1 PRIME MINISTER OYUN-ERDENE VISITS EGIIN GOL HYDROPOWER PLANT PROJECT SITE WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2025/04/30      2 ‘I FELT CAUGHT BETWEEN CULTURES’: MONGOLIAN MUSICIAN ENJI ON HER BEGUILING, BORDER-CROSSING MUSIC WWW.THEGUARDIAN.COM PUBLISHED:2025/04/30      3 POWER OF SIBERIA 2: ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY OR GEOPOLITICAL RISK FOR MONGOLIA? WWW.THEDIPLOMAT.COM PUBLISHED:2025/04/29      4 UNITED AIRLINES TO LAUNCH FLIGHTS TO MONGOLIA IN MAY WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2025/04/29      5 SIGNATURE OF OIL SALES AGREEMENT FOR BLOCK XX PRODUCTION WWW.RESEARCH-TREE.COM  PUBLISHED:2025/04/29      6 MONGOLIA ISSUES E-VISAS TO 11,575 FOREIGNERS IN Q1 WWW.XINHUANET.COM PUBLISHED:2025/04/29      7 KOREA AN IDEAL PARTNER TO HELP MONGOLIA GROW, SEOUL'S ENVOY SAYS WWW.KOREAJOONGANGDAILY.JOINS.COM  PUBLISHED:2025/04/29      8 MONGOLIA TO HOST THE 30TH ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF ASIA SECURITIES FORUM WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2025/04/29      9 BAGAKHANGAI-KHUSHIG VALLEY RAILWAY PROJECT LAUNCHES WWW.UBPOST.MN PUBLISHED:2025/04/29      10 THE MONGOLIAN BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT AND FDI: CHALLENGES AND OPPORTUNITY WWW.MELVILLEDALAI.COM  PUBLISHED:2025/04/28      849 ТЭРБУМЫН ӨРТӨГТЭЙ "ГАШУУНСУХАЙТ-ГАНЦМОД" БООМТЫН ТЭЗҮ-Д ТУРШЛАГАГҮЙ, МОНГОЛ 2 КОМПАНИ ҮНИЙН САНАЛ ИРҮҮЛЭВ WWW.EGUUR.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/30     ХУУЛЬ БУСААР АШИГЛАЖ БАЙСАН "БОГД УУЛ" СУВИЛЛЫГ НИЙСЛЭЛ ӨМЧЛӨЛДӨӨ БУЦААВ WWW.NEWS.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/30     МЕТРО БАРИХ ТӨСЛИЙГ ГҮЙЦЭТГЭХЭЭР САНАЛАА ӨГСӨН МОНГОЛЫН ГУРВАН КОМПАНИ WWW.EAGLE.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/30     "UPC RENEWABLES" КОМПАНИТАЙ ХАМТРАН 2400 МВТ-ЫН ХҮЧИН ЧАДАЛТАЙ САЛХИН ЦАХИЛГААН СТАНЦ БАРИХААР БОЛОВ WWW.EAGLE.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/30     ОРОСЫН МОНГОЛ УЛС ДАХЬ ТОМООХОН ТӨСЛҮҮД ДЭЭР “ГАР БАРИХ” СОНИРХОЛ БА АМБИЦ WWW.EGUUR.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/30     МОНГОЛ, АНУ-ЫН ХООРОНД ТАВДУГААР САРЫН 1-НЭЭС НИСЛЭГ ҮЙЛДЭНЭ WWW.MONTSAME.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/29     ЕРӨНХИЙ САЙД Л.ОЮУН-ЭРДЭНЭ ЭГИЙН ГОЛЫН УЦС-ЫН ТӨСЛИЙН ТАЛБАЙД АЖИЛЛАЖ БАЙНА WWW.MONTSAME.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/29     Ц.ТОД-ЭРДЭНЭ: БИЧИГТ БООМТЫН ЕРӨНХИЙ ТӨЛӨВЛӨГӨӨ БАТЛАГДВАЛ БУСАД БҮТЭЭН БАЙГУУЛАЛТЫН АЖЛУУД ЭХЛЭХ БОЛОМЖ БҮРДЭНЭ WWW.MONTSAME.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/29     MCS-ИЙН ХОЁР ДАХЬ “УХАА ХУДАГ”: БНХАУ, АВСТРАЛИТАЙ ХАМТРАН ЭЗЭМШДЭГ БАРУУН НАРАНГИЙН ХАЙГУУЛЫГ УЛСЫН ТӨСВӨӨР ХИЙЖЭЭ WWW.EGUUR.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/29     АМ.ДОЛЛАРЫН ХАНШ ТОГТВОРЖИЖ 3595 ТӨГРӨГ БАЙНА WWW.EGUUR.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/04/29    

