MBCCI’s “Doing business with Mongolia” seminar and business program. Dec 15- 20 2019. London UK www.mongolianbusinessdatabase.com

Mongolian Business Database with the support of the British Embassy in UB and Mongolian-British Chamber of Commerce is starting to register the participant for “MBCCI’s Doing Business with Mongolia” seminar in London on Dec 16 Monday at House of Commons and business program.

Russia renews interest in Mongolia to counter Chinese influence www.asia.nikkei.com

MOSCOW -- Russia is rebuilding financial and military ties with Mongolia, partly to create new opportunities in Asia but also to counter Beijing's growing influence in the country.

A sign of this came in September, when Moscow announced it would set up a $1.5 billion investment fund to finance infrastructure projects in Mongolia

According to the Mongolian Customs General Administration, trade between Russia and Mongolia reached $1.8 billion in 2018 -- a nearly 40% increase from the preceding year.

Almost three decades on from the collapse of the Soviet Union, Russia is finding particular success in reaffirming its role as Mongolia's primary energy supplier. Following a series of agreements signed in 2014, Russia's share of the Mongolian oil market rose to 80%. At the St. Petersburg Economic Forum last year, Russian state oil company Rosneft signed $2.1 billion worth of contracts with several Mongolian importers.

The impetus for Russia's return gained new momentum in 2014, when Western sanctions over the annexation of Crimea prompted Kremlin's pivot to the east. Some Russian officials began to speak of rebuilding ties with Mongolia as a means of increasing economic access to the rest of Asia, describing the country as a key transit corridor.

Russia and Mongolia are also cooperating more in the security realm, with the latter joining Russia and China last September for Vostok 2018 -- the largest military exercise since the end of the Cold War. In August, Mongolia hosted about 1,000 Russian troops for the annual Selenga joint drills.

During his most recent visit to Mongolia in early September, Russian President Vladimir Putin and Mongolian President Khaltmaagiin Battulga signed the Treaty on Friendship and Strategic Partnership.

Putin later backed Mongolia's offer to build a gas pipeline to China through its territory, after which the president summoned Alexei Miller, CEO of state-controlled energy giant Gazprom, to the Kremlin in September to flesh out plans for the new pipeline.

"Please, look into the resources of Yamal [Peninsula] as well, in order to gather the necessary resources for supplies via the western route to China via Mongolia," Putin told Miller at a meeting, adding that China also favored the route.

China is at the forefront of Russian economic thinking as regards Mongolia. Russian analysts note that Mongolia represented the most attractive route for delivering natural resources to China.

Artyom Lukin, deputy director for research at Far Eastern Federal University, stated that running Russia's Power of Siberia pipeline to China via Mongolia would be easier and cheaper than constructing it across the Altai Mountains as originally planned.

He added that a Mongolian route was also preferable because it would "bring Russian gas straight to the heart of China, instead of its northwestern regions that don't need it all that much."

Alexei Maslov, a professor at the National Research University Higher School of Economics, pointed to Mongolia as "the quickest land transit for the delivery of Russian agricultural products to China." He noted that transporting goods from Russia's Far Eastern regions through Mongolia would only take three to four days to reach China, whereas other routes could take considerably longer.

At the same time, Russian experts interviewed by the Nikkei Asian Review admitted that Moscow had serious concerns about Beijing's growing economic clout in Mongolia, viewing it as a potential long-term threat. They explained that balancing China's influence is a major priority for the Kremlin.

Lukin predicted that if Russia loses too much ground to China, it could find its "Siberian underbelly" vulnerable in several decades. He noted that while Beijing recognizes Mongolia's independence, that could change if Chinese nationalism continues to rise.

"Moscow understands that we cannot exert economic influence in Mongolia that is greater than China's or even on the same level as it -- that is absolutely unrealistic. But we must maintain a minimal presence in Mongolia," Lukin said.

Maslov warned that if China absorbs Mongolia into its economic orbit, Russia could find itself even more economically dependent on Beijing than it already is. "If Mongolia falls under Chinese economic control, then 70% of Russia's border will be with China, making us more economically dependent on them," he said.

Nevertheless, Mongolia is unlikely to derail the burgeoning Sino-Russian partnership anytime soon. As Lukin told Nikkei, Moscow and Beijing have far more pressing geopolitical concerns than dominance in Mongolia.

"Two strategic partners are not interested in butting heads over Mongolia, if for no other reason than that they have a much more important common goal: resisting the United States."

Soviet Russia played a pivotal role in forming modern Mongolia. The Soviet Union helped secure Mongolia's independence from China in 1921 and subsequently took on the role of Ulaanbaatar's patron. Relations between the countries were so tight that Russian elites often referred to Mongolia as "the 16th Soviet Republic" because of its political and cultural deference to Moscow.

Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, however, Russia's influence in Mongolia rapidly diminished. Trade between Russia and Mongolia fell by nearly 80% during the 1990s, as Western and Chinese companies moved to fill the gap once occupied by Moscow. Younger Mongolians increasingly chose English as a second language instead of Russian.

Sergey Radchenko, director of research at Cardiff University School of Law & Politics, explained that Russia's decline in Mongolia could be primarily explained by the decision by former Russian President Boris Yeltsin to spurn former client states like Mongolia in favor of the West.

"It was not that Mongolia lost interest in being part of the Russian orbit, but that Russia no longer had an interest in Mongolia and felt that it was a burden economically. Maintaining a close relationship with it no longer made strategic sense," he said.

Now, with the rise of China as the region's leading economic and military power, Russia is eager to bolster its standing with the country that borders each.

World Bank and Save the Children Japan Launch Grant-funded Project to Open Up Opportunities for Rural Youth www.worldbank.org

Save the Children Japan (SCJ) and the World Bank today announced the launch of a US$2.75 million grant for a project to support vulnerable youth in rural Mongolia. The project—funded by the Government of Japan under the Japan Social Development Fund and managed by the World Bank—will help youth in disadvantaged rural communities gain the skills and competencies needed for success in school and in the labor market.

ADB starts second Eco-Tourism Project for Mongolia's National Parks www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/ The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Government of Mongolia today wrapped up one successful eco-tourism project and embarked on a second project aimed to help Mongolia benefit from a boom in domestic and overseas tourists while safeguarding the environment.

Sharp decrease in Mongolian gold purchase www.news.mn

The purchase of gold by the Mongolian Central Bank dropped 22 percent from January to September 2019. In total it acquired 11.2 tons of gold from legal entities and individuals.

Mongolia, ADB projects to spur trade, improve hospital services, and upgrade roads www.montsame.mn

Ulaanbaatar/MONTSAME/ On September 2, the Government of Mongolia and the Asian Development Bank (ADB) signed loan agreements totaling $103 million for projects that will upgrade border crossing points, complete a district demonstration hospital, and scale up road rehabilitation efforts in the country.

The agreements were signed by the Minister of Finance Mr. Khurelbaatar Chimed and ADB Country Director for Mongolia Ms. Yolanda Fernandez Lommen at a ceremony in Ulaanbaatar. Representatives from the ministries of finance, health, as well as road and transport development witnessed the event.

“As a landlocked country, a large share of Mongolia’s gross domestic product is linked to foreign trade. Improving the efficiency of trade processes and enhancing physical connectivity is essential to facilitate trade and transport in Mongolia,” said Ms. Fernandez Lommen. “Improving people’s access to social services has always been a priority in ADB’s operations in the country. Strengthening hospital services is key to improve the health of the Mongolian population.”

The newly approved additional financing, worth $27 million, for the ongoing Regional Improvement of Border Services Project will further upgrade border crossing points in Bichigt, bordering the People’s Republic of China in the east; and Borshoo, which borders the Russian Federation in the west. The project will build on the development initiatives of the ongoing project, which is already upgrading facilities and equipment of the crossing points in Altanbulag and Sukhbaatar, located in the northern part of Mongolia.

The $60 million additional financing for the Regional Road Development and Maintenance Project will rehabilitate the 118-kilometer (km) Darkhan–Altanbulag and 58-km Khuiten Valley–Arvaikheer road sections, while further enhancing the condition of the 204-km Ulaanbaatar–Darkhan road section. Road safety in the project areas will also be improved, which includes the construction of an additional overtaking lane as well as the installation of road markings, barriers, and guideposts. The project will also conduct assessments for the proposed new road to the planned Chinggis Khaan Tourism Complex.

The $16 million additional financing for the ongoing Fourth Health Sector Development Project will help the government complete the establishment of Songinokhairkhan district hospital. The multifunctional district hospital will provide quality services to the local population and serve as a demonstration hospital for other districts in the city. The construction of the Songinokhairkhan district hospital is expected to be completed in December this year.

ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. In 2018, it made commitments of new loans and grants amounting to $21.6 billion. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.

Source: ADB

Mongolia’s journalists won’t get left behind on the worldwide trend of fact-checking www.poynter.org

Nestled between the borders of Russia and China — two nations internationally notorious for their state-backed disinformation campaigns — lies Mongolia, a country now preparing to fight electoral false news.

The country will elect a new parliament in 2020 and a new president in 2021, and in light of this has just launched a fact-checking collaborative project with 20 television, newspaper and radio outlets from around the country.

