Rio Tinto is prepared to make concessions to the government of Mongolia as it seeks to complete the development of a huge copper mine in the Gobi desert that ranks as its most important project.

To speed up returns from the $6.75bn underground expansion of the Oyu Tolgoi mine, the Anglo-Australian company is willing to reduce the interest rates on loans to Ulan Bator to fund its share of the construction costs.

For its part, Rio wants a number of regulatory and budget issues cleared up and a long-term power agreement put in place so it can start the complex caving process — known as undercutting — and hit its revised production target of October 2022.

The proposals are detailed in a letter sent to Mongolia’s prime minister L Oyun-Erdene last week by Bold Baatar, the head of Rio’s copper division, and Steve Thibeault, head of the company’s Canadian subsidiary Turquoise Hill Resources.

The approach comes after relations between the company and the government hit a low earlier this month when an independent review rejected Rio’s explanation for delays that have left the project running late and an estimated $1.45bn over budget. First production at the underground mine had initially been expected in late 2020.

The 157-page report found project management issues were the main reasons for the late running and not the weak ground conditions that Rio had claimed. The report found that only $12m to $90m of the cost overrun could be attributed to geotechnical issues.

Financial regulators in the UK and US are also examining Rio’s disclosures about the delays.

Oyu Tolgoi is Mongolia’s biggest source of foreign direct investment, creating thousands of well-paid jobs.

Once the underground expansion is complete, it will be among the biggest copper mines in the world, capable of producing almost 500,000 tonnes of the metal a year.

However, the scheme has been beset by problems and disagreements with Ulan Bator over tax and the financing agreements that underpin the project.

Rio has funded Oyu Tolgoi LLC, the joint venture company developing the project, through shareholder loans. Only when the debt and interest on these loans have been paid off can the government start to receive dividends.

Ulan Bator owns 34 per cent of Oyu Tolgoi LLC with the balance controlled by Turquoise Hill, in which Rio has a controlling 50.1 per cent stake.

Some officials believe they will never see a payment from the mine unless the interest rate on loans — Libor plus 6.5 per cent — is reduced. At the end of June, the outstanding balance of the shareholder loans was $7.9bn, including accrued interest of $1.9bn.

In their letter, Baatar and Thibeault offer to work with the government to generate $350m of additional revenue for Mongolia over the next three years; this is in addition to existing taxes and royalty payments generated by an existing open pit mine at Oyu Tolgoi.

Rio says this extra money can be used to support the delivery of important social and economic projects that will aid Mongolia’s recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.

As well as reducing the interest rate on the government’s loans, Baatar and Thibeault also say Rio is prepared to discuss a “fundamental restructuring” of Oyu Tolgoi’s ownership structure.

In a statement Rio said it was looking forward to further “productive discussions” with the government of Mongolia and Turquoise Hill to “identify a potential pathway to achieve the conditions necessary to initiate” undercutting.

The government of Mongolia declined to comment but people familiar with the matter said it was focused on finding solutions.

Hong Kong/Seoul (CNN Business)Google and Apple are catching heat for their app store and payments practices in Asia Pacific.

Less than a week after Apple said it would allow App Store developers to promote alternative payment methods to their users, South Korea is poised to end restrictions that critics say harm competition. And Australia is piling on the pressure by floating reforms for how to tackle payment systems provided by Apple and Google.

In the United States, criticisms about how much power Apple and Google app stores wield over developers have led to lawsuits and efforts by lawmakers trying to give app creators more power.

Apple's commissions, for example, go as high as 30% on some purchases made through the company's platform — and developers say they have little choice but to comply, since Apple does not allow customers to download apps from any source other than the company's official store.

Now, South Korea may soon pass a law that would stop companies such as Apple and Google from forcing mobile app developers to use their payment systems.

Legislators have been reviewing an amendment to the Telecommunications Business Act, which would ban app store operators from "unfairly using their market position to force a certain manner of payment" upon businesses. Once enacted, violators could be fined up to 3% of their annual sales, in addition to up to 300 million Korean won ($257,000) in penalties.

The bill was expected to be submitted for voting on Monday, but the parliamentary session was abruptly delayed.

