Public service to be fully digitalized to eradicate corruption and bureaucracy www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ Corruption and bureaucracy in government services will cease to exist in Mongolia with a digital transformation, officials noted at the ‘E-Mongolia’ discussion organized by the Offices of the President and Parliament of Mongolia, Government of Mongolia, and the 'e-Governance Academy' non-profit think tank and consultancy organization, a joint initiative of the Government of Estonia, Open Society Institute (OSI) and the United Nations Development Programme, at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on December 4.

ROK-Mongolia Takes the First Step in Personnel Administration Cooperation www.montsame.mn

An article by Hwang Seo-chong, Minister of Personnel Management of People's Republic of Korea

Where would the most eyed tourist destination in the world these days be? It is ‘Mongolia’ which is only 3 and a half hours’ flight away from Korea. The World Tourism Organization (UNWTO) selected Mongolia as the No.1 emerging tourist destination this year. We can feel it in Korea, too. The number of Koreans visiting Mongolia has soared from 7,000 people in 2000 to 86,000 people in 2018. Demand for flights between Korea and Mongolia also surged and multiple airliners began operating this year since the first flight to Mongolia 30 years ago.

I believe one of the reasons why Koreans travel to Mongolia is the exotic natural scenery that we do not see in Korea. Mongolia is also our close neighbor culturally as Korea and Mongolia have shared in history and tradition for hundreds of years. Some of our culture, which is still alive today, was influenced by Mongolia such as Korea’s traditional bridal crown called Jokduri, red dots on a bride’s face called Yeonji Gonji, ox bone soup called Seolleongtang, and a traditional deep-fried snack called Yakgwa. Official diplomatic ties between Korea and Mongolia were established in 1990 and next year will celebrate their 30th anniversary. The two countries have treaties in various areas including trade, investment, tourism, and social security, and have had active exchanges.

This year marks an important first step in cooperation in the field of public personnel administration between our two nations. In March, on a beautiful spring day in Seoul, the Cabinet Secretariat of the Government of Mongolia (Minister of Mongolia, Chief Cabinet Secretary Mr. Luvsannamsrai OYUN-ERDENE and the Ministry of Personnel Management of the Republic of Korea signed a MOU on cooperation. In September, 4-day workshops were held in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, to share experiences of the two countries on public personnel recruitment exams and performance management. It provided a meaningful occasion to pool together experiences in public personnel administration in the process of national development in both countries, and to discuss solutions to pending issues together. In October, a group of Mongolian trainees visited Korea and had an in-depth discussion on public personnel administration issues, which were not dealt with during the local workshop in Mongolia, and on the future direction of cooperation.

Since the establishment of the government, Korea has taken the public personnel system very seriously for it to be a successful government operation. A year after the official birth of the government in 1948, "the State Public Officials Act" was enacted, laying out the basis of personnel administration. With each government, different environments have brought changes to personnel systems as well. However, whatever the government may be, the principle of personnel administration remained the same, making society of competent and trustworthy public officials. In particular, 'the Ministry of Personnel Management' was launched amid the public's desire for fundamental reform of the civil service in 2014.

"The Constitution of the Republic of Korea" guarantees "a right to hold a public office' for anyone eligible. Also, "the State Public Officials Act" stipulates the principle of a merit system. Accordingly, public servants are chosen by the principle of an 'open competition recruitment exam' for which anyone without any prohibition of qualification may apply. For some fields in need of special expertise, experienced workers are separately hired. In particular, the Korean government is strongly promoting a balanced personnel policy so that various talents of the society can be equally employed by the government including women, the physically challenged, and those from local areas, etc. The government has also continuously improved its performance evaluation and employment/wage system, etc. so that those who enter public service can be evaluated as to their ability and performance for promotion. Lately, it is endeavoring to innovate the fundamental culture of the public servants for them to tackle issues actively and preemptively and produce the outcomes that the public expects.

I am aware that Mongolia is also pursuing HR innovation as one of the core tasks of reforming the government. I heard that “the revised Civil Service Act” became effective this year, and open recruitment was conducted for the first time in November this year. I also learned that a dedicated office for HR management would be installed in the Cabinet Secretariat of the Government of Mongolia within this year. I could feel Mongolia’s passion and sincerity toward innovation through the recent series of exchanges such as an MOU and workshops.

Our bilateral cooperation in the area of personnel administration has just begun. The Ministry of Personnel Management will provide active exchanges and support so that personnel administration will become a major cooperation area between Korea and Mongolia.

Mongolia has always been a stronghold for exchanges between the East and the West since ancient times due to geographical factors. In particular, various cultural heritage was spread through ‘the Steppe Route’, one of the Silk Roads, that crosses Mongolia. I hope that the cooperation in the field of public personnel administration which began this year will pave an invisible Steppe Route to contribute to transforming the Mongolian government and creating a reliable civil service.

Beijing to widen services market access to foreign investors www.chinadaily.com.cn

Beijing will further open its services market to foreign investors in several industries including tourism, internet access services and non-profit nursing institutions for the aged, as well as audio and video products, a senior official said on Tuesday.

Liu Meiying, spokeswoman of Beijing municipal government's commerce bureau, said the State Council has approved the measures the capital has proposed to further open the city's services industry to foreign capital in early November.

