Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. The trade and economic relations between Mongolia and Singapore have been "modest" since the 1990's, but have sharply intensified in recent years. The trade turnover between the two countries in 2016 was USD 31.7 million which was the lowest amount in the last 10 years. In 2019, the trade reached USD 176.8 million, a 5.6-fold increase as compared with 2016.

Mongolian export dominates in the trade between the two countries. As of 2019, Mongolia has exported products and goods worth USD 154.6 million to Singapore and imported products and goods worth USD 22.2 million, with a trade surplus of USD 132 million.

Mongolia mainly exports mineral products including the iron ore, copper concentrate and semi-precious gold to Singapore. In 2019, USD 118 million worth of gold was exported, accounting for 76 percent of total exports. Main import products from Singapore are tobacco, petroleum products, food products, electronics, spare parts, chemical fertilizers, automobiles and medical equipment.

Singapore is Mongolia’s third largest investor despite having 2175 times smaller territory. Since 1990, Singapore has invested USD 1.2 billion to Mongolia. In 2011, the largest investment ever which was USD 402.7 million was made. The reason of the investment surge could be explained as favorable condition had been created for foreign investment due the expansion of Mongolian economy following the launch of the Oyu Tolgoi project. Since then, though, investment has dropped sharply, but there has been a steady increase in recent years.

75 percent of Singapore's total investment is in geology, mining and exploration, and 19 percent in trade and catering. Although investment volume is steadily increasing, it is advisable to diversify into other sectors of the economy and increase investment in non-mining sectors. At present, about 30 entities with Singapore investments are operating in the extraction, exploration and processing of natural resources.

While Singaporeans invest in Mongolia, and our business owners are also highly interested in Singaporean market. This is due to the fact that the country ranks second in the World Bank's ‘Doing Business 2020’ rankings out of 190 in the world, and has one of the most pleasant business environment for entrepreneurs. For Singapore, the tax conditions are flexible, the process of establishing a company is fully shifted to an electronic method which allows the entrepreneurs to establish their companies within a few days. In addition, many Mongolian business owners have concluded that besides its stable legal environment and good financial security, a registered company in the country is considered trustworthy to partners.

The two countries have expressed their interest in expanding mutually beneficial cooperation in all areas of the economy. The sides have agreed to implement a Trade Capacity Building Program within the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Mongolia and Singapore which falls this year. The program will be implemented in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Mongolia and the "Temasek Foundation" of the Government of Singapore, and many mutually beneficial impacts are expected.

L.Nandintsetseg