Mongolia Brief June 16, 2014 Part II



Minister of Economic Development Meets Mr Haoliang Xu

Ulaanbaatar, June 16 (MONTSAME) Mongolia’s Minister of Economic Development N.Batbayar met Monday with visiting Mr Haoliang Xu, the Assistant Secretary General of the United Nations and Director of the Regional Bureau for Asia and Pacific at the United Nations Development Programme.

They exchanged views on a project on strengthening the development policy and planning system of Mongolia being implemented by the Ministry of Economic Development with a financing of the UNDP, on a bill on the development policy and planning, on the T21 Model for macro economy to be implemented in Mongolia on experiences of countries in planning the development.
Mr Xu appreciated big efforts of the Ministry in drawing up the bill and in forming a system of determining developmental policy, and then emphasized that the Ministry of Economic Development plays a vital role in designing developmental policy and planning.  

Agricultural Exchange Traded Commodities of 31.6 Billion

Ulaanbaatar, June16 (MONTSAME) In the last 55 weeks, the Agricultural Commodities Exchange of Mongolia conducted trades totaling 31.6 billion togrog.
During the period, the exchange conducted trades of three types of animal-origin commodities. It traded 402.7 ton of cashmere and 250 ton of fiber mill wool. The price of unprocessed, non-white cashmere stood at 762 thousand togrog per unit at the end of the last week, while white cashmere was traded at a price of 782 thousand togrog per unit.
The last week, the exchange ran one-time trade of fiber mill wool, with a comparably constant price, says an officer.

Discussion to Run on Gobi Bear Protection

Ulaanbaatar, June 16 (MONTSAME) This June 17, the World Day to Combat Desertification will be celebrated here under a theme of "Desertification and Mazaalai (Gobi bear)".
Targeted at perfection of the "Mazaalai bear conservation program" and opinion-sharing about saving of the endangered animal from going extinct, the event will take place in the conference hall of the United Nations (UN) Resident Representative Office, under collaboration of the Ministry of Environment and Green Development and the UN Development Program in Mongolia.
In 1994, the United Nations General Assembly declared June 17 the "World Day to Combat Desertification and Drought" to promote public awareness of the issue. The implementation of the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification in those countries experiencing serious drought and/or desertification, particularly in Africa.
Mongolia has been observing the Day since 2007.

O.Gundegmaa to Compete in Maribor World Cup

Ulaanbaatar, June 16 (MONTSAME) A State Honored Sportswoman O.Gundegmaa and an international master of sports E.Davaakhuu will compete in the ISSF World Cup series which kicked off last Friday in Maribor city, Slovenia.
In accordance with the tournament’s schedule, Gundegmaa will participate in the women’s 25 m pistol contest on June 16 and in the women’s 10 m air pistol event June 19. Mr Davaakhuu will compete in the men’s 50 m pistol and in 10 m air pistol events.
The Maribor World Cup series will continue until June 21.

Mongolian movie premiered in Vietnam

June 16 (news.mn) Celebrating the 60th anniversary of “Life is like a movie”, the joint production between Mongolia`s “DOZ Entertainment” and “The Vietnam Feature Films”, the film was premiered with the support of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam and the Embassy of Mongolia in Vietnam, at the National Cinema Centre in Hanoi on June 13th.
Speeches were given at the opening of the premier of “Life is like a movie” by the Ambassador of Mongolia to the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, D.Enkhbat, the Deputy Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism of Vietnam, Vuong Duy Bien, and the Director of “DOZ Entertainment”, Sh.Dorjsuren.
The premier was attended by officials from the Foreign Affairs Ministry of Vietnam, the Ministry of Culture, Sport and Tourism and the Vietnam-Mongolia Friendship Association and other state agencies.
This is the first joint production made by Mongolian and Vietnamese producers. The event was a part of a joint celebration of the anniversary to promote the two countries cultures and life styles.
Related:
Mongolian Film Opens in VietnamMontsame, June 16

Academy Award Winners Announced

Ulaanbaatar, June 16 (MONTSAME) The Mongolian Film Academy named bests of national film acts and actors of 2013-2014 in the Mongol Shiltgeen June 13.
At the fourth edition of the awarding event, the Academy announced "Urgeeleg" (roughly translated as Trapping) as the best film among the nominees including "Garden of Savage Flowers", "Limitless", "Laridma", "Yellow Colt", "The Call", "Symphony of Death", "The Last Song of the Swan", "Sleeping Together" and "Little Siblings of the Steppe". The competition was open to films made and screened since June 1 of 2013.
At the short film category, "Step" by B.Chinguun was announced the best among the five nominees, while the best documentary film award went to "Will" by Tsegts Production, which the Film Academy regarded as the best among the seven.
In addition to the best film award, "Urgeeleg" was awarded in categories of best actor, best supporting actor, and best director, while the second most successful film of the year "Garden of Savage Flowers" bagged awards of best actress and best supporting actress. The opening film of the 2014 Ulaanbaatar international film festival, "Yellow Colt" received the award of best screenplay.

