Australia to introduce stricter rules on working visas www.bbc.com

Australia will introduce stricter visa requirements for skilled workers from overseas, the government said.
PM Malcolm Turnbull said the current 457 visa programme will be abolished to prioritise Australian nationals.
In its place, two new temporary visas will carry additional requirements and draw from a smaller list of eligible professions.
The 457 scheme had attracted criticism that Australian workers were losing out to foreign counterparts.
"The new system will be manifestly, rigorously, resolutely conducted in the national interest," Mr Turnbull said on Tuesday.
According to government statistics, 95,758 people were living in Australia on 457 visas last year, with the highest proportion coming from India (24.6%), the UK (19.5%) and China (5.8%).
What was the 457 visa?
A four-year business visa which allowed people to live in Australia with their immediate family.
It was designed to fill gaps in skilled labour but it had been criticised as being too accessible.
In 2016, the most 457s were granted to cooks, developers, programmers and medical workers
What are the changes?
Mr Turnbull said the current four-year 457 system will be replaced by visas lasting two or four years.

Non-performing loans decrease by 3.2 per cent www.en.montsame.mn

Children on Mongolians living abroad to be registered as Mongolian citizen www.en.montsame.mn

Deputy Prime Minister meets World Bank delegates www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Deputy Prime Minister U.Khurelsukh received Mona Haddad, Practice Manager for East Asia and the Pacific in the World Bank Group’s Trade and Competitiveness Global Practice on April 17, Monday to discuss the Group's new project in Mongolia.

BoM issues 1-week bills www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The Bank of Mongolia issued 1 week bills worth MNT 467.3 billion at a weighted interest rate of 14.0 percent per annum.
1 - week CBBs, a main monetary policy instrument of BoM, plays an important role on managing the reserves of the banks. This CBB rate represents BoM’s policy rate guides interbank money market. In July 2007, the CBB with stable rate and unlimited bidding was introduced with auctions to be held on every Wednesday. This really had attracted the banks’ interests providing the possibility for the banks to place their excess reserve in short term asset. There has been a substantial change in the way banks manage their reserves since then. For the favorable adjustment of CBB rate and loan principle along with the well balance of togrog and foreign exchange, 1 - week CBB has been held in a type of competing by rate since May 2005. The auction average rate is the targeted rate variables in +/-2 percent from the policy rate and it frames to make the interbank rate as the operational target in midterm.

Trump to seek changes in visa program to encourage hiring Americans www.reuters.com

Skoda debuts first electric car in Shanghai www.chinadaily.com.cn

IT giants releasing Japanese translation apps www3.nhk.or.jp

IT giants that make translation apps are now focusing on the Japanese language, as they breach linguistic barriers with the help of artificial intelligence and deep learning technology.

IMF accusations of US protectionism “rubbish” – Trump’s top trade official www.rt.com

Housing price index increased in short term www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Tenkhleg Zuuch LLC reports on the March results of the “Housing Price Index” study conducted independently at the request of the Bank of Mongolia.
The research shows that the general index of housing price was 1,01 in March, by 1.0 per cent up than in January 2013, basic consideration period of the research. The index increased by 0.17 percent compared to the previous month. The general index increased by 0.10 per cent compared to the starting period of this year, and dropped by 3.34 per cent compared to the same month of previous year.
According to the National Statistics Office data, the housing price index declined by 4.8 per cent compared to the first quarter of 2016 and by 0.2 per cent compared with the previous quarter. The biggest change of the housing price index took in Songinokhairkhan district, showing a decrease by 6.6 per cent. Over the last 7 years, the housing price index across the 6 central districts of Ulaanbaatar city showed a drastic increase by 83 per cent.
Tenkhleg Zuuch LLC has calculated Housing Price Index by applying Hedonic regression methods and the calculation was based on the information available for 4906 old and new houses supplied for sale at the real estate market of Ulaanbaatar for the particular month. The Price index indicators classified by new and old houses, are as below:
The new house price index was at 1,15. This shows a growth by 0.98 percent compared to the previous month. The index dropped by 0.06 per cent compared to an earlier period of this year, and by 0.61 per cent compared to the same month in previous year.
The old house price index was at 0.91. This shows a decline by 8.7 percent in January 2013. The index dropped by 0.99 percent compared to the previous month, and by 6.10 per cent compared to the same month in previous year.
B.Ooluun