However, exports were higher in the first half of 2019, but supply dropped 14-15 percent only in August from a year earlier. Zinc price is expected to increase in September and October, according to the Director-General of Tsairt Mineral LLC.

Tsairt Mineral LLC supplies about 75 percent of Mongolian zinc exports and Chinese invested Xin Xin LLC accounts for the remaining 25 percent. Experts believe that zinc extraction in China has increased, as reserves in the London Metal Exchange (LME) grew. However, the prices are expected to decline, according to the analysts of Deutsche Bank and Morgan Stanley. The reserves in LME dropped to the lowest level since April, with zinc price recovering and reaching the highest level in one month. The price of zinc per ton stands at USD 2,357.

Joining the Inter-American Convention on Serving Criminal Sentences Abroad, conditions will be created to build relations reflected in the convention with 21 countries such as the United States, Canada, Brazil and Mexico, which are member and non-member states of the Organization of American States. The convention is consisted of 19 articles and It reflects main issues such as procedure for transfer, refusal of transfer request, rights of the sentenced person who is transferred and manner of serving sentence, review of sentence and effects in the receiving state.

Mongolia has established bilateral agreement on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons with 11 countries and joined Berlin and COE Conventions on Transfer of Sentenced Persons respectively. In frames of the Conventions, some Mongolian citizens who are serving sentence abroad have been transferred to their home country and transfer operation of one citizen each from Russia and Japan is running underway now.

-The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development is one of the major investors of Mongolia. What further projects EBRD is planning to implement in the country?

-I am happy to say that we have projects across all sectors in Mongolia. We started working with SME’s but now expanded to infrastructure, especially renewable energy sector. And of course, we invest quite a lot in financial institutions as well. Across the board, we have now quite a balanced project activities in the country.

-Could you mention a few successful projects in specific?

-I would like to focus on something that we have done now in Mongolia for a while, which is not strictly focused on only investments. We invested over EUR 1.6 billion in the economy of Mongolia. What we also do a lot is to combine our investments with policy engagement, so that we can cooperate with a number of sectors, government agencies, and institutions. It’s interesting that we can reach a client and make a real difference with that client. For example, Gobi JSC, one of our clients who are demonstrating other investors to invest in the cashmere sector. What we are doing now with policy engagements is important. If we take the learnings from the projects, we talk to the government about changing regulations and laws, so that the changes and experience of that project can become law across the sector. In other words, the impact of our projects is really systemic.

-EBRD has been a long term partner of Mongolia since its transition to democracy. Is Mongolia a good partner, including both the SME’s and the government?

-Well, Mongolia has been an excellent partner for EBRD. There are three reasons to assume so. Firstly, SME’s have the growth aspiration. There are companies that want to grow and improve their standards. Secondly, Mongolia has the freedom of democracy, where people can say what they want freely. And the third reason is that state entities always try to solve the problems and cooperate with us, even though there are some obvious difficulties.

The government paid MNT 702 billion to debt in the first half of this year. Of these, MNT 265 billion were principal payments and MNT 437 billion were interest payments, according to the Ministry of Finance. As a result, the volume of government debt in the gross domestic product has decreased.

The Government aimed to reduce the debt to 55.3 percent of GDP when approving this year’s budget. Also the Government managed to reduce interest expense by raising equity management and redeeming higher-rate securities over time. As estimated, one out of MNT 13 of 2019 budget expenditure will be spent on interest rate payment. In the upcoming years, high-yield foreign debt is expected to be a major challenge for the Government and the Bank of Mongolia (BoM). For example, the Government and the private sector will pay a total debt of USD 14.4 billion in 2020-2024. The government and BoM will pay a debt of USD 6.7 billion.

Mazaalai, Chinggis, Gerege, and Khuraldai are Mongolia’s main international bonds. These bonds are worth USD 2.9 billion and payable by 2024. In specific, Mazaalai bond which is worth USD 500 million is due in 2021, Chinggis bond worth USD 1 billion in 2022, Gerege bond worth USD 800 million in 2023, and USD 600 million of Khuraldai bond will expire in 2024. According to market data, Gerege bond price has increased by 7 percent, to USD 102 since the beginning 2019. The rate of return to investors was reduced by 27 percent, to 5.035.

The Parliament approved a strategic document of government debt management 2019-2022. “The payment of foreign securities is due to be paid from the cash deposit, repurchase, repayment, and repayment of long-term debt to try to use the resources,” the document included.

