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    

Events

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

NEWS

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Australian court increases fine over 'misleading' Nurofen www.bbc.com

The UK manufacturer of Nurofen has been hit with an increased fine of A$6m (£3.6m; $4.4m) for misleading customers in Australia.
Australia's Federal Court ruled last year that products marketed as targeting specific pains, such as migraines, were actually identical.
Reckitt Benckiser was fined A$1.7m in April, but Australia's consumer watchdog argued the sum was too low.
The court on Friday agreed to increase the penalty.
"The objective of any penalty in this case must be to ensure that Reckitt Benckiser and other 'would-be wrongdoers' think twice and decide not to act against the strong public interest," the court's justices said in a joint statement.
The pharmaceutical giant was also ordered to pay the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) legal costs.
The ACCC said the company had profited substantially from misleading customers on products including Nurofen Back Pain, Nurofen Period Pain, Nurofen Migraine Pain and Nurofen Tension Headache.
"This is the highest corporate penalty awarded for misleading conduct under the Australian Consumer Law," ACCC Chairman Rod Sims said.

"The ACCC welcomes this decision, having originally submitted that a penalty of $6 million or higher was appropriate given the longstanding and widespread nature of the conduct, and the substantial sales and profit that was made."
In a statement to the BBC, Nurofen said it acknowledged the court's decision but would seek legal advice.
"Nurofen is disappointed by this decision, as it considers that the original penalty of the Federal Court in April was appropriate in all of the circumstances," the statement read.
The court in April ruled that Reckitt Benckiser had contravened Australian consumer law by saying its Nurofen Specific Pain products were each formulated to treat a specific type of pain.
Each product contained the same active ingredient, ibuprofen lysine 342mg.
The company said: "Nurofen did not intend to mislead consumers, however we recognise that we could have done more to assist our consumers in navigating the Nurofen Specific Pain Range."
Earlier this year, Reckitt Benckiser removed a TV advert for one of its products - Nurofen Express. The advert had implied that the capsules directly targeted muscles in the head.
The company has said it will not re-broadcast it, following complaints that the ad was misleading.

 
 
 
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Housing Price Index for old apartments drops by 7.8 percent www.mongolia.gogo.mn

 
Following is the public report on results of the “Housing Price Index” (HPI) research conducted independently by Tenkhleg Zuuch LLC at the request of Mongol Bank for November 2016.
The research shows that the general index of housing price was at 0.8 percent in November 2016. It shows a decline by 0.3 percent compared to the previous month. The general index dropped by 4.4% compared to the starting period, and by 5.5 % compared to the same month in previous year. Below are the Price index indicators classified by new and old houses.
The new house price index was at 15.7 percent. There is no change compared to the previous month. The index dropped by 2.8% compared to an earlier period of this year, and by 3.3% compared to the same month in previous year.
The old house price index was at 8.1 percent. This shows a decline by 0.8 percent compared to the previous month. The index dropped by 6.7% compared to the earlier period of this year, and by 7.8 % compared to the same month in previous year.
HPI was calculated by applying Hedonic regression methods and the calculation was based on the information available for 4938 old and new houses supplied for sale at the real estate market of Ulaanbaatar for the particular month, reports the Bank of Mongolia.
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World Bank raises record $75bn to help poorest members www.theguardian.com

 
The World Bank has pledged to step up the fight against extreme poverty after announcing that tough negotiations with rich countries have left it with a record $75bn (£60bn) for grants and soft loans to its poorest members over the next three years.
 
Despite budgetary pressures caused by slow growth and austerity, the Washington-based institution said 47 countries had agreed to make donations to the International Development Association – its fund for providing assistance to the least-developed nations.
 
The bank said that for the first time in IDA’s 56-year history it would be using its strong credit rating to raise money for the fund from the world’s capital markets. A third of the $75bn will be raised in this way, with a third contributed by donor governments and a third coming from the bank’s own resources. The last IDA round raised just under $52bn.
 
“This is a pivotal step in the movement to end extreme poverty,” the World Bank Group president, Jim Yong Kim, said. “The commitments made by our partners, combined with IDA’s innovations to crowd in the private sector and raise funds from capital markets, will transform the development trajectory of the world’s poorest countries. We are grateful for our partners’ trust in IDA’s ability to deliver results.”
 
