Heiniger – SWISS MADE
The EK always pays special attention to the quality and safety standards that meet the needs of our customers.
In November 2020, Euro Khan LLC signed a distribution agreement and became the official distributor of Heiniger. Their animal shearing and clipping equipment have set the standard for quality, precision and reliability in the industry. Heiniger products are developed and manufactured in Herzogenbuchsee, since 1965.
Heiniger AG is the world’s leading manufacturer of animal shearing and clipping equipment. In the heart of Switzerland, the company develops and manufactures high-quality shearing machines, clippers, shearing, and clipping blades and combs for sheep, cattle, camelids, horses, goats, and dogs. Their products are distributed in around 50 countries. Their values are safety and high productivity with low voltage. The company has 150 employees – 90 in the company headquarters in Switzerland, and another 60 in its subsidiaries in Australia, New Zealand, and England.
We are confident that the cooperation between Heiniger and our company will be great success, which will greatly facilitate and simplify the animal shearing for herdsmen and change the industry.
EUROKHAN LLC HAS SIGNED AN AGREEMENT WITH ACHIT-IKH LLC
EuroKhan LLC has signed an agreement with Achit-Ikh LLC to supply equipment and for the further cooperation.
Achit-Ikht LLC, a member of the London Metal Exchange, is producing cathode copper by hydrometallurgical methods with low environmental impact, for export by processing the second unbalanced stockpile, which is not suitable for Erdenet's flotation technology.
“CHULUUT” FLUORSPAR PROCESSING PLANT PROJECT UPDATE
In November, Mr. Uchral /CEO/, and Electrical Engineer met the power plant construction team to see over its process and updates. The team stated 14 days to complete the installation. The Chuluut project's total progress has reached 77% in this week.
The government has declared a state of emergency and imposed a strict quarantine in response to the growing number of domestic cases of Covid-19 pandemic. Due to the curfew, about 30 employees working on the “Chuluut” project are unable to change shifts or return their home.
It is unfortunate to report that working conditions are getting harder these days as the cold weather intensifies.
DELIVERY OF EQUIPMENT IS BEHIND THE SCHEDULE.
In November 2020, our company signed an Agreement of Supply with Unegtiin Uul LLC, a major transportation service company.
The agreement provides for the supply of public transport buses, which are fully equipped buses of Hyundai, South Korea.
EK continues to expand its operations and we are pleased to offer all types of trucks and buses to meet our partners and clients’ needs.
We hope to continue our effective and successful cooperation and prosperity!
Due to the current situation, the closure of state and local roads makes it impossible for goods and supplies entering the country to run on a regular schedule, and individual disinfection is carried out in accordance with infection control procedures.
EK IS PROVIDING TECHNICAL ADVISORY SERVICE TO STEPPE GOLD FOR ITS ATO GOLD MINE IN DORNOD PROVINCE:
EK partnered with Wood Group to provide the advisory service relating to the introduction of renewable energy to support the operation of the mine. Deliverables of the study will be a feasibility report detailing the findings of the study, including a site configuration recommendation, resource assessments, indicative energy yield, constraints analysis, and issue and risk registers. The study is expected to be completed by year end.
EK is looking forward to successful cooperation with the Steppe Gold.
ECONOMY
CENTRAL BANK LOWERS POLICY RATE TO 6 PERCENT
The Monetary Policy Committee of the Bank of Mongolia (BoM) made decisions at its irregular meeting held today to set the policy rate at 6 percent, reducing it by 2 percentage point. Moreover the committee lowered the reserve requirement ratio of tugrug by 2.5 percentage point to 6 percent, restructure and defer the consumer loans until July 1, 2021, and introduce long-term refinancing tools to support SMEs and non-mining exports.
“This decision is aimed at mitigating the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the economy and the banking and financial sector, as well as the financial burden on citizens, businesses and financial institutions. It will also support financial and economic stability without compromising inflation targets in the medium term. Annual inflation reached 2.4 percent nationwide in October 2020 and 2.6 percent in Ulaanbaatar.
Source: Montsame
View the BoM Monetary Policy Statement
See also: Speaker receives BoM Governor and FRC Chairman
FOREIGN TRADE TURNOVER DOWN 10 PCT
Total foreign trade turnover reached 10.42 billion USD in the first 10 months of 2020, with export exceeding import by 1.55 billion USD, reported the General Customs Authority
Trade turnover rose by 1.34 billion USD in October but compared to the same period of last year, it has decreased by 1.17 billion USD (10.1 percent). Goods amounting to 5.99 billion USD were exported in the first 10 months of 2020, showing 8.3 percent decline year-on-year.
