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

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Ruble rises as emerging market cash shifts from Turkey www.rt.com

The Russian currency strengthened on Monday, trading at a nine-month high of 63.10 to the US dollar and 69.64 to the euro on the Moscow Stock Exchange.Analysts link the ruble growth to dividend payouts and the tax season, as well as nervous emerging market investors shifting their money from Turkey after this weekend's attempted coup.
 
Overall, the Russian currency has gained 17 percent this year, the most in emerging markets after Brazil’s real. The ruble exchange rate, which was traditionally tied to the oil price, was performing better than crude which traded at $47.71 per barrel Monday.
 
The head of the monetary and financial department of Citibank’s local branch Denis Korshilov explained the ruble’s rally by the peak tax season in Russia. Companies are now paying dividends and converting funds into rubles, thus strengthening the currency, he told business daily Vedomosti. The Russian tax period started on Friday and will peak on July 25.
 
“Taxes and dividend payments will remain key drivers for the ruble this week,” Alexey Egorov, an analyst at Moscow-based Promsvyazbank told Bloomberg. “Some investors may switch their investments from Turkey into Russian assets amid uncertainty in Turkey after the failed coup attempt."
 
According to Egorov, the ruble’s gains mean it’s catching up with its fair value relative to oil. He added the currency should trade as strong as 62 to the dollar based on the current price of crude.
 
Some experts say Friday night’s coup attempt in Turkey, which pushed investors to buy into safe havens, has also helped the ruble shrug off a slump in crude prices in the last two weeks. Others claim the political crisis in Turkey where army officers tried to take control of the country, didn’t have any effect on the Russian financial market.
 
"Even though the attempt of a military coup in Turkey has failed it could push the country's economy into a protracted crisis. However, for the global economy in general, the incident is of little threat,” an analyst from Rossiysky Capital bank Anastacia Sosnova was cited by finam.ru
 
The Turkish lira plunged almost five percent on Friday during the attempted military overthrow of Erdogan's government. The lira reached its lowest level since the 2008 global financial crisis.
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Tech arms race lifts Japan carmakers' R&D budget to record www.asianikkei.com

TOKYO -- Rushing to meet technological needs in the era of tightening environmental regulations, Japanese automakers are set to spend a record sum on research and development this fiscal year.
 
R&D investment by seven major Japanese carmakers will rise to an all-time-high 2.81 trillion yen ($26.8 billion), according to data compiled by The Nikkei. That would mark a 2.8% uptick from fiscal 2015 and the seventh straight annual increase.
 
The figure represents a jump of nearly 1 trillion yen from fiscal 2009 -- shortly after the financial crisis. In addition to fuel-efficient vehicles, the automakers are eager to get their hands on autonomous driving technologies. With their budget accounting for a fourth of R&D spending among manufacturers, the auto sector holds significant sway on technological innovation.
 
Of the seven companies, Toyota Motor, Nissan Motor, Suzuki Motor, Mazda Motor and Fuji Heavy Industries are planning record-high spending.
 
Toyota's outlays are to increase 2.3% year on year to 1.08 trillion yen, which includes funds for unit Daihatsu Motor and others. That compares with equivalent investment of 800 billion yen to 900 billion yen by such foreign rivals as General Motors of the U.S. and Daimler of Germany.
 
Toyota has set its sights on both zero-emission fuel cell vehicles and plug-in-hybrids to respond to tighter environmental regulations. Its R&D spending is to surge about 20% from a decade ago, while capital spending is to drop by 10% or so to 1.35 trillion yen. This highlights a sharpening focus on intellectual property.
 
Nissan's R&D spending will climb 5.3% to 560 billion yen, as the company seeks to develop biofuel-powered fuel cells in order to extend electric vehicles' driving range.
 
Honda's will decrease by 4.1% because of model development cycles. But the company will open an R&D site in central Tokyo this fall to study the artificial intelligence necessary for self-driving technologies, in collaboration with other research institutes.
 
