Sample collection from Asgat silver deposit wraps up www.montsame.mn

Bayan-Ulgii /MONTSAME/. Upon the Government resolution to transfer the special license for the Asgat silver deposit to the full ownership of Erdenes Mongol LLC state owned company and put under economic circulation, Mongolian emergency rescue officers and Asgat Kent Company worked at the deposit to open the deposit and collect technological sampling from November 1 to December 18.

Cutting air pollution: VAT exemption for briquettes www.news.mn

Ulaanbaatar is one of the most air-polluted cities of the world. This year, the government introduced a ban on burning coal in the Mongolian capital where the winter temperature falls to as low as -40 Celsius. In the light of the ban, the government has put an alternative product on the market made from semi-coke, a by-product of coal. While more expensive, these fuel-efficient briquettes are said to burn twice as long and emit far fewer fumes. The government has ruled that a ton of coal briquettes would be cost MNT 150,000. However, the coal briquettes currently have been selling for MNT 165,000 per ton; this is due to value added tax. As a result, the Tavan Tolgoi Company has requested the cabinet to exempt coal briquettes from VAT. There is currently public dissatisfaction over the shortage of coal briquettes in Ulaanbaatar.

Mining company constructs kindergarten in South Gobi www.news.mn

A new kindergarten, which can take 100 children, has been opened in the Manla Soum in Mongolia’s South Gobi (Umnugobi) Province. The construction of the kindergarten has been fully financed by the Gobi Oyu Development Support Fund (DSF), sponsored by Oyu Tolgoi LLC. This is the fifth kindergarten building financed by the foundation.

Boeing chief fired but 737 concerns persist www.bbc.com

Boeing has fired its chief executive, Dennis Muilenburg, in a bid to restore confidence in the firm after two deadly crashes involving its 737 Max plane.

More than 340 people died in the disasters, prompting accusations that Boeing put profit before safety.

Families of the victims welcomed Mr Muilenberg's resignation as overdue.

But they said Boeing's decision to replace him with a long-time board member raised questions about its commitment to change.

Boeing named David Calhoun, who has served on the firm's board since 2009 and is its current chairman, as chief executive and president.

"While the resignation of Mr Muilenburg is a step in the right direction, it is clear that the Boeing Company needs a revamp of its corporate governance," said Paul Njoroge, who lost his wife, three children and mother-in-law when Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed in March.

Mr Calhoun "is not the right person for the job", he added.

Zipporah Kuria, whose father was also killed on the Ethiopian Airlines flight, said Mr Muilenburg should have been replaced "a long time ago" but responsibility for the crashes is shared.

"I feel as though a lot more people should have resigned including the person who's becoming CEO," she told the BBC.

'Necessary' change
Boeing has been under intense scrutiny since two 737 Max planes crashed within five months of each other, first in Indonesia and then in Ethiopia.

The 737 Max fleet has been grounded worldwide since March.

While the company had been hoping to have the best-selling jet back in the air by the end of this year, US regulators have made it clear that it would not be certified to return to the skies that quickly.

Then on Friday, the company's reputation took another hit when its Starliner spacecraft suffered technical problems that prevented it from taking the right path to the International Space Station.

Boeing's board said it had "decided that a change in leadership was necessary to restore confidence in the company moving forward as it works to repair relationships with regulators, customers, and all other stakeholders".

Mr Calhoun, a private equity executive, will take over from 13 January.

Lawrence Kellner, a board member since 2011, is to become non-executive chairman immediately.

"Under the company's new leadership, Boeing will operate with a renewed commitment to full transparency, including effective and proactive communication with the FAA [Federal Aviation Administration], other global regulators and its customers," it said.

Despite the ouster, some of the firm's harshest critics in Washington said they still had questions about the firm's commitment to change.

Senator Richard Bumenthal said: "The company needs new leadership across the board who will take safety seriously."

Michael Stumo, who lost his daughter Samya Rose on the Ethiopian Airlines flight and has organised victims' families against Boeing, called the resignation a "good first step toward restoring Boeing to a company that focuses on safety and innovation".

"The next step is for several board members who are underperforming or unqualified to resign," he said.

'Software problem'
Air safety officials investigating the tragedies have identified an automated control system in the plane, known as MCAS, as a factor in both crashes.

Boeing has said the MCAS software system, which relied on a single sensor, received erroneous data, which led it to override pilot commands and push the aircraft downwards.

It has said it is fixing the software and has overhauled its review procedures.

But US lawmakers, who are investigating the company, have said the firm was aware that the software system could be unreliable. They have accused the company of trying to hide the risks and rush the plane back into service.

Congressman Peter DeFazio, who leads a committee investigating Boeing, had called for Mr Muilenburg's resignation in an interview with the New York Times, published over the weekend.

In a statement on Monday, he said the shake-up was "long overdue".

Mr Muilenburg first joined Boeing in 1985. He led the company's defence, space and security division prior to his appointment as chief executive in 2015.

He was stripped of his role as chairman of Boeing's board of directors in October and later agreed to give up his bonus. However, Boeing, including Mr Calhoun, had continued to express confidence in him.

Dennis Muilenburg's departure was inevitable, although the timing was unexpected.

Since the two accidents, he has faced intense criticism over the corporate culture that existed at Boeing on his watch, and over the company's relationship with regulators.