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MBCC “Doing Business with Mongolia seminar and Christmas Receptiom” Dec 10. 2024 London UK MBCCI London UK Goodman LLC

NEWS

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Green Investment Bank sell-off racks up at least £1m in fees www.theguardian.com

 
The troubled £2bn privatisation of the Green Investment Bank has already cost at least £1m of taxpayer money in consultancy fees, official documents have revealed.
 
Ministers have promised that the sale of the bank, which has invested in green projects from offshore windfarms to energy-saving street lights, will deliver value for taxpayers’ money. An announcement on the sale to Australian investment bank Macquarie was expected in January but has yet to materialise amid strong political opposition.
 
Now it has emerged in newly published documents that last September officials authorised £1m in consultancy fees for the sale.
 
Although the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) has not confirmed who the money was paid to, the government’s financial adviser for the deal is Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Its legal adviser is Herbert Smith Freehills.
 
MPs condemned what they called an unnecessary waste of public money. Caroline Lucas, co-leader of the Green party said: “It’s outrageous that the government has ploughed a million pounds of taxpayers’ money into consultancy for a privatisation that simply shouldn’t be happening in the first place.”
 
The total figure spent on the sale so far is likely to be higher, given the bidding process began last March. The £1m consultancy cost is included in a disclosure of BEIS’s “exceptions to spending controls for July – September 2016”.
 
Vince Cable, who launched the bank in 2012, said: “I’m sure they will justify it on the basis that they got competitive quotes for their consultants. It does seem rather a lot of money.”
 
But, he added: “I’m less concerned about the value of the money of the sale than actually stopping it taking place in conditions where the green purposes of the bank is lost. It’s the issues of policy and principle, rather than these consultant’s fees.”
 
The BEIS said: “As with any asset sale, government has engaged external advisers through a competitive process to provide us with access to additional expertise, in line with [National Audit Office] recommendations on best practice.”
 
Earlier this month, rival bidder Sustainable Development Capital (SDCL) launched a legal challenge against the government, claiming it had complied with its own bidding criteria. A high court hearing on the London-based investment fund’s application for a judicial review is due later in March.
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Tesla's Musk discusses energy proposal with South Australian government www.reuters.com

 
Tesla Inc boss Elon Musk spoke with the premier of South Australia on Saturday after the tech entrepreneur offered to install $25 million of battery storage within 100 days to prevent recurring blackouts that have disrupted the state.
 
The proposal follows a string of power outages, including a blackout that left industry crippled for up to two weeks and stoked fears of more outages across the national electricity market due to tight supplies.
 
"Just spoke with Premier of South Australia (Jay Weatherill). Very impressed. Govt is clearly committed to a smart, quick solution," Musk wrote on Twitter on Saturday.
 
Weatherill said in a statement on Saturday the conversation about the battery proposal was "positive".
 
Musk made the offer on Twitter on Friday, saying if the work was not completed in 100 days it would be free.
 
His proposal made headlines in Australia, which is in the midst of a heated debate about the national electricity market and energy security.
 
Musk proposed the battery storage fix in response to a comment on social media by Mike Cannon-Brookes, the co-founder of Australian software maker Atlassian Corp.
 
Cannon-Brookes said he would be willing to line up funding and political support if Tesla could supply batteries that would solve South Australia's problems.
 
Musk responded by tweeting: "Tesla will get the system installed and working 100 days from contract signature or it is free. That serious enough for you?"
 
He quoted a price of $250 per kilowatt hour for 100 megawatt hour systems, which would imply a price of $25 million for the battery packs.
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HSBC appoints AIA boss as new chairman www.bbc.com

HSBC has appointed Mark Tucker, the current chief executive of Asian insurer AIA, as group chairman.
Mr Tucker will take over on 1 October, succeeding Douglas Flint who has been in the role since 2010.
During seven years as chief executive of AIA, Mr Tucker oversaw the insurer's expansion in Asia.
One of his first jobs will be to find a replacement for Stuart Gulliver, the current chief executive of HSBC, who plans to step down next year.
AIA said that Ng Keng Hooi, would take over as chief executive from 1 September.
HSBC is Europe's biggest bank, but the bulk of its profits are generated in Asia.
The bank has been through an overhaul in recent years in an attempt to reverse declining profits.
Over the last six years it has slashed more than 40,000 jobs and sold off businesses.

