AmCham Daily Newswire

The ‘Good’ projects that were funded through illegal sources are terminated

Summary: Yesterday, during the Cabinet’s session, the decision was made to terminate the implementation of “Good” projects, which were initiated and implemented by the previous government starting in April 2016. It is cited that the reason for termination is the fact that the projects were funded by illegal sources and they violate several laws, including the Fiscal Stability Law and Debt Management Law. Specifically, the funding for the Good Fence, Good Student, Good Herder, and Good Stock projects were not included in the 2016 state budget. The previous government spent 596 billion MNT on these projects since the implementation.

Keywords: government stability, economic reforms Today /pages A2/

Z. Enkhbold’s ‘advice’

Summary: Yesterday, the Minister of Finance B. Choijilsuren announced that the Mongolian economy is in a critical state due to the incorrect monetary policy and incoherent decisions made during the past four years. After the report, the Former Chair of DP Z. Enkhbold gave an explanation through his social media account regarding the Minister’s announcement and advised the newly elected Minister to speak only after doing enough research. The former Speaker of Parliament insisted that the budget deficit remained constant at one trillion MNT during the last four years and that 2016 is not an exception. He added that the mortgage loan projects with 8% and 5% interest rates, as well as the ‘Good’ projects are not funded through the state budget. These loans are supposed to be paid back by borrowers. Additionally, Z. Enkhbold criticized the appointments of Deputy Ministers revealing that the DP removed those positions in an effort to improve the budget deficit.

Keywords: government stability, election The National Post /pages 1, 2/

N. Monsor – Luxury apartments prices remain the same

Summary: The CEO of UMC Alpha Group N. Monsor shared his opinion on the current state of real estate industry. The pricing of real estate decreased by 10% compared to last year. However, he confirms that the pricing of luxury apartments have remained the same due to one simple reason, there is a demand for them. N. Monsor states that the most urgent issue facing the industry is funding for incomplete projects that have reached their limit at commercial banks. This kind of pause affects the whole economy, as about 70,000 construction workers remain unemployed and manufacturers of construction materials also incur big amount of loss. The solution N. Monsor offers is to attract foreign investment through an investment fund form. N. Monsor emphasized that the solution he offers is to support the supply of the industry and revealed that the government should be stable and continue the mortgage loan programs to support the demand.

Keywords: real estate, housing price Daily News /pages 11/

Minister of Mining meets with the Oyu Tolgoi administration

Summary: The Minister of Mining and Heavy Industry Ts. Dashdorj met with the Oyu Tolgoi LLC administration to familiarize himself with the company’s current situation. Oyu Tolgoi management reported that the company has been working on developing the stable provision of safety and that, as of February 2016, 93% of their staff are Mongolian. Additionally, Oyu Tolgoi revealed that they are aiming to cooperate with contractors who are at least 50% Mongolian-owned. It is predicted that the production of cooper will be less than expected, but the amount of gold production is estimated to exceed projections.

Keywords: Oyu Tolgoi Daily News /page 11/

DP holds a press conference regarding the accusation made by the MPP

Summary: Right now, the DP is holding a press conference to express their stance on the termination of the‘Good’ projects and explain their side of the story regarding the economic report made by the Minister of Finance D. Chojilsuren yesterday. You can watch the press conference here.

Keywords: government stability www.medee.mn