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#Mongolie, Oyu Tolgoï, plus grosse mine du pays et dont le développement fournit un feuilleton depuis de nombreuses années : après un an de vacance du poste, un nouveau directeur vient d’être nommé.
Ses fonctions antérieures, chargé des relations avec les gouvernements locaux (Papouasie-Nouvelle-Guinée, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Azerbaïdjan) laissent augurer une nouvelle saison riche en épisodes…

Rio Tinto appoints new country manager for Mongolia
►https://theubposts.com

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Anglo-Australian mining giant Rio Tinto has hired Daniel Worrall, a British oil executive with extensive experience in the developing world, to lead its mission in Mongolia.

The former ExxonMobil, Shell and Total executive will serve as chief executive and country director for Mongolia where the mining company’s most important growth asset – Oyu Tolgoi copper, gold and silver mine – lies. Through its 51-percent-owned Turquoise Hill Resources, Rio currently holds 66 percent stake in Oyu Tolgoi, one of the world’s largest known copper and gold deposits, located in the Gobi region of Mongolia.

The position had been vacant for almost a year since former Chief Executive and Country Director for Mongolia D.Munkhtushig stepped down.

Worrall has spent the past decade with Exxon, and between 2014 and 2017 was part of the oil giant’s government relations team in Papua New Guinea, overseeing the start of the massive PNG LNG gas project. Prior to that, he was responsible for government and stakeholder relations across Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan for Royal Dutch Shell and Total.

Along with the new appointment, Rio announced that Oyu Tolgoi LLC’s 2010-2019 in-country spending exceeded 10 billion USD with procurement from Mongolian companies accounting for 76 percent, taxes and social insurance premium accounting for 18 percent, and wages making up six percent of the spending.

Frontière avec la Chine fermée, probable interdiction des festivités du Nouvel an mongol (#Tsagaan_Sar), la Mongolie, où il n’y a pas de cas déclaré, souffre du #coronavirus

Coronavirus starts to take toll on Mongolian economy
▻https://theubposts.com/coronavirus-starts-to-take-toll-on-mongolian-economy

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Mongolian economy has started to waver as the coronavirus continues to ravage China and the world with no end in sight.
Unable to contain the new virus, China has shut down factories and restaurants, placed travel restrictions on millions of people, and trapped ships at ports. The largest export of intermediate manufactured goods now fails to provide for the Asian supply chain, which imports almost 40 percent of its intermediate goods from China, and the US, which imports around 10 percent of intermediate goods from China. The risk exposure outstretches to Russia, Europe and Australia based on a Bloomberg Economics analysis.
[…]
Most businesses and traders make big money before Tsagaan Sar as people buy heaps of groceries, gifts and new appliances for their home in preparation for one of the biggest celebrations in the country. Unfortunately, preventive measures against the coronavirus have pushed businesses to the edge of loss as they’re unable to bring in supplies from Mongolia’s main trade partner, China, and authorities continue to encourage people to stay at home.
[…]
Moreover, the government is considering banning Tsagaan Sar completely this year in an effort to mitigate risks of a coronavirus spread. This initiative is very likely to be enforced as more and more people express their support through social media and public polls. If the ban is placed, traders, especially small businesses, will have to brace for the impact.

One good thing that came out of the current situation is that a growing number of customers are now leaning toward locally produced goods, particularly clothing and food products. They say it’s a safer choice now that China has been debilitated by the coronavirus, swine flu and bird flu.

Mongolia and USA declare strategic partnership
►http://theubposts.com

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President Kh.Battulga visited the White House on July 31 to meet US President Donald Trump for trade talks, particularly the Mongolia Third Neighbor Trade Act.

The two state heads shook hands and had a small talk before going into the Oval Office for a private meeting, which lasted around 40 minutes.

Trump administration officials said that it wants to explore ways to support Mongolia’s economic and trade diversification efforts as Mongolia is heavily dependent on China. Around 90 percent of Mongolia’s trade must go through China.

Kh.Battulga and Trump also covered cooperation in defense and security matters, among other issues.

This was the first visit of a Mongolian president to the USA since 2011.
[…]
Next, the Mongolian president received 180 representatives of Mongolians living and studying in the USA.

At present, over 30,000 Mongolians are scattered across more than 200 cities in the USA. To be more specific, 8,000 Mongolians are living in Chicago, 6,000 are in Washington DC, 4,000 are in San Francisco, 2,000 are in Los Angeles, and around 1,500 are residing in Seattle.

Mongolians reportedly run 58 associations and NGOs in the USA.