German-Mongolian Corporate Days Take Place Themed “Made In Germany”

June 16 (infomongolia.com) The "Made in Germany" Conference and Exhibition under German-Mongolian Corporate Days 2014 are taking place in Ulaanbaatar at the Blue Sky Tower on June 17-18, 2014.
At the two-day Conference, Minister for Finance of Mongolia Mr. Chultem ULAAN, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Federal Republic of Germany to Mongolia Mr. Gerhard Thiedemann, and Deputy Prime Minister of the State of Baden-Wurttemberg and Minister of Financial and Economic Affairs Dr. Nils Schmid are attending as guests of honor.
Moreover, Germany-based Horvath & Partners Management Consultants will offer a three-hour professional master class for top managers and functional specialists. Also, this session will look at the management of large scale projects, particularly at Engineering, Procurement and Construction. Besides, a panel discussion with Mongolian business representatives will be held on Corporate Governance in Family-owned Businesses, Lessons Learnt from the German Mittelstand.
The second part of the event is an Exhibition, where German tools and service providers from over 40 companies will introduce their services and display products such as crane motors, industrial equipment, construction materials, and quality goods for hotel industry.
The “Made in Germany” Conference and Exhibition is open for businesses and public and co-organized by German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ), German-Mongolian Business Association (DMUV) and the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Ulaanbaatar.
The previous German-Mongolian Corporate Days was held in Ulaanbaatar themed "Integrated Mineral Resource Initiative" in October 2012.
Related:

Global Summit of Women held in Paris

June 16 (news.mn) The 24th Global Summit of Women was held under the theme of ‘Women: Redesigning Economies and Societies’ in Paris, France between June 5th and 7th. The Global Summit of Women 2014 had a record turnout of 1,240 participants from 80 different countries.
At the Global Summit over 50 female delegates from Mongolia lead by MP and President of the Women's Association of Mongolia, J.Erdenechimeg attended.
This is the sixth time that the Women's Association of Mongolia has attended as an official member of the Washington based Global Summit of Women.
The Global Summit of Women is organized annually on the agenda to increase global women`s participation in society and strengthen their influence.
Representatives emphasized that this year`s summit, under the theme of ‘Women: Redesigning Economies, Societies’, covered a wide range of subjects and resolutions.  During the Summit researchers presented studies that show women`s participation across all fields bringing positive changes. A Washington-based group showed the results of a survey of female board representation for 10 years. According to the survey women`s power in company management and boards across the top 200 companies has risen to 17 percent from last year’s 10 percent.
This year Malaysia attended the Summit with a large group of 120 delegates.
The Summit President, Irene Natividad, and France’s Minister for Women, Cities, Youth, and Sports, Najat Vallaud-Belkacem, kicked off the 2014 Global Summit of Women delivering speeches. The Global Women`s Summit, where the 1000 leading global women are represented annually, for the next time is scheduled to be held in Sao Paolo, Brazil.

Fourth Survey on Perceptions and Knowledge of Corruption (Speak) Released

June 16 (infomongolia.com) On June 13, 2014, the Asia Foundation in collaboration with the Sant Maral Foundation and Mercy Corps Mongolia (MCM) released the fourth Survey on Perceptions and Knowledge of Corruption (SPEAK) under the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded Strengthening Transparency and Governance in Mongolia (STAGE) project.
The project presentation was held at the Government House in Ulaanbaatar, where opening remarks were delivered by Member of Parliament R.Burmaa, USAID Representative Francis A. Donovan, the Asia Foundation Country Representative Meloney C. Lindberg, and survey presentations by Executive Director of Sant Maral Foundation L.Sumati respectively.
The project aims to strengthen democratic governance by building a more transparent and accountable regulatory and legislative environment while promoting principles of checks and balances.
Conducted in March 2014, the survey presents important nationwide perceptions of corruption at the household level. By providing information on long-term trends in every day corruption and new information on citizen views on grand corruption, the Foundation believes that the surveys will trigger invigorated and critical dialogues on issues of transparency, accountability, and corruption in Mongolia.
SPEAK builds on the semi-annual corruption benchmarking survey conducted under the USAID-funded Mongolian Anti-Corruption Support (MACS) project, implemented from 2006 to 2011 by the Asia Foundation.
Survey methodology and scope:
- Surveyed 1,360 households in seven districts in Ulaanbaatar and 21 Sums in six Aimags in March 2014;
- Conducted a total of 12 surveys thus far, allowing for data comparison over time;
- Presents nationwide data on perceptions of corruption and actual incidences of corruption at the household level;
- Face-to-face random interviews conducted;
Survey findings:
- As in the three earlier surveys, corruption was named the third most critical problem in the country; over 8 percent of respondents believed corruption to be the most important problem in the country;
- In March 2014, “corruption in law enforcement bodies” was the most commonly cited obstacle to the fight against corruption. In earlier surveys, “the habit of solving problems through corrupt practices” was the most commonly cited obstacle;
- Land utilization, local procurement tenders, and mining continued to be considered the three most corrupt agencies or sectors.
Political parties fell from the top five;
- The public’s expectation of fair treatment from law enforcement and the judiciary was significantly low;
- Respondents, in general, are not satisfied with the actions against corruption, but long-term observation since 2006 shows perceptions have improved;
- The incidence of reported cases of corruption significantly decreased;
- Men were consistently found to be more aware of public affairs, while women were found to be more concerned with household or private affairs;
- Urban respondents had stronger opinions on corruption than rural respondents.
Copies can be downloaded from: www.asiafoundation.org
Related:

