Canadian miner Kincora leads Mongolian copper rush www.nasdaq.com

LONDON, March 7 (Reuters) - Canadian miner Kincora Copper <KCC.V> plans over coming months to start exploration drilling in Mongolia, its CEO told Reuters, calling the area "one of the last frontiers" for top quality copper assets. With technologies such as electric vehicles expected to stoke demand, the mining industry is keen to discover copper reserves as existing mines get depleted. Kincora's CEO Sam Spring compared Mongolia to Chile, the world's largest copper producer, in the 1970s when it was still under-explored and said he hoped to find another Oyu Tolgoi, using a team with experience of finding tier-one copper assets. Last year Rio Tinto <RIO.AX> <RIO.L> gave the go-ahead for a $5.3 billion expansion of the Oyu Tolgoi mine in the South Gobi desert, one of the world's largest copper deposits. [nL3N18319B] "In the upcoming months, Kincora is looking to drill two targets," Spring said in a telephone interview. One -- named Bayan Tal -- is the first identified since Oyu Tolgoi with similar geology. The other -- East Tsagaan Suvarga -- is in the same mineral system as the existing Tsagaan Suvarga mine, included in the government's list of strategic mineral deposits. So far Kincora has 10 licences, giving it acreage of 15,000 square kilometres (5,800 square miles), and has applied for two more. Spring says the company has overtaken Rio "as the most aggressive group" exploring in this area. Mongolia, almost entirely dependent on coal and copper for foreign export earnings, needs international investment following an IMF-led loan agreement. [nL8N1G518U] It has said it plans to double the amount of land available for exploration of raw materials. [nL2N1GI020] (Reporting by Barbara Lewis; Additional reporting by Susan Taylor in Toronto; Editing by Ruth Pitchford) ((Barbara.hm.Lewis@thomsonreuters.com; +44 207 542 2932; Reuters Messaging: barbara.hm.lewis.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))

Mongolia sees no change in Oyu Tolgoi copper stake www.finance.yahoo.com

TORONTO/LONDON, March 8 (Reuters) - Mongolia said it has no plans to change the size of its stake in the massive Oyu Tolgoi copper mine, although it is seeking to boost exploration as it works to bolster its finances following an IMF-led loan deal.

Mongolia sends off athletes to Special Olympics www.en.montsame.mn

Mongolia signs visa exemption agreement with Argentina www.en.montsame.mn

Mining-oriented Mongolia-Canada cooperation expanding to other sectors www.en.montsame.mn

Merrill Lynch may keep commission-based retirement accounts: source www.reuters.com

Gold price dips below $1,200 www.mining.com

In another day of above average trading volumes, gold dropped through the psychologically important $1,200 an ounce level on Thursday as the metal comes under pressure from a strong US dollar and a looming interest rate hike in the US.

AirBnB raises $1bn of investment funding www.bbc.com

Home rental company AirBnB has raised $1bn (£821m) of investment funding in a deal that values the firm at $31bn.
The San Francisco-based firm disclosed the investment in a filing to the US Securities and Exchange Commission.
AirBnB did not comment on how it would use the funding, but is expected to expand its operations globally.
It has grown rapidly since its launch in 2008, and currently operates in 65,000 cities worldwide.
The firm, which does not publish its sales figures, makes its money by enabling homeowners to rent out their homes.
It takes a 3% cut of each booking and a 6% to 12% service charge from guests.
'No IPO plans'
It made its first profit in the second half of 2016, and will continue to be profitable this year on an underlying basis, according to media stories.
They also reported that the firm had no plans to list its shares on the stock market in the near future.

Mongolia`s population reaches 3.1 million www.gogo.mn

National Statistics Office reported that population of Mongolia reaches 3 million 119 thousand as of Mar, 2017. 
Population by gender:
1 million 585 thousand are males,
1 million 533 thousand are females. 
In addition to the above, Mongolia had a population of 2.9 million at the end of 2014 while it was increased to 3.57 million at the end of 2015. 
Interestingly, on January 24th, 2015, Mongolia welcomed its 3 millionth citizen.

Police and health services are the most corrupt in Mongolia www.gogo.mn

Transparency International, the global coalition against corruption released the latest Asia Pacific edition of the Global Corruption Barometer, covered 22,000 people across 16 countries and territories on Mar 7, 2017. 
In Mongolia, police and health services have the highest levels of corruption, out of 6 public services that were asked about. Across the region, 30 percent of respondent who had come into contact with a police officer in the last 12 months had paid a bribe. 
"1500 people were attended the survey from Mongolia, of which 33 percent of them were representatives of 21 aimags and 67 percent of them were residents of Ulaanbaatar, the capital city of Mongolia", said E.Munkhjargal, CEO of Transparency International Mongolia. 
Over 61 percent of people in Mongolia rated their government badly at addressing corruption.
When looking at the overall regional results, 38 per cent of the poorest people have paid a bribe, which was the highest of any income group. This may be because they have fewer alternative options available to them, or because they have less power or influence to avoid paying bribes
The best ways people thought they could tackle corruption in their own countries are reporting corruption (22 per cent) and refusing to pay bribes (21 per cent) were most effective. 
Based on the findings in this report, Transparency International makes the following recommendations to the Governments:
Make good on promises 
Heads of states must speak out and act immediately and publicly, to assert their specific and time-bound commitment under the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to substantially reduce bribery and corruption by 2030.
Governments must deliver on their anti-corruption commitments made globally and regionally by implementing legislation and practice at the national level. For example, the social accountability (article 13) and anti-corruption agencies (articles 6 and 36) aspects of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC).
Stopping bribery in public services
Governments should address systemic problems that allow corruption in public sector delivery: Prevent corruption by promoting transparency through effective implementation of access to information legislation and open government practices, enhancing a healthy and free environment for civil society to operate, and enacting codes of conduct for public servants.
Punish the corrupt by immediately adopting a zero-tolerance policy for corruption in public services, pursuing prosecutions and applying appropriate sanctions.
The police must lead by example and urgently address corruption within their ranks and act to gain public confidence because of their key role in fighting corruption.
Governments must integrate anti-corruption targets into all SDGs including hunger, poverty, education, health, gender equality and climate action, and develop mechanisms to reduce corruption risks in these areas.
Encouraging more people to report corruption 
Legislatures must adopt and enforce comprehensive legislation to protect whistleblowers based on prevailing international standards, including those developed by Transparency International. Meanwhile, governments and the private sector must support whistleblowers and reporters of corruption and ensure appropriate follow-up to their disclosures.
Anti-corruption agencies should engage with the large numbers of citizens willing to refuse paying bribes and those willing to report bribes. At the same time, anti-corruption agencies should implement outreach programmes to encourage people to report corruption and ensure user-friendly reporting mechanisms to empower citizens to effectively take action against corruption.