Suzuki plans to lift R&D spending 6.9% to 140 billion yen as it seeks to strengthen green offerings in emerging economies. Mazda, with a focus on fuel economy, will increase spending 7.2% to 125 billion yen. Subaru maker Fuji Heavy will ramp up spending 17.2% to 120 billion yen, and Mitsubishi Motors plans a 23.3% jump to 97 billion yen.
 
While the percentage increases are bigger for these midtier automakers, the gap in investment is widening compared with top automaker Toyota, whose spending had already reached 800 billion yen 10 years ago.
 
Smaller manufacturers that cannot afford huge spending will likely seek outside business resources, says Carlos Ghosn, CEO of Nissan, predicting a possible industry realignment. Nissan has agreed to take a 34% stake in scandal-mired Mitsubishi Motors.
 
Capital spending by the seven automakers is seen totaling 3.01 trillion yen for fiscal 2016. This is a 4.5% increase on the year but still 0.6% lower than in fiscal 2006, before the financial crisis hit.
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SpaceX launches new-style space docking port into orbit www.theguardian.com

SpaceX has sent a new-style space station docking port into orbit en route to the International Space Station.
 
An unmanned Falcon rocket was launched early on Monday in Florida carrying 2,267kg (5,000lbs) of supplies in the Dragon space capsule along with the new docking port.
 
The Dragon successfully made it into orbit, according to Nasa, and is due to arrive at the space station on Wednesday.
 
It is SpaceX’s second shot at delivering a new-style docking port for Nasa. The last one went up in smoke over the Atlantic last year, a rocket accident casualty.
 
SpaceX also managed to bring the used first-stage booster back to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for a vertical landing – only the second such land landing for an orbital mission and the ultimate in recycling.
 
Nasa needs this new docking ring to be set up on the space station so that Americans can fly up in crew capsules next year.
 
“I know how critical this is for Nasa,” Hans Koenigsmann, SpaceX’s vice president for mission assurance, said during a press conference on Saturday.
 
A second docking ring is due to be delivered in 2017, Nasa said.
 
“Each commercial resupply flight to the space station is a significant event. Everything, from the science to the spare hardware and crew supplies, is vital for sustaining our mission,” said Kirk Shireman, Nasa’s International Space Station program manager.
 
“With equipment to enable novel experiments never attempted before in space, and an international docking adapter vital to the future of U.S. commercial crew spacecraft, we’re thrilled this Dragon has successfully taken flight.”
 
Owned and operated by Musk, the technology entrepreneur who founded Tesla Motors Inc, SpaceX is developing rockets that can be refurbished and re-used, potentially slashing launch costs. So far, it has successfully landed a Falcon on the ground once and on an ocean platform in three out of its last four attempts.
 
SpaceX intends to launch one of its recovered rockets as early as autumn of this year, Koenigsmann said.
 
Landing the rocket is a secondary goal. The main mission is placing the Dragon capsule into orbit and sending it on a two-day trip to the station.
 
The capsule holds nearly 5,000 lbs (2,268 kg) of food, supplies and equipment, including a miniature DNA sequencer, the first to fly in space.
 
The metal docking ring, built by Boeing, is 2.4m (7.8ft ) in diameter. After its attachment to a berthing port on the station, it will serve as a parking space for commercial spaceships under development by SpaceX and Boeing. The manned craft are scheduled to begin test flights next year.
 
Since the US space agency retired its fleet of space shuttles five years ago, the United States has depended on Russia to ferry astronauts to and from the station at a cost of more than $70 million per person.
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Brexit 'will be horrible for UK economy' - fund manager www.bbc.com

