(Bloomberg) -- Mongolia is in talks with the International
Monetary Fund toward a follow up agreement to a fund facility
due to expire this month, the institution’s country
representative told Bloomberg by email.
* “We are discussing with Mongolian authorities how we can best support their response to the pandemic,” said IMF Resident Representative SeokHyun Yoon.
* A “rapid financing instrument” for urgent budgetary needs is
one possibility during the pandemic
* “A key focus of this instrument is ensuring there is
sufficient health and related spending to help address an
outbreak of the virus within Mongolia:” Yoon
* NOTE: The extended fund facility agreed to in May 2017 to
support Mongolia’s economy is set to expire on May 23, 2020
* IMF officials in constant contact with Mongolian authorities;
discussions focusing on addressing possible domestic outbreak, limiting economic fallout, and protecting most vulnerable: Yoon
* “It’s important to keep in mind the significant progress
achieved under the program”
** Recovery of economic growth: from 1.2% in 2016; to 7.2% in 2018; 5.1% in 2019, according to IMF data
** Public debt declined from 87.6% of GDP to 69.5% at end-2019
** International reserves grew three times: $1.3b at end-2016 vs $4.3bn at end-2019
* Mongolia still vulnerable to downturns in global economy: IMF
** Economic diversification needed
** Priorities after virus threat should shift to reducing public
debt, building up foreign exchange reserves, strengthening bank capital

Published Date:2020-05-11