Yesterday (21 December), the first parliamentary hearing on the case of large-scale coal theft in Mongolia, which has caused mass protests across the country, took place at State House in Ulaanbaatar city.

Preliminary results of the investigation along with detailed information about the transportation of coal across the border with China were revealed and statistics on coal production, customs data, as well as information on the cost of coal were announced by the relative authorities.

The hearing held publicly with free access of media.

Today (22 December), Australian Jade Gas has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to supply gas from its TTCBM project in Mongolia to power Xanadu Mines’ Kharmagtai copper-gold development.

Xanadu is developing copper-gold porphyry deposits in the south of Mongolia, with its Kharmagtai project located approximately 80 km to the northeast of Jade’s TTCBM project. The operation is expected to have a 30-year mine life with up to 120 MW of power demand.

Jade said the MoU aligns both parties shared ambition for improving Mongolia’s energy independence, energy mix, and meeting climate change commitments.

The parties will work toward negotiating commercial terms for a binding gas sales agreement which is expected after Jade’s 2023 TTCBM project pilot production programme.

“Jade has already established substantial gas field potential over a 45 km strike, and it is pleasing to see commercial customers in the region recognise the important role that Jade can play in providing a cleaner source of energy to deliver on ESG ambitions for sustainable operations,” Jade CEO Chris Jamieson said.

Northern China's Inner Mongolia produced 100.78 million tonnes of raw coal in November, hitting the second-highest so far in the year, according to data from the local statistical bureau.

During January-November, the coal-rich region churned out 1.07 billion tonnes of raw coal in total, rising 12.1% compared with a year ago and continuing a two-digital growth.

Three major coal production cities in the region – Ordos city, Xilingol League and Hulun buir city – saw their output climb 14.3%, 12.1% and 11.5% year on year. Their combined output represent 86.6% of Inner Mongolia's total, data showed.

Two large coal cities Tongliao and Wuhai in the region actively produced the mineral for winter use this month, with their respective production rising 16.4% and 22.5% year on year, data showed.

(Writing by Emma Yang Editing by Tammy Yang)

27 new COVID-19 cases were recorded in Mongolia in past 24 hours.

9 of them were contacts in Ulaanbaatar, and 18 were registered in the regions. No imported cases were found.

The death toll from coronavirus remained 2,135.

In Mongolia, street protests have entered their tenth day, not only challenging the obscure export of raw materials, but expressing a strong dissent against the corruption of the country's ruling class. According to the Avilgatay Temtsekh (the independent anti-corruption service) in Ulan-Bator, there are 35 people under investigation, including former president Khaltmaagiyn Battulga, for 'coal mining, transportation and purchase of products and services at state expense', as stated by the agency's deputy director M. Davaatogtokh.

The authorities have opened 22 files to verify 47 targets; 15 people are under arrest and 10 are already in solitary confinement, as Davaatogtokh explained. A special working group has been set up to speed up the procedures. It is checking all deals concluded by the state-owned companies, such as the Erdenes-Tavan-Tolgoy and the Tavan-Tolgoy railway, totalling 633 files between 1 December 2018 and 1 December 2022. Most of the charges relate to bribes and favours that allowed several people to enrich themselves through the construction of coal transport railway routes.

The Mongolian Council of Ministers took the decision to take direct control of the incriminated railway line, and put all companies involved under a 'special regime' for a period of six months. In the meantime, the street protests in the centre of the capital Ulan Bator have not subsided, despite the several degrees below zero frost. The demonstrators accuse the corrupt of bringing the entire country to a general degradation of the standard of living.

As journalist Žargalsaykhan Dambadaržaa, creator of the popular website Jargaldefacto, explains to Azattyk, 'one of the main causes of the protest is the sudden spike in inflation in the country, and it's not just coal. Politicians and those close to them have appropriated many sources of raw materials, dividing up the land around Ulan Bator. They have resorted to all kinds of machinations and dirty deals with the 'cinghiz bonds', the international bonds on which the reporter has conducted many exposé campaigns, whereby 'half of the credits of the Development Bank of Mongolia have turned out to be toxic'.

Also according to Dambadaržaa, 'four presidents have appointed judges according to the principle of loyalty to their interests', effectively weakening the entire Mongolian judiciary. Judges are appointed by parliament, and some nominations are reserved for the president. 'People saw that there was no justice, no equality anymore, anger built up for several years,' the reporter explains. Against the backdrop of post-Covid inflation, and the weakening of the tugrik, the local currency, the ongoing scandals have been the trigger for the protest, bringing thousands of people and young people to the streets, in a total population of 3.4 million.

Coal mining has attracted the main attention, as it accounts for 25% of the entire country's GDP, and 40% of export earnings. Another 40% is copper concentrates, and it all goes to China, favoured by officials who manipulate the state budget by pocketing large percentages without paying taxes. The Great Khural, the Parliament of Ulan Bator, consists of 76 MPs, and investigative journalists accuse at least half of them of involvement in this corrupt scheme, including the theft of coal. Between 20 and 30 thousand trucks a year are registered as empty, when in fact they are transporting coal, and this cannot be the result of randomness, but the work of an entire system.

Investigations are trying to establish the scale of the entire trade, comparing Chinese statistics with Mongolian ones, and one fact is the collapse of the tugrik against the dollar in one year, which is almost 20%, with inflation at over 15%, and average salaries dropping to less than 0.

