BCM Monthly Meeting Recap, August 2016

1. The Business Council of Mongolia's (BCM's) monthly meeting was held on Wednesday, August
31, 2016 with 110 members and invited guests in attendance. BCM Chairman Byambasaikhan
Bayanjargal opened the meeting with a few words on the recent passing of Founding
Chairman of BCM Peter Morrow, followed by a moment of silence. “Pete was the heart and
the soul of BCM,” Byambasaikhan said. “I think everyone in the room knows what Pete
achieved for Mongolia.”
BCM Update
BCM Executive Director Mergen Chuluun spoke next, reporting on BCM's advocacy work
regarding companies' troubles concerning the Certificate of Origin (CO). Starting in early
June, customs officials were requiring a) original copies of CO b) to arrive with the shipment
c) for imported goods, and d) from point of origin, rather than for hazardous and specially
classified goods, or for those opting for special tax exemptions. The demand for COs had been
causing some delays and extra work for companies.
To sum up the advocacy efforts of BCM in the past two months, Mergen spoke about the
publication and promotion of the BCM Summit Proceedings, which has been delivered to
President, Prime Minister, Members of Parliament, and Ministers. The Summit Proceedings is
now available in both English and Mongolian languages. To promote business interests and to
give significance to the recommendations of the business community and the report, Mergen
has been on Bloomberg, Daily News, Today, The Official Gazette, as well as MongolTV. BCM's
Facebook post of the Summit Proceedings have already reached over 70,000 people. The
Proceedings is currently in the process of being delivered to embassies and media companies.
In July, BCM held a business networking event with a delegation of 13 business people and
investors from Singapore. Erdenes Mongol hosted the morning meeting at their office and
sponsored the networking event at Limewood Cafe in the afternoon. Mergen noted
exceptional work by Mongolian Ambassador in Singapore Lkhagvadorj “George” Tumur, in
promoting business in Mongolia and bringing highly qualified and interested business
delegation. “In my view, it was the most pro-investment type of event in the past three years
in Mongolia” said Mergen.
Please download BCM Update presentation from here. Please download BCM Summit
Proceedings in EN here and in MN here.
New Members
At the meeting, BCM introduced its six newest members:
B Production
Dale Carnegie Training
Development Solutions
Free Good Era
Kempinski Hotel & Khan Palace

2. The Morning Star Land
Please download introduction presentations of BCM's newest members here.
Panel Discussion: "Economic Environment & Recommendations"
Tarva Investment & Advisory LLC Chief Executive Officer Cameron McRae moderated a panel
discussion entitled “Economic Environment & Recommendations.” The panel included the
Director of the Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Department at the Ministry of
Finance, Dr. V. Enkhbold; the Executive Director of the National Council for Private Sector
Support, Dr. Ch. Khashchuluun; and Resident Representative of IFC Mongolia, Tuyen Nguyen.
Dr. Ch. Khashchuluun:
- important for the Mongolian People's Party to show it can handle economic issues. The
question: "Is Mongolia ready to take the action?"
- 1.3% H1 2016 growth
- tourism up 9%; some improvement in mining and commodity prices; crops production likely
to be strong this fall
- 2016 GDP growth likely to be less than 1%
- "As IMF stand-by program usually includes social safety net, the IMF standby program may be
softer and more socially acceptable than cost-cutting measures."
- tugrik slide would likely continue unless economic conditions improve, although this trend is
not out of the ordinary: "This is a very usual situation for Mongolia. it happens as a cycle of
every 8 years... survival will not be so difficult."
Tuyen Nguyen:
- This period of slowed growth should be used to improve economic competitiveness
- Mongolia must demonstrate that it can execute a private-public partnership with a
successful project, such as Power Plant No. 5 or a waste water treatment facility--two crucial
pieces of infrastructure for Mongolian society
- Investor protections are paramount to business in Mongolia, and the government's proposed
Investors Protection Council is a smart decision
- Clear methodology must be made for investors to present and deal with grievances
- Erdenes Mongol should continue its reform process
- “We see that there's a little bit of opportunity and more optimistic outlook, even during this
current period, which is quite challenging”
Dr. V. Enkhbold
- Focus for expanding trade with favorable policy that reduce exporters' costs
- “We seek close cooperation from the business community.”
“The advice I would give government on how to give support businesses, whether
domestically focused or internationally focused, is first to understand what it takes to run a

3. well-functioning business out of Mongolia, and then to look 'what am I doing wrong in
supporting businesses'.” McRae said in his closing remarks.
McRae also pointed to an example from Britain where it had improved the investment
environment by creating groups to work with government agencies to better communicate the
needs and challenges of businesses. “The last point I would throw into the mix is there are
always lots of consultants, advisors and well-intentioned NGOs who want to help. You don't
tend to learn the answers to those questions by looking at yourself in the mirror. You need
some help.”
(There are no presentations from the panel discussions.)