1 MONGOLIAN BANKING SECTOR'S NET FOREIGN ASSETS DECLINE 49.9 PCT IN APRIL WWW.XINHUANET.COM PUBLISHED:2025/05/19      2 BANK OF MONGOLIA ENDS 5-YEAR LOSSES WITH 2024 PROFIT WWW.INSIDEMONGOLIA.MN PUBLISHED:2025/05/19      3 MONGOLIA LAUNCHES 5G NATIONWIDE WWW.INSIDEMONGOLIA.COM PUBLISHED:2025/05/19      4 MONGOLIAN MOUNTAINEERS BATTOGTOKH ALTANGEREL AND BATKHISHIG BALDORJ TRIUMPHANTLY SUMMIT MOUNT EVEREST WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2025/05/19      5 MONGOLIAN FM TO VISIT PH FOR BILATERAL MEETING ON MONDAY WWW.MB.COM.PH  PUBLISHED:2025/05/18      6 MONGOLIA'S GDP UP 2.4 PCT IN Q1 WWW.XINHUANET.COM PUBLISHED:2025/05/18      7 EBRD AND EU STEP UP SUPPORT FOR MSMES IN CENTRAL ASIA AND MONGOLIA WWW.EBRD.COM PUBLISHED:2025/05/16      8 ADB, ULAANBAATAR FLOUR PARTNER TO SUPPORT WHEAT SUPPLY CHAIN IN MONGOLIA WWW.ADB.ORG PUBLISHED:2025/05/16      9 MINERAL AND COAL EXPORT CAPACITY OF THE GASHUUSUKHAIT BORDER-PORT TRIPLES WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2025/05/16      10 MONGOLIA'S INFLATION RATE REACHES 8.6 PCT IN APRIL WWW.XINHUANET.COM PUBLISHED:2025/05/16      УРАНЫ ТӨСЛИЙГ ХЭРЭГЖҮҮЛЭХЭД ЛАБОРАТОРИ БАЙГУУЛАХААР ТОХИРОЛЦЛОО WWW.ZINDAA.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/05/19     МОНГОЛ УЛСЫН ДНБ-ИЙ 4 ХҮРТЭЛ ХУВИЙГ 5G ТЕХНОЛОГИ БҮРДҮҮЛДЭГ БОЛНО WWW.MONTSAME.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/05/19     ГАДААД ХАРИЛЦААНЫ САЙД Б.БАТЦЭЦЭГ БҮГД НАЙРАМДАХ ФИЛИППИН УЛСАД АЛБАН ЁСНЫ АЙЛЧЛАЛ ХИЙНЭ WWW.MONTSAME.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/05/19     ХАРААТ БУС ХЭВЛЭЛҮҮД НЭГДЭЖ, ЕРӨНХИЙ САЙДАД ШААРДЛАГА ХҮРГҮҮЛЛЭЭ WWW.EGUUR.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/05/19     ГХЯ: ШҮҮХ ШИНЖИЛГЭЭНИЙ ДҮГНЭЛТИЙГ ХҮЛЭЭЖ БАЙНА WWW.NEWS.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/05/19     “ОНТРЭ” ДЭЭР ДАХИН ХӨРӨНГӨ ОРУУЛАЛТЫН ГЭРЭЭ БАЙГУУЛАХ ШААРДЛАГАГҮЙ ГЭХ “РИО ТИНТО”-ГИЙН БАЙР СУУРЬ WWW.EGUUR.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/05/19     АГААРЫН БОХИРДОЛ БУУРУУЛАХ АЖЛЫГ ДУЛААНЫ УЛИРАЛД ҮРГЭЛЖЛҮҮЛЭХ ДУЛААНБААТАР АЯН ЭХЛҮҮЛНЭ WWW.GOGO.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/05/19     "ОНТРЭ"-ГООС "ОЮУ ТОЛГОЙ"-Д ШИЛЖҮҮЛСЭН ЛИЦЕНЗИЙН ХҮРЭЭНД ӨРӨМДЛӨГ ХИЙЖ ЭХЭЛЖЭЭ WWW.EGUUR.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/05/16     Э.БАТШУГАРЫН ӨРГӨН БАРЬСАН ХУУЛИЙН ТӨСӨЛ БАТЛАГДАЖ, "ХАР ЖАГСААЛТ" ГЭХ ОЙЛГОЛТ БАЙХГҮЙ БОЛНО WWW.EGUUR.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/05/16     ҮСХ: УЛСЫН ХЭМЖЭЭНД ИНФЛЯЦ 8.6 ХУВЬТАЙ ГАРЛАА WWW.EAGLE.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/05/16    

