The total foreign trade turnover increased by USD 177.4 million (33.6%). Out of that, exports increased by USD 99.4 (30.2%) and imports increased by USD 78.0 million (39.2%) compared to the same period of previous year.

In the first month of 2017, foreign trade surplus reached USD 151.4 million dollars which increased by USD 21.4 million dollars from USD 130.0 million dollars in the same period of 2016.

Mongolia-China trade accounted for 68 percent of the total trade turnover, which increased by 36.1 percent compared to the last year. Meanwhile, 11.9 percent of the total trade turnover was made up by Mongolian and Russian trade, showing 58.8 percent increase.

On February 21, protocols in the scope of the project were signed by head of the second group of the project Chee Esaki, research team leader of the project Tomohiro Fukuo, specialist of education planning of JICA Tomohiro Osava and Director of the Department of Finance and Economy of the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science T.Batmagnai.

After signing the protocols, the sides reciprocally agreed on their rights and responsibilities within the construction project. Depending on the financing, about 3-4 secondary school buildings will be commissioned in the academic year of 2020-2021

Rosneft, which is run by Putin ally Igor Sechin, struck a deal to purchase an undisclosed amount of crude oil from the Libyan National Oil Corp on Monday. The deal will also allow the Russian company to invest in exploration and production in the volatile North African country.

The chairman of National Oil Corp welcomed the deal, saying it would help to stabilize the warring country’s economy.

“We need the assistance and investment of major international oil companies to reach our production goals and stabilize our economy,” NOC Chairman Mustafa Sanalla said in a statement.

Rosneft announced on the same day it had struck a deal with authorities of the autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq to purchase oil until 2019. The deal with Kurdish authorities will also allow the Russian company to invest in exploration and production.

Chris Weafer, a Marco Advisory analyst, told Bloomberg that the deals combined “potentially good economics for Rosneft and good politics for the Kremlin.”

“Expect more deals from Rosneft in the Middle East and North Africa and across the developing world,” he said.

The Kurdish Minister of Natural Resources, Ashti Hawrami, said the agreement had ushered in a new era of cooperation between Russian and the Kurdish government.

“This deal represents a new beginning in our relationship with Rosneft and opens up the possibility of a broader relationship in all fields of energy cooperation,” Hawrami said.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, one Kurdish official with knowledge of the deal told the Iraq Oil Report that the agreement was a reflection of growing confidence in northern Iraq’s oil market.

"It is the first time the KRG has supplied crude directly to a major global oil refiner and reflects the growing confidence of the international oil market in KRG crude," a Kurdish official said.

There were approximately 13.6 million millionaires in the world at the end of 2016, and their wealth stood at $69 trillion.

According to the report, global wealth migration is accelerating. Last year, around 82,000 millionaires migrated worldwide, which is up from 64,000 in 2015.

An estimated 11,000 millionaires made their way to Australia, making it the number one country for millionaire migrants. The US ranked second with 10,000 wealthy arriving, followed by Canada with 8,000.

The choice of Australia by the wealthy is mainly due to its location. It makes it an excellent base for doing business in emerging Asian countries such as Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore, and Vietnam.

Australia has one of the leading healthcare systems in the world which also makes it an attractive destination.

In 2015, the country announced a "fast-track visa" program for wealthy immigrants looking to invest in Australia, while Sydney City Council implemented strategy for tech sector growth.

When it comes to deciding whether to move and where to live, millionaires are looking mainly for a good education for their children and personal safety, said Andrew Amoils of New World Wealth.

"They want the best schools for their children and to feel safe. Climate, health care and cleanliness all follow those top two," he said.

The study showed that over the past ten years, total wealth in Australia has risen by 85 percent compared to 30 percent growth in the US and 28 percent growth in the UK.

“As a result, the average Australian is now significantly wealthier than the average US or UK citizen, which was not the case ten years ago.”

The most millionaires were moving from France, the research found. Around 12,000 millionaires left the country last year. China ranked second in millionaire flight, with 9,000 leaving, followed by Brazil with 8,000.

Millionaires are leaving France because of high taxes on the wealthy as well as rising religious tension, Amoils said. He added that in China, the fleeing rich were being replaced by an ever larger number of new millionaires.