FactCheck Mongolia started a few weeks ago and resembles those fact-checking alliances seen in Latin America lately: Reverso in Argentina, Comprova in Brazil and VerificaUY in Uruguay.

Mongolia’s vast and mountainous landscapes are home to a uniquely chaotic media environment. As of a 2016 report from Reporters Without Borders, 74% of media outlets in the country have political affiliations. While media freedom is guaranteed by law, there’s no regulation on things like election ads.

That means media outlets and politicians alike can fill the news cycle with misinformation.

Fact-check Mongolia is trying to change this.

“For the coming election, we’re expecting a huge production of fake news,” said Tamir Tsolmonbaatar, the project manager, in an email to the IFCN. “That’s why Mongolian media have agreed to do something (to fight back) … We are trying not to get left behind on this worldwide trend (of political fact-checking).”

Mongolia’s parliamentary elections are coming up in 2020, as well as local elections at the provincial and district levels. In 2021, a new president will be elected.

Parliamentary elections in 2016 included 498 candidates running in 76 electorate districts, so Tsolmonbaatar said he expects there will be plenty of politically motivated disinformation flooding social media platforms.

According to the Communications Regulatory Commission of Mongolia, 83.5% of the total population use the internet regularly.

“Social media use increased during (the parliamentary election in 2016),” Tsolmonbaatar said. “But there’s yet to be any law implemented to regulate election ads in social media environments.”

Some government actors have taken steps to address misinformation by drafting laws and bills that would regulate social media use more strictly. But for now, the press is frequently opaque when it comes to funding and ownership, and Tsolmonbaatar said this allows for politicians to bribe journalists and media outlets into publishing flattering yet completely falsified content.

This was the case for the presidential election of 2017, when the candidate Sainkhüügiin Ganbaatar, a member of the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party, posed for a photo in which he appeared to be digging snow out from underneath his car.

“The truth was, his car hadn’t gotten stuck in the snow, it was stopped at a paved road,” Tsolmonbaatar explained. “He was trying to show how humble and personable he was, and ran ‘hidden’ campaign ads (on social media) using this photo.”

According to Tsolmonbaatar, political candidates also frequently disseminate completely falsified photos, videos or claims about their opponents to large audiences on social media platforms or via news outlets, and Mongolia’s General Election Commission has yet to act.

To fight back, Fact-Check Mongolia’s principal goal is to develop the skills necessary for fact-checking in all the newsrooms that have joined the alliance. This includes 13 from the capital city of Ulaanbaatar and seven from local provinces, as well as a mix of radio, magazine, newspaper and television platforms.

Journalists will take part in several training sessions funded by Deutsche Welle Akademie, a German state-owned public international broadcaster. The Mongolian Center for Investigative Reporters, which Tsolmonbaatar co-founded, will also organize and fund follow-up training and consulting sessions.

The whole operation will be run from Truly Media, an online collaboration platform designed to support the verification of social media content.

Tsolmonbaatar said the organization’s members hope to be ready in time to fact-check the 2020 elections, and be able to publish reliable, evidence-based information.

He said that he hopes fact-checking picks up among other media sites, though these are often poorly resourced and reporters may not have the money or time.

“We have a national, common understanding of what it means to do fact-checking within traditional media productions, but not what it means to do political fact-checking and hoax debunking,” he said. Mongolia’s journalism schools have yet to offer a course on this specific kind of journalistic verification, but Tsolmonbaatar said some are working on updating their curriculum.

All 20 newsrooms in the alliance have agreed to follow the International Fact-Checking Network’s Code of Principles for best practices in fact-checking, including transparency, nonpartisanship and an honest corrections policy.

Nonetheless, Tsolmonbaatar said he expects politicians to react negatively to the project. “They’ll probably spread negative information about us, and maybe try to influence some of our journalists or allied newsrooms,” he said.

“But we believe journalists and newsrooms that joined our network won’t get bought.”

ADB provides 103 mln USD loan to Mongolia to upgrade border, roads www.xinhuanet.com

ULAN BATOR, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- The Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Mongolian government on Wednesday signed loan pacts worth 103 million U.S. dollars for three projects that will upgrade border checkpoints, complete a district hospital, and scale up road rehabilitation in the country.

GGGI Mongolia holds a Consultative Meeting on “Improving regulatory environment of Energy Storage Projects” www.gggi.org

Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, Oct 2, 2019 – GGGI Mongolia organized a Consultative Meeting on “Improving regulatory environment of Energy Storage Projects” in association with the Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) and the National Dispatching Center (NDC) of Mongolia.

The workshop was organized as part of the Renewable Energy Absorption Project implemented by the Global Green Growth Institute together with the Energy Regulatory Commission. The REAP project aims at facilitating the emergence of technological and other options to improve the flexibility of the Mongolian central energy system, in order to increase the absorption of renewable energy and improve energy security.