The authority highlighted that import volume has consistently declined more than export volume, leading to positive foreign trade turnover.
Out of exports, minerals amounted 4.23 billion USD (70.6 percent of total exports); natural or cultured pearls, precious or semi-precious stones amounted to 1.32 billion USD (22.1 percent); raw hides and skins, leather and fur skins equaled to 6.9 million USD (0.1 percent); and textiles and textile articles amounted to 254.3 million USD (4.2 percent).
Source: The UB Post
MONGOLIA FEARS ECONOMIC DAMAGE AS COUNTRY FACES UP TO ITS FIRST LOCAL TRANSSMISSIONS OF CORONAVIRUS
Anxieties are mounting that Mongolia’s economy is set to pay a heavy price now that the country is dealing with community transmissions of the coronavirus (COVID-19). The nation went into lockdown 10 days ago after the confirmation of its first such infections.
In latest developments stemming from the change in Mongolia’s coronavirus status, Chinese border crossing patrols have requested Mongolian truck drivers hauling mineral exports hand in polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test results for coronavirus before entering China. Mining insiders noted that the biggest crossing on the Mongolia-Chinese border, Gahuunsukhaat in South Gobi, only has the capacity to access a very small amount of local PCR tests. The border customs agency in Gashuunsukhaat has sent a request to the government to immediately open a PCR testing lab near the crossing. It has also requested that Mongolian mining companies help with this matter.
Source: IntelliNews.com
MONGOLIA’S COAL EXPORTS FALL TO 24 MT IN JAN-OCT
Mongolia exported 23.86 million tonnes of coal in January-October period, falling 26.19% year on year, with total value of $1.77 billion, slumping 35.46% year on year, showed latest data from Mongolian Customs General Administration (MCGA) on November 19.
The administration didn't release the October figure. Sxcoal.com calculated the country's coal exports in the month at 4.04 million tonnes, falling 13% from 4.65 million tonnes in September.
The country's coal exports to China totaled 22.73 million tonnes from January to October, down 28.46% year on year, and the shipments in October were 3.7 million tonnes, contracting 17.44% from September, accounting for 91.43% of the total.
Exports of bituminous coal tumbled 29.25% YoY to 22.76 million tonnes in first ten months, and anthracite exports dived 75.25% YoY to 21,700 tonnes.
In October, Mongolia exported 3.97 Mt of bituminous coal and 75,200 tonnes of other coal, falling 9.89% and 69.15% month on month respectively.
Source: SXcoal.com
OVER 7,000 UNEMPLOYED DUE TO LOCKDOWN
The Mongolian National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MNCCI) presents the results of the survey “COVID-19 and the situation of enterprises”.
According to the MNCC survey report, 25 percent of enterprises have lost their jobs due to the quarantine, or 7,000 people have become unemployed. In addition, 54% of enterprises have lost their income, and if the quarantine is extended for another 14 days, 64% will lose their income.
72% of the surveyed enterprises have loans and 31% of them have loans of MNT 101-500 million. If these companies become unable to repay their loans, it will also affect the banks. The income of 72% of self-employed people has completely stopped.
24% of enterprises said that the biggest problem during the quarantine was to keep their jobs and pay their employees. 55% of businesses said they needed a tax break, while 50% said they wanted opportunities to continue their business.
Source: GoGo News
ADB WEBINAR: “ACHIEVING SUSTAINED AND INCLUSIVE GROWTH IN A RESOURCE-RICH, LANDLOCKED ECONOMY: MONGOLIA”
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is organizing a webinar on 3 December 2020, Thursday from 2:00 p.m. to launch the book, Mongolia’s Economic Prospects: Resource-Rich and Landlocked Between Two Giants. This book presents an in-depth analysis of Mongolia’s economic opportunities and challenges, including the country’s wealth in natural resources as well as its unique geographical location, bordered by two of the world’s largest economies, the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation.
The webinar will focus on the Summary and Policy recommendations of the book and discuss ways of achieving sustained and equitable growth in Mongolia.
ADB Chief Economist Mr. Yasuyuki Sawada and East Asia Department’s Director General James Lynch will give the welcome remarks. This will be followed by three presentations covering the main themes in the book and a panel discussion on the policy implications for Mongolia.
Source: ADB internal
AIR CARRIED FREIGHT VOLUME DOWN 5507 PCT Y/Y
In the first 10 months of 2020, 2.1 thousand tons of freight carried by air transportation. The carried freight decreased by 2.7 thousand tons (55.7%) compared to the same period of the previous year.
