Nissan to invest $9 billion for EVs in China www.nhk.or.jp

Nissan Motor plans to invest about 9 billion dollars in China over the next 5 years to boost production and sales of electric vehicles.

Samsung heir freed from S Korea jail www.bbc.com

Samsung heir Lee Jae-yong has been freed from jail after a South Korean court suspended his five year jail term for bribing the country's ex-president.

Seoul High Court upheld parts of the conviction, but used its discretion to release the executive.

Prosecutors may challenge the decision in the country's supreme court.

The case gripped the public amid growing anger against the country's biggest companies, known as chaebols, and their influence on wider society.

In Monday's hearing, the court halved Lee's original sentence to two and a half years - and suspended the sentence for charges including bribery and embezzlement, meaning he does not have to serve any more prison time.

Despite his release, Lee plans to appeal against the remaining guilty verdicts, his lawyer said.

Scandal
Last year a lower court jailed Lee for corruption in a political scandal that ultimately brought down former President Park Geun-hye.

The Samsung Electronics vice chairman, who is also known as Jay Y Lee, had been convicted of a range of offences including bribery and embezzlement.

Lee, has effectively directed operations at the mobile phone and chip maker since his father, Lee Kun-hee, was incapacitated by a heart attack in 2014.

A dramatic turnaround in fortunes for Samsung scion Lee Jae-yong.

There were many outcomes that could have taken place today. But it would be fair to say that Lee walking out of jail was the one that was least likely.

Lee's release will be a major relief to the world's biggest smartphone maker and arguably the most important company in Corporate Korea.

Sources inside Samsung tell me that while the company hasn't seen its share price or profits affected in the short term from Lee's absence, long term it was going to struggle, especially with strategy and future direction.

And you can see the immediate impact of that from the pop in Samsung's share price this Monday - a sign that investors are looking forward to Lee back in the driving seat.

But there are also political consequences to this latest move.

South Korea's President Moon Jae-in won office by campaigning to clean up the powerful chaebol sector in Korea. But many will see the court ruling as effectively a get-out-of-jail card for Lee that goes against everything the president stood for.

What was he accused of?
The 49-year-old was accused of giving donations worth 41bn won ($37.7m; £26.7m) to non-profit foundations operated by Choi Soon-sil, a friend of South Korea's former President Park Geun-hye, in return for political favours.

Prosecutors said the donations were made to Ms Park's confidante to win government support for a big restructuring of Samsung that would strengthen Lee's control over Samsung Electronics.

But Lee's defence team said that the payments were signed off without his knowledge.

Lee admitted that the firm also gave a horse and money to help the equestrian career of Choi's daughter, Chung Yoo-ra, but denied seeking favours.

Bank of Mongolia to introduce G20 High Level Principles on Financial Consumer Protection www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The Bank of Mongolia is introducing 11 principles of G20 High Level Principles on Financial Consumer Protection developed by Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

The UK Export Finance increases its assistance to Mongolia www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The UK Export Finance raised the volume of its trade-related assistance for Mongolia up to GBP 200 million. Thereby, the agency has admitted the financing with national currency, allowing transactions in MNT. This will enable the purchase of British products and services in MNT.

Oyu Tolgoi hands over the Made in Mongolia Ecobus to Umnugovi aimag www.gogo.mn

Oyu Tolgoi’s Chairman of the Board of Directors Mr.Batsukh gave a speech opening the handover ceremony of Mongolian made eight ECOBUSes as part of the “Umnugovi public transportation improvement project” of “Gobi Oyu Development support fund” sponsored by Oyu Tolgoi LLC.

Mongolbank’s gold purchase increases www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The Bank of Mongolia purchased 1,128 kg gold in January this year, which is 46.5 percent higher than the same period of the last year.

China's benchmark power coal price ends decline www.chinadaily.com.cn

BEIJING -- China's benchmark power coal price ended declines during the past week due to rising consumption from coal-fired power plants.

Rio Tinto back in race for stake in world’s largest lithium miner www.mining.com

Global miner Rio Tinto (ASX, LON:RIO) is said to be once again chasing a $5bn stake in Chile’s Chemical and Mining Society (SQM), the world's largest lithium producer, following the resolution of a long-dragged dispute between the company and the country’s government over royalties in Salar de Atacama.

The deal between SQM and Chile’s development agency Corfo, reached last month, freed the lithium producer to apply for an increase in its output quota amid a demand boom and surging prices for the white metal, used in the batteries that power electric vehicles.

According to local paper Diario Financiero (in Spanish) Rio’s renewed interest in SQM is welcome by the Chilean government, which had expressed concerns about a potential and dangerous concentration in the market should major lithium producers, such as China’s Tianqi, acquire the 32% interest in SQM.

Nutrien (TSX:NTR), born from the recent merger between Potash Corp. and Agrium, has to sale its interest in SQM by April 2019, as part of the condition of the merger last year between PotashCorp and Agrium that created the company.

US chemical company Albemarle Corporation (NYSE:ALB), the only firm other than SQM currently allowed to mine the white metal in the South American nation, which is also said to want the stake in the Chilean producer, is a close partner of Tianqi.

Albemarle owns a 49% stake in Talison Lithium, with Tianqi — China’s largest lithium producer — owning the other 51%. That relationship is seen as threatening for Chile because Talison is not only a major player in the market, but it’s also developing several lithium projects in Chile and Australia.

If any of the two (Albermale or Tianqi) grabs the stake in SQM, it would mean the world’s three top producers will own between 70% and 80% of the total market, Eduardo Bitrán, executive vice-president of Corfo, warned in an interview last month.

“We don’t want that. It will create conflict of interest that will upset the interests of SQM, the interests of Corfo, the interests of Chile and that’s a problem,” Bitrán told FT.com.

Rio Tinto back in race for stake in world’s largest lithium miner
Rio's current incursion in the lithium market is mostly limited to its 100%-owned lithium and borates mineral project in Jadar, Serbia, which is still in the early stages of development.

While the company’s chief executive Jean-Sebastien Jacques has not ruled out acquisitions in recent comments to the market, he has also noted the company would only consider opportunities that make a "smart buy".

That’s why purchasing a stake in SQM would not be inconsistent with Rio's current strategy, Investec said in a note to clients in November, adding that such move would only provide a foothold in a sector where the company has some exposure, but with Jadar still many years away, "if it is developed at all".

SQM, which has a market value at just over $15 billion, is expected to quadruple lithium production by 2026.

Industrial park and new town plan www.news.mn

Mongolia has 66 million livestock; however, there is a lack of leather and meat processing factories. B.Batzorig, Minister of Food, Agriculture and Light Industries has said his ministry is planning to establish a Leather & Wool Industrial Park in Emeelt, outside Ulaanbaatar. The park will have tanneries with an annual processing capacity of 8 million hides; there will also be facilities for processing 22 thousand tonnes of cashmere. In order to provide the workforce for the processing plants a new town 30 thousand will be built.

Mongolia ranks 125th place in Economic Freedom Index www.akipress.com

Mongolia’s economic freedom score is 55.7, making its economy the 125th freest in the 2018 Economic Freedom Index by the Heritage Foundation.