Petro Matad Limited (AIM: MATD), the AIM quoted Mongolian oil company, confirms that after completion of the certification process, the Block XX Exploitation Area which contains the Company's producing Heron oilfield, has been confirmed as State Special Purpose Land. This is the first oil exploration and production area in Mongolia to have been given this status.

The Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources recently secured the signature from the Provincial Governor on the Tripartite Agreement, the absence of which had been holding up the process, and the certificate has now been issued by the Central Land Agency. Under the Land Law, as State Special Purpose land, it will be the responsibility of the Ministry of Industry and Mineral Resources to secure the land access for all areas within the Block XX Exploitation Area required for operations.

Mike Buck, CEO of Petro Matad, said:

"We are very grateful to the Minister for his decisive action. Whilst we were able to get approvals for land use at the district level in 2024 and recently also for 2025, the newly confirmed categorisation of Block XX will streamline the land use process in future. We have fought hard to secure this result and we are pleased that the process is complete and the State Special Purpose certification is now in place".

It has been more than three years since the Revised Labour Law (Labour Law) came into force. For the first time, Labour Law provided detailed regulations for “roster shifts". According to Article 92.3 of the Labour Law, “For roster shift employees, the working day shall not last more than 12 hours, and overtime pay shall be calculated and paid based on Article 109.1 in accordance with Article 87. This article has created uncertainty in the application of the law and created a discrepancy between employees and employers as to how normal working hours were determined.

To clarify, the main point of contention is whether the normal working hours for roster shift employees should be calculated as 12 hours a day or 8 hours. Labour rights disputes over this issue have arisen extensively, and the Supreme Court (SC) has received and resolved several complaints. These types of disputes are usually resolved by the courts of first instance and the appellate courts, usually in favor of the employer. Instead, the SC received and resolved the complaints on the grounds that they were "bridging the gap in the application of the law" and that they were “of general importance in principle to the establishment of new legal concepts or the application of the law.“

This Legal Insight presents a brief summary of how roster shift working hours have been understood and applied in the SC resolutions.

What happened?

Between May and October 2024, the SC resolved several disputes related to roster shift working hours. The disputes focused on the issue of not considering 4 hours out of the 12-hour workday as overtime and not paying the corresponding overtime pay. The vast majority of the disputes were decided in favor of the employer, with the Court of First Instance and the Appellate Courts dismissing the claims. Instead, the SC held that the Court of First Instance and the Appellate Courts had failed to properly interpret the Labour Law and therefore had reason to rectify it and satisfy the plaintiff's claims.

Supreme Court’s analysis

Below is a brief summary of the main issues raised by the SC in satisfying the claim and resolving it in favor of the employees:

Firstly, the normal working hours for roster shift employees are 8 hours per day: Article 92.3 of the Labour Law states that the length of the workday for a roster shift employee is "not more than 12 hours," not "12 hours." In other words, the length of the normal working day for a roster shift employee shall not exceed 8 hours, and the employer may arrange for an extension of up to 4 hours as agreed with the employee, for a total of 12 hours.

Read the full examination and more:

Mongolia's leading mining project, Oyu Tolgoi, is set to hire 100 new employees.

The company has shared a public awareness posts on social media, providing information on the application process, onboarding, and addressing common misconceptions about working at Oyu Tolgoi.

Additionally, Oyu Tolgoi published its Q4 2024 statistics last week, highlighting key details and milestone accomplishments.

Learn more: www.facebook.com/share/p/18fxPSE6X9/

The GRÓ LRT Director, Dr. Sjöfn Vilhelmsdóttir, traveled to Mongolia from January 18 to 25 to visit partner institutions, meet with senior management, and interview candidates for the GRÓ LRT annual six-month training in Iceland. Mongolia has been a key partner country for GRÓ LRT since the programme's inception in 2007. Over the past 18 years, GRÓ LRT has welcomed fellows from ten Mongolian institutions, including academic and research institutions, government agencies, and non-profit organisations.

During her week-long stay in Mongolia, the GRÓ LRT Director visited nine institutions, including the Agency for Land Administration and Management, Geodesy and Cartography; the Institute of Geography and Geoecology; the Research Institute of Animal Husbandry; the Information and Research Institute of Meteorology, Hydrology and Environment; the National University of Mongolia; and the National Federation of Pasture User Groups of Herders. She also visited the Nature Conservancy Mongolia, GRÓ LRT’s newest partner organization, which will have its first fellows participating in the six-month training programme starting on February 28, 2025.

The GRÓ LRT Director’s visit to the Mongolian University of Life Sciences (MULS) was more extensive, covering both the Ulaanbaatar (UB) and Darkhan campuses. This visit was part of the GRÓ LRT and MULS Erasmus+ Mobility Project (2023–2026), which aims to further strengthen collaboration on teaching and training initiatives in restoration ecology. During the visit, the GRÓ LRT Director met with Professor Baasansukh Badarch, President of MULS; Mr. Sukhtulga Tserennadmid, Chief of International Relations and Partnership at MULS UB; and Dr. Mend-Amgalan Puntsagnamjil, Dean of Research and International Affairs at MULS Darkhan. A meeting was also held with key faculty members of the School of Agroecology at MULS UB. Additionally, the GRÓ LRT Director engaged with numerous former GRÓ LRT fellows who are now faculty members at MULS, both in UB and Darkhan. Shot seminars were conducted at both the UB and Darkhan campuses, where the GRÓ LRT Director gave a talk on the GRÓ LRT Programme and land restoration efforts in Iceland. This was followed by a presentation from a GRÓ LRT alumnus, who shared their experience of participating in the six-month training programme and pursuing a PhD in Iceland.