The aim of the meeting was to engage and train technical stakeholders in energy storage, including battery technologies, and provide an introduction to evolving regulations for ancillary services. The workshop will be followed by the development of regulations and economic impact assessment for pricing and assessment of the network to define optimal battery technology, least cost, and optimal locations on the network.

This assessment will include load flow analysis accounting for high, medium and low renewable energy dispatch scenarios. The regulatory work will help define the battery purchase agreement and network assessment will result in the identification of subprojects to be agreed with the National Dispatching Center. The audiences of the workshop were representatives of decision makers and regulatory bodies as well as technical engineers and staff of MoE, ERC, NDC, NREC, and EDC.

Mr. Tuvshichuluun, State Commissioner of ERC, delivered an opening speech. “We have a good cooperation with GGGI in many areas. REAP is one of the areas that we are working successfully. Battery storage is the one of the most important solutions to ensure stability of energy system. In terms of setting tariff for the battery storage, we don`t have sufficient experience and knowledge. I do believe that today`s event will have a great contribution in improved knowledge of setting the tariff and in future development of energy storage projects,” highlighted Mr. Tuvchinchuluun.

Romain Brillie, GGGI Country Representative said “Under its commitments to the Paris Agreement on climate change Mongolia has set a target to increase renewable electricity capacity from 7.62% in 2014 to 20% by 2020 and to 30% by 2030 as a share of total electricity generation. This will require additional flexibility of energy systems to effectively translate installed capacity into generated and supplied electricity. Energy storage systems are one option that can help improve load management and the effective absorption of renewable energy on the grid, while improving its stability and, for Mongolia, energy security. I always appreciate that ERC is supporting GGGI’s work in energy sector for many years. I am happy that we have turned another new chapter in cooperation in energy battery storage. From GGGI side we will provide technical support on formalization of battery purchase agreement,” in his opening speech.

GGGI technical experts Muharrem Askin and Andrew Lee have delivered presentations on GGGI Global Practices, main principles of the successful Power Purchase Agreements and Principles applied to PPAs in ESS and its ancillary services in Mongolia.

The Government of Mongolia (GOM) is in the process on considering battery storage to address the stability of the network, improve quality of service, and better manage loads to meet demand. However, there is a need for an assessment of the most suitable type of technology and institutional options to help improve grid flexibility and absorption of renewables. For batteries, this includes the type of technology, their physical location and related benefits, including financial. Battery storage can provide a wide range of ancillary services that helps the utility stabilize the network and improve quality of electricity supply. In addition, a key advantage of battery technology lies in its quick ability to respond to blackouts and provide ramping capacity.

The proposed REAP is planned to be a comprehensive engagement that will help the GOM, the offtaker, and the ERC to transparently take cost effective investment decisions to address the fragile network, improve service delivery, and pave the way for improved absorption of renewable energy and energy security.

Background
In Mongolia’s nationally determined contribution (NDC) a series of policies and actions are outlined to achieve a 14% reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This reduction on GHG can only be achieved if emissions from the energy sector are addressed. As such, Mongolia has established ambitious targets to increase renewable energy and reduce losses in the sector which include to increase renewable electricity capacity from 7.62% in 2014 to 20% by 2020 and to 30% by 2030 as a share of total electricity generation capacity and to reduce electricity transmission losses from 13.7% in 2014 to 10.8% by 2020 and to 7.8% by 2030.

Mongolia’s power sector is dominated by inefficient, soviet-era coal power plants which make up 85% of total installed capacity (920 of 1082MW). In 2016, 96% (5.5GWh) of domestic power was generated by coal plants which makes Mongolia’s power supply one of the most carbon intensive in the world. Since 2013 Mongolia has made steps to increase the share of renewable energy but it is far from reaching its resource endowment potential. As of May 2018 there are 2*10MW solar plants and 2*50MW wind farms operational. Another 30MW of solar PV has achieved financial close.

While the government has issued a number of licenses to independent power producers for renewable energy, the ability of these projects (or other) to be realized and lead to displacement of fossil fuels will largely depend on the ability of the network to absorb and manage intermittent and variable loads. Thus, one of the key constraints to scaling renewable energy is the fragile network and the absence of ramping capacity. High system losses, frequency fluctuations and voltage drops result in inadequate and poor quality of electricity services.

Mongolian arrested in Russia for smuggling crypto mining units www.news.mn

Coinspot reported today that a Mongolian citizen was caught trying to smuggle the four crypto currency mining devices with fans and connected microcircuits across the Russian/Mongolian border into Russian territory.