If the law is passed, developers will be able to select which payment systems to use to process in-app purchases, meaning they may be able to bypass hefty charges imposed by the two longtime leaders.

South Korea isn't the only country in the region scrutinizing the two companies. On Monday, Australian Treasurer Josh Frydenberg called for new regulations on digital payments.

"Digital wallets such as Apple Pay and Google Pay are used to make contactless payments just like debit cards issued by a bank, but the parties are subject to different regulatory settings," he wrote in an op-ed in The Australian Financial Review.

"If we do nothing to reform the framework, it will be Silicon Valley that determines the future of a critical piece of our economic infrastructure."

A brewing battle

The bill in South Korea, which is being closely followed internationally, could set the stage for similar action elsewhere. Numerous investigations of the app ecosystem are already underway around the world, including in Europe and the United Kingdom.

The South Korean proposal has been dubbed the "anti-Google law" in the country, as politicians argue that the Silicon Valley behemoth has taken advantage of its longstanding dominance in the field and undercut developers.

In July, South Korean lawmaker Jun Hye-sook urged parliament to move the bill along quickly, calling it "a law to prevent Google from lording [its position] over others," and a move that would "protect IT developers from the platforms lording over them."

According to the most recent government study available, Google (GOOGL) and Apple (AAPL) made about $5.2 billion and almost $2 billion, respectively, in each of their app stores in South Korea in 2019.

Both companies have hit back, arguing that the law could hurt app developers and consumers in the long run.

"While the law has not yet been passed, we worry that the rushed process hasn't allowed for enough analysis of the negative impact of this legislation on Korean consumers and app developers," Wilson White, Google's senior director of public policy, said in a statement.

"If passed, we will review the final law when available and determine how best to continue providing developers with the tools they need to build successful global businesses while delivering a safe and trustworthy experience for consumers."

Apple said that the move would "put users who purchase digital goods from other sources at risk of fraud, undermine their privacy protections, make it difficult to manage their purchases, and features like 'Ask to Buy' and Parental Controls will become less effective." The tools refer to protections the App Store has rolled out for parents to better oversee activity on their families' accounts.

According to Apple, there are more than 482,000 registered app developers in South Korea, and they have earned more than 8.55 trillion Korean won ($7.3 billion) to date with the iPhone maker.

"We believe user trust in App Store purchases will decrease as a result of this proposal — leading to fewer opportunities for [them]," it added in a statement.

South Korean Communications Commission Chairman Han Sang-hyuk, however, contends that new rules are needed as the platforms continue to exercise their "influence."

"Those app market operators are gaining controlling power in the market. It is becoming necessary to regulate them," he told lawmakers last week.

Mounting pressure

Last week, Apple announced concessions to developers in the United States, saying it would relax some restrictions on how iPhone app makers could communicate with customers outside its App Store.

On Thursday, the company said that "developers can use communications, such as email, to share information about payment methods outside of their iOS app," as long as users consent to receiving those emails and have the right to opt out.

The move gives developers more leeway to collect payments from their customers without having to pay Apple's commission on in-app purchases. It came as part of a proposed settlement in a class action lawsuit brought in 2019.

Apple and Google's app store fees have increasingly come under scrutiny as lawmakers and regulators have zeroed in on their dominance over the iOS and Android operating systems.

Earlier this month, a bipartisan US Senate bill also took aim at both players by seeking to ban restrictions on app developers.

Currently, the iPhone maker's commissions are at the center of several legal disputes, including a separate lawsuit by one of Apple's biggest developers — Epic Games.

Apple has taken steps to reach out to developers, announcing last November that it would slash the fees it charged them from 30% to 15% if the developer made less than $1 million in the prior year.

— Yoonjung Seo, Gawon Bae, Rishi Iyengar, Brian Fung and Lauren Lau contributed to this report.

Mongolian powerlifter Enkhbayar Sodnompiljee won a gold medal in men's -107kg at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games on Monday with a new Paralympic record result of 245kg.

The 36-year-old became Mongolia's second Paralympic champion.

Jong Yee Khie of Malaysia took the silver with 237kg, and Saman Razi of Iran got the bronze with 231kg.

