Mongolia Brief June 27, 2014 Part II
5 Billion Financial Support with 5 % interest rate for SME’s
June 27
(Mongolian Economy) SME, small- and medium-sized enterprises held their first
big forum today to discuss policies being implemented regarding the function of
SMEs. The city government talked with representatives to ask for their opinion
reflecting on a SME supporting program they hope to establish. Currently, there
are over 26,000 small- and medium-sized enterprises in the city who sent 350
representatives to partake in today’s event.
The city hall
has budgeted 5 billion MNT to support these businesses. The biggest problem
they face is interest rates, thus the government decided to keep interest rates
under 5%. S. Baatar, an SME owner, said, “The biggest problem for us is to
receive financial support. I’ve written three to four projects and submitted
them in order to receive financial assistance with lower interest rates.”
S. Baatar runs
a salon for tailoring with four disabled men. He is in need of financial
support to expand the operation of his business, which has become a pressing
issue for him. The tender process is not clear, making financial aid even more
important.
The Director of
the SME Support Center, B. Odgerel, said “It’s common for Mongolian SMEs to run
only one type of business. For example, many of them resort to tailoring. If we
want to advance this process, small- and medium-sized enterprises should get
together and integrate in order to become bigger.”
The city
government is aiming to supply more financial support to these projects
discussed during today’s forum. They are taking the guarantee upon themselves
and establishing no limits on loans taken by these SMEs.
International Monetary Fund Warns Mongolia to Face
Economic Crisis, if Monetary Policy Interest Rate Not Increased
June 27
(infomongolia.com) On June 27, 2014, the Speaker of the State Great Khural
(Parliament) Zandaakhuu ENKHBOLD received in his office the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) Deputy Managing Director Mr. Naoyuki Shinohara, Deputy
Director of Asia and Pacific Department at IMS, Mr. Markus Rodlauer and other
accompanying delegates.
At the
beginning of meeting, Speaker Z.Enkhbold emphasized that the supreme legal
body, the Parliament of Mongolia is focusing to amend some laws and regulations
that aim to create favorable environment regarding the Government’s 100 Days
Action Plan.
During the
meeting, IMF Deputy Managing Director N.Shinohara warned that in order to
overcome the short-term economic challenges facing the economy, Mongolia should
need to tighten its expansionary monetary and fiscal policies. He also added
some measures should be taken such as to reduce money supply and total amount
of loans in terms of raising interest rates of monetary policy, which were
carried out during 2009 economic crisis faced Mongolia as well as the global
economy. However, monetary policy alone cannot overcome this problem in short
period, thus the monetary policy should be supported by fiscal policy, in
particular, a non-budgetary investment is increasing the total supply of credit
that directly impacts on the budget expansion.
IMF Deputy
Managing Director also mentioned that the role of Development Bank of Mongolia
is great, but needs to be monitored and it is required to include in the state
budget the foreign loans and supplies accounted in the Bank. Moreover, Mongolia
immediately should reduce budget expenditure to overcome short-term
problems.
In turn,
Speaker Z.Enkhbold responded expressing his gratitude for evaluating the actual
conditions and said if the country to increase its interest policy rate it
would affect weightily to individuals and entities that would follow-up with
bank loan declining and in order not to collide the economy entirely, the
Parliament, Government and other affiliated organs will consider on issues
forwarded.
Afterwards, IMF
Deputy Managing Director Naoyuki Shinohara once reminded that if the monetary
policy interest rate is not increased at policy level, Mongolia is likely to
face economic crisis.
Mongolia’s
current monetary policy interest rate is at 10.5% announced by Central Bank and
is followed since June 24, 2013.
“Flower Center” Junction Operational As 4-Way Intersection
June 27
(infomongolia.com) In the frameworks of the "Street" Project financed
by Chinggis Bond under Government Action Plan, high congestion junctions in
Ulaanbaatar city are being converted into 4-ways since last year and a total of
18 junctions were renewed in 2013, so this year it is planned to renew another
12 intersections.
As part of
“Street” Project, the first job of this year is accomplished by renewing a
3-way junction known as “Flower Center” into 4-way further connecting with
Seoul street and opening of new intersection was held today on June 27, where
Prime Minister N.Altankhuyag, Minister of Economic Development N.Batbayar and
other officials involving executors were also present.
