Newswire: China and Mongolia

1) Wen Signals Unprecedented Spending Will Drive Chinese Rebound – Bloomberg

China’s Premier Wen Jiabao signaled he will maintain unprecedented
government spending to drive a recovery from the slowest expansion in
almost a decade.

“China’s economic rebound is unstable, unbalanced and not yet solid,”
Wen said yesterday in a speech at the World Economic Forum in Dalian,
a city in northeastern China. “We cannot and will not change the
direction of our policies when the conditions aren’t appropriate.”

To read the full article please visit –
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aF3.IaUQ.JEo

2) Standard Bank Borrows $1 Billion From Chinese Banks

Standard Bank Group Ltd., Africa’s largest lender, said the $1 billion
loan facility it signed with four Chinese banks will be mainly used
for clients developing projects on the continent.

“The money will be used mainly to support our Africa business, for
clients wanting to do business in Africa and this would include
Chinese clients,” said Chief Executive Officer Jacko Maree, after
signing the five-year facility in Macau. It will be used mainly to
fund projects, he added.

To read the full article please visit –
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=aLPkKY95BnaY

3) Mongolia Fund to Manage $30 Billion Mining Jackpot

The Mongolian government will set up a sovereign wealth fund using
mining royalties and tax revenue, and distribute part of the income to
citizens to alleviate poverty, said Finance Minister Sangajav
Bayartsogt.

The fund, to be run by professional managers from 2013, will disburse
part of its annual income to every Mongolian in cash or non-cash
securities to let them own stakes in the country’s mining wealth,
Bayartsogt said. Initial capital will be drawn from Ivanhoe Mines
Ltd.’s $4 billion Oyu Tolgoi copper- gold mine project, estimated to
generate $30 billion in tax revenue over 50 years, he said.

“We’re drafting the idea to implement the proposal, and we’re
studying examples like the Alaskan Permanent Fund,” Bayartsogt said in
a Sept. 9 interview in the capital Ulaanbaatar, declining to specify
the size of the proposed fund.

To read the full article please visit –
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aWm8u8kb0R5E

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Democracy in Mongolia — Opposition wins elections

The transition of power in democratic countries is not always peaceful. That’s why ChinaSouthAmerica has taken a great interest in Mongolia’s presidential elections. Mongolia’s opposition Democratic Party candidate Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj has won the presidential election, according to both sides in the campaign, reports Reuters.

** click here to view video (problems with embed)

Mongolia’s democracy is a mere 20 years old, so lets give this country sandwiched between communist China and Putin’s Russia, a nice round of applause.

*applause for Mongolia*

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Voters head to the polls in Mongolia

Mongolia is a country sandwiched between Asiatic giants of the People’s Republic of China and the Russian Federation. A tight race for president is underway. President Enkhbayar Nambaryn, the the incumbent from the Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party is fighting for his political survival, against Elbegdorj Tsahia from the rival Mongolian Democratic Party

[CIA Factbook Background]

The Mongols gained fame in the 13th century when under Chinggis KHAN they established a huge Eurasian empire through conquest. After his death the empire was divided into several powerful Mongol states, but these broke apart in the 14th century.

The Mongols eventually retired to their original steppe homelands and in the late 17th century came under Chinese rule. Mongolia won its independence in 1921 with Soviet backing and a Communist regime was installed in 1924. The modern country of Mongolia, however, represents only part of the Mongols’ historical homeland; more Mongols live in the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region in the People’s Republic of China than in Mongolia.

Following a peaceful democratic revolution, the ex-Communist Mongolian People’s Revolutionary Party (MPRP) won elections in 1990 and 1992, but was defeated by the Democratic Union Coalition (DUC) in the 1996 parliamentary election. The MPRP won an overwhelming majority in the 2000 parliamentary election, but the party lost seats in the 2004 election and shared power with democratic coalition parties from 2004-2008. The MPRP regained a solid majority in the 2008 parliamentary elections but nevertheless formed a coalition government with the Democratic Party. The prime minister and most cabinet members are MPRP members.

Mongolia has large deposits of copper, uranium and other commodities. Naturally, the question of how to spread the benefits of foreign investment in their countries natural resources is at the top of both candidates respective messages to the voters.

According to article from AP, about 50 election observers from 11 international organizations and embassies such as the U.S., Sweden and Japan monitored the balloting.

In this Reuters video, voters express their sense of frustration from shanty towns on the outskirts of are is heading to the polls

Hopefully things will progress a lot smoother than they did last year when Elbegdorj’s Democrats lost and he claimed fraud by election committees, which coincidentally are dominated by the ruling party. What followed was a “vodka-fueled riot that left five dead and 300 injured.” — AP

Click here to access a Reuters video which gives you a good overview of the situation.

This is the 5th election is for the new democracy which experienced a relatively peaceful uprising that brought down the pro-Soviet Union government in 1990. Internationally the country has come to be seen as a success story for democracy in a region dominated by authoritarian governments, reports AP.

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