Mayer Brown has for the lead arrangers and managers on the Government of Mongolia’s USD 600 million bonds issuance and associated cash offer to repurchase senior notes due in 2021 and 2022. Mongolia’s rare sovereign issuance in the Asia-Pacific region since the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic, involves the issuance of notes in the aggregate principal amount of USD 600 million maturing in 2026. The issuance, which attracted strong demand from international investors, extends the maturity date of Mongolia’s existing debt and reduced debt servicing costs, allowing the Mongolian government to increase spending on reaching its sustainability targets. The proceeds will be used to finance the government’s involvement in sustainability projects such as hydropower developments, schools and the construction of affordable housing in order to reduce inadequate living conditions in Mongolian ger districts, which are residential districts in Mongolian settlements. It is in these settlements that residents are required to burn wood or low-quality coal to generate heat, which increases pollution. Describing the sovereign issuance as “successful” and a “landmark transaction”, partner and head of Mayer Brown’s corporate and securities practice group in Hong Kong, Jason Elder, continued to say in a statement that the “benchmark issuance and liability management transaction brings significant benefits to Mongolia… supporting the continued development of the country and its people”. In June, Mongolia attracted investment of USD 99 million from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under the Rapid Financing Instrument, to help the country tackle the Covid-19 pandemic, intended to “support foreign exchange reserves, create fiscal space for essential pandemic-related expenditure, and catalyse donor support”, said the IMF in a press release at the time. The IMF also stated in the June press release that “Mongolia has successfully avoided a domestic outbreak of Covid-19 thus far… Nonetheless, the pandemic has sharply reduced economic activity due to both the economic cost of the containment measures and the fall in external demand”, resulting in “an urgent balance of payments need and a fiscal financing gap”. Elder led the Mayer Brown advisory team on the bonds issuance, with help from New York tax transactions and consulting partner Jared Goldberger and associate Brennan Young, Hong Kong corporate and securities partner Thomas Kollar and foreign registered lawyers Sean Su and Winston Wang, Washington, DC government and global trade partner Tamer Soliman and Singapore-based litigation and dispute resolution partner Yu Jin Tay and associate Si Cheng Lim. Also this month, the issuance of the , listed on London Stock Exchange, was advised on by Linklaters and Zaki Hashem & Partners, one of the oldest law firms in Egypt and the Middle East.

Published Date:2020-10-13