Mongolia extracted a total of 47.5 million tons of coal and sold 40.7 million tons, of which 33.3 million tons of coal has been exported abroad. The amount is significantly higher compared to the expected level of 32 million tons in 2017. Furthermore, the coal export increased by 29.1 percent in the year-over-year comparison.

Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi JSC has failed to reach its forecast amount of 11 million tons. As for Energy Resource, the company had a plan to start operation of concentration plant in the fourth quarter of 2017; however, the sharp decrease of entrance capacity in Gashuunsukhait-Gantsmod border checkpoint had an impact in the company’s operations. Additionally, the Minister of Mining and Heavy Industry informed that the issues at the border checkpoint can be settled with a high-level meeting between Mongolia and China. According to the authorities of the border checkpoint, around only 10 coal trucks were passing through Gashuunsukhait-Gantsmod as of last Thursday.

Approximately 300 coal trucks were entering the border checkpoint in the beginning of 2018; however, Winsway Enterprise, one of the mining companies transporting coal through Gashuunsuhait-Gantsmod route, protested in China and caused the Chinese Government to halt the transport road near Gantsmod border checkpoint. According to the Ministry of Mining and Heavy Industry, the company issued twelve demand from Gantsmod, which also included the Mongolian side to restore coal transport from Tavan Tolgoi to Gashuun Sukhait and stop the truck drivers from paying social insurance. Presently, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and National Transportation Center are negotiation with the Chinese side.

Strengthening the rule of law in Mongolia is one of the priorities of the newly established European Union Delegation under the 2016-2020 EU Human Rights and Democracy Country Strategy for Mongolia. In this context, the EU and its Mongolian partners selected the implementation of the recently adopted criminal code and criminal procedure code in line with human rights standards as an area for further EU cooperation and support.

Ts.Davaasuren, State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia, and G.Bayasgalan, State Secretary of the Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs opened the conference which brought together national stakeholders such as representatives from the General Prosecutor’ Office, Ministry of Justice and Human Rights Commission of Mongolia. National and European experts presented reflections and recommendations on the furtherance of international human rights standards as the country seeks to reform its criminal justice system.

While the entry into force of the criminal and criminal procedure code in July 2017 provides a window of opportunity to protect human rights and strengthen the rule of law, many challenges remain for its implementation. “This conference presents an excellent opportunity to accelerate criminal justice reform through an open debate not only on legislative amendments, but also on the wider policy environment in which these changes need to be implemented,' said EU’s Chargé d’Affaires a.i., Mr. Marco Ferri. (EU Delegation to Mongolia)

The price of gold on the London Metal Exchange has been rising since the beginning of 2018. The BoM set its purchasing price at 102,000 to 103,000 MNT per gram.

BoM officials say gold purchases have increased due to consistently rising gold prices. In 2017, the BoM purchased 20.01 tons of gold. Under the Alt 2 campaign, the BoM plans to purchase 25 tons of gold each year.

MMC reports that it extracted 8.3 million tons of coal and produced 8 million tons in 2017. Four million tons of coal extracted was processed and 3.6 tons of concentrated coal was sold last year.

Compared to 2016, the volume of coal extracted increased by 179 percent, the volume of processed coal grew by 166 percent, and coal sold grew by 132 percent. The fourth quarter saw a 31 percent increase in coal extraction, and with coal production increased by 15 percent compared to Q4’16.

In 2017, there were 75,734 live births at national level, of which 74,328 live births (98.1%) were born in Mongolia and 1,406 live births (1.9%) were born in overseas.

Compared with the previous year, live birth was decreased by 3,648 or 4.6% and death was decreased by 340 or 2.1%.

The crude birth rate and crude death rate per 1,000 population were 23.8 and 5.0 respectively, and natural increase rate per 1,000 population was 18.8.
source: NSO

The steps against Inner Mongolia Changsheng Pharmaceutical followed an October inspection of its plant in Tuoketuo, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia in China by Belgium inspectors, according to a post on the European Medicines Agency's (EMA) Eudra site.

Inspectors listed one critical and eight major deficiencies. The critical deficiency was tied to the QA system, which inspectors called “weak” and incapable of establishing acceptable standards across the whole spectrum of processes. They specifically noted oversight of deviations, quality control, validation, complaint management and documentation, among others.

The EMA is suggesting that countries ban the company from shipping products unless producers have no alternative suppliers for the APIs. In that case, any shipped products should at least be retested, the EMA said.