Dambadondog Baatarjav won Mongolia's first-ever Paralympic gold in the men's individual recurve standing event at Beijing 2008.

The three male Przewalski’s horses, all aged three, arrived safely at the zoo on Friday after travelling south from the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland’s Highland Wildlife Park.

The wildlife conservation charity says it has a successful history with the endangered species at the wildlife park, near Kingussie.

This is the first time zoo visitors will be able to see Przewalski’s horses in the capital and learn how they were brought back after becoming extinct in the wild in the 1960s.

Jonathan Appleyard, hoofstock team leader at Edinburgh Zoo, said, “After arriving yesterday, our three new boys, Och, Tomor and Kumbish, are settling into their new home which is just beside our giraffes on the hilltop.

“It is really exciting to introduce our visitors to this amazing species and share the incredible story of Przewalski’s horses being brought back from extinction in the wild following the success of rewilding and reintroduction projects in their native Mongolia.

“This huge feat is directly attributable to the efforts of the zoo community and shows just how important a carefully managed captive population can be for safeguarding threatened wildlife around the world.”

Visitors hoping to spot Och, Tomor and Kumbish in their new home can find out more about visiting the zoo and booking tickets at edinburghzoo.org.uk/we-are-open

The Przewalski’s horse was brought back from extinction in the wild following the success of rewilding and reintroduction projects. Find out more about the species at https://www.edinburghzoo.org.uk/.../przewalskis-wild-horse/

The Royal Zoological Society of Scotland has protected threatened species in Scotland and around the world for over 100 years. As a leading conservation charity, it connects people to nature and safeguards wildlife across the globe.

The Publicity Department of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Central Committee on Thursday released a key publication on the Party's mission and contributions.

The document, titled "The CPC: Its Mission and Contributions," stressed that over the past hundred years, all the struggles, sacrifices and efforts made by the CPC and by the Chinese people under its leadership have been directed to one goal -- the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

It also pointed out that the CPC is dedicated to the people and forever puts their interests first. It said the CPC follows the underlying trends of social development and respects the people's principal role in making history.

The CPC pursues the lofty goal of working for the wellbeing of the Chinese people, and it does everything in the interests of the people, the document said. Enditem

Mongolia registered 2,209 new coronavirus cases for the past day, the Ministry of Health reported.

They include 438 contacts of earlier confirmed cases in Ulaanbaatar, 1,771 cases in the regions.

The total number of confirmed coronavirus cases reached 211,080.

4 patients with coronavirus infection died for a day. COVID-19 toll reached 931.

1,795 patients recovered from coronavirus infection for a day.

Prime Minister of Mongolia L.Oyun-Erdene took part in a joint public and private sector meeting on ‘Supporting Mongolian-Russian business and attracting investment from Russia’.

At the beginning of the meeting, the Prime Minister said, “This year marks the 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomat relations between Mongolia and the Russian Federation. The two countries should bring the economic and business cooperation to a new level in the next 100 years. The pandemic has slowed the world down. We, therefore, need to be ready for the Post-Pandemic economy. The economy, which was minus 5.3 percent, now stands at 6.3 percent. Let us begin a new chapter in public and private partnership. We have raised many issues including unfavorable environment for investment. We will change the approach and the cabinet will begin to hold a meeting with investors before making a decision. Moreover, we will strive to work to overcome the challenging circumstance posed by the pandemic and double the GDP.”

Mentioning that trade and economic cooperation between Mongolian and Russia is weak, the Prime Minister said that Russia made up 0.9 percent in the Mongolia’s export in 2019, while this performance was 58.5 percent in 1992. Looking back to the relationship between the two countries over the past 10 years, from the establishment of a strategic partnership in 2009 to the establishment of a comprehensive strategic partnership in 2019, there has been criticism of non-significant results in the bilateral relationship, except for visa-free travel between the two countries. Thus, establishing a Free trade agreement with the Eurasian Economic Union, which includes Russia, is one of the solutions to reduce the tariff and non-tariff barriers facing bilateral trade.