The banking industry has been hampered by the extended period of very low interest rates, which makes lending money less profitable.
For HSBC that problem has been compounded by its move into less risky areas of banking since the financial crisis which started in 2007.
Those challenges make the appointment of a new chief executive even more crucial for investors, a search which will now be led by Mr Tucker.
Reputation revamp
HSBC has also been attempting to repair its image after a series of scandals.
Earlier this year it reached a $470m (£325m) settlement with the US government and states related to dubious mortgage lending and foreclosure practices during the financial crisis.
In 2015 Mr Gulliver and Mr Flint apologised for "unacceptable" practices at its Swiss private bank which helped clients to avoid tax.
In late 2012 HSBC paid US authorities $1.9bn in a settlement over money laundering.

 
 
 
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Chinese smartphones grow more popular in Russia www.chinadaily.com.cn

 
MOSCOW - Smartphones made in China took a larger share of the Russian market in January than a year ago, local retailers said recently.
 
In January 2017, five Chinese brands -- Lenovo, Huawei, Meizu, Xiaomi and ZTE -- collectively accounted for 24 percent of the Russian market in sales and 19 percent in revenue, increased from 19 percent and 13 percent respectively against January of last year, electronic devices retailer M.video revealed.
 
Chinese manufacturers are no longer perceived by Russian buyers as suppliers of cheap phones, said Svyaznoy's spokesman Sergei Tikhonov.
 
According to him, earlier smartphones of Chinese brands were sold mainly in low price segments, but now they appear in both medium and high price categories.
 
Another reason is technology, said Tikhonov, adding that in recent years Chinese smartphones are in some respects even superior to the smartphone leaders in terms of technical characteristics.
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Shell sells Canadian oil sands businesses in deals worth $8.5 billion www.mining.com

 
Royal Dutch Shell PLC (LON:RDSA) is selling almost all of its Canadian oil sands assets for nearly $8.5 billion, as its chief executive said the industry was not longer a strategic fit for the firm, the world’s second largest publicly-traded oil company.
 
Shell, in the midst of an investment push for renewable energy, noted it would both sell off its Albian oil sands project and other oil sands assets to Canadian Natural Resources (TSE:CNQ) for $8.5 billion, but also team up with that firm to buy Marathan Oil Corp.’s (NYSE:MRO) stake in Albian for $2.5 billion.
 
With the deal, Calgary-based CNRL will become the owner of 126,000-bpd Jackpine Mine, the 154,000-bpd Muskeg River Mine, and have rights to the Jackpine Mine expansion, which has regulatory approvals for 100,000 bpd, apart from a number of oil sands leases and pipelines across the basin.
 
The firm will also take ownership the Quest Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) project, capable of sequestering 1.1 million tonnes per annum of carbon emission, and have a 70% stake in the 204,000-boepd Scotford Upgrader.
 
Shell estimated that about 3,000 employees working in the company’s oil sands division will join CNRL, though some layoffs among head office employees and technical staff are possible.
 
The oil giant also said it has amended its pay policy to better reflect incentives to control emissions. As part of that measure, Shell plans to hike investment in renewable energy to $1 billion a year by the end of the decade, chief executive Ben van Beurden said on Thursday, although it is still a small part of its total annual spending of $25bn.
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Iceland to end capital controls from 2008 financial crisis www.bbc.com

