Mongolia focuses on challenges of people with disabilities www.theubpost.mn

The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection organized a meeting to share successful practices of providing jobs to people living with disabilities on Sunday, in observation of International Day of Persons with Disabilities.

The annual observance was proclaimed in 1992 by the United Nations General Assembly to promote the rights and well-being of persons with disabilities in all spheres of society and development, and to increase awareness of the situation of persons with disabilities in every aspect of political, social, economic and cultural life.

This year’s theme for International Day of Persons with Disabilities was “Transformation towards sustainable and resilient society for all”. The theme reiterated the 2030 agenda of leaving no one behind and encouraged the development of a society that is sustainable and resilient.

At the meeting, representatives from the ministry, the Mongolian Employers’ Federation, and other organizations thanked and gave certificates of appreciation to Nomin Holdings, Thermal Power Plant No.4, Gem International, Max Group, and Gobi Cashmere for providing permanent employment to disabled people.

Head of the Department of Population Department at the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection S.Tungalagtamir introduced state policies and ongoing projects aimed to support employment and protect the rights of people living with disabilities. She stated that the government approved the National Program on Human Rights, Involvement and Support for the Development of Persons with Disabilities last week and underlined it as a major achievement.

“The program strives to make real changes to the quality of life of people living with disabilities by raising public awareness and knowledge about them at all social platforms, include their challenges in state and local policies and decisions, improve services dedicated to them, and boost sectoral cooperation in this area. First of all, we want to provide inclusive health, education and employment services as these are the most urgent challenges for people with disabilities. We also want to make public transportation, roads, homes, public offices and venues more accessible to them, as well as upgrade related statistics,” S.Tungalagtamir said.

According to 2016 studies by the National Statistics Office, there were 100,993 people living with disabilities in Mongolia, out of which 43,083 had been born disabled and 10,740 were children under the age of 17. Reportedly, 19,563 people with disabilities were employed and 2,727 of them had reached the retirement age.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Protection reported that it has been taking progressive measures to secure the rights of people with disabilities. For example, over the past two years, it established an unofficial council to protect their rights, approved a document related to their employment, developed a regulation for the Disabled Children’s Health, Education and Social Protection Committee, and received government approval to form a sub-council for the protection of the right of the disabled.

The ministry stated that its newly-launched My Help 104, the very first local special hotline for residents with disabilities, has been showing good results. Officials plan to carry out projects to increase the population of disabled persons with jobs, change employers’ attitude towards people with disabilities, and improve related legal environment in the near future. Looking at details of disabled people with jobs, 41.7 percent of them run their own business, 35.7 percent have jobs with stable salary, 20.1 percent work without a salary at small industries and service companies, 1.6 percent are employers, and 0.3 percent are a member of a fellowship or cooperative.

Through the Program to Support Employment of Persons with Disabilities, 1,980 out of 4,626 people with disabilities who applied found jobs in 2016 and a total of 2.3 billion MNT was spent by the program. A total of 4.2 billion MNT was budgeted for the project this year. As of July, 951 people had applied and 827 new workplaces were created with 1.6 billion MNT, according to the ministry.

PM gives assignments in relation to construction www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/ On December 4, Prime Minister U. Khurelsukh met Kh. Badelkhan, Construction and Urban Development Minister, and representatives of the sector, including J.Hicheengui, General Director of ‘State Housing Corporation’ state-owned industry, P. Bayarkhuu, deputy governor of Ulaanbaatar city, and E. Anar, general architector and head of the General Planning Office of Ulaanbaatar City, B. Batbayar, CEO of Development Bank of Mongolia as well as others.

55TH ANNUAL ACADEMY OF AMERICAN AND INTERNATIONAL LAW www.cailaw.org

55TH ANNUAL ACADEMY OF AMERICAN AND INTERNATIONAL LAW
May 27 - June 29, 2018 in
Plano, Texas, USA
The Center for American and International Law

Xiaomi Seeks Valuation of at Least $50 Billion in IPO www.bloomberg.com

Xiaomi Corp., the Chinese smartphone maker that was once the most valuable startup in the world, is in talks with investment banks about a possible initial public offering and seeking a valuation of at least $50 billion, according to people familiar with the matter.