Questions have been asked about how a seemingly flawed aircraft was allowed into service in the first place, and why it was allowed to continue flying after the first accident. There have been claims - emphatically denied by the company - that it prioritised profits and speed of production over safety.

His response to the crisis has also come under fire. Although he insisted that Boeing "owned" its failures, he also repeatedly said that the crashes were the result of a chain of events. This was seen by some as an attempt to divert blame away from the aerospace giant.

The final humiliation came last week, when Boeing announced it would have to suspend production of the 737 Max, because regulators had yet to clear the aircraft as safe to fly again. For months, Mr Muilenburg had insisted the plane would be back in the air by the end of the year.

Japanese meat dealer hungers for fresh start in Mongolia www.asia.nikkei.com

SHIZUOKA, Japan -- Meat dealer Aono Freshmeat is aggressively expanding its business in Mongolia, from machine leasing to farming, as small to midsize Japanese companies try their fortunes elsewhere to offset shrinking domestic market.

An aging and shrinking population has hit Japanese companies, particularly those in the countryside. Aono is based in Shizuoka, an area close to Mount Fuji. But unlike many other Japanese companies that have sought business opportunities overseas by moving or expanding away, Aono is investing in Mongolia in areas that have little relation to its main business, such as the leasing of heavy machinery for mining, greenhouse cultivation of vegetables and dairy farming.

The leasing service will start in 2020. It plans to rent five Japanese-made used power shovels and lease them to coal mining companies. Aono is also developing a gold mine in Mongolia and will use the machinery for excavation and will lease them out during the winter when the mine shuts down.

In the summer of 2019, Aono Group, which was already a producer of wheat and rapeseed, started greenhouse cultivation of leafy vegetables as well as the production of milk. It aims to ensure stable profit by adding greenhouse cultivation and dairy farming, which is less vulnerable to weather.

Aono Group already has five subsidiaries in Mongolia, with a total of 300 employees. It grows wheat and corn on its own land of 8 million sq. meters and breeds 3,000 mutton sheep. It also offers financing services. Combined sales from its various businesses in Mongolia will be 300 million yen ($2.7 million) in fiscal 2019 and are targeted to rise to 500 million to 1 billion yen in five years.

Apart from Aono Freshmeat, Aono Group has other companies in the city of Shizuoka, including Aono Farm, a hog farming operation, and Shizuoka Meat, a wholesaler of unprocessed and processed meat for commercial use. The whole group saw sales of 20 billion yen in fiscal 2018.

Aono Group began its foray into Mongolia in 2015. "If we want to survive, we must make inroads into overseas markets," said President Hiroshi Aono then. He saw potential in the Mongolia, having worked with a Mongolian.

He toured Mongolia with the friend in around 2009, making a business plan together and established a local subsidiary in 2015. Mongolia "has a large population of young people as well as a market that has not matured yet," he said then.

Mongolia depends heavily on agriculture and mining, and natural resources such as copper and coal account for a large share of exports. This makes Mongolia particularly vulnerable to fluctuations in the prices of natural resources.

The country missed repayments of its foreign debt from 2016 to 2017 due partly to restrictions on foreign capital inflow implemented by the government. It got out of the crisis in 2017 with the aid of the International Monetary Fund, the Asian Development Bank, the World Bank, as well as countries such as Japan, South Korea and China.

The economy has been stable since then. The economy grew 6.8% in 2018 and that rate is expected to hit 7.2% in 2019, according to World Bank data.

Discussion takes place on the role of science in sustainable development www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. The annual forum of the Mongolian Academy of Sciences (MAS) took place under the theme, ‘The role of science in sustainable development: New trends and opportunities’ on November 19.

Radiation protection to be improved through international projects and programs www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The General Agency for Specialized Inspection plans to take part in international projects and programs to improve and strengthen radiation control and upskill its inspectors in the coming year. Therefore, authorities of the agency’s Nuclear and Radiation Control Department met with relevant officials of the United States Department of Energy and Korea International Cooperation Agency.

Plan for making Ulaanbaatar a “Green city” approved www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar / MONTSAME /. “The Action Plan for Making Ulaanbaatar a Green City'' was discussed and approved during the Governor’s Office meeting yesterday, on December 19. The plan was introduced by D.Munkhjargal, the Deputy Governor of the Capital, and official in charge of air pollution projects of the capital city.

Parliament finalizes new bill on election www.zgm.mn

The Parliament on Friday approved the draft law on elections. According to the new draft law, a candidate must not participate in the parliamentary election if corrupted or received a criminal conviction before. The Constitutional Court of Mongolia issued a review about the provision in 2008, meaning that violating the human rights to choose and to be chosen is illegal. Therefore, the Constitutional Court may call MPP caucus regarding the decision, increasing the possibility of election law to cause controversy. Thus, women politicians demanded to increase women’s quota to 30 percent, but it retained 20 percent.

What To Expect From Mongolian Airlines’ First Boeing 787 www.news.mn

MIAT Mongolian Airlines is set to receive its first Boeing 787-9 aircraft. It will enable the Ulaanbaatar-based airline to fly to European and North American cities, opening up a whole raft of new possibilities for intrepid travellers. The aircraft will join MIAT Mongolian Airlines through a lease agreement with Los Angeles-based Air Lease Corporation. The plane is due for delivery in the spring of 2021.