The vote to leave the European Union will have a "horrible" impact on the UK economy, which could "judder to a halt", a leading fund manager has said.
Richard Buxton, chief executive of Old Mutual Global Investors (OMGI), described Brexit as "really bad news".
He told the Guardian he feared the move could lead to a recession.
Financial markets would remain volatile while the government negotiated an exit deal with the EU, Mr Buxton added.
OMGI has managed funds worth £26bn for both institutional and individual investors.
Speaking to the newspaper, Mr Buxton said the stock market had priced in a "pretty significant recession" for the UK given the slide in share prices of companies such as house-builders and banks.
Shares in two of the UK's biggest house-builders, Barratt Developments and Persimmon, have fallen almost 30% and 25% respectively since 24 June - the day the referendum result was announced.
"I think the economy is going to judder to a halt [or] have a mild recession, but I don't think it is going to be as severe as some of these shares are pricing in... The real economy is only going to gradually emerge over the next three to six months," Mr Buxton said.
House prices are expected to fall across the UK in the next three months, a survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has found.
The new chancellor, Philip Hammond, has said the Brexit vote has "rattled" financial markets and that the UK economy will face challenges following the "shock" of the referendum outcome.
Duty cuts
Mr Hammond was facing "one of the most unusual economic environments I have known in my 30-year investment career", Mr Buxton said.
He predicted the UK government would take steps such as cutting stamp duty on house purchases and fuel duty in the Autumn Statement to help compensate for the dramatic slide in the pound.
Sterling was trading as high as $1.50 on the day of the EU referendum, but collapsed to as low as $1.28 in the wake of the leave vote.
The currency is now worth just under $1.32, but several big banks predict the pound to fall to $1.25 or lower given the expectations of interest rate cuts and slowing economic growth.
Mr Buxton said some OMGI clients had asked for their money back, but one big foreign client had increased its investments on the belief that the slide in sterling and falling share prices meant there were bargains to be had.
However, many Old Mutual clients were still "slightly stunned" by the Brexit vote and were reluctant to take any action, he said.
"That will fade over time, but it's how can we get out to people and say 'look, we do still think there are some amazing investment opportunities here'," Mr Buxton said. "Our mood here is we're glass half full people."
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SoftBank agrees to buy Britain's ARM Holdings for $31 billion: FT www.reuters.com

Japan's SoftBank Group Corp (9984.T) has agreed to buy ARM Holdings PLC (ARM.L) for 23.4 billion pounds ($31 billion), the Financial Times reported on Monday, citing two people familiar with the negotiations.
 
ARM, which provides technology for the iPhone, is a major presence in mobile processing, with its processor and graphics technology used by Samsung (005830.KS), Huawei [HWT.UL]and Apple (AAPL.O) in their in-house designed microchips.
 
SoftBank could not immediately be reached for comment. ARM Holdings officials were not available outside market hours.
 
If confirmed, the deal would be one of the largest in European technology to date, and SoftBank's largest ever, bigger than the $22 billion acquisition of a controlling stake in wireless operator Sprint in 2013, a deal that left the group with hefty debts.
 
An announcement on Monday would come less than a month after the Japanese group's founder, Masayoshi Son, scrapped his plans to leave the company. He said he wanted to develop Sprint and complete the transformation of SoftBank into an Internet investment powerhouse.
 
It also comes just weeks after Britain voted to leave the European Union, battering sterling and bolstering the yen.
 
According to the Financial Times report, SoftBank will pay 17 pounds in cash for each ARM share, a premium of more than 40 percent to Friday's close at 11.89 pounds.
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China, EU looking for solution to steel disputes www.chinadaily.com

China and the European Union are looking for "an appropriate mechanism" to solve their steel trade disputes, the Ministry of Commerce said on Saturday.

The ministry confirmed reports that Chinese and EU leaders discussed steel trade, and the many European anti-dumping investigations into Chinese steel, during the 18th China-EU summit, held on Tuesday.

The EU has launched 15 anti-dumping investigations into Chinese exports since 2014, with eight of them related to steel products.

"Leaders from both sides have asked their departments in charge of foreign trade to enhance exchanges in the steel trade," according to a brief statement on the ministry's website.

Ministry officials have said on many occasions that China, the world's largest steel producer, has been wrongly blamed for the difficulties faced by the global steel industry. Actually, it is the anemic global economy and weak demand that are to blame.