According to the new measures, Beijing will allow wholly foreign-owned companies to provide outbound travel services to customers.

In 2003, the first wholly foreign-owned travel agency was set up in China. However, there were limitations on its service, as it could not offer outbound travel products.

Wang Yue, deputy head of the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Culture and Tourism, said the new measure will enrich the outbound travel products in the market and bring more competition to their domestic counterparts which would be beneficial for the long-term development of the industry.

"The international tourism business mode and advanced management will become a good incentive to the market and consumption, which will help to meet the growing demand from the public," she said.

Zhang Guodong, a senior official at online travel agency ly.com, has a positive view of the new policy.

"It will not have any huge impact for the industry because China's tourism industry is growing rapidly and has created a huge market for different niche customers. Online travel businesses have developed even faster, with an annual growth rate of 35 to 40 percent," he said.

Compared with the United States and Europe, whose online travel market is growing at 45 percent to 50 percent annually, China still has enormous growth potential, he added.

"The new policy will only bring better experience to the market and the customers. It won't be a big threat to the domestic travel agencies. Together with foreign-owned travel agencies, we should cooperate and make the market bigger and better."

A caretaker at Beijing Intech Nursing Home, a private facility, looks after an Alzheimer's patient in March 2011. [Photo by Feng Yongbin / China Daily]
In addition to the tourism industry, Beijing will call off the limits on shares of foreign investment in the internet access service industry.

In the past, the foreign capital could not take more than 50 percent of the shares of companies providing internet access services.

Zhu Chunxia, an official at Beijing's communication management bureau, said the new policy will attract more foreign capital to set up telecommunication companies in Beijing, offering better service to its residents.

Foreign capital will be allowed to invest in the audio and video products production business within certain Chinese cultural bases in the capital by cooperating with their Chinese partners, according to the new regulation. But the Chinese side should take the major share in those firms and be responsible for checking content.

Invest in Mongolia forum to be held in Tokyo www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. On December 18-22, ‘Invest in Mongolia 2019’ Mongolia-Japan business forum to be hosted in Tokyo, Japan.

Steppe kicks off production at ATO gold mine in Mongolia www.mining.com

Toronto-listed Steppe Gold (TSX: STGO) announced this week that its Altan Tsagaan Ovoo gold mine, (ATO) is now fully permitted and that gold production has already started.

Mongolian student prevents woman committing suicide in Australia www.news.mn

Mongolian student T.Chinges will be awarded the ‘Bravery Medal’ by the Australian Government for saving a woman’s life. According to sources, T.Chinges prevented a suicide attempt by the 26-year-old woman who was intending to jump from the seventh floor balcony of a hotel in Queensland. The incident happened on 23 November at 4.00-5.00 p.m. when the young Mongolian, who was also staying at the Pacific Hotel, bravely climbed from the fifth floor to the seventh after hearing unusual sounds from above.

Prime Minister of Mongolia begins officials visit to Russia www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. Prime Minister of Mongolia U.Khurelsukh arrived in Moscow today, December 3 to pay an official visit to the Russian Federation at the invitation of his Russian counterpart Dmitry Medvedev. He was welcomed by Russian officials headed by Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia Igor Morgulov and Mongolian Ambassador to Russia D.Davaa at the Vnukovo International Airport.

Mongolia's central bank buys 14.4 tons of gold in first 11 months this year www.xinhuanet.com

Mongolia's central bank announced on Tuesday that it has bought a total of 14.4 tons of gold from legal entities and individuals in the first 11 months of this year.

Mongolia joins countries where Russian gas is supplied www.akipress.com

The first low-tonnage supply of the Russian liquified natural gas was carried out by Gazprom Export LLC to the new market — Mongolia, Gazprom Export LLC reported.

BoM: Fx reserves reached USD 4 billion www.zgm.mn

As of October 2019, official foreign exchange reserves reached USD 4.2 billion, which equals eight months of payment of imports. However, a downward trend has been observed in mining commodities, the main contributor to Fx reserves. In this regard, the Bank of Mongolia (BoM) highlighted a necessity to improve import policy at a recent press conference, delivering a report on timely issues concerning the economy of Mongolia. As of October 2019, money supply reached MNT 20.5 trillion, up 11.7 percent year-over-year and the money supply is mainly formed of tugrik savings, current accounts and savings of foreign currencies. During the period, the central bank has purchased a total of 14 tons of gold. This is a decrease of 4.2 tons compared to the previous year. Mineral royalty fee and government’s strict policy on mineral licenses might be the main drivers of gold purchase decline, said the officials. Despite improving indicators of economy, Mongolia faces major challenges in the mid-term. There is a need to further increase currency reserves considering the instability in the external market, and the repayment of external debt.According to BoM data, the balance of payments surplus totaled USD 264 million in September 2018 and is expected to show positive results this year. Accordingly, Fx reserves may increase significantly. Regarding the recent appointment of the new Governor of the Bank of Mongolia, the officials of the central bank confirmed that the bank will continue to abide by the general directions it has been following in the past three years, aimed at sustaining the economic revival, ensuring stable currency rate of tugrik. Therefore, the policy of restricting the U.S dollar lending might be a major problem for larger enterprises, said Orkhon Onon, Executive Director of Trade and Development Bank (TDB), during BoM’s meeting Foreign Exchange reserve.