 
Iceland will lift all capital controls on its citizens, businesses and pension funds from Tuesday.
Capital controls, such as those to restrict money flowing in and out of the country, were imposed in 2008 after the country's biggest banks collapsed.
The government thinks the economy has recovered sufficiently to end controls.
Controls were imposed after the collapse of the country's three biggest banks - Glitnir, Landsbanki and Kaupthing.
At the same time Iceland's national currency, the krona, fell in value.
The removal of the capital controls - which helped stabilise the currency and economy during the country's financial crash - represents the completion of Iceland's return to international financial markets.
Travel hotspot
Since the nation's financial collapse, the economy has seen a robust recovery, helped by a boom in tourism.
Last year around 1.8 million people visited the the nation, a 40% rise on 2015.
The UK accounted for 316,395 of last year's visitors, behind only US citizens in visitor numbers.
That tourism boom, coupled with strong investment by business and in the housing market, helped the economy grow 7.2% in 2016.
"Iceland's careful, measured approach to lift capital controls was developed and approved with domestic and international support," said Benedikt Johannesson, minister of finance and economic affairs.
"As a result of this structured plan, our diversified economy is larger than ever before and expected to continue to grow at a robust pace this year."
Capital controls were implemented in 2008, with the support of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), to shield the economy from severe depreciation.
For the past year, the government and Central Bank of Iceland have been lifting controls through what they say has been an "incremental, measured process that focused on protecting the currency, addressing a balance of payments problem and tempering shocks to the Icelandic economy".
The country has also updated rules on foreign exchange and made special reserve requirements for new foreign currency inflows.
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World's biggest automaker expands to India www.rt.com

German carmaker Volkswagen (VW) and India's Tata Motors have agreed to form a strategic partnership which is expected to help both companies boost budget car sales in India and emerging markets.

Volkswagen CEO Matthias Mueller said the venture would aid "achieve sustainable and profitable growth in very different parts of the world."

The sides want to deepen exchanges about technology, components, and platforms, sources told Reuters. Specific projects will be disclosed in the coming months.

"We strongly believe that both the companies, by working together, can leverage from each other's strengths to create synergies and develop smart, innovative solutions for the Indian and overseas market," said the Chief Executive and Managing Director of Tata Motors Guenter Butschek.

Experts say the new partnership could potentially lead to Tata Motors launching new vehicles by 2019.

The owner of Jaguar Land Rover, Tata has been under pressure at home and hopes to claw back domestic market share.

Booming auto sales in India and its 1.3 billion population are a big attraction for Western carmakers as they search for growth. Automakers like Fiat Chrysler and France's Peugeot and Citroen are already operating in the country.

According to IHS Markit, light vehicle sales in India are expected to more than double to 7.1 million cars by 2025 from 3.4 million last year.

VW which is still dealing with the aftermath of the emissions-cheating scandal seeks to expand into new markets. In January the company pleaded guilty to three criminal charges in the US and will pay out a $4.3 billion settlement.

Volkswagen is investing in self-drive vehicles and greener technology such as electric cars. Its previous attempt to conquer emerging markets through a small-car partnership with Japanese automaker Suzuki Motor collapsed in 2015.

The manufacturer is currently working on budget cars for China and Latin America.

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South Korea impeachment: Critics urge Park Geun-hye arrest www.bbc.com

Ousted South Korean leader Park Geun-hye is keeping her silence as calls grow for her arrest.
Ms Park was forced from office on Friday, after judges unanimously upheld parliament's decision to impeach her over her role in a corruption scandal involving close friend, Choi Soon-sil.
Despite the ruling, she remains inside the presidential compound.
Thousands turned out for rallies in Seoul on Saturday, a day after three people involved in protests died there.
Many are supporting Ms Park but counter-demonstrators are also expected.
There are fears the two sides may clash and there is a heavy police presence.

A spokeswoman for the protesters supporting the court's decision, Choi In-sook, told Reuters they were demanding the arrest of their former leader.
Ms Park has lost her presidential immunity and could face criminal charges.
Meanwhile, the country's election commission announced a "free and fair" vote would be held by 9 May at the latest.
Image caption
Anti-Park protesters have been calling for her to be arrested
Currently, Moon Jae-in of the Democratic Party is leading in the polls, with one survey putting him almost 22% ahead of his nearest rival, acting president Hwang Kyo-ahn, who is loyal to Ms Park.
Mr Hwang has called for calm, saying the government should remain stable to prevent internal conflict from spreading.
However, police are bracing themselves for more violence following the deaths of two of Ms Park's supporters on Friday.
Media captionSouth Korea is split over President Park's impeachment
A third person, aged 74, is understood to have had a heart attack during Friday's protests, and died on Saturday, according to Reuters.
Ms Park's office said she would not be leaving the Blue House, South Korea's presidential palace, on Friday nor making any statement.
It is understood she will not leave until her own home in Seoul is repaired and cleaned.
Why did Park lose her job?
At the heart of the drama lies the close friendship between the president and Ms Choi.
Ms Choi is accused of using her presidential connections to pressure companies to give millions of dollars in donations to non-profit foundations she controlled.
Ms Park is alleged to have been personally involved in this, and to have given Ms Choi unacceptable levels of access to official documents.
Parliament voted to impeach Ms Park in December and the Constitutional Court has since been deciding whether to uphold or overturn this.

