Key Points:
As any businessperson in Mongolia will tell you, the country’s economy is driven by mining and foreign investment. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is so important that the GDP growth has risen and fallen largely with the rise and fall of FDI. Even during the 2008 global financial crisis, GDP growth recovered fairly quickly because FDI did not drop too much.
Today's Mongolia is a paradox. Endowed with abundant natural hydrocarbon wealth, the country has grown fast feeding the factories of its energy-hungry southern neighbour, China. At the same time, it is precariously dependant on Russia for much of its own energy supply. Addressing this insecurity is therefore high on the government’s geostrategic to-do list.
Kazakhstan is getting a make over. Its President Nursultan Nazarbayev wants to change the way the Kazakh language is written, replacing Cyrillic with a modified, diacritic-laden version of the Latin alphabet. The alphabetical amendments are meant to make it easier to use the Kazakh language online. More importantly, they are a signal to the world and to Kazakhs themselves that Kazakhstan is a modern and independent country, rather than a decrepit post-Soviet backwater like some of its neighbours.
After several rough years, Mongolia looks set to return to fiscal health. Supported by higher commodity prices and the initiation of the fiscal consolidation program set out in the IMF bailout package, investor confidence is returning. Fitch’s recent decision to upgrade its outlook for Long-Term Foreign-Currency Issuer Default Rating to ‘B’ indicates that Ulaanbaatar is in an increasingly strong position to meet its obligations to overseas creditors.
Xi Jinping has declared war on pollution, and he means it. Thirty years of heavy industrialisation has made the environment a hugely salient political issue. Despite being chastised as one of the worst environmental offenders, China is quietly undergoing a green revolution.
In Mongolia, change is afoot. Natural resources offer rapid development - but only if the country manages them wisely. This depends heavily on how Ulaanbaatar interacts with its international partners.
The ‘One Belt, One Road’ (OBOR) initiative, launched by Xi Jingping, is more than an ambitious infrastructure project. It is perhaps the largest in history. It’s also the Chinese Premier’s legacy. With constitutional changes now permitting him to remain in office for life, there is an ever greater possibility of its delivery. Countries touched by it can look to consolidate trade with China, and benefit from the infrastructure dividend it brings. Here we set out four reasons why it could unleash Mongolia’s copper potential:
Mongolian Properties is the oldest, largest, and most reputable Mongolian real estate agent. We are a real estate intermedeiary and advisory firm offering agency, representation, property, management, property valuations, interior design, furnishing and financial intermediation services.