The new
stretched road goes through Presidential Winter Palace, which is a state
protective zone and was shared for public use that enables to reduce traffic at
certain level.
In his opening
remarks, Premier N.Altankhuyag noted, “The Street Project will be implemented
in those roads where civilians facing traffic jam and losing their time. Next
week, 4-road intersections will be operational at “100 Ail” and “Enebish
Avenue” junctions”.
The blueprint
for “Flower Center” 4-way junction was developed by “AIB” LLC and executed by
“Express Road” LLC, where Japanese “CTI Engineering International” worked as
advisory company and about 2 billion MNT (Tugrug) was spent for this project.
Mongolia’s flourishing football fan base
June 27 (UB Post) Why ‘World Cup Fever’
may not end at the final whistle
It is
impossible to have missed the fervor surrounding the FIFA World Cup in
Mongolia, however this is not simply a one-off frenzy. From the numbers of
young people sporting Manchester United jerseys around Ulaanbaatar, to the
growing memberships of Mongolian fan clubs of Bayern Munich or Chelsea, it is
clear that football is a growing cultural influence on the lives of many
Mongolians.
Football
leagues from across the world, but predominantly European leagues such as
Spain’s La Liga, England’s Premier League, and Germany’s Bundesliga, have a
substantial and rapidly growing Mongolian fan base. Over 7,400 people like the
Mongolian Chelsea FC Fans page on Facebook, which claims to be the country’s
largest fan club, while nearly 4,000 Mongolians like a page for Manchester
United supporters, and Real Madrid FC Mongolia boasts over 5,000 fans.
The extent of
these fans’ allegiance is substantial: for them, 3 a.m. trips to the pub to
watch a game is not just a novelty experience every four years, but a way of
life. T.Zorigtsaikhan, a member of the Mongolian fan club for Italian side AC
Milan, describes how dozens of fellow fans meet “mostly every weekend” to watch
live games during the club season. “Most of the games are [at] 3:45 in the
morning, and most of them are on Sunday, so in the morning you are screwed!”
Zorigtsaikhan
talks with pride about the AC Milan football jerseys that he owns, and praises
the history and the culture of sporting loyalty of his adopted club. His
dedication is not unique; more than 50 Mongolian football fans travelled to
China in 2011 with the local AC Milan and Inter Milan fan clubs when the two
teams played for the Super Cup in Beijing. For many Mongolians, it seems,
“football fever” is not a temporary malaise during the World Cup, but a
life-long affliction. The story of how Mongolians came to acquire such strong
passions for a particular football club several thousand kilometers away is
unique and touching. In many cases, children were bought a team jersey by their
parents when Chinese-made football shirts flooded the clothing market in the
early 2000s. As soon as they were old enough to read the name Beckham, Ronaldo,
or Kaká on their back, their allegiances were set.
According to
Zorigtsaikhan, Mongolian football fever started during the 2002 FIFA World Cup,
which was held jointly by Japan and South Korea. The excitement surrounding
Asia’s first hosting of the World Cup swept the continent, and watching
football on television became “fashionable” for all Mongolians, whereas it had
previously been simply an indulgence of those already involved in playing the
sport locally. However, the remarkable fact is that this widespread support was
maintained after the World Cup left Asia and live matches returned to
unsociable hours in the middle of the night. The mass appeal of this year’s
World Cup in Brazil will no doubt boost the popular reach of football once
again, and if the example from 2002 is anything to go by, then this groundswell
of interest will be sustained in the future.
Football’s
popularity is not confined to Ulaanbaatar’s cosmopolitan population. The
Football Fans in Dornod Facebook group has 350 active members who meet up
regularly to watch games together, as well as playing the sport themselves and
organizing games for youngsters. Sh.Urgoo, a secondary school teacher who
manages the organization, suggests that football is increasingly important in
young children’s lives, who play at school, and talk about their favorite
players and teams in English language lessons.
Targeting
children has been a major policy of the Mongolian Football Federation (MFF),
whose grassroots program has sought to promote football through physical
education at schools. Their project to build artificial pitches, train coaches,
and organize competitions at schools has so far covered seven of Mongolia’s 21
provinces. When complete, they hope to have introduced 200,000 children to
football in over 800 secondary schools. Additionally, the MFF has been
organizing a grassroots coaching session at the National Stadium every
Children’s Day since 2002, the latest of which reached maximum capacity
attendance of 300 people.
