Responding to economic crisis, GoM resolutely moves to cut spending; will create Investor Protection Council www.mongolianbusinessdatabase.com

The government of Prime Minister J. Erdebebat has proposed drastic spending cuts and revenue increases in amendments to the 2016 national budget submitted to a special session of the State Great Khural that convened on August 26. The proposals include sharp reduction in the number of government employees, progressive salary cuts (i.e. the highest percentage reductions apply to the higher salaries), and curtailment of spending on perquisites by office-holders, e.g. cell phones, a freeze on procurement and other measures.

Investors puzzled by budget bill language that appears to repeal incentive to sell gold to Mongol Bank that had been guaranteed through 2019 www.mongolianbusinessdatabase.com

One part of the budget revision bill has puzzled both domestic and foreign gold mining companies: language in the proposal appears to raise the royalty for gold sold to Mongol Bank and commercial banks authorized by the central bank from 2.5% to 5%. The normal royalty is 5%, plus bump-ups caused periodically by the 'sliding scale royalty' passed a few years ago, linked to rises in commodity prices (a form of MRRT).

BCM 1st Annual Summit Proceeding www.mongolianbusinessdatabase.com

BCM organized the 1st Annual Summit in April 2016 to identify common interests and concerns within the business community to contribute to the policy agenda that will be adopted by the new government. As a result of this event BCM has developed a Summit Proceeding paper, which is comprised of comments from over 200 private sector representatives and experts in the various areas expressing their views about common issues they face and the possible solutions as a recommendation. The key three messages from the business community to the Government of Mongolia are to maintain stability, improve capacity and business environment. Personal views and issues expressed by member organizations were incorporated in this document anonymously. A summary of the speeches and presentations from the Summit with comments from the panel discussion and questions & answer sessions were included without attribution, and together comprise a statement and set of recommendations for government to consider. This paper is used as main document of BCM advocacy efforts aiming to have private sector interests addressed in the new Government Agenda as much as possible. �

These capital cities are a brake on their economies www.cnn.com

New research from the Institute for Economic Research in Cologne said Germany would generate a little more national income per person -- 0.3% more to be precise -- without its capital city.
Berlin produces less GDP per capita than the rest of the economy despite its vibrant tech scene and trendy status.
"Berlin was a bit of a surprise," said Henry Goecke, one of the researchers at the institute. "Economically, Berlin is more or less not important at all, to put it harshly."
capital cities economics berlin
He said Berlin suffered by comparison with some of Germany's other regions such as the Rhineland, where much of the country's manufacturing industry is based, and Bavaria, home to automakers such as BMW (BAMXF).
Berlin is not the only capital city that is lagging behind. Canada's per capita GDP -- one measure of national wealth -- would be 0.2% higher if it wasn't for Ottawa, the researchers found.
"This is because of the economic strength of the oil producing region of Alberta, which has 11% of the people, but produces 17% of all GDP," Goecke said.

Premier urges OT to reach 100% national procurement www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Rio Tinto’s chief officer for copper and diamond division, Mr Arnaud Soirat paid a courtesy call on the Prime Minister of Mongolia, Mr J.Erdenebat, to present the progress of Oyu Tolgoi Underground Mine Development, on August 30.

