Russia & China to extend currency swap agreement to lessen dollar dependence www.rt.com

Economic cooperation between Russia and China has been actively developing according to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Prikhodko. He says the sides are working to prolong the bilateral currency swap agreement.

GGGI supports Development of Pilot Energy Efficiency www.gggi.org

Since 2013, GGGI has been supporting the Government of Mongolia in the implementation of the National Green Development Policy and NDCs to the Paris Agreement. These include specific targets on improving the energy efficiency of heat and power generation, transmission and of the built environment which are reflected in Mongolia’s Energy Conservation Law. In March 2017, GGGI and the Energy Regulatory Commission of Mongolia (ERC) signed a Memorandum of Understanding which identifies four major areas of support to be brought by GGGI:

· Formulation of the National Energy Efficiency Action Programme 2018-2022 (NEEAP);
· Development of incentives for renewable energy, energy conservation, and energy efficiency;
· Preparation of bankable green energy projects, beginning with industrial energy efficiency; and
· Sharing and dissemination of institutional knowledge and experience.

On October 25 2017, GGGI and the ERC presented the final outcomes of the energy audits of a selected sample of 15 “Designated Entities”, Mongolian private and publicly owned organizations from various sectors, whom have in common a consumption of heat and, or electricity exceeding the threshold set by the government for conservation potential. PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), was missioned by GGGI and the ERC to carry out the following technical advisory services:

· Estimate the market per sector;
· Perform a gap analysis of Mongolia’s policy, regulatory, and financial framework;
· Develop a pipeline of pilot energy efficiency projects (15 projects in different sub-sectors); and
· Capacity development activities of local energy auditors.

The consolidated results of the assignment show that the recommended energy conservation measures will require a total of $58 million of capital investment with an expected project payback period up to 3 years. The energy efficiency improvements alone can help achieve an estimated reduction of 620 thousand tons of CO2 emissions.

Since Mongolia became a GGGI member country, GGGI provided technical assistance to the Government of Mongolia in the areas of energy systems analysis, public green building, green cities and national green development planning. Building upon this work, GGGI and the Government of Mongolia initiated the Transition to Green Development Project (Phase 1: 2015-2016, Phase 2: 2017-2018), supporting the implementation of the country’s green development priorities and contribution to climate action – particularly in the fields of renewable energy, energy efficiency, public building design, and climate finance.

Dr. Tleykhan, Director General of the ERC, highlighted that “The results of this project demonstrate that improved energy efficiency has huge potential of benefits not only in terms of economy, but also socially and environmentally. It will serve as a platform to delivering bankable projects in the energy sector – a next step we are looking forward to”. The development of a pipeline of bankable projects complements GGGI’s ongoing work on the establishment, capitalization, and operationalization of the Mongolian Green Credit Fund (MGCF) – a national financing vehicle dedicated to the channeling of climate/development finance to green projects. Key projects in the MGCF’s project pipeline, being developed by GGGI, include the implementation of energy efficiency improvements measures for these 15 “Designated Entities”.

Asia gains as South Korea hits record high, dollar sags on White House woes www.reuters.com

TOKYO (Reuters) - Asian stocks mostly rose on Tuesday, shaking off downbeat factory readings out of China, while the dollar sagged after investigators probing Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. election charged President Donald Trump’s former campaign manager.

Spreadbetters expected Britain's FTSE .FTSE to open a shade lower and France's CAC .FCHI to open flat. The German markets will be shut for a national holiday.

MSCI’s broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan .MIAPJ0000PUS was up 0.4 percent.

Strong gains in South Korea and Taiwan, which make up roughly a quarter of the index’s weighting, helped offset weakness in China and Hong Kong.

The KOSPI .KS11 ended up 1 percent at a record high after Seoul and Beijing agreed to normalize relations that have been strained by a year-long standoff over the deployment of a U.S. anti-missile system in South Korea.

“Shares that have long been pressured by ongoing political disputes between the two countries are reacting positively to the announcement, including Hyundai Motor-related stocks,” said Cho Byung-hyun, a stock analyst at Yuanta Securities.

Tech-heavy Taiwan .TWII added 0.4 percent after Apple (AAPL.O) made big gains overnight.

But Chinese equities wobbled after data showed a sharper-than-expected slowdown in October factory growth.

Beijing’s war on winter air pollution is forcing many northern steel mills, smelters and factories to curtail production, adding to uncertainty amid early signs of a slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy.

China's blue-chip CSI300 index .CSI300 fell 0.2 percent and Hong Kong's Hang Seng .HSI dipped 0.1 percent.

Japan's Nikkei .N225 closed flat, capped by weaker U.S. shares and a stronger yen.

Wall Street pulled back from record-high territory on Monday, weighed down by a drop in drugmaker Merck (MRK.N) and a report that U.S. lawmakers are discussing a gradual phase-in corporate tax cuts rather than reducing it all at once. [.N]

“The report of the gradual corporate tax cut option came when equities were strung high, so it served as a catalyst for markets to adjust,” said Masahiro Ichikawa, senior strategist at Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management in Tokyo.

“Expectations were for the corporate tax to be cut in one go. But even if the cut is implemented gradually, it still is a reduction and that won’t be bad news in the long term.”

The dollar hovered near a 10-day low of 113.02 yen JPY= struck overnight.

The greenback lost about 0.4 percent against the yen overnight on investor caution after former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort and another aide, Rick Gates, were charged with money laundering on Monday by federal investigators.

“It’s weighing on dollar/yen a little bit. I think there’s a little bit of uncertainty,” said Stephen Innes, head of trading in Asia-Pacific for Oanda in Singapore, adding the yen drew some support as risk sentiment was looking a bit wobbly.

