Mongolia bans grain exports as hottest temperatures in 56 years cause drought www.akipress.com

AKIPRESS.COM - Mongolia has suspended grain exports with as much as a third of its farmland suffering from severe drought after temperatures last month rose to the highest in more than half a century, Reuters said. 

The Ministry of Agriculture and Industry has banned grain exports as it prepares for a shortfall in the autumn harvest. Temperatures in Mongolia reached their highest level in 56 years in June, according to weather reports, threatening crop production.

Oil hits two-month high on tighter U.S. market, Venezuela sanctions risk www.reuters.com

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Oil prices hit a two-month high on Monday, lifted by a tightening U.S. crude market and the threat of sanctions against OPEC-member Venezuela.

Brent crude futures were at $52.82 per barrel at 0443 GMT on Monday, up 30 cents or 0.6 percent. Prices hit $52.90 per barrel earlier in the day, their highest since May 25.
U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) futures were up 16 cents, or 0.3 percent, at $49.87 per barrel, and the entire WTI curve is close to moving back over $50 per barrel, with only September and October a notch below that level.
The price rises put both crude benchmarks on track for a sixth consecutive session of gains.
Prices have risen around 10 percent since the last meeting of leading members by the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) and other major producers, including Russia, when the group discussed potential measures to further tighten oil markets.
"U.S. inventories are showing massive drawdowns, Saudi Arabia seems intent on playing its role as the world's swing producer (and) impending sanctions on Venezuela by the U.S. will almost certainly be oil price-supportive," said Jeffrey Halley, analyst at futures brokerage OANDA.
The United States is considering imposing sanctions on Venezuela's vital oil sector in response to Sunday's election of a constitutional super-body that Washington has denounced as a "sham" vote.
But traders said the biggest price supporter was currently a tightening U.S. oil market.
"Strong increases in the price of oil ... (were) fueled in large part by the substantial drawdowns in U.S. inventories over the past several weeks," said William O'Loughlin, analyst at Rivkin Securities.
"A continuation of this trend could indicate the oil market is rebalancing thanks to the production cuts by OPEC and Russia," he added.
After rising by more than 10 percent since mid-2016, U.S. oil production dipped by 0.2 percent to 9.41 million barrels per day (bpd) in the week to July 21.
U.S. crude inventories have fallen by 10 percent from their March peaks to 483.4 million barrels.
Drilling for new U.S. production is also slowing, with just 10 rigs added in July, the fewest since May 2016.
The tighter market was also visible in the price curve, which shows backwardation in the front end.
Backwardation is a market condition in which prices for immediate delivery of a product are higher than those later on.
Brent prices for delivery in September are currently around 35 cents above those for October.

Pushing globe into easy pay mode www.chinadaily.com.cn

WeChat Pay expands internationally to catch up with, and possibly overtake, market leader Alipay

WeChat Pay, the mobile payment tool developed by internet major Tencent Holdings Ltd, is accelerating overseas expansion as it narrows the gap with first-mover Alipay in China's red-hot digital payment arena.

In its latest endeavor, the company has applied for a license in Malaysia to offer local payment services via the app. If it is approved, the license would allow local users to link their local bank accounts to WeChat Pay and make payment in the local currency, the Malaysian ringgit.

The push into the Malaysian market highlights Tencent's ambition to capitalize on a growing number of internet-savvy users who are getting used to making payments by phone. Tencent wants to vie for a bigger slice of the overseas markets wherever the Chinese tourists and the diaspora have a growing presence.

The development comes just days after both WeChat Pay and Alipay struck a deal with US digital payment firm Stripe earlier this month, allowing merchants who use the latter to process transactions to accept Chinese payment tools on their websites and apps.

Tencent has taken the payment service to the United States two months earlier through a partnership with Silicon Valley-based mobile payment startup Citcon.

Under the agreement, WeChat users in China can extend their cashless transactions for shopping and taxis when they travel abroad.

WeChat is quickly gaining momentum as its 938 million active users－more than double that of Alipay's 450 million－form the backbone of China's mobile banking market, which clocked transactions worth 18.8 trillion yuan ($2.77 trillion) in the first quarter of this year, according to Beijing-based consultancy Analysys.

WeChat Pay's share grew exponentially from low double-digit level just two years ago to 40 percent by the first quarter, while that of Alipay shrunk to 54 percent, according to Analysys.

Still it is playing the "chase and catch up" game with Alipay, with the latter having a wider global network for now. At the current stage, WeChat Pay is primarily targeting Chinese outbound tourists, who are becoming affluent and accustomed to the convenient "scan and pay" payment experience at home.

"The short-term target is still Chinese tourists," said Grace Yin, director of WeChat Pay's global operations, on the sidelines of a technology conference in Hong Kong. "The priority is nearby countries most frequented by them, such as those in Southeast Asia."