The Beijing-based company is considering an offering as soon as next year with banks suggesting Hong Kong as the most likely destination, said the people, requesting not to be named because the matter is private. While banks have talked up Xiaomi’s prospects as they seek to win the mandate, they have concerns about whether the company can reach the $50 billion level, much less a $100 billion target that some top executives have embraced, the people said. Xiaomi last raised money in 2014 at a $46 billion valuation.

Xiaomi has gained momentum in recent months after stumbling against local rivals such as Huawei Technologies Co. and Oppo. The company, led by Lei Jun, has invested aggressively in retail stores and in India. It’s now on the verge of surpassing Samsung Electronics Co. in the country, the world’s fastest-growing smartphone market. A successful IPO may bring it at least $5 billion, much-needed ammunition for expansion, the people said.

“We want to transplant China’s business ideas into other countries,” Lei said Monday at the World Internet Conference in Wuzhen, without commenting on an IPO. “In India, we’ve created a miracle. After only three years, we’ve become number one.”

Kaylene Hong, a Xiaomi spokeswoman, says the company does not comment on IPO matters. The Information reported earlier that Xiaomi is considering an IPO as early as the second half of 2018.

While the company has had ups and downs, the $50 billion target may be attainable, depending on business performance and market trends over the next few months. 

Xiaomi would be the biggest technology company to go public since Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. raised a record-breaking $25 billion at a $231.4 billion market value in 2014. Snap Inc. is the next-biggest since then, according to data compiled by Bloomberg, listing at a valuation of about $20 billion.

“It’s not a preposterous valuation,” said Keith Pogson, global assurance leader for banking and capital markets in Hong Kong at consultant EY. “Without a doubt, the market is hot for tech companies, especially tech companies with China ties.”

Founded in 2010, Xiaomi, or Little Rice, made its mark with buzzy online marketing campaigns, eschewing traditional retail stores. By 2014, its formula of flash sales and savvy social media helped it top Chinese smartphone rankings and amass the valuation that made it briefly the highest in the world, before it was surpassed by Uber Technologies Inc. Lei, who often sported black turtlenecks, was compared with Apple Inc.’s Steve Jobs.

But Xiaomi stumbled last year, with shipments plunging against fierce local competition. The company ranked only fifth in Chinese phone shipments in the first quarter, according to research firm IDC. Oppo and counterpart Vivo punished the company by developing strong ties with retailers in small towns and rural areas of China.

Lei has revived the company by expanding its product line, geographic reach and sales channels. Xiaomi is making a major push into old-fashioned retail: it plans to build 1,000 “Mi Home” stores by 2019 -- about twice Apple’s global store count -- targeting 70 billion yuan ($10 billion) of retail sales by 2021.

An IPO may help Xiaomi retain employees who have stuck with the company through the tough times. In January, Hugo Barra, a former Google executive who had spent three and a half years at Xiaomi, returned to Silicon Valley for a job at Facebook Inc.

“Employees will love to hear the company is finally planning an IPO,” said James Yan, an analyst with consultancy Counterpoint.

Lei has bet heavily on overseas expansion, especially in India. In an interview in March, he said Xiaomi would double its investment in the country, spending another $500 million over the next three to five years.

Xiaomi’s new Redmi Note 4 sold about 250,000 units within minutes on India’s top online retailer Flipkart.com as well as its own online site, the company said. The Beijing-based company hit $1 billion in Indian revenue for 2016.

“Our path towards internationalization began four years ago," Lei said Monday through a translator. "At first we faced many difficulties. In 2015 we lost around 1 billion or more yuan – a great loss caused because we were starting in so many countries. After that we set on an idea of whether we could build an example market and we settled on India. Three years later we’re in over 60 countries.”

Xiaomi is focusing on emerging markets including Russia and Indonesia. The company has said it also intends to establish a presence in the U.S., where it’s held off on selling phones in favor of devices such as fitness bands. Xiaomi is now aiming to ship 100 million smartphones next year, reviving a target it had abandoned during its difficult days.

“We’ve been seeing the rise of Chinese brands,” Lei said. “In the next ten years, the large number of Chinese brands will continue to grow and become international – the trend is quite clear.”

