Mongolian Economy and Finance

Two officials of the University of Cambridge International Examinations (CIE), the world’s largest provider of international qualifications for 14–19 year olds and a part of the University of Cambridge and a not-for-profit organization, were in Mongolia for a week recently to study the education system here and to offer suggestions to make it internationally competitive.

A total of 456,000 tourists came to Mongolia in 2010, an increased by 10.8% over 2009 figures. Tourism revenues reached USD222.4 million.

Crown Agents of Great Britain, Daewoo International Corp and Daewoo Systems of South Korea will install the Trips software, the latest technological software, at the National Taxation Office under a World Bank grant of USD2.3 million.

A top Mongolian security official has lodged an appeal against a ruling by a British judge last week that he can be extradited to Germany on an arrest warrant for kidnapping, his lawyer said Friday.

Baku, Fineko/abc.az. The World Bank has recommended Azerbaijan-developed pension insurance model for the transition countries.

BEIJING: Malaysian Ambassador to China Datuk Iskandar Sarudin has been named the ambassador-designate to Mongolia.

Far western province Xinjiang is seeking to boost coking coal imports from Mongolia to meet demand from its rapidly expanding steel sector.

Green Technology Solutions (PinkSheets: GTSO) and Rare Earth Exporters of Mongolia (REE) are hard at work moving into their new rare earth transportation office in the Mongolian capital of Ulan Bator.

Mr Batbold Sukhbaatar PM of Mongolia has announced plans to initiate national uranium exploration by the year of 2012, part of an ambitious series of projects in Mongolia along with the Oyu Tolgoi and Tavan Tolgoi developments. Extraction of uranium is projected to start from 2013 or 2014.

A Mongolian spy chief has lodged an appeal after a judge in London ruled he could be sent to Germany to face charges of kidnap and false imprisonment.

Roughly 50 Mongolians gathered February 23 in front of the British embassy in Ulaanbaatar to protest the recent ruling of British Court to extradite Mongolian high intelligence official Khurts Bat to Germany.

Kuwait’s Ambassador to Mongolia Mubarak Mohammad Al-Sehaijan extended congratulations -on the behalf of the embassy members- to His Highness the Amir of Kuwait Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, His Highess the Crown Prince Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, His Highness the Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah and the Kuwaiti government on national celebrations.

A big international conference and exhibition entitled “The Coal Mongolia 2011” opens at Chinggis Khaan Hotel in Ulaanbaatar on February 24.

ULAN BATOR, Feb. 24 (Xinhua) -- President Elbegdorj Tsakhia met here Thursday with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on promotion of relations between their two neighboring countries.

Green Technology Solutions, Inc. (OTCBB: GTSO) announced today that the company has approached freight services provider Russian Railways regarding the transport of rare earth ore from Mongolia to the international seaport of Vladivostok, Russia.

Centerra Gold Inc. ( CG-T 17.11-1.36-7.36%) reported a fourth-quarter profit of $153.1-million (U.S.) as revenue held steady compared with a year ago.

Forget China. The fastest growing country over the next 20 years will be its diminutive central Asian neighbour Mongolia, according to a report released by Citigroup this week.

President Elbegdorj Tsakhia met in Ulan Bator Thursday with visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi on promotion of relations between their two neighboring countries.

The Australian Trade Commission will open a trade mission in Mongolia towards the end of this year, Trade Minister Craig Emerson announced on 21 February.

TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - 02/23/11) - Denison Mines Corp. (TSX: DML - News )(AMEX: DNN - News ) ("Denison") is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement with a syndicate of investment dealers, which have agreed to purchase, on a bought deal basis, 18.3 million common shares of Denison at a purchase price of C$3.55 per common share (the "Offering Price"), for aggregate gross proceeds in the amount of C$64,965,000.

CHF International’s mission is to be a catalyst for long-lasting positive change in low- and moderate-income communities around the world, helping them improve their social, economic, and environmental conditions. Closing date: 28 Mar 2011 Location: Mongolia

Mongolia's first Apple Store opens in central Ulaanbaatar

Mongolia's Prime Minister has moved to reassure investors that his government is committed to a stable and predictable investment environment.

* Four banks shortlisted for Tavan Tolgoi IPO * IPO, Mongolia's largest, planned for H1 2012 * Set to overtake Australia as China's top coking coal supplier * TT first phase to produce 15 million tonnes annually (Adds quotes, background)

Ivanhoe Nickel & Platinum Ltd., the mining company known as Ivanplats, plans to go public this year in an offering that could raise between $750 million and $1 billion, people familiar with the matter said.