Currently, such cross-border transactions are available in 13 countries and regions, covering over 130,000 shops and supporting payments in 10 currencies. To beef up such capability, the internet giant also led a $13 million funding round in Australian cross-border payment firm Airwallex.

Thailand is on the list of countries where WeChat Pay has received a warm welcome. Bangkok's duty-free outlet King Power has seen sales significantly jump as more Chinese tourists adopted WeChat for payment, effectively shortening the long queue at checkouts, said the store's marketing manager Kuang Wei.

"(WeChat Pay) literally extends the shopping experience from China to Thailand…shoppers don't have to worry about exchange rate or even the language barrier－simply scan and pay," he said.

The store also publishes promotional ads and discount coupons through its WeChat official account, a service now being picked up by most merchants doing business in China as a gateway to customers.

In Japan, three quarters of stores inside Tokyo's Haneda Airport now accept WeChat as a payment option, boosting monthly revenue "by a large margin", said Takeshi Fujin, deputy senior executive officer.

"Duty-free stores and even taxis in Tokyo, which is a popular destination for Chinese travelers, can now be found using WeChat Pay," said Hunter Williams, partner of global consultancy Oliver Wyman.

"This follows the expansion of UnionPay's acceptance abroad," he said.

Private Japan firm's rocket launch fails www.nhk.or.jp

The first rocket to be developed by a private Japanese firm has apparently failed to reach the target altitude.

SDF joins peacekeeping drill in Mongolia www.nhk.or.jp

About 1,000 troops from 26 countries are taking part in a peacekeeping exercise in Mongolia.

Putin orders the expulsion of 755 US diplomats in retaliation for Russia sanctions bill www.businessinsider.com

Moscow (AFP) - President Vladimir Putin said 755 US diplomats must leave Russia and warned ties with Washington could be gridlocked for a long time, in a move Sunday that followed tough new American sanctions.

Tesla's Musk hands over first Model 3 electric cars to early buyers www.reuters.com

FREMONT, Calif. (Reuters) - Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk said on Friday the Model 3 had over half a million advance reservations as he handed over the first 30 to employee buyers, setting the stage for the biggest test yet of the company's strategy to become a profitable, mass market electric car maker.

Outside Tesla's Fremont, California factory, Musk showed off the $35,000 base vehicle with a range of 220 miles (350 km) on a charge that marks a departure from the company's earlier luxury electric cars.
Musk took to the stage driving a red Model 3, and said Tesla has produced 50 of the vehicles so far, including 20 for testing purposes.
Hours before the event, Musk acknowledged it would be "quite a challenge" to build the car during the early days of production.
"We're going to go through at least six months of manufacturing hell," Musk told journalists.
The over half a million reservations are up from about 373,000 disclosed in April 2016. Customers pay $1,000 refundable deposits for the car, which is eligible for tax credits.
Any new buyers would likely not receive their car until the end of 2018, Musk said.
A longer-range version of the car is priced at $44,000 and will drive 310 miles (500 km) on a single charge. The cars feature a streamlined dashboard devoid of buttons or knobs, with a 15-inch touchstream display to the right of the driver.
Tesla faces major hurdles living up to the Model 3 hype. The 500,000 vehicles Tesla vows to produce next year are nearly six times its 2016 production.
Were Tesla to produce and sell 500,000 cars per year, the company would likely outsell the BMW, Mercedes, or Lexus brands in the United States.
Production delays and quality issues marred the launches of Tesla's Model S and Model X vehicles, and the company blamed production problems for a shortfall during the second quarter of this year.
Musk has said a simpler Model 3 design will greatly reduce potential assembly-line problems.
Tesla has burned through over $2 billion in cash so far this year ahead of the launch.
A troubled Model 3 launch could heighten the risks for the company, while a steady delivery of Model 3s could generate a stream of cash that would allow Tesla to avoid going again to the capital markets to fund its operations.
Tesla's share price has surged 54 percent since January in anticipation of the Model 3 launch, and Tesla's pricey valuation now exceeds that of traditional rivals like General Motors Co and Ford Motor Co.
Until now, Tesla has operated as a niche producer of luxury electric vehicles, with a charismatic, showman CEO who regularly interacts with fans on his Twitter account.
Now loss-making Tesla is trying to move into a different league, building vehicles in high volume for customers able to pay only a few thousand dollars more than the average price of a conventional car or truck sold in the United States.
The Model 3 is part of Musk's broader plan to build a clean energy and transportation company that offers electric semi-trailer trucks, rooftop solar energy systems and large-scale battery storage systems.

Justice ministry to work with UAE Interior ministry www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The Ministry of Justice and Home Affairs plans to sign a memorandum of cooperation with the Ministry of Interior of the United Arab Emirates.

Starbucks to own 100% of its China stores after buyout deal www.bbc.com

Mongolia to draft science-based food safety policy www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ General Agency for Specialized Inspection will organize the fifth conference on food safety this October.