Events

Name organizer Where
MBCC “Doing Business with Mongolia seminar and Christmas Receptiom” Dec 10. 2024 London UK MBCCI London UK Goodman LLC

NEWS

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World's largest copper mine output, profit plummeted in Q1 www.mining.com

Output at Chile’s Escondida, the world's largest copper mine, fell in the first three months of 2016 causing profits to sink 47% to $265 million compared to the same period last year, among weak prices for the industrial metal.
 
The mine, co-owned by BHP Billiton (57.5%) and rival Rio Tinto (30%), produced 265,597 tonnes in the period, or 23% less than the 347.125 tonnes it generated in Q1 2015, Chilean newspaper La Tercera reported (in Spanish).
 
Mine revenues also plummeted to about $1.4 billion from $2 billion in the same period last year.
 
If Chile’s production continues to suffer due to weak prices, the country — the world’s No. 1 copper producer — will lose ground to competitors including Peru, China, United States, Australia and emerging markets, such as Zambia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, in Africa’s Copperbelt, state copper commission Cochilco warned in January.
 
While copper prices have picked up in recent weeks, long-term demand fundamentals are likely to limit price rises in 2016, experts believe.
 
Growth in China — the world’s largest copper consumer, accounting for 45% of global demand — continues to be slow.
 
"Chinese manufacturing is not picking up momentum, so demand is not picking up and there is no reason for copper prices to rise," Julius Baer analyst Carsten Menke told Reuters last month.
 
“Despite sizable policy stimulus in China…demand for copper is unlikely to receive a boost on the scale that had seemed likely,” Caroline Bain, senior commodities economist at Capital Economics wrote on Wednesday.
 
The chairman of Codelco, the world’s largest copper miner, agrees. Oscar Landerretche, who holds a Ph.D. in economics from The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), has said that oversupply is likely to last through this year and next, keeping prices around $2 to $2.10 a pound.
 
More than 750,000 tonnes of annualized supply were idled in 2015 by companies including Freeport McMoRan and Glencore in response to low prices, according to a report by consultants Wood Mackenzie.
 
In addition some major projects are ramping up this year including China Minmetals' Las Bambas mine and Freeport's Cerro Verde expansion project in Peru. There is also a robust pipeline of projects that could fill any supply gaps including First Quantum's Cobre Panama and the Goldcorp-Teck joint venture in Chile named NuevaUnion.
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BMW and Intel plan robot car production www.bbc.com

BMW, Intel and computer vision firm Mobileye have signed a deal to develop autonomous vehicles.
The three firms will collaborate on the systems needed to make cars that can navigate without any help from a human driver.
The vehicles will be capable of driving safely along major roads as well as in suburban and inner city areas.
BMW said it hoped the collaboration would mean it could put robot cars into production by 2021.
The research partnership was announced on the day when US officials begin an investigation into a fatal car crash involving a Tesla Model S, to which self-driving technology could have contributed.
Plugged in
BMW said the trio would develop computer and sensor systems that gradually reduce the part humans play in driving a car. Ultimately, it said, it hoped to produce vehicles that could operate entirely autonomously without any people onboard.
Achieving this, said BMW, would make it possible for fleets of unmanned vehicles to operate safely. This, it added, could spur the creation of novel ride-sharing services in urban areas or lead to the creation of long-distance delivery services that employ robot-driven trucks.
In a statement, the three firms said they were "convinced that automated driving technologies will make travel safer and easier".
They pledged to make the results of the research available to other car makers and electronics firms to help standardise technologies used in autonomous vehicles.
Early work would focus on a "highly automated driving" prototype which BMW said it planned to demonstrate this year. More extensive tests of this technology across lots of vehicles were planned for 2017, it added.
The autonomous car that emerges from the partnership would be likely to be electric and called the iNext, it said. Other vehicles in the i-range include the i8 hybrid and the i3 all-electric vehicle.
Before now, BMW has shown off concept cars that use autonomous technology and it is already working with Baidu in China to produce a self-driving car suited to that market.
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Chinese company Hisense reaps benefits from Euro 2016 sponsorship www.chinadaily.com

BEIJING - Chinese electronics giant Hisense appears to have gotten its money's worth out of its sponsorship of the Euro 2016 soccer championship.
Hisense signed as the 10th global partner for the UEFA EURO 2016 finals on Jan 14, joining top brands Adidas, Carlsberg, Coca-Cola, Continental, Hyundai-Kia, McDonald's, Orange, SOCAR and Turkish Airlines to complete the tournament's sponsorship program.
 