IDA was set up in 1960 and runs on three-year replenishment cycles. The new round – IDA18 – will run from 2017 to 2020 and is intended to support health and nutrition for 400 million people, access to water for 45 million people, training for 9-10 million teachers and immunisations for 130-180 million children.
 
The bank will not reveal details of the contributions made by individual countries until the new year. Britain was the biggest single donor to the last round of funding (IDA17), followed by the US.
 
The Department for International Development will maintain funding for IDA at its previous sterling level but, at a time when government aid spending has come under attack, will insist on reforms at the bank to ensure the money is well spent. The development secretary, Priti Patel, has made it clear to Kim that he should be able to explain why, where and how the bank is spending UK taxpayers’ money.
 
Kyle Peters, the World Bank Group’s interim managing director and co-chair of the IDA18 negotiations, said: “With this innovative package, the world’s poorest countries – especially the most fragile and vulnerable – will get the support they need to grow, create opportunities for people, and make themselves more resilient to shocks and crises.
 
“IDA’s focus on issues like climate change, gender equality and preventing conflict and violence will also contribute to greater stability and progress around the world.”
 
Peters added that the commitment was a “decisive and inspiring” response to the challenge of achieving the ambitious sustainable development goals for poverty reduction adopted by the international community in 2015.
 
The bank said it had asked donor countries to match the contributions in national currencies that they made to IDA17 and that in the vast majority of cases the call had been heeded.
 
Kim believes the extra money will help achieve the two key goals he has set for the bank: eradicating extreme poverty by 2030 and raising the living standards of the bottom 40% of the population in developing countries. The bank says IDA will be able to double the resources to address fragility, conflict and violence as well as additional financing for refugees and countries that host them.
 
Some of the extra funding will be channelled through the bank’s private sector arm, the International Finance Corporation, a decision that drew criticism from the development charity Oxfam. Nick Galasso, head of Oxfam’s World Bank office, said: “This is great and sorely needed news, when the world faces the crises of inequality and climate change.
 
“The World Bank is also proposing to dramatically increase the money it gives via the private sector, which would be a bad idea. The bank has a very poor track record in this area, bankrolling corporations that make active use of tax havens and others that have been involved in murderous land grabs. We urge the bank to significantly increase their oversight and protections before a single dollar is invested in this way.”
 
Jamie Drummond, executive director for global strategy at the One Campaign, said: “We expect more than half of the $75bn committed during this replenishment to flow to Africa over the next three years. Such robust backing for the bank is a real boon for the fight against extreme poverty, hunger, deadly diseases, and the other root causes of forced displacement. It offers an important opportunity as we partner to help countries like Nigeria and Mali tackle extreme poverty, extreme climate, and extreme ideology.”
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Super Mario Run launches on the iPhone and iPad www.bbc.com

 
Games company Nintendo has rolled out Super Mario Run to iPhones and iPads.
The app marks the first time the firm has created a smartphone game based on its most famous character.
It follows the successful release of Pokemon Go earlier in the year. Nintendo owns a minority stake in the Pokemon Company, but the title was developed by a third party.
Experts predict the new game will also prove popular, but suggest an anti-piracy feature is misguided.
"Mario is one of the best loved and established icons of gaming and I think this is going to be tremendously successful," said Piers Harding-Rolls from the IHS Technology consultancy.
"To open up the full game you have to make an in-app purchase - it's quite big but it is a one-off and I don't think people will think Nintendo is trying to rinse their audience."
But he added that he thought it was a "misstep" to require users to be online in order to play - something the game's producer Shigeru Miyamoto has said was done to limit piracy.
"Some demographics will be wanting to use this as they commute and we know that the coverage in some markets is relatively patchy," said Mr Harding-Rolls.
"Not having offline capability to play will also be an issue for kids travelling in cars."
Build to unlock
Super Mario Run takes the Super Mario Bros format - where the character sprints from left to right, collecting coins, jumping over obstacles and squishing enemies - and tweaks the gameplay to make it easy to play one-handed on a touchscreen.
The free version acts as a brief demo, but paying a £7.99 fee offers full access to three modes:
World Tour - a story mode spanning six worlds, which Mario must travel across to save Princess Peach
Toad Rally - a multiplayer mode, in which players compete to show off challenging moves and collect coins to get the highest score
Kingdom Builder - a creation mode, where players use the coins they have earned elsewhere to add buildings and decorations, some of which unlock bonus characters and other extra content
For now the title is restricted to Apple's iOS platform, but Nintendo has said it will come to Android "at some point in the future".
Nintendo had initially shunned smartphones, preferring to focus on its own hardware.
However, weak sales of its Wii U console and a decline in demand for its 3DS handheld caused the firm to sustain large financial losses, putting it under pressure to change tack.
It launched its first smartphone game, Miitomo, in March to mixed reviews but strong demand.
Then in July, the release of Pokemon Go became a global phenomenon, lifting Nintendo's share price despite the fact it only received a relatively small cut of all sales.
But last month, the firm revealed that two subsequent Pokemon games released for the 3DS - Sun and Moon - had become the fastest-selling titles in its history in Europe and the Americas.
Nintendo's domestic rival Sony is also making a fresh efforts to create iOS and Android games based on its PlayStation brands.
On Monday, it revealed a new Parappa the Rapper title and an Everybody's Golf game were being developed by its ForwardWorks studio.
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Moscow & Tokyo seal deal to form joint investment fund www.rt.com