On Friday, a panel of eight judges ruled Ms Park's actions "seriously impaired the spirit of... democracy and the rule of law".
The court said she had broken the law by allowing Ms Choi to meddle in state affairs, and had breached guidelines on official secrets by leaking numerous documents.
Ms Park had "concealed completely Choi's meddling in state affairs and denied it whenever suspicions over the act emerged and even criticised those who raised the suspicions," it said.
But the judges dismissed some charges, including accusations Ms Park had infringed on freedom of the press by creating a media blacklist of cultural figures, and criticism of her response during the 2014 Sewol ferry disaster.

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Massive oil discovery in Alaska is biggest onshore find in 30 years www.mining.com

Some 1.2 billion barrels of oil have been discovered in Alaska, marking the biggest onshore discovery in the U.S. in three decades.
The massive find of conventional oil on state land could bring relief to budget pains in Alaska brought on by slumping production in the state and the crash in oil prices.
The new discovery was made in just the past few days in Alaska's North Slope, which was previously viewed as an aging oil basin.
Spanish oil giant Repsol (REPYY) and its privately-held U.S. partner Armstrong Energy announced the find on Thursday, predicting production could begin as soon as 2021 and lead to as much as 120,000 barrels of output per day.
The oil resources lie in a well, called Horseshoe, that's 75% owned by Denver-based Armstrong. Repsol owns the rest of this well.
The discovery is 20 miles south of where the two companies have already found oil in a project known as Pikka. That northern project is already in early development and is 51% owned by Armstrong, which is the operator on both developments.

Of course, this news won't ease rising concern among investors about the stubborn glut of oil in the U.S. There are increasing signs that shale oil producers are preparing to ramp up output after surviving a two-year price war with OPEC.
Related: Booming again: U.S. poised for record oil output
alaska oil repsol
Repsol, which is based in Madrid, is shown here drilling for oil in Alaska.
Repsol has been actively exploring in Alaska since 2008 and has an additional presence in the Gulf of Mexico. Shares of the oil and gas company jumped nearly 3% in Madrid trading on Friday.
The North Slope find comes less than six months after Caelus Energy and private-equity giant Apollo Global Management announced a massive Alaska oil discovery in the waters of Smith Bay.
All of this is a big win for Alaska, which last year had to freeze hiring and limit state employee travel due to trouble in the oil industry. Alaska, which relies on oil and gas taxes for the vast majority of its state revenue, has been hit by the one-two punch of shrinking production from its mature fields and the fact that oil prices have been cut in half in recent years.
Things have gotten so bad that the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System is barely being used these days.
"This is also great news for the State of Alaska," Alaska Governor Bill Walker said in a statement. "We must all pull together to fill an oil pipeline that's three-quarters empty."

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Mongolia-Canada roundtable meeting takes place in Ottawa www.en.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ A Roundtable Meeting on Intergovernmental Cooperation of Mongolia and Canada was held on March 9 in Ottawa. The meeting was chaired by the Minister of Mining and Heavy Industry of Mongolia, Mr Ts.Dashdorj and the Assistant Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of Canada, Mr Donald Bobiash.

The sides touched on a wide range of issues, including cooperation in politics, economy, investment, defense, science and culture.

Both sides reassured that the cooperation in economy and investment occupies an important position in the bilateral relations, while agreeing to activate collaboration in mining, agriculture, infrastructure and environment. The dignitaries unanimously agreed that the recently enforced intergovernmental agreement on promoting investment gives a great impetus to expand and boost the Mongolia-Canada economic cooperation.

Improving efficiency and broadening the scope of development cooperation was also discussed. The Government of Canada included Mongolia in the list of recipients of official development assistance in 2014, and six projects are being realized in mining, agriculture, public and other sectors.

After exchanging views on international and regional affairs, the sides agreed to continue collaborating in the spheres of strengthening democracy, protecting human rights and freedom, enforcing UN reforms and peacekeeping.

The Mongolia-Canada ties have been strengthening under the Joint Statement on Expanded Partnership and Canada has become a reliable partner and “third neighbor” of Mongolia in North America.

The 7th Mongolia-Canada Roundtable Meeting was concluded with success, having touched on broad range of matters regarding partnership and designating the objectives of future cooperation.

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