The ministry maintains that frequent use of protectionist measures will not help end global steel overcapacity, but rather disrupts normal trade order.

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Official Visit of the President of the Republic of Korea to Mongolia continues www.mongolia.gogo.mn

Upon the invitation of the President of Mongolia Ts.Elbegdorj, Park Geun-hye, the President of the Republic of Korea is paying an official visit to Mongolia on July 17-18, 2016.
On June 17, the President of Mongolia Ts.Elbegdorj and the President of the Republic of Korea Park Geun-hye held bilateral talks at the Sukhbaatar’s Hall of the State Palace. 
President Elbegdorj noted: “On behalf of the people of Mongolia and my own name, I would like to appreciate to the President of the Republic of Korea Park Geun-hye for paying an Official Visit to Mongolia and extend my warm welcome. 
I visited the Republic of Korea two months ago. I’m truly glad that the works that we discussed during my previous visit are now ready to be implemented. Mongolia has successfully hosted the ASEM Summit and in this regard, we appreciated your cooperation and support of the Government of South Korea. I believe that your visit will bring our mutual relations into a new stage of development. I wish more success in your visit”.
The President of the Republic of Korea Park Geun-hye said: “First of all, I would like to congratulate Mongolia on successfully hosting the ASEM Summit. In 2009, I visited Mongolia for the first time. Since then, in seven years, Mongolia has positively changed in terms of economy and democracy. I think this is the result of a joint effort by the President and the people of Mongolia”. 
The parties discussed about the bilateral cooperation documents and the issues related to trade, economic and infrastructure spheres. 
Also, the parties exchanged opinions on enhancing the mutual relationship and partnership. 
Following, the signing ceremony of cooperation documents has been held in the State Palace. During the ceremony, the following documents were signed:
An Agreement on the second project to support the public transport system between countries and cities between the Government of Mongolia and the Export–Import Bank of South Korea.
An Intergovernmental program on the bilateral cultural exchange in 2016-2019, between the Government of Mongolia and the Government of South Korea.
An Agreement on cooperation in the cultural heritage sector between the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sciences of Mongolia and the Cultural Heritage Administration of South Korea.
A Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in cultural and creative industries between the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sciences of Mongolia and the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of South Korea.
A Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation to combat against desertification, dust and sandstorms between the Ministry of Environment, Green Development and Tourism of Mongolia and the Korea Forest Service of South Korea. 
An Agreement on cooperation in healthcare technology sector based the information and high technologies between the Ministry of Health and Sports of Mongolia and the Ministry of Health and Welfare of South Korea. 
A Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the social welfare sector between the Ministry of Population's Development and Social Welfare of Mongolia and the Ministry of Health and Welfare of South Korea.
A Memorandum of Understanding on enhancing the cooperation in energy sector between the Ministry of Energy of Mongolia and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of South Korea. 
A Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the experiment construction project of the environmentally friendly power plant between the Ministry of Energy of Mongolia and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of South Korea. 
Today Speaker of the Parliament M.Enkhbold and the Prime Minister of Mongolia J.Erdenebat will hold meeting with Park Geun-hye, the President of the Republic of Korea. 
After attending the Mongolia-South Korean business forum, the President of the Republic of Korea will conclude her official visit to Mongolia.

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Companies accelerating mirrorless car development www3.nhk.or.jp

Auto parts firms and electronics manufacturers are accelerating development of mirrorless car technology.
 
The Japanese government authorized development of mirrorless cars in June.
 
A camera-monitoring system replaces rearview and sideview mirrors in such vehicles. It allows drivers to check their surroundings by looking at images on the monitor. The system is expected to reduce blind spots.
 
German auto parts maker Continental has made a prototype car that uses cameras attached to the doors.
The company hopes to put the car on the market in 2 years.
 
Panasonic has also started developing a camera monitoring system.
Rearview mirror maker Murakami, the Japanese market leader, is developing a system that allows drivers to check images captured by cameras on the sides and the rear of a car in a single display. When the cameras don't work, the display automatically becomes a mirror.
 
