In the first half of the year, three companies issued IPO and one FPO at the MSE, attracting a total of MNT 18 billion. Compared with the same period of the previous year, the stock trading increased by 2.9 times.

Following the public offers the process of creating new jobs, maintaining real economic growth are intensified and confidence in stock market rises. Chairperson of the Financial Regulatory Commission (FRC) S.Davaasuren emphasized that the advanced technology, construction and agricultural sectors companies including domestic food and agricultural companies issued IPO.

During the privatization operations held in transition period to a market economy in Mongolia, 475 state-owned factories and enterprises were privatized and 204 of them are currently listed on the MSE.

B.Misheel

Exports rose 16.9 percent year on year in the January-July period, while imports grew 39.8 percent, resulting in a trade surplus of 851 million U.S. dollars, according to the Mongolian Customs General Administration (MCGA).

The mining industry accounted for about 85 percent of total exports, the MCGA said in a statement.

China remains Mongolia's major export destination. Among the 60 countries to which Mongolia exported its goods and services in the first seven months this year, China was the recipient of over 86 percent of the total.

One of the highlight of this year was goat meat export, which rose by eight times in the first half compared to last year’s mean time. Horse meat accounted for about 80 percent of total revenue, while demand for mutton, goat meat and beef are increasing. Specifically, horse meat export doubled, while mutton tripled. In addition to meat, live export jumped 11 times year-over-year. Experts estimate meat and live export revenue, which totalled USD 32.6 million in the first half, to reach about USD 81.3 million by the end of the current year. Presently, Max Market, Darkhan Meat Foods, Makh Impex and Sayan Uul are supplying meat and meat products in Mongolia according to the Mongolian Meat Association. The trending products consisted of precooked meat and sausages. National Council on Food Security conducted a study on meat export capacity. The study shows that Mongolia can export 27.9 tons of beef and 43.6 tons of horse meat this year. As for mutton and goat meat, the council set no restrictions, allowing limitless export. There are around 30 business entities with meat export permits, informed Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry. The ministry noted they are working to increase the number of permits and penetrate new markets. Furthermore, FMD outbreaks in seven soums of Arkhangai and three soum of Uvrukhangai aimags have been successfully tackled last month.

Mongolia now has to cover the plaintiff's expenses of the last litigation
MP Sanjmyatav informed, “The working group concluded that it is unnecessary to send a Parliamentary delegation to the arbitration court. As a state monitoring, a representative of the Independent Authority Against Corruption was sent. The arbitration ruled against Mongolia.” The arbitration previously obliged the EMC to pay USD 51 million, lowering Standard Bank’s USD 109 million invoice. However, the interest and costs incurred by the plaintiff added up to USD 172 million as of March 1, 2018. Since then, the interest piled up by around USD 900 per day. Also, Mongolia now has to cover the plaintiff's expenses of the last litigation.

Approval of the coordinates enacts announcing tenders for about 170 fields this year. In other words, a tender for 25-30 fields (one field’s average size is 5000 hectares) will be conducted twice a month. It is estimated to accumulate roughly MNT25 billion to the state budget.

Some 8.48 million hectares of area to be issued by tender covers 5.56 percent of the country’s total territory and are not overlapped with areas of valid licensed, special needs, specially protected and state reserve.

M.Unurzul

The equipment will be leased to farming companies and farmers for 60 months with down payment and annual interest rate of 4.62 percent through the Crop Farming Support Fund.

In his opening remarks, Minister of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry B.Batzorig said, “2019 will mark the 60th anniversary of bringing virgin lands under cultivation and developing independent agriculture in Mongolia. On the threshold of the anniversary, the Government of Mongolia made a resolution to set crop farming zones covering 113 bags of 60 soums of seven aimags. A new sexagenary cycle of farming sector is starting, thus, the Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Light Industry is running ‘Virgin Land-60’ campaign. Specific works are planned to be carried out such as setting up forest zones, fencing farming lands and making reforms and renewal of seeds, varieties, techniques and technologies. ”

“We have been working closely with the Russian Federation since launching virgin-land cultivation. 8000 tons of elite seeds bought from Russia were provided to farmers, which will be harvested this autumn. The equipment of USD 10 thousand are significant to technological reform and successful harvesting," added the Minister.

Spring cultivation of this year started on May 3. As of June 27, 494.3 thousand hectares of land is cultivated.

“This is a golden opportunity for the farmers. Therefore, we ought to seize this opportunity in order to provide people with organic food” noted Honored Agronomist and Hero of Labor of Mongolia, Sh.Mardaan.

M.Anudari

The team consists of seven experts from the Chinese Academy of Forestry who are to conduct a field survey starting in mid-August at a nature reserve in southwest Mongolia and home to Gobi bears, or Mazaalai.

In April, Mongolia and China signed an agreement on a three-year technical assistance project with aid from the Chinese government worth 110 million RMB (16.1 million U.S. dollars).

Mazaalai mainly eat berries, roots, other plants, insects and sometimes rodents.

The Gobi bear with a current population of merely 28 is the world's rarest due to insufficient food and distinct biological features. Their habitats and water resources have been shrinking dramatically compared to the 1950s and 60s because of climate change, according to the Mongolian government.

The government and NGOs have taken multiple measures to protect Mazaalai, one of the world's most endangered species. In 2014, the government adopted a national program called Mazaalai to save the Gobi bears.

Under the program, the government places 20 tons of dietary supplements for the bears in 27 feeding stations in the Gobi Desert every year.

"Good progress has been made especially regarding structural reforms and policies to rehabilitate and strengthen the financial sector. Notwithstanding this progress, Mongolia remains vulnerable to external and internal factors," IMF staff team leader Geoff Gottlieb said in a statement.

"Discussions on the Mongolian economy, especially macroeconomic policies, will continue in the near future," he said.

The three-year IMF program, approved in 2017, aims to stabilize the economy and establish a basis for more sustainable and inclusive growth.

According to Gottlieb, Mongolia's macroeconomic performance has been solid with key targets met.

In particular, foreign currency reserves have more than doubled since the start of the program.

The GDP grew 5.1 percent year on year in 2017, compared to 1 percent the previous year. The IMF had forecast a 3.3-percent growth rate.

The IMF prediction for Mongolia's GDP growth this year is 5 percent and 6.3 percent next year.

"Mongolia's economy is on track to stabilize. Now, it is extremely important to boost exports to increase foreign exchange reserves, raise salaries and create more jobs." Damdin Tsogtbaatar told a press conference, stressing the need to establish overseas trade missions.

According to the official, from 2018 to 2019, the country will establish three trade missions in the Chinese capital Beijing, the city of Vladivostok in the Russian far east, as well as the Japanese capital Tokyo.

Similar offices will be opened in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin, the Russian capital Moscow, and the Belgian capital Brussels between 2020 and 2023.

Please review in details on https://tradingeconomics.com/mongolia/unemployment-rate