The public and the press are calling on the new government to come clean, while the suspects are seeking every avenue to escape conviction. The Mongols want to free themselves from the cloak of isolation and lawlessness, perhaps by seeking help from other Central Asian countries.

by Vladimir Rozanskij

SHAH ALAM: The High Court in Shah Alam on Friday (Dec 16) awarded RM5 million (US$1.1 million) to the family of Mongolian model Altantuya Shaariibuu, who was murdered in 2006.

The ruling came after Judge Vazeer Alam Mydin Meera allowed the lawsuit filed by Altantuya's parents, Shaariibuu Setev and Altantsetseg Sanjaa, and their grandsons, Mungunshagai Bayarjargal and Altanshagai Munkhtulga.

The lawsuit was filed against former policemen Azilah Hadri and Sirul Azhar Umar, former political analyst Abdul Razak Baginda and the Malaysian government.

“I find the plaintiffs have successfully established their case against the first (Azilah), second (Sirul) and third defendants (Abdul Razak)," the judge said during an online proceeding.

“As the fourth defendant (Malaysian government), I find that, by the facts of the law, the fourth defendant, as the employer, is vicariously liable for the unlawful actions of the first and second defendants, which were carried out in the capacities of police officers."

Altantuya, 28, was shot dead and her body was blown up by military-grade C4 explosives in Shah Alam in 2006.

Azilah has been sentenced to death for her murder, while Sirul is in Australia, having fled while on bail in 2014.

Altantuya was said to be the lover of Abdul Razak, who advised former Malaysia prime minister Najib Razak from 2000 to 2008.

The plaintiffs filed a lawsuit on Jun 4, 2007, claiming that the model's death resulted in them suffering mental shock and psychological trauma. They also sought compensation as well as exemplary and aggravated damages.

The months-long acquisition of Turquoise Hill Resources has finally been completed, with Rio announcing it now holds 66 per cent direct interest in the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine in Mongolia.

The remaining 34 per cent is owned by the Mongolian Government through Erdenes Oyu Tolgoi.

“Oyu Tolgoi is an outstanding asset with incredible people that will deliver significant long-term value for Rio Tinto and Mongolia,” Rio Tinto chief executive Jakob Stausholm said.

“I would like to acknowledge the Turquoise Hill board and management, under the leadership of Peter Gillin and Steve Thibeault, for their considerable effort and support over the years, working in partnership with Rio Tinto and the Government of Mongolia in developing Oyu Tolgoi into a world-class mine.

“I would like to offer my best wishes to each of them for the future.”

Buy-out discussions of Turquoise Hill Resources began back in March 2022, with an offer of $US2.7 billion that was turned down.

The next offer of $US3.1 billion in August was similarly rejected.

Rio’s final offer of $US3.3 billion was accepted in December and Rio Tinto was finally granted approval to acquire the remaining 49 per cent of Turquoise Hill by a majority shareholder vote on December 9.

“This acquisition further strengthens our copper portfolio, as part of our strategy to grow in materials the world needs for achieving net zero and delivering long-term value for our shareholders,” Rio Tinto copper chief executive Bold Baatar said.

“We now have a simpler and more efficient ownership and governance structure, with our partner the Government of Mongolia, as we proceed together towards sustainable production from the underground mine.”

Turquoise Hill has now become a wholly owned subsidiary of Rio Tinto and Turquoise Hill shares will cease trading.

During its scheduled meetings on December 15-16, 2022, the Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Mongolia (MPC) decided to raise the policy rate by 1 percentage point to 13 percent by majority vote, taking into consideration the current state of the economy and financial markets as well as the outlook and risks to the domestic and external economic environment.

This marks the fourth consecutive rate hike this year, pushing borrowing costs to the highest since May 2017. The move aims to stabilize the inflation rate in the medium term, maintain the relative return of the Mongolian national currency Tugrik (MNT) and ensure both internal and external balances of the economy. The annual inflation rate in Mongolia stood at a three-month high of 14.5 percent in November 2022, unchanged from its previous month.

In this regard, the Governor of the Bank of Mongolia, B. Lkhagvasuren highlighted that the inflation has been declining in line with the projection in recent months, however, in the coming quarters, the effects of the increase in global inflation, food, and fuel prices will grow more than previously expected, and government budget expenditures and wages will likely increase higher than expected.”

“Economic activity was relatively stronger than expected in the third quarter of 2022, surpassing the pre-COVID-19 levels. In recent months, the mining and transportation sectors have recovered, and the construction sector has grown due to railway construction. Non-mining sectors such as trade, services, and net product taxes have continued to intensify in the third quarter of 2022.”

“The labor market has returned to its pre-pandemic levels, and household consumption has been steadily increasing for the past 4 consecutive quarters. All of which have supported economic growth. Furthermore, the economic outlook will depend mainly on China’s “Zero-Covid” policy, the situation at border ports, the deficit in the balance of payments, and the actual export earnings.” added the Governor of the Bank of Mongolia B. Lkhagvasuren.

During the discussion of the main direction of the Government`s monetary policy in 2023, he said that The MPC is pursuing a policy to stabilize it at a single-digit number in 2023. Since Mongolia`s economy is affected by unfavorable external conditions, it is necessary to pay attention to the macro-economic policy in the coming year and improve industrial development in the medium and long term.”

The subsequent policy actions on whether to pursue further monetary tightening would depend on developments in the external and domestic economy and outlook changes in inflation and macroeconomic conditions.