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Monday, February 13, 2012

In Pursuit of Innovation

What makes developed countries richer than others? Businesses and governments of developed countries spend billions on research and development funds attempting to invent new technologies. These funds end up with us using smart phones, and watching flat screen TVs. Although the knowledge revolution is giving to us an opportunity to raise living standards it is also raising risks that developing countries may fall behind.
“The world is divided into two kinds of people: those who make innovative products and those who just buy them at high prices” says Dr. Ts.Davaadorj, Director of the Information and Analytical Service at Office of National Security Council of Mongolia, during the discussion entitled “Innovation Environment & Technology” which was held last Thursday. “Today, the people who can own technology get richer, while those who can`t get poorer” he added. What happens with Mongolia then?

Sunday, February 12, 2012

Could Mongolia Make The Transition From Coal to Wind?

The increasing mining of Mongolia’s ample mineral resources has driven rapid economic growth in the country. In 2011 its GDP growth reached 17.3 percent. But we should keep in mind that Mongolia`s mineral resources will end someday. On the other hand, renewable energy sources such as the sun, wind and water are limitless. So not only mining, but also renewable energy may be a key part of Mongolia`s development, providing its future energy security.

Wednesday, February 1, 2012

T-T-Tavan Tolgoi IPO Goes Cold

For the first time in its history, Mongolia is going to launch a multi-billion dollar initial public offering (IPO) of a country`s strategic coal deposit. In November, the Government made the decision to list Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi on the Mongolian, London and Hong Kong stock exchanges. However, global media giants such as Reuters, the Financial Times and Wall Street Journal have reported that Mongolia is likely to drop the Hong Kong listing proposal. While experts have warned that Erdenes Tavan Tolgoi will raise much less than expected. Mongolians citizens, who own 20 percent of the company, are suffering from decision fatigue: Should they hold onto their shares of the company or sell them to the Government now for a 1 million MNT price tag?

Thursday, January 26, 2012

MONGOLIA TO BECOME THE SAUDI ARABIA OF COAL

Many people expect that Mongolia, with its vast reserves of high-quality coal and its close proximity to China, may become the Saudi Arabia of Coal. If in 2008, Mongolia exported merely 4 million tons of coal, in first 9 months of this year that number reached 15.7 million tons, constituting more than 40 percent of the value of total exports. But this is just the start. It is expected to grow even faster when Tavan Tolgoi, which has more than 6 billion tons of coal on site, starts production. The government estimates that next year a huge amount of revenue will be collected from coal sector. However, there could be large revenue shortfalls at a time the global economy is crumbling. Uncertainty in the macro economy will decelerate Chinese coal demand growth, experts predict.