Pacific grim: Australia torn between US and China www.bbc.com

In a recent Australian-made TV political thriller called Secret City, a cyber-attack paralyses the country's air traffic control system. Authorities immediately (and incorrectly) point the finger at Chinese hackers.
It's a storyline that's telling about Australia's attitude to Asia's pre-eminent power. On the one hand, China is the country's biggest trading partner, but it also poses a potential regional military threat that's drawing the attention of the US, Australia's closest defence ally.
China, for its part, appears keenly aware of Australia's apparent reluctance to embrace it fully. In recent months, a series of bilateral irritations have sent relations between the two countries plunging to their lowest point for nearly a decade.
China has rebuked Australia for opposing its military build-up in the South China Sea. Australia has blocked Chinese investment bids, ostensibly on national security grounds. A Chinese newspaper denounced Australia as a "paper cat that won't last". Even the countries' Olympians are fighting with one another.
Troubled relationship
When Australia's census website crashed this month, throwing the national survey into chaos, speculation about a Chinese cyber-attack ran rife. Peter Cai, a research fellow at the Lowy Institute for International Policy, says it is another illustration of the "troubled state of the relationship",
While the US has been Australia's main ally in the Asia-Pacific since World War Two, China has been central to the country's prosperity and its weathering of two global recessions.
But the balancing act which Australia has managed to perform has grown increasingly tricky of late. The US has switched its focus to the Asia-Pacific just as China asserts sovereignty over much of the South China Sea.
Last month, Beijing accused the US, Australia and Japan of "fanning the flames" of regional tensions, after the three issued a forthright statement urging China to respect an international court ruling rejecting those claims.

Tensions have spilled out beyond the diplomatic world. During the Rio Olympics, thousands of Chinese took to social media to lambast Australian swimmer Mack Horton, who branded China's Sun Yang a "drug cheat" after the latter splashed him during a training session.
Power games
And then there's the issue of direct Chinese investment in Australia. Treasurer Scott Morrison has rebuffed two foreign investment bids - one from Chinese government-owned State Grid, the other from Hong Kong-based Cheung Kong Infrastructure - for a 50.4% stake in Ausgrid, which operates the electricity network in New South Wales state.
Mr Morrison insists domestic political considerations played no part in his decision, which followed his earlier rejection of a Chinese bid for the massive Kidman cattle station.
However, some have noted that following the federal election in July the Senate contains seven pro-protectionist crossbenchers. And although Australia signed a free trade agreement with China last year, there is growing popular antipathy to Chinese ownership of Australian agricultural land and real estate.
Workers from the Anna Creek cattle station, part of the Kidman empire, take a break on the Oodnadatta Track in outback South Kidman cattle empire to Chinese buyers
Mr Morrison declined to spell out the security concerns behind the Ausgrid decision, which left some observers scratching their heads - not least because the two Chinese companies already own parts of the power grid in other states. As the news website Crikey observed, in relation to State Grid: "If it's a national security risk, as Morrison claims it is, then we're already screwed."
Toxic mindset
China's official Xinhua news agency warned in an English-language editorial that the Ausgrid knockback could lead to "a toxic mindset of China-phobia", adding: "To suggest that China would try to kidnap the country's electricity network for ulterior motives is absurd and almost comical."
Australian-Chinese relations have not yet plumbed the depths to which they fell in 2009, when Australian businessman Stern Hu was arrested in China on spying charges. But Mr Cai believes they could deteriorate further if, for instance, Australia joins the US in freedom of navigation exercises in the South China Sea.
Professor Richard Rigby, a veteran China-watcher at the Australian National University, notes that Australia has two China narratives: the economic one, which saw two-way trade increase ten-fold to A$100bn (£58bn) between 2002 and 2012, and the national security narrative.
"But we've not been good at all at bridging them," he said.

Apple ordered to repay record €13 billion to cover the unpaid taxes www.rt.com

"Selective treatment" from Dublin allowed Apple to pay tax rate of one percent on EU profits in 2003 down to 0.005 per cent in 2014, reports Irish state broadcaster RTE. The Irish government may be obliged to repay up to €13 billion to cover the unpaid taxes.
Apple is facing its biggest tax avoidance fine ever. The EU is expected to rule on Tuesday that the US tech company was receiving illegal tax help from Ireland, allegedly allowing the company to pay just one percent tax.

Banks getting ready for ‘economic nuclear winter’ www.rt.com

BEST PRACTICES IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT www.mongolianbusinessdatabase.com

BEST PRACTICES IN PROJECT MANAGEMENT
Third International Conference and Workshop
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mongolianbusinessdatabase.com 2016 08 30

Apple facing record bill for Irish tax www.bbc.com