A total of 87 members attended the last monthly meeting of the year, held on December 13, with Mr. Laurenz Melchers in the chair. Executive Director Jim Dwyer reported that renewals to date were 125, as against 85 in the same period last year, and hoped there would be more in the coming days.

Jim also introduced the four new members since the last meeting. They are:

1. Monet LLC, formerly known as Bats Invest, and a leading brokerage, dealing and underwriting companies focused on the emerging market in Mongolia, providing a full range of investment banking products and services including strategic advice, capital-raising, restructuring, risk management and research.

2. Siemens, the world’s No. 1 supplier of manufacturing, transportation, building and lighting systems, with end-to-end automation technologies and a comprehensive array of industry solutions. Siemens is the only supplier worldwide with comprehensive know-how encompassing the entire energy conversion chain and, in particular, plant-to-grid connections and other types of interfaces.  As a non-bank financing provider, it supplies Siemens and business-to-business customers worldwide with capital for infrastructure, equipment and operations.

3. The New Cleos, established in April 2010 as a 100% foreign invested company to provide logistic solutions to the mining industry. It offers truck transportation of mining products, spare parts and equipment as well as mining staff, and plans air transportation on request.

4. The New Media Marketing Agency, a digital marketing, social community engagement, and creative development firm, providing services to businesses across many sectors in digital marketing, PR, corporate design, and program development. It also promotes brands, products and services in domestic and foreign markets.

Jim also announced the BCM Tax Working Group would hold a workshop for senior Mongolian tax officials in mid-January.

The first presentation of the evening was by Mr. Mergen Chuluun, Director, Web Guru, on how companies can increase sales through their website. A properly prepared website helps customers make better informed decisions, can reduce the need for and number of support staff, and tie all the marketing efforts of a company at one place. It generates and nurtures sales leads, and improves their conversion rate. Better online visibility generates more trade enquiries. But for all this to be effective, the contents of the site have to be regularly reviewed and analyzed and assessed for what is working and what is not, allowing readers to focus on the essentials.

Ms. B. Gantuya, Acting Executive Director, Mongolian U.S. Government Alumni Association, was next, and talked about how the Association is “Making a Difference Together”. Its members are all participants of scholarships and exchange programs sponsored by the U.S. Government and it has some 100 active and 700 potential members. It provides networking and information exchange opportunities, and has taken part in several productive, professional, societal, and cultural programs, including one to teach English to disabled Mongolians.

Mr. L. Batbayar’s presentation was on The Journalism for Development Center, an NGO working since April 2010 on preparing Mongolian journalists to become better writers and analysts of economic news and to provide them with new management skills. It has produced guidelines and organized training, and has gone beyond Ulaanbaatar, to hold workshops for local journalists in southern Gobi areas where most of the mining is and will be. It is also preparing those in the electronic media for the planned total digitalization of television from 2015.

Mr. Randolph Koppa, President, Trade & Development Bank, showed “Mongolia: Investment Needs and Opportunities”, his presentation at last month’s Mongolia Investment Summit in London. This details Mongolia’s potential, plans, and prospects and also lists the problems that lie before they can be turned into reality. Around USD50 billion needs to be invested but it is an achievable target, notwithstanding the imponderables that are always there.

The meeting ended with the presentation of two annual awards BCM has instituted from this year to recognize excellence in the corporate and non-corporate sectors. This year’s Achievement Awards went to Oyu Tolgoi LLC and to Dr. Ch. Khashchuluun, Chairman of The National Development and Innovation Committee.