The yen showed little reaction to the Bank of Japan’s decision to stand pat on monetary policy even as it slightly cut its inflation forecast for the current fiscal year, an outcome that had been widely expected.

The U.S. currency was also pressured as Treasury yields slipped on reports that Trump is likely to appoint Federal Reserve Governor Jerome Powell, who is viewed as more dovish than other contenders, as the next head of the Federal Reserve.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield US30YT=RR fell to its lowest in a week after Bloomberg quoted Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin saying the government does not see a lot of demand for ultra-long bonds.

The dollar index against at basket of six major currencies .DXY steadied at 94.547 after slipping overnight from a three-month high of 95.150.

The euro was little changed at $1.1637 EUR=. It had pulled back overnight from a three-month low of $1.1574 on Friday.

European markets got a lift on Monday after an opinion poll showing waning support for independence soothed investors’ concerns over a Catalan secession from Spain.

Crude oil prices steadied below their recent peaks after being boosted by expectations OPEC-led production cuts would be extended beyond March.

Brent crude futures LCOc1 was down 0.2 percent at $60.78 a barrel after rising to $61 overnight, the highest since July 2015.

U.S. crude CLc1 was 0.1 percent lower at $54.09 after touching $54.46, its highest since late February.

October 30 2017 trading report www.mse.mn

On October 30, 2017, 354,930 shares of 22 firms listed as Tier I, II, and III were traded. 7 firms’ shares increased in price, 12 decreased and 3 remained unchanged. Gobi JSC /GOV/ was the top performer, increasing 4.73 percent, whereas Mongol Post JSC /MNP/ was the worst performer, decreasing 13.56 percent.

Glencore raises marketing guidance, lowers output www.mining.com

LONDON, Oct 30 (Reuters) – Glencore on Monday cut its output forecast for core commodities including zinc, but raised its marketing division’s full-year earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) to between $2.6 billion and $2.8 billion, reflecting higher raw materials prices.

Mongolia and Russia to intensify border cooperation www.montsame.mn

Mongolia to accelerate joint projects with China www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Deputy Prime Minister U.Enkhtuvshin exchanged views on the Mongolia-China relations and cooperation with Xing Haiming, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the People’s Republic China to Mongolia, on October 30.

MSE share capital goes up www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The Financial Regulatory Commission (FRC) has raised the share capital of the Mongolian Stock Exchange JSC by MNT20 billion and made changes to the securities registration.

IMF Reaches Staff-Level Agreement on the First and Second Reviews of Mongolia’s Extended Fund Facility www.imf.org

Mongolia’s economy is recovering and GDP growth is now projected at 3.3 percent this year and 4.2 percent in 2018, reflecting buoyant external conditions and improving confidence. Key targets have been achieved.

Important structural reforms are underway to lay the foundations for long-term growth and break the boom-bust cycle. The key near-term focus is supporting the authorities’ policies to strengthen the banking sector and enhance fiscal policy making.
The IMF welcomes the authorities’ commitment to continue the reform momentum to cement the long-term benefits.
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) staff team led by Mr. Geoff Gottlieb visited Ulaanbaatar from October 18-30, 2017 to conduct discussions on the first and second reviews of the three-year Extended Fund Facility (EFF) arrangement approved on May 24, 2017, in an amount equivalent to SDR 314.5054 million, or about US$434.3 million (see Press Release No. 17/193).

At the conclusion of the visit, Mr. Gottlieb made the following statement:

“The economy is growing more strongly than expected, with GDP growth likely to reach at least 3.3 percent this year on the back of strong coal exports, a robust recovery in services, and a return of confidence following the approval of the $5.5 billion IMF-supported package. Growth is expected to become more broad-based in 2018 as the domestic economy revives, but there are downside risks to the coal sector.

“Performance under the program has been positive, with all quantitative targets met. Fiscal results have been better than expected, supported by stronger revenues and tight expenditure control. The overall fiscal deficit is likely to be 7.5 percent of GDP this year compared to 17 percent in 2016. The authorities’ proposed 2018 budget is in line with the revised program that envisages a deficit of 6.5 percent of GDP. The authorities have committed to save half of any revenue overperformance should it materialize, thus helping to reduce borrowing and ensure debt sustainability. The remainder would be used to fund productive one-off spending in line with the government action plan. Both this year and next, the authorities have allocated a one-time bonus to civil servants. Net international reserves have improved, and the authorities have rolled over the sovereign bonds maturing in 2017 and 2018 at attractive interest rates, removing a key risk to the external position.

“The authorities have moved ahead with their ambitious structural reform agenda, which will help to sustain growth over the medium term, promote diversification and competitiveness, and mitigate the boom-bust cycle. The rehabilitation and strengthening of the banking system is underway: the results of the comprehensive Asset Quality Review are expected in mid-December; important legal reforms are being drafted to strengthen the financial system; and improvements to the regulatory and supervisory framework are under way.

“On the fiscal side, steady progress is being made in strengthening tax administration, tax policy, and budgetary controls, including through the establishment of a fiscal council and a high-level working group on tax policy. It is important that the reform momentum is maintained in 2018 to cement the long-term benefits of such policies on promoting inclusive and sustainable growth. In this regard, it is encouraging that the commitment of the new government to the program policies remains strong.

“The authorities and the team have reached staff-level agreement on the completion of the first and second reviews under the EFF arrangement, which is subject to the approval of the IMF Executive Board.

“The team thanks the authorities for their cooperation, constructive dialogue, and hospitality during its stay in Mongolia.”

Camel caravan embarked www.montsame.mn

A Mongolian woman B.Baigalmaa is ready to fulfill her life-time dream of an epic adventure. An opening of her camel caravan “Steppes to the West” was held on October 29 at Sukhbaatar Square.