Mongolia Participates in Summit of G77 Leaders Plus China

June 16 (infomongolia.com) On June 14-15, 2014, the Summit of G77 Leaders plus China was organized in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, the Plurinational State of Bolivia, in the scope of the 50th anniversary of the Group, where Mongolian delegated headed by Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs D.Gankhuyag have participated.
In the opening of the Summit, UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon and President of the General Assembly’s 68th Session John W. Ashe have attended as guests of honor, besides top and high-level delegates from 133 countries were present.
During the Summit, Deputy Minister D.Gankhuyag read a message of President of Mongolia Ts.Elbegdorj to the participants and handed over the Letter to the Chairperson of the Summit and held meetings with Foreign Ministers, Deputy Ministers and Ambassadors of more than 20 countries to share views on issues concerning bilateral relations and cooperation.
The Summit was resulted in issuing Santa Cruz Declaration.
The Group of 77 (G-77) was established on June 15, 1964 by seventy-seven developing countries signatories of the “Joint Declaration of the Seventy-Seven Developing Countries” issued at the end of the first session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) in Geneva.
The Group of 77 is the largest intergovernmental organization of developing countries in the United Nations, which provides the means for the countries of the South to articulate and promote their collective economic interests and enhance their joint negotiating capacity on all major international economic issues within the United Nations system, and promote South-South cooperation for development.
Related:

Stock Exchange News for June 16

Ulaanbaatar, June 16 (MONTSAME) At the Stock Exchange trades held Monday, a total of  29 thousand and 629 shares of 18 JSCs were traded costing MNT 26 million 973 thousand and 823.00.
"Hermes center” /16 thousand units/, "Remikon" /5,060 units/, "Mongolia Development” /5,000 units/, "APU" /1,603 units/ and "Gobi” /693 units/ were the most actively traded in terms of trading volume, in terms of trading value--"APU” (MNT five million 770 thousand and 980), "Gobi" (MNT five million 232 thousand and 325), "UB-BUK” (MNT three million and 983 thousand), "Mongolia Development” (MNT three million 499 thousand and 980) and "Hermes center” (MNT two million and 480 thousand).
The total market capitalization was set at MNT one trillion 547 billion 717 million 460 thousand and 872. The Index of Top-20 JSCs was 15,210.38, increasing by MNT 43.88 or 0.29% against the previous day.

Mongolians Win Five Medals in Tug of War Asian Championship

Ulaanbaatar, June 16 (MONTSAME) Our national teams for tug-of-war successfully competed in the 2014 Tug of War Asian Championship which ran June 14-16 in Ulaanbaatar.
This year’s championship was attended by over 260 athletes of nine countries such as Mongolia, China, Taiwan, Malaysia and Thailand. As the results, the Mongolian men and women’s teams won silver medals in the outdoor events, while the Taiwan’s teams grabbed gold medals. The men team of Mongolia won the silver medal for the first in the Asian Championship. They have bronze medals from the Asian Championships of 2006 and of 2008.
In the outdoor mixed event, the Taiwanese won a gold medal, followed by Mongolia and China.
The teams of Taiwan also captured gold medals in the indoor events that were included for the first time in the Asian Championship programme. Malaysia and Mongolia won bronze medals in the men contest. In the women’s category, China won a silver medal, and Mongolia--a bronze. 

Moving Forward With the 100 Day Stimulus Plan

June 16 (Mongolian Economy) The 100 Day Stimulus Plan has garnered momentum as more pressing issues have risen to the top of the agenda. As the plan moves forward, people are currently looking forward to the Investment Summit that will be held from June 19-21 at Ikh Tenger, the same complex where the president resides in. Presently, over 80 foreigners from 22 different countries registered to participate in this Investment Summit that hopes to discuss various issues. 
From last week, the stimulus plan delved into the issue of taxes relating to the selling process of bank collaterals. Banks run the risk of losing money from borrowers who do not have the means to pay back their loans, thus a framework was established. This framework negotiated funds including a tax deduction value of 10%, fund expenditure reduction of 25%, and court service reduction between 0.5% and 10%. Also on the agenda, is the possible designation of 100 million USD from JICA to promote small- and medium-sized businesses.
The director of the Invest Mongolia Agency, S. Javkhlanbaatar said that within the plan, they are going to introduce the business friendly environment of Mongolia as well as how the government is dealing with issues regarding barriers to the investment environment of the nation. The main goal is to attract foreign investment and widen partnerships. 
According to data from the Invest Mongolia Agency, 12,000 foreign investment companies have operated in Mongolia since 1990. As of October of last year, there were 8,300 foreign investment businesses that were actively in service. Since the beginning of this year, another 140 foreign investment companies registered with the Invest Mongolia Agency to begin operations. 
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