Global wealth is expected to rise by 35 percent over the next decade, the report projected, adding the top performing wealth generating markets will be Vietnam, China, India, Mauritius and Sri Lanka.

“My visit was designated to prepare for Mongolian Prime Minister J.Erdenebat’s visit to the People’s Republic of China in the first quarter of 2017, and the visit will take place next month. Moreover, Prime Minister J.Erdenebat will participate in the One Belt, One Road international summit by the invitation of President Xi Zinping”, he said.

“I held talks with Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi, Vice President Li Yuanchao and other officials. Sides have noted with satisfaction that there’s no political and social conflict between the two countries”, reiterated Foreign Minister Ts.Munkh-Orgil.

According to the Minister, 7 Chinese ports are now accessible to Mongolia in frames of the ‘Agreement on Mongolia’s access to sea and ship transport through China’ which has been adopted by the Chinese Government. “There are about 10 intergovernmental agreements to be signed which will be settled during the Prime Minister’s upcoming visit. Also, a working group led by Deputy Prime Minister will visit the country”, he added.

The Foreign Minister said that both the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China have expressed their support to Mongolia’s through IMF, Asian Development Bank and World Bank. When asked about the total amount of monetary support from the southern neighbor, he answered, “The Chinese side has agreed to provide a USD 1 billion soft loan and CNY 1 billion nonrefundable aid”.

“In brief, Prime Minister to visit China next month, and most importantly, we now have to ensure full execution of our previous agreements. The main purpose of my visit to the Russian Federation was to prepare for Mongolian Prime Minister J.Erdenebat’s visit to the country, and we’ve agreed that the visit will take place within the first half of 2017”, the Minister informed reporters.

“There are several agreements of significance to Mongolia including the negotiations on rail transit transportation which will be finalized during the Prime Ministerial visit. We’ve agreed on the concepts to establish a general agreement on Mongolia-Russia energy cooperation, and settle certain matters regarding regional and border area cooperation”.

“We also talked about the soft loan of USD 1.5 billion from the Russian Federation which Mongolia is keen to spend on rail and energy projects. Moreover, we discussed in detail the issue of hydro power plants in Eg River and Shuren, and resolved to conduct a study whether if the establishment of these power plants will damage or affect the eco system of Baikal Lake”, Minister Ts.Munkh-Orgil said about his Russia visit.

Money supply (broad money or M2) reached MNT 11.9 trillion at the end of January in 2017, which decreased by MNT 203.0 billion (1.7%) from the previous month and increased by MNT2024.0 billion (20.5 %) compared with the same period in 2016, according to a report of the Bank of Mongolia.

At the end of January 2017, currency issued in circulation reached MNT 736.1 billion, down by MNT 87.6 billion (10.6%) from the previous month and up by MNT 22.3 billion (3.1 %) compared to the same period in 2016.

Loans outstanding amounted to MNT12.4 trillion at the end of January 2017, down by MNT 42.7 billion (0.3%) from the previous month and up by MNT 590.2 billion (5.0%) compared to the same period in 2016.

Principals in arrears reached MNT 945.7 billion at the end of January 2017, up by MNT41.4 billion (4.6 %) from the previous month and MNT 6.9 billion (0.7 %) compared to the same period in 2016.

In January 2017, 26.0 million pieces securities were traded valued at MNT 37.7 billion in the stock market, down by MNT 112.4 billion (74.9%) from the previous month and up by 5.6 billion (17.6%) compared with same period of the previous year. The traded shares were down by 12.3 million pieces (32.2%) from the previous month and 8. million pieces (25.0%) compared with same period of the previous year.

Source: National Statistics Office

Compared to the same period of the previous year, the number of carried freight has decreased by 34.7 thousand tons (2.1%) and the number of carried passengers has decreased by 17.7 thousand persons (7.9%). The revenue from railway transport reached 32.5 billion which has decreased by MNT 1.2 billion (3.5%) compared to the same period of the previous year.

In January 2017, 210.3 tons of freight and 53.1 thousand persons (double counting) were carried by air transport. The volume of carried freight decreased by 13.5 tons (6.0%) and the number of carried passengers increased by 6.6 thousand (14.1%) compared to the same period of the previous year.

The revenue from air transport reached 20.2 billion which has increased by MNT 1.3 billion (7.1%) compared to the same period of the previous year.

Source: National Statistics Office