D.Ganbat,
general secretary of the MFF, suggests that, as these children grow older,
there will also naturally evolve opportunities for young adults to play, to
increase the size and competitiveness of Mongolia’s national amateur and
semi-professional leagues. However, Zorigtsaikhan, who—in addition to being an
AC Milan fan—plays as a goalkeeper at the amateur Oasis Football Club, suggests
that these programs are long overdue, claiming that there are still not enough
opportunities for young adults who demonstrate their love of football by
supporting European teams to play themselves.
Zorigtsaikhan
argues that this is largely due to the poor condition of fields across the
country, although the artificial pitches being built in conjunction with the
MFF are slowly solving this problem, rejuvenating the country’s crumbling
sports infrastructure.
The appeal of
football to Mongolians, therefore, seems to precede interest in getting out on
the pitch themselves. Both Zorigtsaikhan and D.Ganbat emphasize how football’s
increasing popularity comes from the social dimension of being able to watch,
enjoy, and discuss games with their friends. There is substantial opportunity
to translate this widespread passion into mass-participation sport—an
opportunity that is, slowly but surely, being taken.
Policies containing solutions
June 27 (UB
Post) The parliament is discussing a draft resolution submitted by the
government about some measures to include in railway policy implementation.
According to the resolution, new 1,435 mm narrow gauge track will be laid for
routes from Tavantolgoi to Gashuunsukhait, Sainshand to Zamiin-Uud, and Khoot
to Bichigt, and new 1,520 mm broad gauge track for routes from Arts Suuri to
Erdenet, the Tavantolgoi-Sainshand-Baruun-Urt – Khoot-Choibalsan route, and
from Khoot to Nomrog.
This became a
big issue on social media. The dispute about using mixed track gauges has
continued for around six years. Despite the general resolution to include broad
gauge track in the railway policy, the government made an amendment specifying
that the government must present the parliament with a proposal to change the
width of gauges on railway routes from mineral processing plants to border
points.
A coalition
government of the DP and MPP was established from 2008 to 2012. The broad gauge
decision was one of the biggest joint decisions they made. When the policy was
first approved, a 1,100 km track from Tavantolgoi to Choibalsan was to be
built, for starters, followed by a 45.5 km track from Nariin Sukhait mine to
Shiveekh uren border point, 267 km track from Ukhaakhudag to Gashuunsukhait
border point, 380 km track for the Khoot-Tamsagbulag-Numrug route, and a 200 km
track from Khuut to Bichigt. The boast to build the first 1,100 km track within
two years became an empty promise. As a result of the constant disagreement
over the last six years, they haven’t built even one meter of track. They’re
planning to finish the 267 km track from Ukhaakhudag to Gashuunsukhait this
year, and the technical blueprints for the
Tavantolgoi-Sainshand-Khuut-Choibalsan-Ereentsav route and Khoot to Bichigt
route are at 85 percent completion. This is how our railway projects are
progressing.
Commotion, not
gauge width, will affect national security
Mongolian
viewers watched a television program where the Former Minister of Roads,
Transportation, Construction and Urban Development, Kh.Battulga, and other
industry representatives explained why narrow gauges are safer and more
beneficial. The televised discussion lasted for several days. Viewers mainly
got the message that Mongolia would be taken over by China if a railway track
with narrow gauge was built in the south. It’s reported that the majority of
the public took this poorly, as independence is the most valuable aspect of a country.
Also, it triggered nationalists and started a huge commotion among the people.
The show gave people the impression that narrow gauge threatens national
security. Some people think it’s naive to think that Chinese people will come
flooding in to Mongolia and take over the country as soon as the railway is
erected. Contrarily, the public commotion may threaten national security
instead of the railway issue.
The main market
for Mongolian coal exportation is China. The government calculated that
Mongolia will save on transshipment facility costs and profit if a narrow gauge
for direct coal exportation to China from mines is built. Also, narrow gauge is
consistent with international standards, meaning that Mongolia can utilize it
to connect with other countries. As soon as the TV show aired and began debate
among the people, the government issued a statement saying, “We’re officially
announcing that we’re taking decisive measures to address law enforcement
agencies regarding this matter, since this show had content that may harm
Mongolia’s relations with our two neighboring countries, economic independence,
and the national security of Mongolia.”