During the meeting, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Russian Federation to Mongolia Iskander Kubarovich Azizov said “There is no legal, political dispute between our two countries. 100 years of Mongolian-Russian relations are in the interests of both countries. I agree with what Prime Minister said. The two countries have developed a high level of political, humanitarian, defence as well as security cooperation. But the trade and economic cooperation have fallen behind. Mongolia has favorable environment for legal regulations of trade and economic relations. It is, therefore, important to intensify the activities of the Trade representative offices of the two countries.”

Ambassador I.K.Azizov also highlighted the importance of implementing project for the building of the super grid and further expanding cooperation in science and education.

At the end of the meeting, the Prime Minister said that he would set up a research work group with the Eurasian Economic Union, intensifying the efforts to study the economic feasibility of establishing a free trade agreement.

On August 30, State Honored Athlete E.Sodnompiljee successfully lifted 245 kg in the men’s -107 kg weight class at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games, setting a new Paralympic Record.

Having previously won the bronze medal, the two-time world champion has become the first Mongolian powerlifting athlete to become a Paralympic champion.

At the 2019 World Para Powerlifting Championships, he became the world champion by lifting 247 kg, setting a new Guinness World Record.

China’s southern Hainan province issued an updated regulation on cross-border trade in services, effectively becoming the first region to allow foreign firms to carry out commercial activity under the same rules as Chinese firms.

“This is an important step towards enhancing the high-level openness of the Chinese [international trade] system, and is essential for the intensive development of the Hainan Free Trade Port,” the Chinese Ministry of Commerce stated with regard to the new regulation.

The region’s authorities on Saturday published a list of restrictions that covers 11 areas of international economic cooperation and includes 70 control measures over foreign companies working in Hainan. In all cases of trade in services not specified in the document, foreign enterprises are to operate under the same conditions as Chinese companies.

The previous mechanism of “exceptions from what is prohibited” was stricter and more complex for foreign firms. The move is aimed at increasing the transparency of the province’s business interactions with other countries and raise the level of investor confidence. It is assumed that the modified system will also boost Hainan’s competitiveness in the international market.

Hainan authorities clarified, however, that the new measures “provide for a fairly effective control over regional and systemic risks.”

On April 13, 2018, Chinese President Xi Jinping announced the creation of an experimental free trade zone in Hainan. The goal of the program is to involve Hainan’s port and the entire island in the process of globalization and international distribution of labor.

Hainan’s administration was to create attractive conditions for investors and form a developed research infrastructure. According to the government plan, by 2050, Hainan is to become a unique cluster with an advanced economy, hosting the campuses of leading universities, advanced laboratories, and headquarters of global high-tech corporations.

In a separate move this week, Hainan’s authorities began setting up pilot international offshore innovation and business zones across the island, local information resource Nanhaiwan reported.

This offshore business model allows both Chinese and foreign firms to be registered on the island. The project aims to accelerate Hainan’s development in the field of science and technology. Authorities intend to establish 8 to 10 offshore innovation and business zones in the Hainan Free Trade Port in order to attract high-quality innovation resources from abroad, as well as promoting international high-tech exchange. In the future, this program is to be extended up to 11 industrial parks in the province.

Rashaant, Khuvsgul Province, Mongolia — Perched high on a mountain, Davaasuren Mishigdorj peers through a pair of binoculars. The herder is guarding her animals in the same spot her ancestors have patrolled for generations. But about five months ago, a scattering of rocks joined the sheep under her watch.

The stones in Khuvsgul province, in northern Mongolia, are the unexpected bearers of ancient human history. Etched into their surfaces are faint yet discernible images of deer with branched antlers, herds of elephants and humans — rock carvings, known as petroglyphs, dating back some 3,000 years.

Today, these prehistoric records are in danger of vanishing. The Khuren Tolgoin Khad, which means “brown hill rocks,” are among nearly 90,000 Mongolian relics that have been identified as threatened “immovable historical and cultural memorials.” Decades of neglect have left these memorials — including petroglyphs, graves and statues — open to widespread abuse, misuse, vandalism and looting.

In response, Khuvsgul — home to the country’s biggest concentration of immovable memorials — is turning to its herders for help. Through a new preservation effort launched this year, the local government offers herders incentives to protect the relics that dot some of the country’s most secluded spots.