Hisense kept its sponsorship fee a secret, while reports said it spent 370 million yuan ($55.61 million) for its debut in the top European soccer event, a sum amounting to about 25 percent of last year's net profit.
 
As the first-ever Chinese company to endorse the 56-year-old tournament, Hisense announced that its Euro 2016 exposure in China alone meant that returns exceed its investment after only the group stage.
 
"It has been the most successful brand marketing in the company's 47 years of history," said the company's brand director Zhu Shuqin.
 
Hisense said its logo appeared not only on the LED screen on site in the 36 group matches, but also on the tickets and the interview backdrops.
 
"Hisense's logo was caught by the cameras during the matches and seen by millions of TV viewers all over the world," Zhu said.
 
In China, Hisense's logo exposure through the live broadcast of China's Central Television amounts to some 300 million yuan worth of advertisement on TV, Zhu said, adding that 35 million Chinese fans followed the tournament and watched the matches on TV.
 
Pleased with the results of their sponsorship at Euro 2016, Zhu revealed that the company may go on to sponsor the 2018 Russia World Cup while its endorsement for other UEFA national team competitions will run until the end of 2017.
 
The competitions include the European Qualifiers for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, UEFA Futsal Euro 2016, the 2017 UEFA European U-21 Championship and UEFA Women's Euro 2017.
 
European soccer's ruling body UEFA also seems happy to have Hisense on board. Guy-Laurent Epstein, the marketing director of UEFA Events SA, told Xinhua that the sponsorship "is something between football and the Chinese brand. As we provide a great commercial platform, I am sure that this sponsorship will give Hisense a great opportunity to grow their brand in Europe and internationally."
 
"We look forward to working closely together with them in a mutually beneficial partnership that will also further promote the best of European football to millions of fans in China," he added.
 
While Hisense added the first-ever Chinese flavor to the European Championship, other Chinese enterprises are also seeing potentially enormous returns from sponsoring high profile sports events.
 
In December last year, Alibaba E-Auto, an "internet car" brand owned by Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group, reached an eight-year presenting partnership of the Club World Cup with soccer's world governing body FIFA.
 
Alibaba thus became the first Chinese company to have presenting partnership with the FIFA tournament.
 
Months later, Chinese real estate and entertainment giant Wanda Group inked a partnership deal with FIFA which runs through the 2030 World Cup. The contract grants Wanda the highest level of sponsorship rights in the next four FIFA World Cup editions.
 
But Wanda's ambition did not stop at soccer. It also ventured into basketball, becoming the exclusive partner of the Federation of International Basketball (FIBA) for their worldwide sponsorship, including the sale of licensing rights and global marketing.
 
"It was not a mindless splurge. We are buying our way out because the key international sports industry resources, including the marketing rights and broadcast rights can only be redistributed in this way," said Wanda chairman Wang Jianlin.
 
Last year, Wanda nailed a 20 percent stake in Madrid Atletico at 45 million euros, merged with World Triathlon Corp. (WTC) for 585 million euros, and acquired Swiss sports marketing group Infront Sports & Media for 1.05 billion euros.
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Mongolia and Turkey have willingness to cooperate in tourism www.mongolia.gogo.mn

Delegates of the Association of Turkish Travel Agencies (ATTA) visited Mongolia on June 22-30 at the invitation of tourism organizations of Mongolia.
On Wednesday, the ATTA delegates attended a business meeting held at the Turkish Embassy where the parties exchanged views on the present situation of the Mongolia-Turkey cooperation in tourism industry. Murat Karagoz, the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Turkey to Mongolia underlined that Mongolia has a potential for attracting tourists by its natural landscapes, traditional history, custom and culture. The visa-free agreement between the countries and the direct flight by the Turkish Airlines are essential factors favoring bilateral cooperation in tourism, he emphasized.
B.Margad, Department head of the Ministry of Environment, Green Development and Tourism expressed his satisfaction with receiving the visiting Turkish delegation, and said Mongolia wants to learn Turkish experiences in tourism.
In turn, member of the ATTA’s Executive Board Sinan Halic also expressed a satisfaction with visiting Mongolia, and pointed out that his country has the willingness to augment Turkish tourists to Mongolia.
In scope of the visit, the Turkish delegates travelled to Arkhangai and Ovorkhangai aimags, Terelj National park, the “Tsonjin Boldog” camp and Tonyukuk's statue in Tov aimag.
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Rio Tinto exits PNG, gives away copper-gold mine with $51bn in reserves www.mining.com

