Mongolia hiked rates by 4.5 percentage points to 15 percent last August in a bid to stabilise its currency, which was in free-fall. It subsequently cut rates by 1 percentage point in December.

The country agreed pm a financial package worth $5.5 billion with the International Monetary Fund last month to help stabilise the Mongolian economy and cut its budget deficit. (Reporting by Terrence Edwards; Editing by Richard Borsuk)

Split into two divisions, Arrium runs the steelworks at Whyalla, South Australia, and is also a supplier (to Whyalla) and an exporter of hematite iron ore. It is Australia's only manufacturer of long steel products, with capacity of about 2.5 million tonnes a year. Arrium also has steel operations on the east coast.

But the company was forced into "voluntary administration" in April 2016 with debts of over AUD$4 billion. Voluntary administration is an insolvency procedure whereby the directors of a financially troubled company appoint an external administrator called a "voluntary administrator".

The shutdown affected about 2,500 steelworkers who lost their jobs.

Today, however, it was announced that a consortium headed by Newlake Alliance Management and JB Asset Management and supported by POSCO, has bid on the business that was put up for sale by administrator KordaMentha and its advisers Morgan Stanley. A bid figure was not disclosed. The sale would have to be approved by the creditors committee and the Foreign Investment Review Board.

The consortium outbid rival consortium Liberty Group and Simec.

The Australian opined that it was the greater firepower brought to the table through POSCO, which is the world's fourth largest steelmaker, that sealed the bid.

"The opportunity for the Korean steelmaker is thought to be one where a distribution network is created to distribute its own steel products throughout Australia from out of Korea and make it more competitive with Australian steel making champion BlueScope," Australian Business Review wrote.

POSCO also reportedly is able to produce iron or steel from thermal coal, "which could lower Arrium’s steelmaking costs, and make an acquisition of the loss-making Whyalla a viable proposition," according to an analysis of the deal. A byproduct of the FINEX steelmaking process is natural gas, which could generate up to 250 megawatts, ABC News said.

Following a formal process led by Senior Independent Director, Shriti Vadera, the new chairman will assume his post on September 1, 2017.

Former CEO of global packaging company Amcor, MacKenzie joined the BHP board as a non-executive director in September 2016 and is a member of its Sustainability Committee.

The Canadian executive, who lives in Australia, has over 23 years of international business experience and, according to Vadera, “has a proven track record of delivering value for shareholders.”

His appointment comes after Australian Nasser, who was a board member for over 10 years and was appointed chairman in 2010, announced his retirement in October last year. Nasser wanted to retire earlier, but he chose to stay on while BHP dealt with the aftermath of the Samarco mine disaster in Brazil, which claimed 19 lives and caused widespread environmental damage.

In a press release, the outgoing executive dubbed MacKenzie’s election “an excellent choice” and thanked BHP’s CEO, Andrew Mackenzie, for his “vision and hard work to help deliver significant change over the past four years.”

Additionally, following the election, MGG announced the resignation of Byambaa Losolsuren from the Board of Directors. “I want to thank Byambaa for her 6 years of insight and dedication as a board member,” Said Harris Kupperman, Chairman and CEO of MGG. “I wish her the best in all of her future endeavors.”

During Prime Minister J.Erdenebat’s official visit to the country, the People’s Republic of China granted the non-refundable to Mongolia.

Minister of Construction and Urban Planning G.Munkhbayar and Ulaanbaatar Mayor S.Batbold were assigned to draft the necessary project and propose to the Cabinet.

The Second Energy Sector Project, approved today by the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors, will contribute $54.4 million in financing to help the government of Mongolia address key bottlenecks in select electricity distribution companies by upgrading aging assets and expanding distribution capacity. The project will also support the development of solar power.

“More reliable access to electricity will improve the lives of families and help businesses thrive. The World Bank is committed to continuing our partnership with Mongolia to strengthen the power sector and explore options for renewable energy to help the country pursue sustainable development,” said James Anderson, World Bank Country Manager for Mongolia.

Obsolete and inefficient distribution networks have led to significant distribution losses, which are as much as 25 percent in many networks. The regional distribution systems have reached their capacity limit and are in critical need of renovation and expansion.

The project will finance investments to upgrade and expand the capacity of power distribution infrastructure in the Baganuur-Southeast and the Erdenet-Bulgan distribution networks, which supply electricity to nine of Mongolia’s 21 provinces.

It will also help scale up production of renewable energy in remote rural areas by designing and building the first large-scale solar photovoltaic 10 MW power plant in Mongolia outside the Central Energy System. The plant will supply affordable and clean energy to the country’s western region, which currently imports 70 percent of its power supply.

“We are encouraged by the government’s target to increase the share of renewables to 30 percent by 2030,” – said Peter Johansen, Senior Energy Specialist of the World Bank. “With its abundant solar and wind power resources, the country is now considering to more effectively and efficiently incentivize renewable energy investment to fully use its potential.” 

The project will be funded by a $42 million loan on concessional terms from the World Bank’s International Development Association and a $12.4 million grant from the Scaling-Up Renewable Energy Program under the Strategic Climate Fund.