The official visit to Canberra of the Mongolian Prime Minister, Sukhbaatar Batbold, was not without its lighthearted moments yesterday. ''We are both lands of sweeping plains,'' said Tony Abbott during speeches at an official lunch in the Great Hall.

A debut Mongolian sovereign bond is back on the agenda as the country looks to raise funds for capital investment projects.

Aspire Mining has engaged a drilling contractor for the 2011 season and a drill rig is expected to be mobilized to the Ovoot Coking Coal Project site by the end of February.

Construction is on schedule at Garrison International’s Tovshiir Gold Project with production to start in mid-year. Test work of the ore is also progressing.

Drilling by Voyager Resources at the Khongor Copper-Gold Porphyry Project in southern Mongolia has been encouraging to date, with all holes completed intersecting porphyry-style copper mineralization.

Merger and acquisitions activity in the global mining sector is expected to accelerate in 2011, fuelled by strong commodity prices and repaired balance sheets, advisory and accountancy firm Ernst & Young said on Wednesday.

The federal government wants to boost ties with the resource-rich Mongolia.

Mongolia may yet become the world's biggest mining country.

John Garnaut, writing a column in The Sydney Morning Herald, outlines both the promise and potential pitfalls that the mining boom is bringing to Mongolia: When Albanese stopped for his drink at Ulan Bator, in July 2009, the Oyu Tolgoi copper and gold project was still an idea stuck in the Mongolian bureaucracy and Mongolia’s main share index was trapped beneath 5000.

China is the world’s dominant producer of rare earths, accounting for 97% of production in 2009, so its move in the second half of 2010 to reduce export quotas by more than 70% sent shock waves among manufacturers who depend on Chinese imports.

(RTTNews) - Khan Resources Inc. (KRI.TO: News ) said that the Government of Mongolia appointed its arbitrator for the international arbitration proceeding commenced in January, 2011.

Feb 21, 2011 (The Australian Financial Review - ABIX via COMTEX) -- The Mongolian Government will impose strict rules on foreign investors in its mineral assets.

China and India will continue to dominate DR issuance from Asia, but issuers from new markets like Vietnam and Mongolia are also likely to emerge, the bank says in a report.

AVIAREPS announced its appointment by MIAT Mongolian Airlines to manage the airline’s sales, marketing and ticketing activities in ten European markets.

CANBERRA Feb 23 (Reuters) - Mongolian Prime Minister Sukhbaatar Batbold said that if Chinese state-owned Chinalco wanted to take a stake in the giant Oyu Tolgoi copper project, its role would have to be approved by the Mongolian government.

In a ceremony attended by Prime Minister Julia Gillard, a formal agreement was signed today for greater understanding and sharing of ideas between scientists in Australia and Mongolia.

The author is a Reuters Breakingviews columnist. The opinions expressed are his own.

"..........................................Mongolia coal is on fire

Mongolian prime minister Sukhbaatar Batbold has signed an agreement with the Australian National University (ANU) in a bid to enhance education in his home country.

PERTH, AUSTRALIA and ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA — Gemcom Software International Inc., the largest global supplier of mining software solutions, today announced that it will open an office in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia on February 23, 2011.

A latest documentary movie called “Passion” by S.Byamba will premiere at 8pm in the Tengis Movie Theater on February 25.

The Veterinary and Animal Breeding Agency in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, has reported an outbreak of PRRS in the country’s Darkhan-Uul province, in the district of Darkhan.

It has been many years since individuals and companies illegally import large quantity of drugs and medicines to the country and a new type of campaign to confiscate and eliminate such drugs and medicines has become a normal activity for authorities.

Speaking on television program Inside Business Mr Marius Kloopers said that while some industries like iron ore may face regulatory constraints for non organic growth there were others like potash, copper, oil and gas that had no such constraints.

BEIJING Feb 22 (Reuters) - Land-locked Mongolia will build a 1,000 km (620 mile) railway to enable it to export its vast but largely untapped mineral wealth via a Russian port, China's Xinhua news agency reported late on Monday, citing local media.

The United Nations sends a request to Mongolia to involve it in its peacekeeping mission in Cote d’Ivoire. As result of recent presidential election in the Ivory Coast, the African country has now two presidents and two governments and is in armed conflict between opposing parties.

“Mongolia will be developing knowledge-based economy” said Prime Minister Batbold Sukhbaatar as concluded his two-day visit to Singapore.

THE Mongolian Prime Minister wants Australia to be a ''third neighbour'' that can help develop his country's massive resource deposits and balance its strategic and economic vulnerability to China.

(Reuters) - Mongolia is expected to appoint banks by next week to manage an IPO worth up to $5 billion for the world's largest untapped coking coal deposit, sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

SINGAPORE, Feb 18 (Reuters) - Mongolia's prime minister said on Friday the country may issue a sovereign bond as early as the second half of this year.