“When I go herding my sheep and cattle, I always look here and there to protect the rocks now too,” says Davaasuren, who lives in a nearby ger, a circular felt-covered tent traditionally used by herders in Mongolia. “I feel proud to live near these ancient monuments and want to pass them on to the next generation in good condition.”

The Khuren Tolgoin Khad, which means “brown hill rocks,” are among nearly 90,000 Mongolian relics that have been identified as memorials in need of protection.

A rewards-based system could motivate more citizens to take an active role in preserving Mongolian culture, says the 55-year-old, who also chairs her local council.

In April, Davaasuren became one of 46 herders appointed as heritage guardians in Khuvsgul — the first such plan in the culturally rich province. For their work, which includes overseeing sites and reporting suspicious behavior, they will each receive a voucher for firewood worth 53,000 Mongolian togrogs ($18.60) or a 25-kilogram sack of flour.

Herders can monitor monuments tucked in mountains or steppes that are often inaccessible for urban officials, says Baasansuren Khurelchuluun, a heritage specialist with the Khuvsgul provincial government. “By training herders about cultural heritage, we can help reduce crimes.”

Mongolia only adopted a robust law to protect its cultural heritage in 2014, replacing an ineffectual one passed 13 years earlier. Under the legislation, there are new layers of accountability to manage memorials at a local level, as well as new systems to classify and safeguard monuments.

The country’s first nationwide inventory of immovable memorials took place the following year, listing 86,000 relics for state protection in nearly 10,000 different sites.

A study about memorials in Khuvsgul that same year revealed how little citizens understood preservation, Baasansuren recalls.

Ancient rock art had been chiseled afresh and daubed with splashes of paint. Prehistoric statues were being used as hitching posts for horses. Some people were worshipping Kurgan stelae, upright stone carvings some 5,000 years old, as deities. “Many had been smeared with butter” as an offering, eroding their original form, Baasansuren says.

But despite the momentum sparked by the new law, progress on safeguarding memorials has been slow in the 31-year-old democracy wedged between China and Russia.

The worry is there will be little left to protect unless urgent measures are taken throughout the country, says Bayarsaikhan Jamsranjav, an archaeologist and former director at the National Museum of Mongolia, who has witnessed firsthand the damage wrought on precious relics.

Davaasuren Mishigdorj sits near one of the petroglyphs that scatter the area. The rocks, carved with images of deer, elephants and humans, date back around 3,000 years.

In 2018, he led a team to study ancient burial grounds on Khorig mountain, close to the Mongolia-Russia border, also in Khuvsgul province.

Their excavation uncovered more than 70 graves and tombs containing human remains alongside remarkable artifacts, including lanterns holding clotted cream, silk cloths, and sun and moon figures made from gold. They had been preserved for more than 700 years under permafrost.

But the team found they were not the first to make the discovery: Each of the sites had already been looted.

“There were very few undamaged findings,” Bayarsaikhan says. “Metal artifacts hung on trees. There were vases broken all over the place. Human bones had been thrown outside. And the fabrics were all covered in dirt.”

Despite the destruction, the findings were “wonderful expressions of cultural and ritual continuity of nomadic Mongolians,” the archaeologist says.

They also offered an unprecedented insight into the secretive funerary rituals practiced during the Mongol Empire of the 13th and 14th centuries.

“Researchers used to think that the burials [at this time] were not on the mountains at all,” he says, explaining how excavators focused on the nation’s vast valleys and steppes. On Khorig mountain, the team believes they have unearthed the final resting place of high-ranking officials from that era.

Bayarsaikhan estimates that hundreds of graves are pilfered annually in Mongolia. Thieves are on the hunt for treasures to sell in the lucrative underground antiques trade, run by organized crime syndicates in Mongolia and China.

Herder-based protection efforts are part of the solution, Bayarsaikhan says, but should be expanded. Barely a third of Mongolia’s cultural heritage has been registered, he adds, even after the landmark 2015 survey.

“We fear tremendously that unregistered memorials will be looted before we even find them.”

Dolgormaa Sandagdorj is a Global Press Journal reporter based in Mongolia.