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The Prime Minister visits the site of the new airport in Khushig Valley
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Prime Minister L. Oyun-Erdene visited the site of the New Ulaanbaatar International Airport built in Khushig Valley in Sergelen soum, Tuv Province, the site of the Bogd Khan railway, and the road network that is planned in the area. The Prime Minister urged airport officials to open no later than July 4, 2021, as scheduled.
With the commissioning of the new international airport, air traffic and freight turnover will increase sharply. Prime Minister L. Oyun-Erdene emphasized that the Khushig Valley should be developed into a free economic development zone with an integrated transport and logistics network, and noted that he would discuss this plan with the cabinet.
The Century News /page 2/
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Freight stuck in Erlian to be transported by railway to Ulaanbaatar
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On June 10, Deputy Prime Minister S. Amarsaikhan received Ambassador of China to Mongolia Chai Wenrui. Based on the deputy prime minister's requests to increase freight turnover at the border, Ambassador Chai stated that the sides negotiated on bringing import freight to Ulaanbaatar by railway from the Erlian border crossing. The ambassador noted that due to the pandemic, China's domestic turnover has also slowed down and that he will work closely on monitoring the issue of freight delays.
The sides discussed ways to intensify bilateral measures to keep Mongolia-China trade and economic cooperation as normal as possible in the face of the pandemic.
The Century News /page 1/
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International presidential election observers say eligibility and media rules for candidates remain excessively restrictive
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Mongolia's presidential election was well run under challenging circumstances and candidates were able to freely reach out to voters, but overly restrictive candidate eligibility and the blurred line between journalism and political advertising, as well as the absence of public debate, limited the range of choices and information for voters, international observers from the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's (OSCE) Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) said in a statement released on June 10.
"The stringent rules on candidate eligibility, campaigning, and editorial freedom are out of sync with international standards, and the lack of campaign finance transparency remains a matter of concern," the ODIHR stated.
ODIHR's Special Election Assessment Mission to Mongolia took up its work on May 21. The mission focused on issues identified by ODIHR's needs assessment mission ahead of the election to assess the presidential election for its compliance with OSCE commitments and other international standards for democratic elections and national legislation.
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Imports totaled 2.6 billion USD in the first five months of the year
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In the first five months of the year, Mongolia's imports totaled 2.6 billion USD, a 30.6 percent increase year-on-year. Road, air, and water transport vehicles and parts accounted for the largest share of imported goods at 21.5 percent.
Mineral imports accounted for 16.8 percent. Among them, petroleum products dominate. Mongolia imports 100 percent of its petroleum products. By the end of 2020, petroleum product import fell sharply to 817 million USD, compared to 1.1 billion USD in 2019. The Mineral Resources and Petroleum Authority estimates that, on average, an increase of one vehicle in Mongolia will increase fuel consumption by six liters per day.
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REWIND: Week of June 7, 2021
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June 7
- Cabinet to discuss making Mongolia a free economic zone for information technology start-ups. The MPs said that with government support through legislation, many domestic and foreign companies will be able to start operating in Mongolia. The bill is designed to increase investment and human resource capacity in information technology, defining the form of government support for the creation of export-oriented products and services, and increasing the sector's contributions to the economy.
- Presidential election update. Following this announcement, the National Labor Party has called for online election campaigning. The Mongolian People's Party supported this call and announced that they would stop in-person campaigning and use online tools and media for the next few days.
- Domestic cases of COVID-19 rose by 7,700 last week. Last week, the total number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 reached 7,700, with over 1,000 new cases being detected daily.
- Average household income dropped and savings increased in Q1 2021. Real average household income in Q1, adjusted with inflation, reached 1.1 million MNT, 6.2 percent lower than in Q1 2020. A drop in real wage income mainly drove the decrease during the reporting period.
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June 8
- Mobile ballot box voting starts today. In-person voting for the presidential election will take place tomorrow, June 9. Today, sealed mobile ballot boxes will be used throughout the country, from 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m., to collect an estimated 25,000 sealed ballots.
- FDI in the first four months of the year totaled 732.5 million USD. In April, foreign direct investment (FDI) reached 137.4 million USD, 40 percent lower than in March. As a result, in the first four months of the year, the total inflow of FDI reached 732.5 million USD, increasing by 225.4 million USD year-on-year.
- Private homes can be financed through the government's mortgage loan program. This will help to include the purchase of single-family homes in the government's subsidized mortgage program. The ministry reported that access to mortgages is limited due to uncertainties in the quality and standards of private housing. Since 2013, only 170 borrowers have received mortgage loans for the purchase of private homes.
- Mongolia's temporary visa period extended to 150 days. Under an amendment to the Law on the Legal Status of Foreign Citizens, Mongolia's temporary visa period was extended to 150 days, up from 90 days, bringing it in line with allowances in other countries.
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June 10
- Preliminary results for the presidential election. Mongolia's 8th presidential election took place on June 9, and according to preliminary results, Mongolian People's Party candidate U. Khurelsukh got a majority of votes with 67.8 percent for a clear win that won't require a run-off election.
- Mongolia's WEF competitiveness index rating updated. Mongolia's World Economic Forum (WEF) competitiveness index score, assessing values, historical data, and other economic indicators, totaled 52.6 points, 0.1 percentage points lower year-on-year. Mongolia was listed 102nd in the competitiveness index.
- 59.9 percent of employment support loan funding disbursed. During the June 8 Cabinet meeting, Cabinet ministers discussed raising the allocation of 2 trillion MNT to support the employment and agriculture sector by another one trillion MNT, and agreed to research the feasibility of the increase.
- Mineral products accounted for 84 percent of exports in the first five months of 2021. In the first five months of the year, mineral products accounted for 84 percent of all exports, valued at 2.7 billion USD, as reported by the General Customs Administration. All crude oil, iron ore, and copper concentrate exports were supplied to China. Exports of copper concentrate reached 491,000 tons in January-May, decreasing by 11.6 percent compared to the same period in 2020.
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