In the first 10 months of 2020, the total carried domestic freight by air transport reached 72.9 tons (3.4%), increased by 5.2 tons (7.7%) compared to the same period of the previous year. The international freight reached 2.1 thousand tons (96.6%), decreased by 2.7 thousand tons (56.6%) compared to the same period of the previous year. In October 2020, carried freight reached 175.0 tons and decreased by 11.5 tons (6.2%) compared to the previous month.
In the first 10 months of 2020, 425.7 thousand passengers (double counting) carried by air transport. The number of carried passengers decreased by 967.7 thousand (69.4 %) compared to the same period of the previous year.
Source: Montsame
TSAGAANNUUR BORDER POINT PERIODICALLY OPEN FOR PETROLEUM IMPORTS
Deputy Prime Minister Ya.Sodbaatar has informed that the Tsagaannuur border crossing checkpoint in Bayan-Ulgii is open this week for petroleum imports.
By the government’s resolution dated November 16, 2020, freight transportation movement across all border crossing points with the Russian Federation have been closed amid the COVID-19 lockdown and movement restrictions. In specific, the Altanbulag border checkpoint in Selenge aimag is closed for two months until January 18, 2021, and other checkpoints - Tes, Artssuuri, Ulikhan, Ereentsav, Tsagaannuur and Borshoo will remain shut down for an indefinite period.
However, the Tsagaannuur border checkpoint is now allowed to open only for every second and fourth weeks for petroleum transport by road.
Borshoo checkpoint in Uvs aimag and Tsgaannuur point account for 75 percent of total import movement of petroleum and petroleum products to the western region of Mongolia.
Source: Montsame
BUSINESS
MONGOLIA RAISES HEAT ON RIO TINTO OVER VAST OYU TOLGOI COPPER MINE
Rio Tinto is facing further pressure in Mongolia, where the government is seeking an independent review into delays and huge cost blowouts in the underground expansion of one of the mining group’s most important projects.
Ulaanbaatar wants the joint venture that owns Oyu Tolgoi, a vast copper deposit in the Gobi Desert, to form a special committee of board directors with a mandate to select and appoint a company to carry out the task.
The review into why the expansion is running late and billions of dollars over budget will focus on project management and mine design, according to people with knowledge of the situation. The proposal is due to be discussed at a board meeting of Oyu Tolgoi LLC.
The call for a review will add to tensions between Rio and the government, which is seeking to improve the agreements underpinning the mine development. It also has the potential to attract the attention of regulators in the US and UK.
Source: Financial Times
See also: Oyu Tolgoi announces Q3 2020 performance results
FITCH: RESTRUCTURED LOANS WEIGH DOWN MONGOLIAN BANKS’S ASSET QUALITY
The volume of coronavirus-related restructured loans is likely to delay further the resolution of asset-quality issues of Mongolian banks, says Fitch Ratings. An estimated 22% of the system's total loans, or MNT3.8 trillion of loans, have been restructured without any change in loan classification as of September 2020, according to the Bank of Mongolia.
This figure could rise to 30% of total loans by end-2020, given the continued availability of relief measures until the end of this year, and adds to the significant amount of problem loans (i.e. non-performing loans plus past due loans) of 18% of total loans at end-3Q20. Fitch believes that a considerable portion of the borrowers benefiting from payment deferrals would eventually become non-performing when the support measures are withdrawn. The combined effect is that weaker banks with significant exposure to business loans may see net losses in 2021 or in 2022, given that most of the restructured loans are business loans.
Source: Fitch Ratings
See also: Mongolian Banks Dashboard - November 2020
WOMEN’S RISING ROLE IN MONGOLIA’S BUSINESS COMMUNITY
For centuries Asia was well-known for the dominance of men in all spheres of life. This disproportion has been changing with the rise of Asian economies. In step with the accelerating economic growth, Asia has been increasingly demonstrating the rising role of women in socio-economic life. For instance, in China, the explosion of the tech sector has made the country home to 114 of the world’s 150 self-made billionaire women. Neighboring Mongolia, the country at the heart of Central Asia, is no exception to that trend.
Mr. Battushig Batbold, Chairman of Altai Holding, one of the largest holding groups in Mongolia, has made the promotion of women to leading positions a company policy. The group that counts 10 companies, has six women as CEOs, all with distinguished records. The CEO of the retail chain Emart—part of Altai Holding and a franchisee of South Korea’s largest supermarket chain Emart— Mrs. Javzmaa Lkhagvasuren has been with the group in various key positions for almost twenty-two years.