(Reuters) - Mongolia will announce by the end of the month the banks to manage a lucrative IPO for the world's largest untapped coking coal deposit, its prime minister said on Friday.

The FINANCIAL -- TNK-BP and the Mongolian Government Oil Agency have on February 18 signed a memorandum of understanding concerning the delivery of Russian oil products to Mongolia.

Weathered old folk in fur hats and goatskin gowns and young couples wearing designer sunglasses are squeezing into Gandan monastery to lay money at the feet of a small and ornate statue of Buddha.

Feb 18 (Reuters) - Mongolia's stock exchange has signed an agreement with the London Stock Exchange, the country's prime minister told Reuters on Friday, without giving any details.

A spy chief from Mongolia, who claimed he was conned into travelling to the UK so police could arrest him, can be extradited, ruled a court.

MONGOLIA is poised to name the banks that will underwrite the flotation of the world's largest untapped seam of coking coal - and the proposed listing has launched rival financiers on a sub-zero, testosterone-charged scramble for the wealth of Ulan Bator.

The 2011 Article IV consultation discussions took place against the backdrop of a strong economic recovery in Mongolia and signs that the economy is overheating.

Concerned at reports that petroleum prices are increasing in the international market, the Government last week accepted suggestions from the Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy and the Ministry of Finance to reduce excise and customs tax on certain petroleum products.

Parliament passed a law on the last day of the Autumn session last week, extending the ban on issuance of new mining exploration license.

Nine more environmental small projects with total budget of MNT78.4 million were approved by the 29th GEF SGP National Steering Committee meeting.

With the family overseas visiting relatives, I took the opportunity to do a tourist thing last Sunday and drive myself to the colossal steel structure that is himself; Chinggis Khaan.

Mongolian equities were the world’s best performing last year, gaining an eye-watering 140 per cent in dollar terms.

Fortescue Metals Group has expressed interest in acquiring the Tavan Tolgoi coal deposit in Mongolia, but insists it remains focused on iron ore.

Drill Results Include 118 metres of 0.11% Molybdenum and 0.10% Copper.

SINGAPORE: Economic ties between Singapore and Mongolia are growing, said Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong as he met his Mongolian counterpart who is in Singapore on an official visit.

SAN JOSE, Calif.--( BUSINESS WIRE )--Green Technology Solutions, Inc. (OTCBB:GTSO) and Rare Earth Exporters of Mongolia (REE) today announced the appointment of Atarbold Chimedregzen as their new Mongolian Director of Shipping and Exports.

Operational Unit Will Both Provide Gas and Carbon and Serve as Demonstration Unit in China.

ULAN BATOR, Feb. 16 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia hopes to launch a space satellite by 2015 with help from Japan, local media reported Wednesday.

SINGAPORE: The Prime Minister of Mongolia Sukhbaatar Batbold will make an official two-day visit to Singapore from Thursday, at the invitation of Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong.

SAN JOSE, Calif.--( BUSINESS WIRE )--Green Technology Solutions, Inc. (OTCBB: GTSO) announced today that the joint venture between the GTSO and Rare Earth Exporters of Mongolia have engaged the Mongolian Reconnaissance Survey LLC (MRS).

HONG KONG/BEIJING — More than 150 bankers have descended into a Monglian deep freeze to battle for a piece of country’s upcoming coal IPO — the world’s largest untapped coking deposit which could have offering price of up to US$5-billion.

NEW DELHI: Aiming to spread its wings beyond the country's border, Steel Authority of India (SAIL) will set up a three mtpa plant in Mongolia with around Rs 15,000 crore investment, provided that Asian nation ensures linkages to raw materials to feed the proposed facility.

State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, D.Tsogtbaatar, will attend the next hearing of the trial of B.Khurts, Chief of Administration at the National Security Council, in London on February 18.

The Standing Committee on Nature, Environment, Food and Agriculture yesterday reported that it met 15 times to decide on 42 issues, including draft laws and protocols, during the Autumn session.

The Government has allocated MNT143.9 million to meet the cost of bringing back 47 Mongolian students from Egypt.

The investment and trading relationships between China and Mongolia seems like a marriage made in heaven. Landlocked and poverty-stricken, Mongolia has an abundance of coal, copper and iron ore that China craves to feed its rapid industrialisation.

Justin Li’s 2 February 2011 post is welcome in that it attempts to analyse the economic development of Mongolia in its political context.

Senior environment officials yesterday held their annual meeting to review implementation of Government programs.

In 2010, Mongolia earned more from its export of 18 million tons of coal than it did from selling copper concentrate.