Analysts say companies face the challenge of reducing the cost of commercializing this technology.
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Europe's eyes on Merkel to rebuild EU after Brexit vote www.reuters.com

When the chips are down in Europe, everyone turns to Angela Merkel for a solution. But the German chancellor often sits on her hands until the last minute, then does the minimum necessary to keep the show on the road.
 
Since last month's shock British referendum vote to leave the European Union, all eyes have been on Berlin to indicate a way out of danger for the 27 members who will remain.
 
As usual, Merkel, the continent's most powerful and experienced leader, is biding her time and letting underlings air their differences without tipping her hand before she departs for her three-week summer break this week.
 
Votes had barely been tallied in Britain when her vice-chancellor, Sigmar Gabriel, leader of the center-left Social Democrats, and European Parliament President Martin Schulz rushed out a 10-point plan for a "refoundation" of Europe.
 
Lamenting that ever more citizens doubted Europe's ability to deliver a better future, they called for a more federal Europe with the European Commission as its government, and a more flexible, growth-friendly economic policy turning away from austerity to investment in an "industrial renaissance".
 
Finance Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble rapidly shot down those ideas, rejecting any need for economic stimulus spending and reaffirming his balanced budget target up to 2020 at a time when many in Europe are pleading with Berlin to borrow money free of interest and invest massively in infrastructure.
 
He refuses to accept that surplus countries like Germany, which has a giant current account surplus of eight percentage points of GDP, should help poorer deficit countries adjust by spending more on public investment and boosting consumption.
 
Furthermore, Schaeuble said those calling for a bold federal leap forward in integration had failed to understand the public disenchantment with the EU that fueled the British vote and is driving nationalistic euroskepticism elsewhere in Europe.
 
Rather than give more power to Brussels, the veteran conservative, who once advocated a federal "core Europe", said it was time for national governments to take matters more into their own hands if the Commission was unable to do the job.
 
Schaeuble is blocking the next steps forward in euro zone risk-sharing - the creation of a European bank deposit insurance system and of a fiscal backstop for the currency area's single resolution fund to help wind down failed banks.
 
The 71-year-old finance minister has also managed to delay any debt relief for Greece until after next year's German election in September and maneuvered to delay public support for Italy's ailing banks, saying there was no acute crisis.
 
LESS VULNERABLE
 
Even the German head of the euro zone's rescue fund, Klaus Regling, argued last week that Berlin and its partners needed to go further to make the currency area less vulnerable to shocks.
 
Restructuring Italian banks' bad loans and forcing investors including retail savers to take losses before any public money can be injected under the EU's new bank recovery and resolution rules could trigger precisely that kind of post-Brexit shock.
 
Regling called for completing European banking union by phasing in a deposit insurance scheme after a transition period. He also advocated a limited budgetary capacity for the euro area to cushion economic shocks hitting only some countries.
 
Both proposals have so far been anathema to Schaeuble, who speaks for a school of German fiscal hawks in warning that such steps would lead to unacceptable permanent north-south transfers inside the monetary union.
 
At least there is debate in Germany about what the EU should do to regain momentum and overcome the trauma of losing Britain, its second largest economy, even if much of it resembles shadow boxing before next year's German elections.
 
In many EU countries, politicians have simply fallen back on blaming Brussels, with some demanding the scalp of European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker as a scapegoat.
 
To be sure, Juncker has contributed to the sense of disarray by first trying to rush an EU trade deal with Canada through the European Parliament without letting national lawmakers have a say, then reversing himself under pressure from governments.
 
The result is that the Canada deal could be bogged down for many months, perhaps indefinitely, and the chances of getting a bigger and more sensitive trade and investment partnership with the United States wrapped up and ratified seem even more remote.
 
No progress on monetary or banking union, deadlock on trade - that doesn't leave much scope for restoring public and financial market confidence in Europe.
 
The German and French foreign ministers, both social democrats, have issued more modest joint proposals for the EU to focus on internal and external security, managing migration and refugee flows, and boosting the economy and job creation.
 