Both U.S. and European authorities have stepped up oversight of Chinese companies as more are found shipping ingredients to the West. Last fall, the FDA banned products and slapped a warning letter on China’s Guangdong Zhanjiang Jimin Pharmaceutical after an inspection found it had shipped multiple lots of an OTC product to the U.S. containing the wrong API because the company messed up a translation.

The ROK's Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon expressed the desire during talks with visiting Mongolian counterpart Ukhnaa Hurelsukh.

After the meeting, the two leaders witnessed the signing ceremony of bilateral relations and cooperation documents.

The ROK government will grant a soft loan worth 500 million U.S. dollars within the framework of Extended Fund Facility arrangement with the International Monetary Fund. The loan must be repaid over a 30-year period with a 10-year grace period and an interest rate of 0.2 percent.

According to Hurelsukh, this money would be spent on reducing air pollution in Ulan Bator.

In addition, the two sides also agreed to work together to intensify cooperation in the labor sector in order to prepare skilled labor and job opportunities.

Relations between Mongolia and the ROK have constantly improved since the two countries established diplomatic relations in 1990.

Bilateral trade volume stood at 700 million dollars in 2017, with an increase of 1.4 percent.

Hurelsukh arrived for a three-day official visit to the ROK on Monday at an invitation of his ROK counterpart Lee Nak-yeon. This is Hurelsukh's first overseas trip since he took office in last October.

The Vancouver-based company said the amount relates to an audit on taxes imposed and paid by the mine operator between 2013 and 2015.

“Turquoise Hill is of the firm view that Oyu Tolgoi LLC has paid all taxes and charges required under the Investment Agreement (and reconfirmed in the Underground Mine Development and Financing Plan) and Mongolian law,” Turquoise said in the statement.

Shares in the miner were almost 5% down on Tuesday in Toronto at 11:03AM, and had lost 2.7% of their value in the New York exchange by 11:20AM.

Situated in the southern Gobi desert of Mongolia, about 550 km south of the capital, Ulaanbaatar and 80 k north of the border with China, Oyu Tolgoi is jointly owned by the government of Mongolia (34%) and Turquoise Hill (66%), of which Rio Tinto owns 51%.

The $6 billion Oyu Tolgoi first-stage open pit mine began producing in 2013, when the project logged a $90 million full-year loss. A planned underground expansion was put on hold shortly after, as the Mongolian government became concerned that cost overruns would cut into profits.

The project was resumed in 2016 and, currently, the mine is expected to be world's third-largest copper operation at peak production in 2025, with output of over 550,000 tonnes per year.

Leasing is a growing sector in Mongolia, where it represents an important alternative to bank lending for SMEs in need of finance. Although SMEs account for 90 per cent of all registered businesses in Mongolia, they have limited access to long-term financing due to lack of collateral and credit history.

Under the EBRD’s SME Local Currency Programme, the Bank’s funds will be on-lent to SMEs with a particular focus on machinery, commercial vehicles and medical appliances.

The financing will also support the business development plan of XacLeasing in the SME sector and help to diversify its sources of funding, while reducing foreign currency risk.

Noel Edison, Director for Insurance and Financial Services at the EBRD, said: “Partnering with XacLeasing will increase the availability of much-needed long-term funding in local currency for SMEs that are underserved by bank finance. SMEs are the backbone of the economy and they contribute to most employment and economic growth in Mongolia.”

Tsevegjav Gumenjav, CEO of XacLeasing, commented: “The fact that this is the EBRD’s second local currency loan to XacLeasing shows that the leasing sector in Mongolia has performed exceptionally well over the past years, experiencing tremendous growth, and that leasing is a promising alternative solution to financing needs. The EBRD’s financing will not only help us to increase our leasing to SMEs, but will also help our clients avoid foreign exchange risk.”

The EBRD is a leading institutional investor in Mongolia, with over €1.4 billion invested in 93 projects in the country to date. The Bank’s investments aim to make the local economy more competitive, integrated and resilient.

Turquoise Hill is of the firm view that Oyu Tolgoi LLC has paid all taxes and charges required under the Investment Agreement (and reconfirmed in the Underground Mine Development and Financing Plan) and Mongolian law.

The tax assessment is being evaluated by Oyu Tolgoi LLC and a response will be issued within the timeframe required by Mongolian Law.
source: Turquoise Hill