MIAT technical director Ayush Tuvd told Russian Aviation Insider at the MRO Russia and CIS 2018 convention that the airline has plans to upgrade five more An-2s this year, while the total plan includes 24 aircraft. He also commented that the entire fleet is required for the airline, so it is not considering any external orders for modernisation just yet.

The Mongolian aviation authorities have already validated the Russian airworthiness certificate for the TVS-2MS. The aircraft re-engined in Mongolia will have a letter M added to their designation, TVS-2MS-M, which stands for “modernised”. The main difference from the basic TVS-2MS is Garmin 800 avionics suite instead of Garmin 500, and a proposed installation of a Honeywell-made APU in the future. Mr Tuvd explained that the APU is required because the aircraft will be operated far from the maintenance base, and the APU will help solve the issue with charging batteries.

There are currently 23 MIAT Mongolian Airlines engineers involved in the project, but the operators intends to send 17 more to be trained in Novosibirsk.

"We aim to encourage the fair businessmen and good taxpayers by reducing their taxes," Hurelsukh said at an event introducing the tax law reform.

Efforts will be made to fight tax fraud and tax evasion, he said.

Under the tax reform, 90 percent of the tax paid by small and medium-sized businesses with income of less than 1.5 billion MNT (630,000 U.S. dollars) per year will get a refund.

The amendments would also reduce the number of reports required from SMEs. Companies with an annual income of over three billion MNT would be required to issue tax reports four times a year, and those with less than three billion MNT in annual income would be required to file reports twice per year. The amendments would be implemented in January 2019 if approved.

During the meeting the parties agreed to conclude Intergovernmental agreement to cooperate in energy sector in the near future. Energy Minister of Russia, A.V.Novakov also emphasized that many Russian companies show interest in cooperating in energy sector with Mongolia.

At the same time, the first meeting of the working group on Energy cooperation of Mongolia and Russia was held and further actions were defined.

Russia's Deputy Minister of Energy A.B.Yanovsky, the head of the International Cooperation Department of the Ministry of Energy, deputy heads and other officials of the Russian Ministry of Energy, Minister of Energy of Mongolia Ts.Davaasuren and representatives of the National Dispatching Center LLC and National Power Transmission Grid State owned JSC attended the meeting.

B.Misheel

The county’s council granted permission in 2016 to developer The Banks Group to build its Highthorn surface mine, slated to extract 3 million tonnes of coal near Druridge Bay.

But the minister for local government, Sajid Javid, called for a public enquiry last year following environmentalists claims that the proposed mine would destroy Druridge Bay, an area of natural beauty. They also argued that extracting more coal contradicted international pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the Paris climate pact.

Supporters say the company has vowed not to conduct any mining activity within 500 metres of the beach, adding the operation would create about 100 permanent jobs and generate almost 50 million pounds ($69 million) in related contracts and other benefits to the community.

The company expressed its disappointment over the news. “We now have no indication as to when the Secretary of State is going to decide whether we are to be allowed to proceed,” Community Relations Manager Jeannie Kielty said in a statement quoted by ELN. “All the while, we are continuing to receive enquiries from energy generation and industrial customers about when the site is going to be opening,” she said.

The document was signed by First Deputy CEO of the DBM, Ch. Enkhbat, and the head of the IIB delegation, Deputy Chairman of the Board, Vladimir Liventsev.

According to the agreement, the IIB lends EUR 30 million for a period of up to seven years to implement socially and economically significant projects in Mongolia.

Following the meeting, members of the intergovernmental commission expressed their satisfaction with the results of the IIB’s project activities in Mongolia and parties welcomed the signing of a loan agreement between two development banks.

The IIB consistently increases lending and investment activities in Mongolia. Since 2012, the total volume of the Bank's investment in the Mongolian economy has amounted to over USD 650 million.

M.Unurzul

Held with attendance of Member of Parliament B.Javkhlan, the sides informed about ongoing projects and exchanged views.

47.5 tons of waste are produced in Darkhan soum in a year, of which 80 per cent in ger district areas and 56 per cent of all waste is recyclable.

In relation, administrations of Darkhan-Uul province requested the ADB to show support in direction of making products and, extracting energy and heat by recycling dry waste. They also asked support from the ADB to coordinate the two projects on establishment of dry waste recycling plant and eco-toilet project in order to improve their roles to reduce soil and water pollution and pollution of Kharaa river.

Additionally, MP B.Javkhlan gave information on building an eco-school in Darkhan-Uul province with the ADB funding. 
E.Altanzul

The meeting convened state secretaries and other officials representing the cabinet's 13 ministries. During the meeting, the head of the IAAC, Kh. Enkhjargal, presented the agency's framework for implementing the program and recommendations concerning anti-corruption legislation.

In 2017, the IAAC conducted reviews and regulatory enforcement of all levels of government organizations to identify the status of the implementation of anti-corruption measures to develop a report. The report identified the violations of several laws, including the Law on Conflicts of Interest and the Procurement Law. Major violations included the illegal appointment of officials, abuse of official positions, the illegal establishment of fees, and the ineffective spending of state funds.

An overall assessment concluded that the level of corruption at all levels of government is high.

The report was discussed by the National Audit and Civil Service Council and recommendations on how to end these illegal activities were submitted to each of the cabinet's ministers.

Prime Minister Li Keqiang told the National People's Congress during the legislature's annual sitting that while growth remains strong amid the recovery in the global economy, China will focus on pressing ahead with its reform agenda.

"The [target is] fitting given the fact that China's economy is transitioning from a phase of rapid growth to a stage of high-quality development," said Li at the opening of the over two week-long congress, addressing some 5,000 delegates gathered in the Great Hall of the People in the country's capital.

Meanwhile, the country's military spending will rise 8.1% from 2017, according to a budget report. The budget will likely heighten fears about China's growing assertiveness in Asia and beyond.

The world's second-largest economy grew 6.9% in 2017, bucking a slowdown since 2010 and beating the 6.5% target set around this time last year in the Government Work Report. The report is delivered by the premier every year to kick off the annual congress. Growth was supported by exports, as well as investments in infrastructure and real estate. The economy has been cooling off after nearly a decade of double-digit growth that began in 2003.

The projection for 2018 is within the range marked by economists, who expect Beijing to implement measures set by its top leadership to contain risks in the financial system.

President Xi Jinping said during the Communist Party's five-yearly meeting in October 2017 that China had to safeguard the economy in order achieve the mid- to long-term plan of creating a "prosperous" society based on socialism.

Mizuho Securities is less upbeat about China's outlook, expecting tighter monetary conditions and the continued scrutiny of investments in line with the top leadership's pronouncements. The investment bank, which has a 6.3% growth forecast for 2018, said in a Feb. 26 research note that growth will be driven by trade, domestic consumption and income growth.

China's economy has come under pressure in recent years from mounting debts chalked up by state-owned enterprises and the private sector. The threat of a property market bubble remains a major concern for Beijing, underpinned by lower borrowing costs provided by the country's shadow banking system.

Over the next three years, whether China can sustain growth will depend on how the government encourages productivity gains while keeping inflation and asset bubbles at bay, said Diana Choyleva of London-based Enodo Economics.