Finally, the GRÓ LRT Director took the opportunity to reconnect with former Mongolian GRÓ LRT fellows—now totaling 37, the largest national group of graduates from the GRÓ LRT six-month training programme. The Mongolian alumni played a key role in organizing and facilitating the Director’s visits to partner institutions. They participated in meetings to discuss ongoing cooperation between GRÓ LRT and respective institutions and delivered presentations on their research and experiences in the GRÓ LRT training. To conclude the visit, the GRÓ LRT Director hosted a dinner for the Mongolian alumni in Ulaanbaatar, providing an opportunity for further engagement and reflection.

During its regular session on February 5, 2025, the Cabinet of Mongolia granted the authority to sign the “Gashuunsukhait-Gantsmod Cross Border Railway Project” Agreement to Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources of Mongolia Tuvaan Tsevegdorj and Minister of Road and Transportation of Mongolia Delgersaikhan Borkhuu.

The draft Agreement between Mongolia and the People's Republic of China on Cooperation in Increasing the Coal Trade and the Capacity of the Tavan Tolgoi Coal Mine and Establishing the Gashuunsukhait-Gantsmod Cross-Border Railway was finalized after incorporating suggestions from Members of the State Great Khural (Parliament) of Mongolia during consultations with the relevant Standing Committee of the Parliament. Those proposals were conveyed to the Chinese side, leading to the conclusion of the Agreement.

The "Intel Extreme Masters Katowice 2025,” one of the major Counter Strike 2 tournaments organized annually by ESL, is currently underway in Katowice, the Republic of Poland.

With a prize pool of one million dollars, the tournament invited Mongolia’s “The MongolZ” to the group stage based on their world ranking. On February 3, 2025, the Mongolian team defeated “Team Liquid” 2–1 in their first group match, and the next day, they secured a 2–0 win against “GamerLegion,” a Swedish team captained by Erik “ztr” Gustafsson.

With these victories, they have qualified for the tournament’s playoffs and set a new milestone by becoming the first Asian team ever to advance to the playoffs of an IEM series. On February 5, 2025, “The MongolZ” will compete for the top spot in their group against the winner of the “Team Spirit” vs. “Natus Vincere” match.

The selection of an independent member of the Board of Directors of Golomt Bank is announced as per the provisions of Article 62.1.7 of the Company Law of Mongolia and the “Regulation on Nominating, Appointing and Dismissing Independent Members of the Board of Directors of the Bank” approved by the appendix to the Order No. A/86 of the President of the Bank of Mongolia of 2021.

Requirements for Independent Director:

Have a higher education in banking, finance, economics, and may specialize in law, information technology, or corporate governance. Have at least 10 years of professional experience, including at least five years as an authorized official in a banking and financial institution;

Not a related party and does not have any business relationship with the bank;

Not have any overdue debts under loan, guarantee, or surety agreements;

Have not been convicted of crimes against the economy, property rights, public safety and interests, corruption, national or human security, or peace;

The ethical and business reputation does not conflict with the management of the bank;

If candidate is an authorized official of an organization engaged in professional activities in the financial market, must not have a conflict of interest and must not negatively influence the decision-making activities of the bank;

If candidate was an authorized official at the time the license of a bank or non-bank financial institution was revoked due to a violation, three years must have passed since;

Not be a significant shareholder of a bank or a participant in a banking merger;

Must not have served as an authorized official other than an Independent member of the Board of Directors in the last five years or as any other employee in the last three years in a bank or participant in the banking merger;

Have not received or do not receive bonuses based on the bank's performance indicators.

There are no circumstances that would impede the supervision of the bank's operations and executive management;

Not hold any public, political or official position other than public service;

If a legal entity was bankrupt or deemed insolvent during in which the candidate was an authorized official, it must be proven that the bankruptcy or insolvency was not caused in any way by that person;

Not own, personally or jointly with an affiliated person, more than five percent of a company's common stock;

Neither the candidate nor any of his/her affiliated persons holds any position or employment in the company or any other participant in the company in which the company is a participant, or has not held any position or employment in the last 3 years;

Previous experience as a member of the Board of Directors in a company with international investment will be an advantage.

Application materials:

A) Board Independent member Identification statement; and B) Board Independent member Candidate statement approved per Appendix 1 and Appendix 2 of the Order No. A/86 of the President of the Bank of Mongolia of 2021;

Short CV (mention work experience, profession, qualifications);

Job reference;

Reference from the previous employer (obtain a reference from the organization providing employment confirming the requirements no.1);

Notarized copies of educational diplomas, certificates, other training and seminar certificates;

Copy of National ID Card;

Reference from the General Department of Court Enforcement;

Court reference (obtain from the Specialized Court Archive).

Deadline and email address for receiving selection materials:

Applications will be accepted by email to solongo_z@golomtbank.com until 12:00 PM February 19, 2025.

Notices:

Scan the materials legibly and attach them to the email in PDF format.

The materials will not be returned after the selection process.

If the deadline is missed or the materials are incomplete, it will not be possible to participate in the selection process.

Only candidates who meet the selection requirements will be contacted by the selection committee.

If necessary, additional clarifications can be obtained and materials can be prepared in accordance with the law.