Source: CloutNews.com
MONGOLIAN TECH COMPANY PREPARES TO HIT THE BIG TIME
Erxes (stylized as erxes, all lower case) is a software company that merges marketing, sales and customer service tools into one application. It was founded by three Mongolian entrepreneurs in 2017; Mend-Orshikh Amartaivan (MJ), Bat-Amar Battulga and Naran Batjargal, who are now the company’s chief executive officer, chief technical officer and chief operating officer respectively.
The trio aim to take market share from companies that offer marketing and management software individually, such as Mailchimp (email marketing) and ConvertFlow (website conversion). According to its website, erxes says its single application, which costs $29 per month for five people, could save small marketing teams thousands of dollars every year.
“We have 18 staff in three offices,” MJ said to Mongolia Weekly. “Due to these challenging times, we're operating from the Mongolia office, as all core members are Mongolian nationals. We have a few remote staff working from the US and France.
Source: Mongolia Weekly
ELIXIR DELIVERS SEVEN SUCCESSFUL WELLS IN 2020, WITH 2021 EVEN MORE PROMISING
Elixir Energy Limited has provided a promising update on its 100% owned Nomgon IX CBM PCS, located in the South Gobi region of Mongolia, just north of the Chinese border.
Harking back to the group’s recent progress, early in the month the Nomgon 5S re-drill appraisal strat-hole well reached a total depth of 450 metres this and it has since been logged and remediated.
A total of 47 metres of net coal was intersected.
At this point, the Hutul 1S exploration well was drilling ahead with management anticipating that it should reach total depth and be logged by mid-November.
The Hutul 1S strat-hole well (located 19 kilometres to the East of Nomgon-1) was drilled to test a possible extension of the Nomgon sub-basin.
It reached a total depth of 560 metres and intersected 6 metres of coal.
Source: FinFeed.com
QT VASCULAR SCRAPS SGD 1 BILLION RTO PLAN; SHARES DALL AMID HEAVY VOLUME
Catalist-listed medtech firm QT Vascular has dropped a proposed reverse takeover (RTO) involving a Mongolian mining and energy company, as the deal's conditions precedent were not met by the deadline.
In August, the balloon catheter specialist said it planned to acquire the entire interest in Tengri Coal and Energy (TCE) for S$1 billion in cash and new shares.
QT Vascular announced on Sunday night that the conditional sale and purchase agreement (SPA) signed with the seller had ceased.
This was because two conditions precedent were not fulfilled or waived as at Nov 21: The compliance placement was supposed to have been finalised while the parties were to obtain the Singapore Exchange's approval, both within three months from the SPA's date.
If completed, the deal would have resulted in an RTO of QT Vascular, with the medtech firm's existing assets and liabilities disposed of so that it would become a shell company into which TCE could be injected.
Source: The Business Times
PWC: QUOTA FOR FOREIGN EMPLOYEES FOR 2021
The Government of Mongolia (the “Cabinet”) updates the foreign worker quota for entities operating in Mongolia annually. For 2021, the Cabinet updated the quota by issuing the Resolution #123 dated 30 September 2020 (the “Resolution #123”).
In connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, the work permit for foreign employees shall be issued on a basis of the National Emergency Commission’s decision for 2021.
Under the Resolution #123, the quota for most of the sectors remains the same. However, some industries have been removed from the list as follows:
* Mining construction installation (the quota was 10 – 35%);
* Catering services (the quota was 10%);
* Professional and skill training activities (the quota was 20%).
Source: PwC
IFC: A TAILORED SOLUTION TO SUPPORT SMALL BUSINESS IN MONGOLIA
Spools of thread and stacks of fabric in all possible shades and colors add a bright touch to Bulgan Lkhagvatsend’s tailoring store. She keeps her scissors and needles handy to catch up with the orders, not a moment to waste. Bulgan sews traditional Mongolian costumes mainly for the traders of Narantuul Trade Center, the country’s largest market.
In the last two decades, Blugan has had her share of good and bad. But earlier this year, when Mongolia took rigorous measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, Bulgan had to shut down her shop in Mongolia’s capital, Ulaanbaatar. Something told her this time was different.
Confirming her fears, the global pandemic put Mongolia’s trade and economy under unprecedented pressure, and small businesses were hit the hardest. Soon, Bulgan had to temporarily lay off her two of her three workers.