Their nine-page paper, which would not require changing the EU's founding treaty with the risk of more referendum defeats, called for a European Security Compact with a more integrated foreign and security policy and a permanent civil-military chain of command for crisis management operations.
 
But when it came to the euro - the economic heart of the European project - their suggestions of investment-boosting measures by surplus countries and a common fiscal capacity(budget) for the euro zone, ran into the same stonewall in the German Finance Ministry.
 
Merkel has broadly welcomed the Franco-German paper and broadly adopted its focus on three main themes - migration, security and growth/jobs. Whether she is willing to overrule Schaeuble and take political risks before next year's federal elections is highly doubtful.
 
Yet without some initiative to provide fresh wind after the Brexit blow, the EU looks highly vulnerable to the next external shock, whether from Islamist militants, Italian banks or another surge in migration.
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Samsung rumoured to invest half-a-billion in Chinese electric car company www.mining.com

Samsung Electronics (KRX:005930) is looking to take the plunge into electric vehicle (EV) technology with a sizable investment into BYD Co., (HKG:1211) the world's largest electric car manufacturer.
 
The division of Samsung, one of the most important "chaebols", or conglomerates in South Korea, said investing in BYD, backed by Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc., (NYSE:BRK.A), is expected to bolster the South Korean company's semiconductor business for cars. Samsung Electronics is the largest maker of cellular phones and memory chips in the world.
 
Talks between the two companies have apparently been underway the last few days. Korea Economic Daily reported on Friday that Samsung Electronics is about to pull the trigger on a 3-billion yuan (US$450 million) investment in Shenzhen-based BYD for a 4% share of the company. However Samsung denies that report, saying that talks are still ongoing. BYD says the investment would most likely come in the form of a private placement.
 
According to Bloomberg the likely deal came about "…after [Samsung's] affiliate was among foreign battery makers left off a list of suppliers approved by China, where sales of electric vehicles are surging and the government has sped up construction of charging points. The talks with BYD also add to the global trend of technology companies and automakers collaborating as car buyers increasingly demand more advanced powertrains and features that improve connectivity and safety." Example of notable partnerships include the contributions of Korean battery manufacturer LG to the Chevy Bolt, and Panasonic's $1.6 billion investment in luxury EV car maker Tesla's $5-billion lithium-ion battery Gigafactory in Nevada.
 
“It puts Samsung into the electric-vehicle subsystem supply chain for a key Chinese electric vehicle and battery manufacturer,” Bloomberg quotes Bill Russo, the managing director at Gao Feng Advisory Co., based in Shanghai. “BYD gets a technology innovation pipeline partner with a reputable brand.”
 
China passed the United States last year as the largest market for electric vehicles.
 
The news of a possible tie-up between Samsung Electronics and BYD comes amid another media report indicating that the group's construction division piled up at least $700 million in losses over the course of constructing one of the world's biggest iron ore mines -Roy Hill owned by Australian billionaire Gina Reinhart.
 
The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) reported last Thursday that Samsung C&T Corp. had high hopes for taking advantage of the commodities boom when it embarked on its first foray into mining – having been involved in some high-profile megaprojects including the Burj Khalifa skyscraper in Dubai. Under terms of the $6-billion contract to build the mine, Samsung agreed to shoulder the risk for all cost over-runs and to pay penalties for not completing before the expected start of exports in August 2015. However according to WSJ, when the mine opened in December 2015, Samsung C&T "was embroiled in costly legal disputes with several subcontractors as well as Roy Hill."
 
Costly mistakes included hiring a less-experienced, small Australian firm to build the $1.1-billion processing plant, which would later become insolvent; a months-long delay in acquiring necessary conveyor belt components; hiring 1,500 new workers to make up for lost time; and having to defend itself against a lawsuit from a subcontractor over up to AUD$90 million in payments. Samsung C&T also fought with Roy Hill over construction timelines, with Roy Hill saying the South Korean company slowed construction to save costs, even though it was penalized AUD$2 million a day for missing deadlines.
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