Mining giant Rio Tinto (LON, ASX:RIO) has given away a 54% stake in a Papua New Guinean copper and gold mine, which has reserves estimated to be worth $51 billion.
 
The decision to hand back the shares in its subsidiary Bougainville Copper Limited (ASX:BOC) to an independent trustee, follows a company review of the asset that was triggered by the Bouganville government’s pressure to restart mining at Panguna or give it up.
 
“Our review looked at a broad range of options and by distributing our shares in this way we aim to provide landowners, those closest to the mine, and the people of Bouganville a greater say in the future of Panguna,” Chris Salisbury, Rio’s copper and coal chief executive said in a statement.
 
The trustee, noted Rio, will manage the distribution of its shares between the autonomous Bouganville government and the PNG government, providing them with a platform to work together on options for the resource.
 
In a separate statement, Bougainville Copper said its board of directors is considering the implications of Rio’s move. The company’s Chairman and Managing Director Peter Taylor will resign, and Robert Burns has been appointed acting chairman.
 
The Panguna mine was once a major producer and one of the largest open pit mines in the world. It’s believed to still hold about 5.3 million tonnes of copper and 19.3 million ounces of gold. However, it could cost up to A$10 billion to restart production, The Australian reports (subs. required).
 
Bougainville was the mine operator until local opposition sparked a civil war and forced it to shutdown in 1989.
 
Rio’s decision on Panguna echoes a similar move two years ago, when the company decided to give away its 19.1% stake in Northern Dynasty Minerals (TSX:NDM) (NYSE:MKT), a company leading the controversial Pebble Mine copper and gold project in the Bristol Bay region of Alaska.
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U.S. shale oil's Achilles heel shows signs of mending www.reuters.com

Since the beginning of the U.S. fracking revolution, oil producers have struggled with a vexing problem: after an initial burst, crude output from new shale wells falls much faster than from conventional wells.

However, those well decline rates have been slowing across the United States over the past few years, according to data analysis provided exclusively to Reuters.

The trend, if sustained, would help ameliorate the industry’s most glaring weakness and cement its importance for worldwide production in years to come. It also helps explain shale drillers' resilience throughout the oil market's two-year slump.

While shale oil production revolutionized the oil industry over the past decade, bringing abundance of global oil supplies, high costs and rapid production declines have been its Achilles heel. That is beginning to change thanks to technological innovation and producers' focusing less on maximizing output and more on improving efficiency and productivity.

According to data compiled and analyzed by oilfield analytics firm NavPort for Reuters, output from the average new well in the Permian Basin of West Texas, the top U.S. oilfield, declined 18 percent from peak production through the fourth month of its life in 2015. That is much slower than the 31 percent drop seen for the same time frame in 2012 and the 28 percent decline in 2013, when the oil price crash started.

The change was even more dramatic in North Dakota's Bakken shale, where four-month decline rates for new wells fell to 16 percent in 2015 from almost 31 percent in 2012. (Graphic:tmsnrt.rs/292ScGY)

A slower decline means producers need to drill fewer new wells to sustain output, said Mukul Sharma, professor of petroleum engineering at the University of Texas at Austin.

"You can have cash flow without having to expend a lot of capital."

The recent decline rates mark a dramatic improvement from first-year 90 percent declines in the early years of the shale boom that made some investors question the sector's long-run viability.

NEW PHILOSOPHY

There are no 2016 figures yet, but oil executives expect the trend to continue this year and beyond.

Scott Sheffield, chief executive of Pioneer Natural Resources Co (PXD.N), a top Permian producer, credited improved fracking techniques for helping stabilize production, which shareholders rewarded by lifting Pioneer's shares up about 9 percent over the past year.

"We're exposing more of the reservoir and breaking it up so we don't get as sharp a decline," Sheffield told a recent energy conference.

