Mongolia’s state-owned enterprises are grappling with a growing debt crisis, and since 2023, their debt has doubled to ₮11 trillion.

How Big is the SOEs Debt?

This is nearly 1/3 of the country’s ₮32.9 trillion national budget for 2026, and it also accounts for 24% of total national debt. Of this, ₮7.2 trillion is short-term and must be repaid within a year, while ₮4 trillion is long-term. Short-term obligations include ₮3 trillion from pre-collected revenue, ₮3.4 trillion from other sources, and ₮0.2 trillion from bonds, highlighting urgent repayment pressures. Back in January 2025, 44 non-mining SOEs were merged under Erchist Mongolia LLC to improve management and governance, but the initiative has since failed.

Erchist Mongolia LLC Fails: The company recently faced liquidation after operating at a ₮3.5 billion loss, and it failed to manage its own operations, let alone address the losses of other SOEs. A company leaving this much debt within a year would be impossible anywhere except under state ownership, which underscores how deep the SOE debt problem has become and why urgent solutions are needed.

Government External Debt Remains High

As of Q4 2025, Mongolia’s external debt from multilateral and bilateral lenders totals ₮23.1 trillion, while the country’s total external debt is around ₮32 trillion. 53% of the bilateral/multilateral debt is owed to multilateral lenders, and 47% to bilateral partners. Major multilateral creditors include the Asian Development Bank with ₮7.7 trillion and the World Bank with ₮3 trillion, while key bilateral lenders are China with ₮3.9 trillion, Japan with ₮2.8 trillion, India with ₮1.4 trillion, and South Korea with ₮1.3 trillion.

Currency Exposure Highlights Vulnerabilities: Debt exposure by currency underscores Mongolia’s dependence on foreign financing. 55% of this debt is in US dollars, 20% in IMF Special Drawing Rights, and the remainder in yen, euro, won, and other currencies. This makes repayment sensitive to exchange rate fluctuations and global financial conditions.
Public Finances Under Strain

Rising SOE obligations, combined with high external debt, are creating mounting pressure on Mongolia’s public finances. Repayment deadlines and currency exposure pose serious risks that policymakers cannot ignore, and the newly appointed Prime Minister now faces the reality that the government itself carries huge debt. Any plan to privatize SOEs or increase transparency must first tackle the massive, unmanageable obligations weighing on the state.

Published Date:2026-04-06