Board of MSE held meeting last Friday and appointed Mr. Peter Morrow, an adviser to Khanbank, as the Vice Chairman of the Board.

The newspaper Uls Turiin Toim reports that citizens in Erdene soum of Tuv aimag have told authorities that Chinese citizens regularly transport uranium at night from a mountain there.

B.Nyamtaishir, Chairman of the Policy Committee and President of Mongolyn Alt Company or MAK, feels success in mining depends on “sticking to environmentally sound mining techniques, right from the exploration stage”, choice of the best and most apt equipment, regardless of initial cost, and use of competent and committed human resources.

The Standing Committee on Nature, Environment, Food and Agriculture yesterday reported that it met 15 times during the Autumn session to discuss 42 issues, including draft laws on hunting, animal classification, hunting fees, fees for animal catching permission, wild plants and air pollution reduction in Ulaanbaatar.

* IPO could reach $5 billion depending on timing - sources * London and Hong Kong listings being discussed - sources * Frenzy for deal includes bar brawl, nepotism claims * Govt to distribute 10 pct of shares to citizens - official

Bayara, a Mongolian worker in Korea, and seven other Mongolian employees had to change their workplace as their employer habitually delayed paying wages.

Mr Robert Friedland executive chairman and CEO of Ivanhoe Mines announced that Mr Andrew Harding and Ms Kay Priestly senior executives of Rio Tinto’s copper division have been appointed to the Ivanhoe Mines Board of Directors.

World Bank chief Robert Zoellick Tuesday said global food prices have reached dangerous levels that could complicate fragile political and social conditions in the Middle East, and warned that their impact also bears watching across Central Asia.

CAPE TOWN, South Africa -- Severe and widespread flooding several weeks ago in Queensland – Australia’s main coal producing region – sent shock waves through the already under-supplied coking coal market.

Mongolians have been known to say that Genghis Khan wasn’t a bad man — he just had bad press. He didn’t just rape, pillage and plunder, he united the Mongolian nation and created an empire that, at its zenith, stretched to the Danube River.

Khan Resources Inc. (TSE: KRI ) continues to create headlines in a saga of operational impediments which investors and observers have followed as they have been developing and escalating for more than a year .

The Parliament of Mongolia approves the Law to Extend the Term for the Law to Temporarily Suspend the Issuance of New Mineral Exploration Licenses.

The compensation will cover expenses since the year when the license was granted.

The Prime Minister of Mongolia Batbold Sukhbaatar is to pay official visits to Singapore and Australia on February 16-24 as the guest of his Singaporean and Australian counterparts.

The Government of Mongolia has announced 2011 will be a year of employment support to raise household income and to increase national production.

Mongolians have a word for it: zud. A zud is a winter so harsh that animals cannot feed through the frost and ice encrusting the steppe.

Mongolia’s Deputy Premier M.Enkhbold said so when he met with a delegation from the United Arab Emirates in Ulaanbaatar.

Pedestrian friendliness within Ulaanbaatar is not without its hazards and in fact becomes an obstacle course reminiscent of a mine field.

ZAAMAR, Tuesday 15 February 2011 (AFP) - In the dead of winter, Chuluuntsetseg sits by the banks of the Tuul river west of the Mongolian capital Ulan Bator, pouring boiling water over rock sediment in a green plastic tub.

Sydney, Feb 14, 2011 (ABN Newswire) - Aspire Mining Limited ( ASX:AKM ) ( PINK:ASPXF ) ("Aspire") has engaged a drilling contractor for the 2011 season and a drill rig is expected to be mobilised to site by the end of February 2011.

The Chief of the Standing Committee on Justice, D.Odbayar, and MP B.Bat-Erdene reported to journalists what the committee had done during the Autumn session of Parliament.

The Barnes County Historical Society in North Dakota 13 will present an illustrated lecture on Wildlife and Travels in Mongolia by Valley City State University professor Don Hoff on February 17.

Mongolia Growth Group Ltd. Publishes First Monthly Letter to Shareholders

B. Bayarbaatar has sent in his latest update on the progress of his saiga research in Mongolia.

Head of the Mongolian parliamentary Standing committee on social policy, education, culture and science D.Ochirbat MP has given a report to media on the works of the Standing committee done during the regular autumn session of the State Great Khural for 2010, and on activities to be realized.

A survey by the Ministry of Nature, Environment and Tourism and related organizations reveals that 81 sites covering over 2,100 hectares in 15 provinces were not rehabilitated in 2010 by mining companies following exploitation.

The cashmere industry in Mongolia is facing many challenges. These challenges range from outside forces such as globalization, the market, and trade. Inside forces such as the environment and the government are also affecting the cashmere industry in Mongolia.