Slower declines also reflect producers' more conservative approach to operating wells. In the early years of the hydraulic fracturing boom, high crude prices encouraged operators to boost initial production as much as possible.

To do this, they would let wells flow fast by keeping pressure low on the ground's surface. About seven years ago, however, some shale operators in Louisiana found this ultimately hurt production later on by causing rock fractures to shut.

Now, many operators maintain surface pressures higher, which limits initial flow rates and slows a well's decline rate.

"Conventional wisdom has shifted," said John Lee, a professor of petroleum engineering at Texas A&M University.

Sharma of the University of Texas said that while shale well decline rates remained far above a 10 percent first-year decline a conventional well might experience, they marked a radical improvement compared with early years of hydraulic fracturing.

Harold Hamm's Continental Resources Inc (CLR.N), for example, has told investors its new wells in Oklahoma's SCOOP region are now producing 40 percent more oil six months into their lives than as recently as last year.

Today's production techniques use larger volumes of sand and pressurized fluids to frack more spots along longer well bores, to extract more oil from the wells. (Graphic: tmsnrt.rs/296vBtQ)

Pioneer fracks its wells every 15 feet today compared to every 60 feet in 2013. It costs extra $500,000 per well to do so, but its wells produce two-thirds more oil than just three years ago, boosting profitability, Pioneer said.

To be sure, not all producers are seeing slower decline rates and the newer, more stable shale wells make up only a fraction of all producing U.S. oil wells, so their impact on overall domestic output is for now limited.

The Eagle Ford shale in southern Texas has seen decline rates slightly increase, for example, according to NavPort data.

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Abe talks with Cameron, Merkel on market stability www3.nhk.or.jp

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held separate phone talks with British Prime Minister David Cameron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Thursday.
 
They agreed that the Group of 7 nations will work together for global economic growth and to stabilize financial and currency markets after the UK vote to leave the European Union.
 
Abe told them that he hopes Britain and the EU will cooperate to eliminate market concerns and quickly send a clear message to increase predictability.
 
In the talks, Abe cited the consensus reached by G7 nations in May at the Ise-Shima summit in Japan. The leaders agreed to take all necessary measures at appropriate times to avoid a new crisis.
 
He reaffirmed with each of them that the G7 will make every concerted effort.
 
Abe also conveyed to Merkel and Cameron his determination to conclude an economic partnership agreement between Japan and the EU by the end of the year.
 
Abe asked for Cameron's cooperation to allow Japanese businesses to operate in Britain as before. Cameron pledged to take every possible measure to protect Japanese firms.
 
After the talks, Abe told reporters that he hopes the British and German leaders will exercise a strong leadership.
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US opens investigation into Tesla after fatal crash www.bbc.com

Tesla is being investigated following a crash in which a man died in Florida after colliding with a lorry.
Under scrutiny is the electric car company's Autopilot feature, a function which automatically changes lanes and reacts to traffic.
In a statement, Tesla said it appeared the Model S car was unable to recognise "the white side of the tractor trailer against a brightly lit sky" that had driven across the car's path.
The company said the crash in May this year was a "tragic loss".
The collision led to the death of Tesla driver Joshua Brown, 45. The driver of the truck, which was pulling a trailer, was unhurt.
Autonomous reputation
On Thursday, Tesla stressed that cars being controlled by Autopilot had travelled 130 million safe miles to date.
The company said in a statement: "The high ride height of the trailer combined with its positioning across the road and the extremely rare circumstances of the impact caused the Model S to pass under the trailer, with the bottom of the trailer impacting the windshield of the Model S."
"Had the Model S impacted the front or rear of the trailer, even at high speed, its advanced crash safety system would likely have prevented serious injury as it has in numerous other similar incidents."
The US National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) will look at whether the Autopilot function performed as expected, or was at fault.
Such investigations can sometimes lead to a recall. Should that be the case, it is likely Tesla would put out an "over-the-air" update to its cars, rather than having to physically take the vehicles back.
But the incident could be a serious blow to the reputation of autonomous technology at a time when regulators across the world are considering how to safely introduce it on public roads.
Beta test
The Autopilot function was introduced by Tesla in October last year. In a conference call, the firm's enigmatic chief executive Elon Musk urged caution in using the technology.
"The driver cannot abdicate responsibility," he said.
In Thursday's statement, Tesla said: "It is important to note that Tesla disables Autopilot by default and requires explicit acknowledgement that the system is new technology and still in a public beta phase before it can be enabled.
"The system also makes frequent checks to ensure that the driver's hands remain on the wheel and provides visual and audible alerts if hands-on is not detected.
"It then gradually slows down the car until hands-on is detected again."
In its statement, the NHTSA stressed: "The opening of the Preliminary Evaluation should not be construed as a finding that the Office of Defects Investigation believes there is either a presence or absence of a defect in the subject vehicles."
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Global automakers express concerns over Brexit www3.nhk.or.jp

Global automakers and parts makers have expressed their concerns over Britain leaving the EU in a meeting held by the country's auto industry association.
 