FESCO delivered the first batch of equipment to the Haval car plant under construction and launched new China-Russia train via Mongolia www.fesco.ru

Under the contract executed with Haval Motor Manufacturing Rus LLC (a subsidiary of Great Wall Motors, a Chinese car manufacturer) FESCO Transportation Group (“FESCO”, the “Company”) delivered the first batch of equipment to the Tula region for the Haval car plant which is currently under construction. The cargo was transported by a special container mono train through an inland corridor via Mongolia.

Transit time was 11 days, size of the batch – 78 forty foot containers. Transportation on route Tianjin (China) – Erlian (China) – Zamyn-Üüd (Mongolia) – Naushki (Russia) – Novomoskovsk (Russia) is extra service to the effective routes via ports of Vladivostok and St. Petersburg, the new scheme is based on the technologies used for delivering in regular FESCO block trains – Mongolian Shuttle and Silk Way Shuttle. For inland transportation FESCO uses own containers and platforms as well as platforms of its partner – the Eurosib Group, in cooperation with which the Mongolian Shuttle service is organized.

MOFA: China respects Mongolia’s independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity www.news.cgnt.com

Chinese Minister Wang Yi said Monday that China appreciates Mongolia’s reiteration that it will firmly adhere to the One China Policy, and its respect for China’s core interest and major concerns on issues related to Tibet, Xinjiang and Taiwan.

December 04, 2017 trading report www.mse.mn

On December 04, 2017, 290,002 shares of 26 firms listed as Tier I, II, and III were traded. 14 firms’ shares increased in price, 9 decreased and 3 remained unchanged. Mongoliin khugjil undesnii negdel JSC /HAM/ was the top performer, increasing 15.00 percent, whereas Telecom Mongolia JSC /MCH/ was the worst performer, decreasing 453 percent.

Prime Minister reports on foreign policy www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Prime Minister U.Khurelsukh delivered a report on the foreign policy of Mongolia during the Parliament’s plenary meeting on December 1, Friday.

Gold company's stock jumps 1300% after switching to bitcoin www.mining.com

Bitcoin has been kicking the stuffing out of most mining stocks lately, as the cryptocurrency continues to climb to new heights.

World Bank Supports Mongolia’s Reforms with US$120 Million Financing www.mongolia.gogo.mn

The World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors approved US$120 million in financing to support Mongolia’s efforts to restore debt sustainability, strengthen the social protection system, and enhance the competitiveness of the economy on Friday. The Mongolia Economic Management Support Operation First Development Policy Financing (DPF) comes at a critical juncture and aligns with the country’s moves towards strong policy adjustment.

A sharp drop in commodity prices and foreign investment, compounded by expansionary policies, created severe economic challenges for Mongolia. The budget deficit grew rapidly and borrowing on the international markets both contributed to a four-fold increase in government debt, while expansionary policies contributed to a sharp currency depreciation and a significant loss of international reserves since 2013.
“This program endorses many of the measures that the government has taken to put Mongolia’s economy on a healthier path. Policy reforms in priority areas will help fiscal adjustment, strengthen the social protection system, and improve the competitiveness of the economy. Together with the long-term and affordable financing from the program, the reforms will help stabilize government debt, while strengthening the social safety net,” said James Anderson, World Bank Country Manager for Mongolia.
Although Mongolia’s legal system includes controls over fiscal deficits, these controls were largely circumvented in the past several years through off-budget expenditures. By consolidating off-budget and quasi-fiscal expenditures, spending priorities will be debated during budget negotiations. Reducing capital expenditure – the largest source of spending increase in 2016 – is also a priority target. Measures to boost revenues include a more progressive personal income tax system that will reduce taxes for lower income groups, as well as increases in excise taxes on alcohol and tobacco, supporting both health and revenue objectives. Other reforms to expand the tax base will follow in the coming years.
The program also endorses the government’s efforts to rebalance the social welfare system in favor of the poor, notably by strengthening the Food Stamp Program and laying the foundation for a poverty-targeted benefit. Mongolia experienced a sharp increase in poverty between 2014 and 2016, a reminder of the need for a robust system of protecting the poorest during economic downturns. The program includes reforms aimed at making the pension system sustainable.
Strengthening the investment climate will help Mongolia to unlock its long-term potential and reduce its reliance on commodity exports. Important reforms in this area include strengthening investor protection, streamlining permit requirements, strengthening animal health management to promote livestock production and exports, and improving the trade environment.