|
|
August 31, 2016
|
|
S P O N S O R
|
|
Government
|
Parliament approves to delay the effective date of the Criminal Code
Summary: The Parliament approved the proposal to delay the effective date of the Criminal Code to July 1, 2017. It was previously scheduled to become effective as of September 1, 2016. The previous Parliament approved the law, but did not endorse it before the Parliamentary Election. The Criminal Code was drafted to include criminal accountability for those who commit domestic violence in an effort to protect thousands of women, children and elderly. The Minister of Justice S. Byambatsogt cited the lack of resources as the reason for the delay. It is estimated that 93 billion MNT is needed to train 40,000 workers, recruit 1,500 new supervisors, and complete construction of new prisons in some provinces. Some MPs, including J. Batzandan, proposed to delay the implementation to January 1st, but Minister S. Byambatsogt stated that, based on previous experience, a minimum of 9 months of preparatory work is required to successfully implement the Criminal Code.
Keywords: draft law, government stability
Today /page A2/
|
Implementation of the Personal Property Law has been delayed
Summary: The effective date of the Personal Property Law, which aims to make the transfer of ownership rights of stocks, bonds, contracts receivable and intellectual property legal and profitable, was delayed to March 1st. The Parliament made the decision to delay because the conditions to implement the law have not been met; particularly the establishment of the Electronic Directory database is needed to keep track of movable property in the economy. Although it was decided to build the Electronic Directory database with the help from the International Finance Corporation, there are still some some financial and technical difficulties related to the project. Therefore, the Parliament decided to accept the proposal to delay the implementation of the law until March 1st.
Keywords: draft law, government stability
The National Post /page 2/
|
|
ECONOMY
|
Labor Union of the Erdenet Mining Corporation demands official confirmation
Summary: A few days before the Parliamentary Election, former Prime Minister Ch. Saikhanbileg announced that Mongolia has acquired 100 percent ownership of the Mongolia-Russia joint venture Erdenet Mining Corporation (EMC). The corporation’s Labor Union, which consists of 8,000 members, held a press conference yesterday to demand more information about the new owners and their employment policies. The Head of Labor Union N. Batbaatar explained that the lack of transparency regarding the actions of new owners intimidates employees because there was not a single official announcement addressing them; meanwhile, the entire executive team was replaced in the last month. Additionally, the MPP assigned a special working group to investigate the matter after the election, but the employees have not heard anything related to this. N. Batbaatar noted that the union is not against the privatization, and highlighted that the employees are only requesting official confirmation from the government on the privatization issue. Moreover, if there is no legal dispute, the workers are requesting the new owners of EMC to announce the new employment policies.
Keywords: employment, privitization
Daily News /page 13/
|
|
MINING
|
Gold transactions are likely to increase
Summary: In 2015, The Bank of Mongolia exported 13 tons of gold and increased the foreign currency reserve by 420 million USD. As of July 2016, the BoM purchased 6.47 tons of gold, 1.7% higher compared to the same period last year. In 2014, the Parliament enacted the Law of Mongolia on Amending the Minerals Law, which stipulated that in the event that the license holder sells extracted gold to the Bank of Mongolia, or its authorized banks, the royalty rate will be decreased to 2.5%. As a result, the BoM bought 15.1 tons of gold in 2015, which is the highest amount purchased since 2005. However, the budget amendment proposed by the new Cabinet includes a provision to increase the royalty rate to 5%. Specialists are concerned because increasing the royalty rate might lead to the illegal sales of gold and under-the-table reporting.
Keywords: gold, policy
The Official Gazette /page 11/
|
Rio Tinto’s Board of Directors will visit Mongolia this October
Summary: Yesterday, the Prime Minister of Mongolia J. Erdenebat met with Rio Tinto’s CEO of Copper and Diamonds Department Arnaud Soirat to discuss Oyu Tolgoi’s underground mining and current operation. Currently, there are 1,400 Mongolian workers and OT buys 80% of their products from Mongolia. Arnaud Soirat stated he hopes that the visit of Rio Tinto’s Board of Directors in October will send a positive message to the world about the pleasant foreign direct investment environment in Mongolia. The Prime Minister noted that the Government plans to continue cooperating with Rio Tinto on the OT project and highlighted that, above anything else, the interests of Mongolia and the Mongolian people need to be the priority of the project. The PM added the Government of Mongolia is implementing several projects, including the purchase of electricity from Mongolia and the production of domestic cement that satisfies Oyu Tolgoi’s standards. He concluded that in the future, it is crucial for OT to procure 100% of its supplies from Mongolia.
Keywords: Oyu Tolgoi, FDI
Today /page 2/
|
|
S P O N S O R
|
|
ONLINE STORIES
|
Balance of payments maintains a positive outlook
Summary: The BoM reported the preliminary outlook on the balance of payments for the month of July after they increased the monetary interest rate by 4.5 points to 15%. As of July 2016, Mongolia’s current account deficit reached 166.2 million USD. Compared to the same period last year, it has decreased by 43% or 125.3 million USD. Meanwhile, the net financial inflow (positive capital and financial accounts) was 399.5 million USD in July. Some sources predicted the balance of payments to be profitable by the end 2016, which might be too positive at the moment. However, consistently positive reports from the last 20 months provide hope that the BoM can reach its goal to have a zero deficit balance of payments in three years.
Keywords: balance of payments, bank of mongolia
www.ikon.mn
|
|
SUBSCRIBE
|
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Website
|