 
Russia and Japan have agreed to create a joint fund to encourage investment in an exclusive economic zone, according to Russian Deputy Prime Minister Yury Trutnev.
 
The deal was signed between the Japan Bank for International Cooperation and Russia's Far East Investment and Export Agency and the Far East Development Fund on Thursday during the first day of Russian President Vladimir Putin's trip to Japan.
 
The fund aims to boost cooperation between the countries and encourage Japanese investment in the Russian Far East region and the country in general.
 
“We signed a memorandum on creating a joint investment platform. Such funds help to set a better stage for investment,” Trutnev said, stressing that Russia is seeking new ways of attracting business.
 
The 100 billion yen ($901 million) fund will invest in medical and urban development projects as well as upgrades to manufacturing facilities, according to reports in the Japanese media.
 
The countries will provide roughly equal amounts to the fund so projects can start as early as next year.
 
President Putin is on a visit to Japan to meet Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. Putin’s visit to Japan has been on hold since 2014 and is seen as a breakthrough in Russian-Japanese relations.
 
Tokyo and Moscow are expected to sign nearly 50 business contracts on the sidelines of the Russian-Japanese business forum the leaders will attend on Friday.
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These are America's biggest trading partners www.cnn.com

President-elect Donald Trump has threatened to upend America's trading relationships, especially with China, Mexico and Canada.
The stakes are huge: A CNNMoney analysis of official trade data shows the three countries do $1.9 trillion in combined trade with the U.S. each year, which is a major chunk of America's $5 trillion in global annual trade.
To put that in perspective, if you stacked 1.9 trillion $1 bills on top of each other, the pile would reach about half way to the moon.
Trump has promised to renegotiate or withdraw from NAFTA -- a free trade deal between the U.S., Canada and Mexico -- and he's threatened to slap tariffs of 45% on Chinese goods. He also said this month he'd introduce high taxes on U.S. companies that move jobs to Mexico.
us canada mexico imports
It's too early to say whether Trump will follow through on his promises. But there's little doubt that doing so would have a massive effect on trade around the world.
As Trump plans his move into the White House, here are the trade statistics you should know, compiled from 2015 data from the Census Bureau and Bureau of Economic Analysis:
China is America's largest trading partner, with annual trade in goods and services worth about $663 billion. Chinese exports to the U.S. totaled nearly $500 billion in 2015 -- more than any other destination.
The value of U.S. trade with Canada is $662 billion, just a smidge less than China. Canada is the largest market for U.S. exports, taking in 15% of America's goods and services, worth $337 billion annually.
Mexico ranks as America's third biggest trading partner, worth $586 billion.
Japan, Germany, the United Kingdom and South Korea round out the next spots. Their combined trade with the U.S. is worth $884 billion per year, significantly more than China.
us china trade
Many nations count on Americans to buy their products. For example, over 60% of all Canadian trade is done with the U.S., according to data from the World Trade Organization. And it takes in over 80% of all Mexican goods.
The U.S. is also the top destination for British and German exports.
CNNMoney's new trade infographic breaks down all the key trading relationships you need to know about:

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China's outbound direct investment up 55.3% in Jan-Nov www.chinadaily.com

China's outbound direct investment from the non-financial sector registered around 1.07 trillion yuan ($161.7 billion) in the first 11 months of 2016, up 55.3 percent on a year-on-year basis, data released by the Ministry of Commerce show.