As a result of the Government’s “Online, Transparent and Effective” budgetary policy carried out in recent years to revive the economy, heal the budget and financial environment and tighten the discipline, the economic growth reached 7.2 percent in 2018 and the expected growth to be around 8 percent for 2019, which is the highest increase in the past four years. The budget performance for 2018 showed that the general budget surplus amounted to MNT 27.8 billion. Moreover, the improved business environment brought about 30 percent increase in investment volume and 16.9 percent drop in loan interest rates.

Next year, the aforementioned budgetary policy will continue in scope of ensuring sustainable growth of economy and comply with such principles and goals as preservation of budget disciplines, reduction of deficits in several stages and reforms in the tax laws supporting business environment and employment. The modernization in the customs will allow increased foreign trade turnover and refined tax collection of natural resources. The investment works launched last year will be fully completed and new projects addressing pressing social issues will begin.

In his opening remarks, Mr.Kelvin Andrew Kaukinen, Executive Director of Wagner Asia Group, emphasized, “A launch of world class, fully automated and latest technology Machine Shop, which is ranked at second after Kazakhstan in the region, is opening a new chapter in Mongolia’s metal working industry. Now we will rebuild and repair individual parts, components of machinery or equipment like newly produced according to the standards. It will save time and spending of our clients as it will substitute import, alongside providing opportunities to increase their productivity and profits.”

S.Tserennyam, Director of Analytics and Innovation, Wagner Asia Equipment LLC, pointed out that it has been the company’s largest investment of the year. The machine shop will serve not only to its main customers –mining companies, but also to power plant operators. As the machine shop deals with all types of metal working, it has possibility to partner with heavy industries, he said.

He kept saying that the machine shop also creates an opportunity to ‘import’ its service to companies of neighboring countries. Some companies and businesses of Bayannur of Inner Mongolia, China have already expressed their readiness for partnering.

Representatives from ADB’s private sector teams on infrastructure, agribusiness, health and education, and early stage ventures presented on relevant case studies, eligibility criteria, typical financing modalities and terms, and application processes for ADB’s financing. ADB Ventures helps early-stage companies scale technology in Asia and the Pacific for sustainable development impact. ADB discussed potential future collaboration with selected companies during in-depth one-on-one sessions.

“The growth of Mongolia’s private sector is very much aligned with ADB’s new long-term corporate strategy, Strategy 2030, where ADB aims to increase its private sector operations to reach one-third of its operations by 2024,” said Advisor at ADB’s Private Sector Operations Department Ms. Hisaka Kimura. “By actively engaging with Mongolian companies across infrastructure, agribusiness, health care and education, as well as early-stage ventures, ADB can explore opportunities to support the diversification of Mongolia’s economy.”

Through its private sector operations, ADB catalyzes and funds investments in private and state-sponsored companies across the energy, transport, water, telecom, financial, agribusiness, health care, and education sectors throughout developing Asia. The emphasis is on commercially viable transactions that generate financial returns while promoting environmentally sustainable and inclusive economic growth. In 2018, ADB committed $3.1 billion of its own funds for 32 private sector transactions and mobilized a further $7.4 billion through cofinancing partners.

In addition to ADB’s $2.5 billion sovereign financing for Mongolia to date, ADB has committed $371 million for private sector investments in the energy and financial sectors, including financing to local financial institutions and partner banks through ADB’s Trade Finance Program. ADB’s support for the Sermsang Khushig Khundii Solar Project signed in March 2019 was ADB’s first private sector solar financing in Mongolia and mobilized cofinancing from Leading Asia’s Private Infrastructure Fund (LEAP) into the country’s renewable energy sector.

ADB is committed to achieving a prosperous, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable Asia and the Pacific, while sustaining its efforts to eradicate extreme poverty. In 2018, it made commitments of new loans and grants amounting to $21.6 billion. Established in 1966, it is owned by 68 members—49 from the region.

According to analysts, the investor’s structure changes and long-term investors will be the key to further the stock price increase. They estimate that the share of the company is expected to reach MNT 376.8 by the end of December. Currently, the company’s stock price has risen 17.4 percent, to MNT 309.99 from the beginning of 2019.

In the first half of 2019, sales revenue increased by 74 percent compared to the same period of the previous year, triggering the earnings per share to reach MNT 2.19.

The construction of the domestic construction sector is directly linked to the increase in demand for the company and it’s planning to export its products to foreign markets.