform their tax policies. Our aim is to promote good tax governance globally.”

The decision leaves nine countries on the list of ‘non-cooperative jurisdictions’ – American Samoa, Bahrain, Guam, Marshall Islands, Namibia, Palau, Saint Lucia, Samoa and Trinidad and Tobago.

The blacklist was initially announced by the EU on December 5, 2017. To determine whether a country is a "non-cooperative jurisdiction" the EU index measured the transparency of its tax regime and tax rates. It also checked whether the tax system encourages multinationals to unfairly shift profits to low tax regimes, avoiding higher duties in other states.

Forty-seven other nations were included in a public ‘gray’ list of countries which are currently not compliant with EU standards but have committed to change their tax rules. The lists followed the recent Panama Papers and Paradise Papers leaks.

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Government bond price ratings increase www.gogo.mn

The prices for Mongolia's government bonds in the international market began to increase after Moody’s issued an upgrade for the nation's credit rating.

The price of the seven-year Gerege bond rose by 0.01 percent for a value of 102.91 USD, while the price of the ten-year Chinggis bond rose by 0.2 percent for a value of 100.93 USD.

Increasing exports in 2017 have opened the door for greater revenue for Mongolia, with export value totaling six billion USD for the first time. Mongolia’s budget deficit saw a decrease in 2017, and the balance of payments surplus increased.

The Government of Mongolia issued two bonds in 2017, valued at a total of 1.4 billion USD, which helped reduce the financial needs of the Government of Mongolia, Moody’s highlighted.

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European council removes Mongolia from tax haven list www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Mongolia was removed from the European Union’s list of tax havens on January 23.

Eight jurisdictions have been removed from the EU's list of non-cooperative jurisdictions for tax purposes, following commitments made at a high political level to remedy EU concerns, said a press release issued by the European Council.

“Mongolia, Barbados, Grenada, the Republic of Korea, Macao SAR, Panama, Tunisia and the United Arab Emirates are moved to a separate category of jurisdictions subject to close monitoring”, it said.

The Council agreed that a delisting was justified in the light of an expert assessment of the commitments made by these jurisdictions to address deficiencies identified by the EU. In each case, the commitments were backed by letters signed at a high political level.

In an effort to leave the list, Minister of Foreign Affairs D.Tsogtbaatar took some urgent measures such as the appointment of an Ambassador-at -Large, forming of a working group made of representatives of the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs, sending an official letter to Federica Mogherini, EU High Representative and Vice-President of the European Commission and Foreign Ministers of 28 EU member states, and reiterating Mongolia’s commitment to the EU Ambassadors in Mongolia.

As such, the delisting restores Mongolia’s opportunities to develop its cooperation with the EU and its member states.
Kh.Aminaa

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Government of Mongolia and Rio Tinto to explore win-win partnership solutions www.otp.investis.com

The Prime Minister of Mongolia U. Khurelsukh and other government representatives and Rio Tinto chief executive J-S Jacques met in Ulaanbaatar today to progress their partnership.

The two sides discussed ways to strengthen the relationship by setting up a joint working group to explore:

· whether funding costs can be reduced to improve benefits from the Oyu Tolgoi project for all shareholders

· an accelerated path of development for a power solution in Mongolia

· an acceleration of Oyu Tolgoi's strategy to enable private and public investments towards sustainable community development in Khanbogd, the town proximate to the mine

Rio Tinto chief executive J-S Jacques said: "Rio Tinto remains fully committed to Oyu Tolgoi and Mongolia. Our nearly 14,000 employees and the people of Mongolia should be proud that Oyu Tolgoi is one of Rio Tinto's safest and most productive mining businesses in the world. We remain committed to creating opportunities for talented Mongolians to build their careers on a global stage.

"We want to work with the Government of Mongolia to create long-term sustainable solutions that benefit all stakeholders and the country while staying true to the established investment frameworks.

"We will continue to work together to solve outstanding issues as the joint working group progresses win-win solutions on matters such as power and community development."

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