The country's outbound direct investment into Africa reached $2.5 billion in the first 11 months of 2016, increasing 31 percent from the same period last year:

Foreign direct investment that went to China rose 3.9 percent year-on-year to 731.8 billion yuan in the first 11 months this year.

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JPMorgan hacker fugitive arrested at JFK www.cnn.com

An American hacker fugitive accused of hacking into JPMorgan Chase in the "largest theft of customer data" from an American bank was arrested on Wednesday, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
At this time last year, Joshua Samuel Aaron was believed to be hiding in Moscow -- the last remaining member of a three-person team of criminal hackers who had evaded arrest.
On Wednesday, federal agents arrested him at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York City.
A spokesman with the DOJ said Aaron was arrested after his flight landed at the airport. Officials would not say whether Aaron was caught abroad and then brought here by law enforcement.
The FBI referred questions about how Aaron was caught to the Russian government.
Aaron's attorney, Ben Brafman, told CNNMoney, "He returned voluntarily to responsibly address the charges."

FBI and Secret Service agents believe that Aaron, 32, was on a team of hackers behind a vast $100 million fraud operation in 2014.
The other two were Israeli citizens: Gery Shalon, thought to be the mastermind, and his associate, Ziv Orenstein. They were arrested by Israeli police in 2015, and American prosecutors at the time were trying to extradite them to the United States.
The trio committed "the largest theft of customer data from a U.S. financial institution in history," according to the prosecutors.
The cyberattack on JPMorgan allowed hackers to grab contact information for 76 million households and 7 million small businesses. That included names, addresses, phone numbers and email addresses, as well as what the bank called "internal JPMorgan Chase information relating to such users."
According to the office of Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, the bank hacks were done to abet their "securities market manipulation schemes."
The statement cited Aaron's role in "orchestrating a massive computer hack into U.S. financial institutions, brokerage firms, and financial news publishers and for his role in a multimillion-dollar stock manipulation scheme."
Once the campaign succeeded in raising a stock's price and trading volume, Aaron and other members of the conspiracy would sell their shares resulting in huge profits, the FBI said.
Several media outlets mistakenly reported rumors that the bank came under attack by Russia. However, federal prosecutors last year made clear the attack was perpetrated by three criminal hackers -- not elite Russian government spies.

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South Korea political scandal puts corporate decisions on ice www.reuters.com

Korea Inc is moving in slow-motion, mired by the country's political crisis, with a vacuum in planning and decision making as corporate giants such as Samsung and Lotte delay traditional year-end management reshuffles, company insiders say.

Last week, the heads of nine of the biggest conglomerates, or chaebol, were subjected to an unprecedented 13-hour grilling by a parliamentary panel investigating the scandal that led to Friday's vote to impeach President Park Geun-hye.

While no executives have been charged with wrongdoing, many have been questioned by investigators and the offices of the Samsung, Lotte and SK groups were raided.

"With no hint on when top management changes will be announced, what we are seeing right now is a chain reaction that slows down lots of things," said an executive at a key Samsung Group unit that makes electronics components, who declined to be identified given the sensitivity of the matter.

Between them, the nine groups have revenue of 910.5 trillion won ($780 billion), equivalent to more than half of South Korea's GDP.

Executive promotions, an annual ritual at the big family-controlled conglomerates that dominate South Korea's economy, typically set the stage for new initiatives in the coming year, with decision-making tailing off in the weeks beforehand.

With that period of uncertainty stretching on longer than usual, an employee at a Samsung affiliate said staff had been occupying themselves reading news reports and surfing the corporate intranet.

"There is a definite slowdown in day-to-day work as well, because companies are holding off on concrete expansionary plans or changes," said the person, who declined to be named.

The scandal has also sown uncertainty about government policies and the economy, coming at an inopportune time for companies such as Samsung Electronics Co Ltd and Hyundai Motor Co, which are looking to reverse sliding market share in core businesses.

Hyundai, which is bracing for its fourth consecutive year of annual profit decline, said it was also undecided on whether it would announce personnel changes in late December as usual.