Let’s stop the
commotion and get to work
The government
submitted a draft resolution within the frameworks of the policy approved by
the parliament. Despite all the criticism it brought, the draft resolution was
still included in the policy. If Mongolia didn’t have the tradition of public
dispute surrounding gauge issues for the last six years, we would’ve already built
the railway and seen its economic benefits. Therefore, some people are
supporting the idea to stop the dispute and start encouraging the
implementation of the railway policy approved by the parliament in 2010. It’s
time to persuade people to execute domestic projects and stop the provocation.
Neither an individual nor a political party’s interest is more valuable than
the prosperity of the country. It’s prudent to pay more attention to providing
more opportunities for the government to work and improve security.
Source: Unuudur
http://www.mongolnews.mn/p/53097
The world of Haruki Murakami expands for Mongolia with ‘1Q84’
June 27 (UB
Post) The Mongolian translation of the three volume book “1Q84”, by Haruki
Murakami, was released on June 26 at Internom Bookstore. Haruki Murakami is a
famous Japanese novelist whose books have been translated in 50 different
languages and sold millions of copies across the world. His works are classified
as surreal, nihilistic and contemporary. Murakami has won numerous awards
including the World Fantasy Award (2006), the Franz Kafka Prize (2006) and the
Jerusalem Prize (2009). He has been said to be one of the greatest living
novelists. He has also translated many famous western books into Japanese, such
as “Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger, “The Great Gatsby” by F. Scott
Fitzgerald, and the complete works of Raymond Carver.
“1Q84” was
first released in 2009 in Japan, and the novel quickly become a sensation
worldwide. The first printing in Japan sold out on its release day.
Translator
O.Jargalsaikhan officially translated two of the three volumes of “1Q84”.
Monsudar Press chose Jargalsaikhan to translate “1Q84” and hopes for her to
translate the third volume soon. I asked her about the difficulties she faced
during her translation, and she said, “It was quite hard to translate what he
means exactly. When you first read [his work] you understand it in one way, and
when you read it another time it transforms into something else. So I worked
very hard to ascertain what he really meant behind his words.” She also warned
Mongolian translators that translation is a direct thing, texts should not be
filtered through the translator’s perspective, but should only be concentrated
on how to put the writer’s ideas into another language.
Translator
Tegshzaya said a few words during the book release. Before reading Murakami’s
books, she remembered asking herself, “He is not a mystery writer, he is not an
adventure writer, and he is not an erotic writer. Then what kind of writing
could be that interesting and addictive?” However, after reading his books, she
concluded that Murakami’s readers get connected to his world as he allows them
to experience the story from the protagonist’s perspective, which takes place
in our modern world.
Previously,
Murakami’s short story “On Seeing the 100% Perfect Girl One Beautiful April
Morning” was translated from English by Ayurzana. And B.Gerel translated his
most renowned book, “Norwegian Wood” into Mongolian.
In “1Q84”, “Q”
signifies the number nine (nine is “kyu” in Japanese). It takes place in the
year 1984 in Tokyo, where a young woman exits an emergency staircase on an
elevated highway, just to enter a parallel universe where the very nature of
reality is changed. The book is a combination of two different stories
occurring simultaneously, and at the end, intertwining. Murakami is used to
this writing style, as he wrote in a similar manner for “Kafka on the Shore”
and “After Dark”. The revolutionary book “1984”, by George Orwell, inspired the
name of Murakami’s novel. Interestingly, Murakami often names his books after
his favorite songs, for example, “Norwegian Wood” (after the Beatles song)
and “Dance, Dance, Dance” (after the Beach Boys song).
Murakami was
born in Kyoto, in 1949. His childhood and teenage years were spent immersed in
the rich literature of western books by F. Scott Fitzgerald, Franz Kafka, Leo
Tolstoy, Charles Dickens and so on. That is why his writing style differs
significantly from those of his Japanese contemporaries. He graduated from
Waseda University with a major in drama. Just like other young people at the
time, he did not know what to choose as his profession, he only knew that he
wanted to read. During his university years he met his wife Yoko, which
inspired his fiction novel “Norwegian Wood”.
