Ulaanbaatar /MONTSAME/. On March 27, Prime Minister of Mongolia U.Khurelsukh delivered an address to the people and entities of Mongolia to introduce the government's new measures concerning the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“In the time of the coronavirus crisis, the government adheres to two main principles, first, to protect the health of the Mongolian people, and second, to pay attention on the economic situation. In this connection, we are utilizing all available resources.” said the Prime Minister.

"MNT 17 billion has been disbursed for purchasing essential medical equipment and for disinfection and decontamination, and additional MNT 20.6 billion is to be allocated" he said. “MNT 159 billion financing will be spent for necessary medical and protective equipment and so on”.

He then noted that the government is spending MNT 200 billion in total to safeguard health of the people.

Afterwards, PM Khurelsukh announced that the government of Mongolia today decided to take the following measures to be financed with MNT 5.1 trillion to support the country’s economy weakened by the coronavirus outbreak.

1. All entities and companies are exempt from paying social insurance contributions for six months from April 1 until October 1.

2. Personal income tax will be waived for six months from April 1 until October 1.

3. Entities with revenues of less than MNT 1.5 billion are entitled to exemption of corporate tax for six months from April 1 until October 1.

4. For 3 months, the government will pay monthly MNT 200,000 to each employee of private companies keeping their workers on their job despite the difficulties in their businesses and declining revenues.

5. Loan with 3-percent interest rate, totaling MNT 300 billion, will be granted by the government to national cashmere companies for purchasing cashmere from herders. Cashmere for price will be set at less than MNT 100 thousand. This measure is expected to directly benefit 233 thousand herding families, according to the PM.

6. For 3 months, the monthly ‘Child Money’ allowance of MNT 20,000 to children aged under 18 is raised to MNT 30,000.

7. Necessary measures will be taken so that retail price of fuel per liter would be cut by MNT 300-400, starting April 15.

During the address, the Prime Minister expressed his position on the President’s address on the steps for containing the impacts of COVID-19.

“We consider that halting the large scale crucial development projects outlined in the State Budget would result in further employment decline. Therefore, we are not planning to make revisions to the 2020 State Budget. Furthermore, the upcoming Parliamentary Elections will not be postponed as we see that as an unnecessary step at this moment. However, we respect the recommendations by the President and will further look into them” said PM Khurelsukh.

Following the Prime Minister’s address, Finance Minister Ch.Khurelbaatar introduced that the State Budget is running short of MNT 275 billion than planned and the MNT 5.1 trillion required for today’s new measures will be made available through government’s appropriate capital management of state funds.

The Finance Minister also mentioned that the government has paid off debts amounting to MNT 8.2 trillion in the past three years with the help of budget discipline and economic growth.

Published Date:2020-03-30