"The mood is not great and our chairman had a very tough time at the parliamentary hearing," said a Hyundai Motor Group executive who declined to be named. "It would be fortunate if I don't get sacked in these difficult times."

WHO'S IN, WHO'S OUT?

Park has been accused of colluding with long-time friend Choi Soon-sil and an aide to pressure big businesses to contribute tens of millions of dollars to two foundations set up to back presidential initiatives.

Samsung Electronics, part of the conglomerate that donated 20.4 billion won ($17.5 million) to the two foundations - the most of any group - has seen delays in setting next year's sales targets, a company source said, declining to elaborate.

The company has also yet to announce its yearly management reshuffle. Samsung traditionally announces executive changes in early December, with some investors expecting a major shake-up after it was forced to discontinue its fire-prone Galaxy Note 7 smartphone.

It declined to give a timeframe, or to comment on when it would announce annual personnel moves.

"There's a lot of anxiety," said an employee at Samsung Electronics' chip division, who said employees were huddling over lunch to discuss rumors of changes that would normally have been completed by now.

"I am curious to know whether my current boss will stay, or I will be moving to another team or not."

A Lotte Group spokesman said its annual reshuffle, which usually takes place in late December, was likely to be delayed to next year because of "various situations".

"Our group companies are having more difficulty in setting up business plans than usual," the spokesman said.

"HOLD TIGHT, LOOK BUSY"

Friday's impeachment vote means the country's Constitutional Court has up to 180 days to uphold or overturn it, setting the stage for Park to be the country's first democratically elected leader to be ejected from office.

Ratings agency Moody's said on Monday that the impeachment increased the likelihood that no new policy changes would be implemented until a permanent replacement was in office, which would weigh on the economy as hiring and investment decisions are put off.

"The biggest fallout we can expect from this issue, economy-wise, is companies hesitating to invest," a Bank of Korea official told Reuters, declining to be named.

Samsung, which usually announces its annual investment plan around late January, told Reuters in a statement that it was "currently in the process of making comprehensive plans for next year."

In 2016, it earmarked a record 27 trillion won ($23 billion) of capital spending.

South Korea' finance ministry said last week it was concerned that "domestic issues" may put more pressure on an economy that is grappling with record household debt and weak exports, as well as global uncertainties.

The Federation of Korean Industries, which represents big conglomerates, typically announces annual investment plans by the 30 biggest business groups in March, but an official there said it was not clear whether it would be able to keep to that schedule.

"The current crisis is similar to or worse than that of the 2008 subprime mortgage crisis," he said, also declining to be identified. "We are at a standstill."

That has left employees "holding tight and trying to keep busy" said an official at another Samsung Electronics affiliate.

"Many executives eligible for promotion or other reshuffle prefer to stay low profile ... you don't want to get unnecessary attention," he said.

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Oyu Tolgoi resumes copper shipments to China www.mining.com

Canada’s Turquoise Hill Resources (TSX, NYSE:TRQ), which is 51% owned by Rio Tinto and holds two-thirds of the massive Oyu Tolgoi copper-gold mine in Mongolia, said Wednesday it had resumed concentrate shipments from the operation to China.

The Vancouver-based miner said that after two weeks of talks with Mongolian and Chinese authorities, Oyu Tolgoi has been allowed to restart shipping ore across the border, but it will follow a new joint coal and concentrate crossing route at the border between the two nations.

Production at the mine, expected to reach 560,000 tonnes of copper per year once at full tilt, was unaffected during suspension, Turquoise Hill said.

Rio Tinto approved in May a $5.3 billion expansion of Oyu Tolgoi, one of the world's largest copper mines and a key component of the company’s master plan to become less dependent on iron ore for profits and become one of the world’s biggest copper producers.

The planned expansion, with its nearly 200 km (125 miles) of underground tunnels that will track three times as deep as the Empire State Building is tall, will more than double the copper output from Oyu Tolgoi, which is mostly sent south to China, the world’s main metals consumer.

It is also expected to help Rio and Turquoise Hill get to the most valuable part of the deposit, which also contains gold and silver, and where there has been a open pit mine running since 2013.

First production from the extended underground area is expected by 2020, when a shortage of copper is tipped to emerge. Full ramp up is slated for 2027.

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