1 PRIME MINISTER ORDERS REVIEW OF TRIPARTITE AGREEMENT ON LABOR AND SOCIAL PARTNERSHIP BY JULY 30 WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2025/07/23      2 270.8 THOUSAND LEGAL ENTITIES REGISTERED IN BUSINESS REGISTRY WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2025/07/23      3 “CHINGGIS KHAAN” INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT SERVED 2 MILLION PASSENGERS IN 2024 WWW.MONTSAME.MN PUBLISHED:2025/07/23      4 ICE RELEASES DEAF MONGOLIAN IMMIGRANT AFTER HOLDING HIM FOR MONTHS WITHOUT INTERPRETER WWW.CALMATTERS.ORG PUBLISHED:2025/07/23      5 WILDFIRES RAGE ACROSS NORTHERN MONGOLIA AS HEAT INTENSIFIES WWW.XINHUANET.COM PUBLISHED:2025/07/23      6 STEPPE DIPLOMACY: MONGOLIA DEEPENS CENTRAL ASIA TIES WWW.TIMESCA.COM PUBLISHED:2025/07/22      7 MONGOLIAN CHESS FEDERATION RECEIVES OUTSTANDING CONTRIBUTION AWARD 2025 WWW.AKIPRESS.COM PUBLISHED:2025/07/22      8 AN IMPERIAL WEEK IN PHOTOS: EMPEROR AND EMPRESS CONCLUDE HISTORIC MONGOLIA TRIP WWW.JAPAN-FORWARD.COM  PUBLISHED:2025/07/22      9 MONGOLIA’S ANCIENT ELK PETROGLYPHS SHOW 12,000 YEARS OF CULTURAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL SHIFT WWW.INDIANDEFENCEREVIEW.COM PUBLISHED:2025/07/22      10 RUSSIAN EXPERTS REMIND CHINA: THERE IS A NEIGHBORING COUNTRY THAT IS OBVIOUSLY IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION AND MAY VERY LIKELY "BETRAY" CHINA AND RUSSIA WWW.VOCAL.MEDIA PUBLISHED:2025/07/22      ТУУЛЫН ХУРДНЫ ЗАМЫН БҮТЭЭН БАЙГУУЛАЛТЫГ ИРЭХ ДОЛОО ХОНОГТ ЭХЛҮҮЛНЭ WWW.MONTSAME.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/07/23     Г.ЗАНДАНШАТАР ХАР ТАМХИНЫ ХЭРГИЙН ЯЛЫГ ЧАНГАЛЖ, ТУСГАЙ НЭГЖ БАЙГУУЛАН ШАЛГАХ ЧИГЛЭЛ ӨГЧЭЭ WWW.EGUUR.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/07/23     "БҮХ НИЙТЭЭР АМРАХАД ЭКСПОРТЫН ОРЛОГО ЖИЛД $350-400 ОРЧИМ САЯАР ТАСАЛДАЖ БАЙНА" WWW.GOGO.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/07/23     ЧУУЛГАНД СУУГААГҮЙ ИРЦЭЭРЭЭ Х.БАТТУЛГА, Л.ОЮУН-ЭРДЭНЭ НАР ТЭРГҮҮЛЭВ WWW.NEWS.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/07/23     ХӨЛБӨМБӨГИЙН АЛДАРТНУУД БОЛОХ РОНАЛДИНЬО, КАРЛЕС ПУЁЛЬ, РИВАЛДО НАР МОНГОЛД ИРНЭ WWW.EGUUR.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/07/23     ҮСХ: ЭКСПОРТЫН 94.7 ХУВИЙГ УУЛ УУРХАЙ ЭЗЭЛЖ БАЙНА WWW.NEWS.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/07/22     ДҮҮЖИН ЗАМЫН ТЭЭВРИЙН БАРИЛГЫН АЖИЛД 70 ГАРУЙ ИНЖЕНЕР, ТЕХНИКИЙН АЖИЛТАН АЖИЛЛАЖ БАЙНА WWW.MONTSAME.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/07/22     “ХАЛЗАН БҮРЭГТЭЙН” ОРДЫН ТАЛААРХ ЕРӨНХИЙ ХЯНАЛТЫН СОНСГОЛЫГ ЕСДҮГЭЭР САРД ЗОХИОН БАЙГУУЛНА WWW.ITOIM.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/07/22     “ТОРГОНЫ ЗАМ” АВТО РАЛЛИГИЙН МОНГОЛ ДАХЬ УРАЛДААН ӨНДӨРЛӨЛӨӨ WWW.EAGLE.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/07/22     МОНГОЛ УЛС БҮГД НАЙРАМДАХ КИРГИЗ УЛСТАЙ “ИЖ БҮРЭН ТҮНШЛЭЛ”-ИЙН ХАРИЛЦАА ТОГТООЛОО WWW.ITOIM.MN НИЙТЭЛСЭН:2025/07/22    

The Mongolian business environment and FDI: Challenges and opportunity www.melvilledalai.com

Nietzsche’s aphorism of “What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger” is my optimistic view about Mongolian business environment,
including foreign investments, although several factors are nearly undermining foreign direct investment and general business environment. You may have encountered or heard about challenges such as corruption, crony capitalism, a weak legal framework, inconsistent law enforcement, and unstable policies and regulations. There are also economic and commercial
drawbacks, including a small market, high risk of currency depreciation, and costly logistics. Larger investors might worry about Mongolia’s geography—sandwiched between Russia and China—and the associated geopolitical risks. Meanwhile, existing investors often face daily hurdles like government bureaucracy, rising nationalism, and erratic application of laws. This list isn’t
exhaustive; it omits “surprises,” originally tied to major events like elections but now occurring more frequently. I’ll discuss a recent surprise later, but first, let’s focus on the key obstacle.
The above-mentioned issues are undeniable and have persisted since the 1990s. But which is the most detrimental? Opinions differ widely, though I’m not here to rank them. Instead, I ask: do these challenges share a common root or cause? I argue that “internal politics” is the primary cause. By this, I mean politically motivated actions, conflicts, inactions, and PR efforts within Mongolia. You might wonder why I focus on internal politics when Mongolia is a proud democracy—the only one
in Central Asia. Indeed, we cherish our democratic status, but as a young democracy, we’ve faced significant political turbulence.
1. THE RECENT SURPRISE: STRATEGIC DEPOSITS
What is the recent surprise? This relates to the interpretation and application of the concept of “Strategic Deposit”. This concept is not a new, but the Minerals Law was amended on 19 April 2024 to revise certain provisions related to Strategic Deposits, aligning them with the amendments to the Constitution. Pursuant to this new amendments under the Minerals Law, the state shall hold up to 34% or 50% of the entity holding the license, free of charge, and potentially without making any investment. Obviously, this creates various uncertainties and suprises, specially with respect to the companies which have been operating and mining. Some could argue this is potentially “expropriation” and others could argue that the state has this power under the Constitution. The both sides have their strong arguments as the relevant implementation, interpretation and process is vague and
subjective to the Parliamentary discretion.
The Objective of these amendments to the Constitution and Minerals Law were ultimately designed to maximize the benefits from natural resources for the benefits of its citizens. See the full article on the link https://www.melvilledalai.com/.../the-mongolian-business... 
BY Erdenedalai Odkhuu, Partner



Published Date:2025-04-28