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Happy Monday! Mondays are notorious for productivity dips. According to ZipDo, the first day of the workweek accounts for 18% of total weekly productivity loss, largely due to higher absenteeism. So, if you’re struggling to get back into the rhythm after the weekend, don’t worry, you’re not alone! 😉

What’s inside today’s edition…

• 🏛️ New Speaker Chosen in Parliament 

• 🦠 Influenza Cases Climb Sharply

• 🛍️ Which Shopping Centers Mongolians Visit Most?

No Time to Waste. Let’s Get Started! 🦘

MARKET

MNG: N.Uchral has been elected the new Speaker of Parliament with 82.5% of votes in the 126-seat legislature.

REE: Mongolia and South Korea reaffirmed cooperation on rare earths and committed to advancing collaboration through the upcoming Korea-Mongolia Rare Metals Cooperation Center.

BILL: The Government of Mongolia proposes a ban on LGBT marriage.

🦠 H3N2: The Virus Surging Across Mongolia 

Children’s hospitals across Ulaanbaatar are struggling under an unprecedented wave of pediatric patients, with parents reporting on social media that they wait 3 to 7 hours to have their children checked. The National Center for Infectious Diseases confirms the culprit is a virulent Influenza A H3N2 virus currently sweeping through the city.

• The Virus: Medical experts warn that the virus is highly aggressive. It typically strikes suddenly, with fevers ranging from 38–41°C, occasionally climbing to 42°C, and is quickly followed by diarrhea, vomiting, and other toxic symptoms. In severe cases, it can rapidly progress to pneumonia, posing a serious risk not only to young children but also to adults.

🤒 Hospital Strain

On Saturday, November 22, the National Mother and Child Health Center admitted 538 children, the majority of whom were under 5 years old. Emergency and outpatient departments are operating at double their normal capacity, and influenza-like illnesses now account for 10% of all outpatient visits nationwide. Last week alone, 296,322 people sought care at outpatient clinics, with 6.7% diagnosed with influenza or influenza-like illnesses. Children under 15 accounted for over 80% of cases, with nearly half of them being under 5 years old.

• To manage the surge, 14 doctors are deployed per shift, yet waiting times remain long. Patients are being accommodated in corridors, with 20 temporary beds set up to prevent critical deterioration.

🏃‍➡️ Government Response

In response to the outbreak, the Government of Mongolia is mobilizing a coordinated strategy to ease hospital congestion ahead of the December peak. Measures include:

• Deploying medical staff from regions with lower infection rates to hospitals under high demand.
  Extending outpatient hours and redistributing resident doctors to critical departments.

• Considering temporary adjustments to schools, kindergartens, and public facilities where crowds gather, depending on the virus’s spread.

Come again? Winter after winter, the same pattern repeats in Mongolia. Hospitals fill to capacity, children fall ill, and parents watch anxiously. Even with nine months to prepare, the strain on the healthcare system reveals the limits of the authorities’ readiness.

⭐ Selected for you

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

• Mongolia and Indonesia Hold First Business Forum. (Montsame)

• “Mongolia Investment Forum: Singapore 2025” Closed its Second Year on a Strong Note. (InsideMongolia)

• Google Pay Officially Launches in Mongolia. (InsideMongolia)

POLITICS

• Mongolia Launches New South–South Cooperation Project to Strengthen Sustainable Soil Management. (FAO)

• Mongolia's Bold Plan to Shift its Capital City to Ancient Site of Khakhorum. (CNA)

• Bulgaria and Mongolia Sign Agreements on Road and Air Transport. (BTA)

• OSCE Strengthens Mongolia’s Capacities to Address Corruption and Money-Laundering Risks Linked to Virtual Assets. (OSCE)

CULTURE & LIFESTYLE

• Silk Way Star Winner from Mongolia Plans to Release a Song in Kazakh. (Kazinform)

• Mongolia Unifies to Combat New Threats to Snow Leopards. (EinPressWire)

🛍️ Where Do Mongolians Shop the Most?

For the first time, Mongolia has a high-precision analysis of real foot traffic across major shopping and service centers. 

• The findings are based on Mobicom Corporation’s Geo PRO, an international-standard location analytics platform originally developed in Japan for urban planning, traffic flow, and public-service mapping. The study also incorporates on-the-ground foot-traffic counts conducted by the professional GMR research team.

🏆 Which Centers Draw the Most People?

According to the results, the top 3 shopping centers with the highest visitor flow are long-established, centrally located destinations with stable customer bases:

• State Department Store, E-Mart, and Shangri-La Mall. Surprisingly, ranking 4th is Go.to market, a shopping center that opened just 1.5 years ago, outperforming competitors with 5–50 years of history.

🚀 Why is Go.to market Rising So Fast?

Located in one of Sukhbaatar District’s densest neighborhoods, Go.to market operates under a “Lifestyle & Community Center” concept. Its catchment area currently includes 14,000 households, a number expected to reach 25,000 by 2028. This demographic advantage has quickly translated into traffic, in just 1.5 years, average daily visitors reached 8,400 people, with projections rising to 13,000 soon.

If Go.to market maintains its growth trajectory while expanding services and accessibility, the data indicates it could enter Mongolia’s TOP-3 busiest shopping centers next year. By the way, do you agree with this analysis? Where do you shop the most?

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Publisher: Ts.Ankhbayar
Writer: M.Khulan
Graphics by: Ts.Tselmeg

Disclaimer: The information Inside Mongolia provides is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to be or constitute financial advice, trading advice, or any other advice. The decision whether to consider the information we provide is solely our readers' independent decision.