Murakami
started writing when he was 29 and the idea to write came upon him when he was
watching a baseball game. Whether the baseball game inspired him to start writing,
or the time just came for him to write, is still debatable for him. Before
that, he used to own a jazz bar, therefore his writing is greatly influenced by
music, especially jazz, classical and rock and roll. His first novel, “Hear the
Wind Sing”, received a youth literary prize. It is really rare for a writer to
win a renowned prize for their first novel. Generally, writers have peak and
low times in their literary careers but Murakami is an exception, his readers
cherish all of his books equally.
He writes
novels that are both surreal and real at the same time. Some people even say
that his short stories are even better than his novels, but he considers
himself a novelist, because a novel takes much effort and perseverance. He
usually writes about loneliness, alienation, cats, women’s ears, music, books
and the simplest things in a meditative way. His writing style flows like a
river, with the use of simple words and precise logic. His books usually
contain surreal, unrealistic occurrences happening to the most ordinary people.
His imagination is very original, in that it will fully satisfy your
intellectual need for magic and philosophical contemplation at just the right
amount.
Behind his wild
imagination lies a very highly regimented life. He wakes up every day at 4
a.m., goes running or swimming, and starts to work on his writing for five to
six hours. The rest of the day is spent listening to music and reading. His
non-fiction book “What I Talk About When I Talk About Running”, is a personal
memoir on running. He said writing honestly about running and writing honestly
about himself is the same thing. He is a marathon runner, and he also started
entering triathlons. The reason behind his running tendencies is his will to
move his body to balance his imagination and reality. He once said, no matter
how simple and boring one action may seem, keep at it long enough. It can
become a contemplative, even a meditative act, which explains his preference
for monotone activities.
All of his
protagonists somehow resemble Murakami, taking on wild adventures and on the
way, experiencing highly surrealistic events that seem very real, involving odd
natured women, enigmatic cats, and philosophical but very down to earth
conversations, which makes Murakami’s works memorable and unique.
Mongolia’s ‘contortion sisters’ awe ‘America’s Got Talent’
June 27 (UB
Post) America’s Got Talent reality television series’ season nine is taking
place in Las Vegas, USA currently.
Mongolian
contortionist sister G.Erdenesuvd and G.Buyankhishig are participating in the
show. The sisters have been working in America for 12 years.
In the first
round of the show, judges admired their flexibility and unique contortion performance,
and passed them to the next round.
On June 25, Unuudur newspaper spoke to
G.Erdenesuvd about the show and their performance.
I saw a video of your performance on
YouTube and it was amazing. Thank you for showing the world what Mongolian
contortionism is.
Thank you. The
audiences accepted us well. It was great that we were announced as “Mongolian
gorgeous women” on stage.
When was the last time you came to
Mongolia?
It has been ten
years. I go to Mongolia in August and will be kissed by my mom and grandmother.
My grandmother asks me always “When will you come back?”. I can’t wait to go
back to Mongolia.
Where are you working now?
We have a
contract with Cirque Dream Show. This show travels around the USA to perform.
Which state do you live?
We live in
Orlando city of Florida State. We have settled here since 2006. But we did not
stay at home for a long time until 2011. We stayed at home two weeks a year.
Now our job is quite flexible.
Why did you decide to participate in
America’s Got Talent?
It was a chance
to promote Mongolian contortionism to the world.
There is picture of you and your sister
teaching contortionism on Facebook. Do you teach contortionism to foreigners?
Yes, we do. We
teach contortionism on our free time. We taught contortionism to 10 Mongolian
girls. Now they are working in various circuses and theaters in the USA.
Do you perform aerial silk performances?
Our performance
is called, “Aerial Sphere”. Audiences like it. Previously we performed one
called “Four aerial cube”. Aerial silk is different from contortionism. Five
girls of the above mentioned 10 girls performed aerial silk performances with
us before.
Are you connected with Mongolian
contortionists and teachers?
Yes. We are
connected with our first teacher D.Majigsuren and State Honored Artist and
contortionist B.Norovsambuu.
Link to
article
Comments
Post a Comment