Mongolia Brief February 4, 2015 Part III



D.Enkhee, International Master won silver medal from "Winter World Masters Game"
By B. Khuder
February 4 (gogo.mn) Mongolian athletes have showed successful result at "Winter World Masters Game" hosted by Quebec city specially, in marathon skating category. At the first day, Mongolian marathon skating athletes received six medals. 

D.Enkhee, International Master and National Champion of skating won silver medal. 27th National Champion of skating, International Master L.Altantsetseg received two gold medals in 500m and 1500m while 15th National Champion, International Master N.Erdenetuya won two bronze medals and D.Sanchirbileg, International Master won gold medal in 500m, bronze medal in 1500m.
Besides, D.Ochirsukh, International Master ranked at 5th and Ch.Gantumur, International Master ranked at 9th 
This year, about 3000 athletes from 22 countries are competing at the "Winter World Masters Game".
Related:

Volleyball Team Has Training in Beijing
By B. Khuder
Ulaanbaatar, February 4 (MONTSAME) The Mongolian national men volleyball team has started a joint training in Beijing of China.
Prior to this, the team had an intensive training from January 15 to February 2 in Darkhan-Uul province. The Beijing training will continue until this Friday, focusing mainly on the East Asian Championship for Men Volleyball that will take place May 10-16 in our Ulaanbaatar.
The Mongolian men volleyball team has A.Monkhbayar (captain), E.Saikhanbaatar (vice-captain), E.Saikhanbileg, D.Bilguun, E.Bolor-Erdene, M.Tserenbaatar, A.Davaajargal, M.Myagmarsuren, A.Tuvshintogoldor, T.Batbayar, E.Altangerel, G.Gan-Ochir, B.Boldbaatar, M.Osokhbayar, M.Ganbileg, B.Ankhbayar, B.Khosbayar, B.Uugantseren, B.Bat-Erdene and Ch.Battogs. They are managed by Ts.Odkhuu and coached by Shuto Koichi.

Draft of Casino Law submitted to Parliament
February 4 (news.mn) A draft of the Casino Law has been created to coordinate the activities of casinos and in order to determine monitoring mechanisms and regulations by the state.
The current draft reflects terms for enterprises conducting gambling activity, regulations for license holders, and coordination of casino activity and state monitoring.  
Mongolia has been listed 99 among 140 countries according to tourism development, and 19 among 25 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.  In 2013, almost 417,000 tourists traveled to Mongolia, and the revenue of the sector has reached 263 million USD, making up 5.29 percent of the nation's GDP.
By resolving barriers creating limitations for the development of the tourism sector in Mongolia, and by improving the capability to compete in the international arena, a goal has been set to generate 14 percent of GDP from tourism revenue by 2020. 
In order to intensify the development of this sector and increase the currency flow, industry analysts say that it is necessary to start casino activity in Mongolia, and to continue its development.

Businesses called on to write address in Mongolian ancient script
February 4 (news.mn) A project to begin to write addresses and advertisements in Mongolian has been initiated by Ulaanbaatar's General Planning Authority, in accordance with Decree №37, “Measures to Improve the Knowledge of Mongolian Language”, and Regulation №A/428, “Implementation of the Intelligent Ulaanbaatar Program”, approved by the Governor of Ulaanbaatar.
Article 5 of the decree stipulates, “Governors at all levels have been assigned to write addresses and advertisements of all organizations from the private sector in Mongolian and Cyrillic.”  
As reported by the Architecture and Design Department of the General Planning Agency of the capital, “Within the framework of the project, we are aiming to create a brand name for Ulaanbaatar, which concerns the design of buildings, color of clothes,  names of streets, and more."

USD exchange rate still on the rise
February 4 (news.mn) Commercial banks are offering USD exchange rates at 1,953 MNT. However, rates at Naiman Sharga currency exchange market are 1,949 MNT. The official USD exchange rate of Mongol Bank is 1,950 MNT.
Analysts say that due to the 74 percent decrease in foreign investment and decreased revenue from mineral resources, the inflow of USD to the domestic market has dramatically decline.  Economists warn that if appropriate measures are not taken to increase the inflow of USD to the domestic market, the USD exchange rate will reach 2,500 MNT.

Parliament reviews visa challenges at free trade zones
February 4 (news.mn) A number of draft laws were discussed at yesterday’s Parliament session and meeting of the Legal Committee regarding the legal status of foreign citizens, state registration of individuals and businesses, and the law on border ports. It was decided that proposals on the draft laws would be delivered to the Economic Standing Committee.  
A key issue up for discussion was 30-day visas for foreign citizens becoming a barrier for conducting business, and those visas have to be extended repeatedly.
In the case of an investor from Russia looking to build a factory, 30 days is not enough time to carry out projects.  The investor will have to extend their visa several times. Which complicates business and leads to disputes.   
As stated by Minister of Industry D.Erdenebat, as stipulated in the regulation of free trade zones, "An investor has the right to freely enter and exit the free trade zone.  If we will limit the visa to only 30 days, it will be very difficult to build up industry.” He added, “The investor should not become a permanent resident.”
Member of Parliament Ts.Oyunbaatar mentioned, “The visa status for travelers who are going to permanently work at the free trade zone should be different, and also for travelers who are coming for temporary commercial purposes.” He stressed that these visas should not be similar, and the limitations of visas issued for 30 days will create critics.  
According to an explanation from the Head of the Immigration Agency, "In the first stage of negotiations with China and Russia, it was agreed that travel without a visa would be valid for 30 days, so we have to pursue international travelling rights.”
In the case that a foreign citizen is going to be in charge of business at a free trade zone, that individual should follow international travel procedure approved through bilateral agreements. On an annual basis, almost 1.2 millions foreign citizens visit Mongolia, of which almost 50,000 travel with 30-day visas.

ADB to grant a concessional loan of $25 million
By B. Erdenechimeg
(gogo.mn) (Feb, 04) Today, joint meeting between Budget Standing Committee and Economic Standing Committee was held and supported to loan worth of $25 million from Asian Development Bank (ADB). Further, it will be discussed by Plenary Session of Parliament. 
The concessional loan of $25 million will be paid back within the 25 years and annual 2% interest. 
The concessional loan will be funded to purchase practice equipments for students of technical and vocational education and training (TVET). 
Therefore, MP S.Ganbaatar said: "I agree that the loan will be invested to education sector. However, I want to know how much percent of the loan will be spent on equipments due to most of costs are paid to foreign consultants. Moreover, equipments with worth of MNT 30 million are purchased with MNT 300 million."
In response, S.Chinzorig, the Minister of Labour said: "73% of total loan to purchase equipment, 3% to consulting service and 24% to operating service."
Standing committee meeting had attendance of 22 members out of 35 and 100% voted to support. 

Oyutolgoi will produce 175.000-195.000 tonnes of copper
By B. Chimeg
February 4 (gogo.mn) This year, Oyutolgoi (OT) will produce 175.000-195.000 tonnes of copper and 600,000 -700,000 ounces of gold in 2015.
Last year, OT produced 148,400 tonnes of copper and 589,000 ounces of gold. 
In 2014, OT`s marketing and logistic operations had improved besides sales was regular at 4th quarter in result, concentrate storage had reached its appropriate norm. 
Link to article

Comments

Popular posts from this blog