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The news in Mongolia this week is the recent meeting of the Cabinet which examined operations and management of Mongolia state owned enterprises. The Cabinet took the radical step of deciding to dissolve five state-owned companies, which each had poor operational records and high levels of debt. Assets of the 5 companies, in the industrial, agricultural and transportation industries will be liquidated to raise cash to pay down the debts these companies had incurred. The step to dissolve these 5 poorly performing companies come as part of a broader movement to reform operations of other state owned enterprises. Additionally, the Cabinet will identify a list of several companies which are planned to be privatized by 2020. While there may be short term pain caused by closing down of these poor performers, overall, this is a positive step for Mongolia which will hopefully help to increase economic dynamism and competition in the relevant sectors.

Also these week, The Bank of Mongolia launches a new effort to promote “Protection of Financial Consumers”. The push will attempt to increase protections for consumers who purchase financial investment products. Courses offered by the bank will seek to educate Mongolians on financial planning opportunities, savings strategies, use and repayment of loans, investment strategies and goals, mitigating personal financial risks, and other financial topics. It is hoped that education of Mongolian citizens in such important financial literacy topics will increase overall strength and health of the Mongolian economy. 

Many signs continue to show health in the Mongolia economy with total industrial sector production in Mongolia amounted to MNT 11.8 trillion in 2017, which amounts to an increase of 33.7 percent over 2016. Products and sales of coal also saw major increases over last year.