About 300 people representing automakers and parts markers gathered in London on Wednesday.
 
Political and economic experts at the meeting warned if tariff-free trade is not maintained between Britain and the EU after Britain leaves, it would have a major impact on the auto industry.
 
Major automakers have their factories in Britain which act as bases for exporting products to other European countries.
 
Business people who attended the meeting also voiced concerns. One participant said the Brexit would make their business in Europe very difficult, while others said they are worried because their sales mainly come from exports.
 
Toyota Motor Europe President and CEO Johan van Zyl met reporters before the meeting and said there is no change in the firm's business in Britain for now. He said he will patiently wait for the outcome of the decision.
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Mongolia's opposition MPP sweeps back to power on country's economic woes www.reuters.com

The main opposition Mongolian People's Party (MPP) swept back to power in landslide parliamentary elections, results from Mongolia's election committee showed on Thursday, after campaigning dominated by concern over slowing economic growth.

The transformation of the former Soviet bloc state since a peaceful revolution in 1990 has been a big draw for foreign investors eyeing its rich mineral resources, unleashing a boom from 2010 to 2012.

But an abrupt economic slowdown since 2012 has stirred controversy over the role of global mining firms such as Rio Tinto, which last month finally approved a $5.3-billion extension plan for the Oyu Tolgoi copper mine.

The MPP's victory will likely be a greeted as a tailwind for the economy and international miners, as the party's success in attracting investors when it last held power, from 2008-2012, led to the country being nicknamed "Mine-golia".

The MPP, which has governed for most years since the revolution, won an 85 percent majority with 65 seats in the 76-member parliament, taking back power from the Democratic Party, an unnamed official from Mongolia's general election committee told a press briefing.

The ruling Democratic Party won nine seats in Wednesday's vote, down from 37. Prime Minister Chimed Saikhanbileg, and the parliament's chairman, Zandaakhuu Enkhbold, were among those kicked out of their seats.

"The Mongolian People's Party's landslide win shows the public assigning clear blame for the country's economic woes to the outgoing Democratic Party government," John Marrett, an analyst at The Economist Intelligence Unit, said in an emailed statement.

A late change of election rules hindered independents and small parties during the short 18-day campaign period.

One seat went to the Mongolian People's Revolutionary Party (MPRP), and one to an independent, popular folk singer Samand Javkhlan, who has taken up environmental causes.

RISING DEBT, MINING REVENUE SHORTFALLS

A vast country with just three million people, best known as the birthplace of Mongol emperor Genghis Khan, Mongolia had struggled in recent years to adapt to a downturn in fortunes.

Demand for coal and copper from giant neighbor China, and weak commodities prices have hit Mongolia hard.

The IMF forecasts economic growth of 0.4 percent this year, compared with 17.5 percent in 2011, the year before the Democratic Party took power.

Since 2012, Mongolia has borrowed billions of dollars in sovereign debt. In March, rating agency Moody's gave it a negative outlook, citing the rising debt burden, a projected widening of budgetary imbalances and mining revenue shortfalls.

The MPP has criticized the Democrats' economic management and the borrowing spree, promising to reassess spending and tighten fiscal management.

Mongolian bonds jumped on the election results. The $500 million sovereign bonds due 2021 surged 3 points to 105.25/106 cents on the dollar, and the $500 million bonds from Trade Development Bank due 2020 rose 2.25 points to 97.75/98.75.

More than half of Mongolia's people are under 30 and grew up in the post-Soviet period of rapid change in the land-locked democracy squeezed between autocratic China and Russia.

Begi, 22, gathered with other young voters outside the MPP's headquarters at around 2 a.m. to revel in their party's victory.

"I've been waiting for this for a long time. I couldn't believe the Democratic Party because they really ruined our country," he said.

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