Source: IFC
SEIZURE OF INFRINGING PRODUCT BY MONGOLIA CUSTOMS
We have written previously about the legal mechanisms for registration of intellectual property rights in the Mongolia Customs database for preventing the intellectual property infringement in Mongolia. In this post we will go more in-depth regarding processes for seizure and detention of suspected counterfeit products by Customs at import or export, which has proven to be effective to fight against the infringement of intellectual property rights in the country.
In general, a holder of intellectual property rights is able to submit an application to Mongolia Customs authorities to take measures to prevent infringing & counterfeit goods from entering into Mongolia when there is evidence known or suspected illegal or counterfeit products are in transit through Customs. An application must contain information about the IP holder, the relevant intellectual property itself; and detailed information about the products requested to be seized.
Source: LehmanLaw Mongolia
SOME BANKS OPEN FROM NOV. 23 FOR ESSENTIAL SERVICES
As allowed by the State Emergency Commission, some commercial banks started working from today, November 23, Monday, to provide essential services for those who are not able to receive bank services online.
Beginning from today, several branches of Khan Bank, XасBank, State Bank and Capitron Bank are open. The banks will be providing only essential services, such as, Child Money and other types of social welfare monthly allowances.
Amid the current lockdown imposed from November 11 until December 1, all businesses and services are closed, excluding, food stores and supermarkets, food manufacturers, food distribution, gas stations, fuel suppliers, public toilets, disinfection and sterilization places, livestock fodder suppliers, hospitals, courts and prosecution offices, pharmacies, power stations, communications and media, special services, state-owned organizations of particular and strategic importance, and funeral services.
Last Saturday, November 21, the State Emergency Commission allowed some bank to open, requiring to ensure that social distancing and disinfection guidelines are adhered to.
Source: Montsame
MONGOLIAN BANK TDB TO BEGIN OFFERING CRYPTO SERVICES XACBANK MONGOLIA SELECTS INFOSYS FINACLE TO POWER ITS DIGITAL TRANSFORMATION
XacBank, a leading universal bank in Mongolia, and Infosys Finacle, part of EdgeVerve Systems, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Infosys, today announced the selection of Finacle's core banking, treasury, and corporate banking solution suites to power XacBank's digital transformation. The Finacle solution suite will enable the bank to drive all-round business transformation to improve customer engagement, operational excellence, and the flexibility to launch tailored offerings on demand, for continuous innovation and growth.
Highlights:
- With Finacle digital core banking suite, XacBank will gain a comprehensive set of capabilities and an open platform to establish a robust foundation for its digital future. The digital product factory will enable the bank to evolve its offerings at speed to keep in sync with market dynamics
- The broad suite of enterprise products - deposits, loans, limits and collaterals, payments, trade finance - will enable XacBank to standardize business processes, simplify enterprise architecture and offer tailored services.
MONGOLIA’S SKYTEL PICKS ANEVIA FOR EXPANSION OF MULTISCREEN TV SERVICE
Mongolian telecoms provider Skytel Group is expanding its operations with additional investment in products from Anevia. Skytel’s forthcoming multi-screen TV service's expansion will include extra encoders, extended NEA-DVR cloud-based recording facilities, greater use of NEA-CDN caching platform – with a migration to the latest elastic version – plus NEA-CDN Analytics from Anevia.
Skytel has partnered with Anevia since 2014, when the group’s Skymedia subsidiary chose Anevia’s origin-packager and CDN products as the core of its OTT and IPTV platform. This was expanded in 2019 with a phase 2 project including latest-generation Anevia packagers plus NEA-DVR viewer-programmable cloud-based recording, NEA-CDN caching platform, and Anevia Genova encoders. The combined result was a complete system powering Skymedia’s SkyGo service.
DANIEL WORRALL: THERE ARE THREE IMMEDIATE PRIORITIES FOR TIO TO RESOLVE WITH THE GOVERNMENT OF MONGOLIA - INTERVIEW
Mongolian Economy” interviewed Daniel Worrall, Rio Tinto Country Director for Mongolia to talk about the latest developments at the company.
– Mr Daniel, You have lengthy experience of working in developing countries. Since you left a senior position with ExxonMobil and coming to Mongolia, what have been your priorities?
– Thank you. I was appointed in January as Rio Tinto Country Director for Mongolia, which also includes the duties of CEO of Rio Tinto Mongolia LLC, a local enterprise. While it has been a challenging year for everyone, my priorities have been management of Rio Tinto’s overall presence in Mongolia, most importantly keeping our staff safe and healthy, and representation of the company’s shareholder interest in Oyu Tolgoi (OT).
My other priorities include:
Supporting the continued operations of the OT open pit mine, which is a key source of revenue for Mongolia.
Source: Mongolian Economy
