Mongolia's Economy Through Economist's Eyes

By Ch.KHALIUN

Representatives of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank (WB), Ministry of Finance and Mongol Bank made a report on the nation's current economic condition, possible risks and opportunities from their point of view.

Permanent representative of IMF to Mongolia Neil Saker: There are some positive results in the macro-economic regulations

Currently, we can't say that Mongolia is facing an economic recession. It is true that there were some difficulties in recent years. Foreign economy and market environment are not pleasant for the country. Everyone knows that there was a sharp decrease in copper and coal prices. Moreover, foreign direct investment (FDI) has drastically dropped. All these factors had very negative influence on the nation's economic condition. Last year, increase in state budget expenditure impacted the balance of payments. But now I think that the policy environment has improved from before.

Policy makers understood the economic condition very well, and they are implementing an integrated plan for a wide-range of macro changes. Fully fulfilling the plan will definitely improve the situation in the next few years. FDI, which has a crucial role in the economy, is almost frozen. This also slows down the economic growth. Generally, main economic drivers are slowing. Inflation is also expected to decrease. I recommend drawing FDI by advancing the investment environment. The government of Mongolia also understands this issue.

We can say that there are some positive results in the macro-economic regulation. Currency demand has also decreased. In other word, there will be less pressure on exchange rates and foreign currency reserves.

In the last few months, exchange rate was comparatively stable. Starting investments of the mega projects, improving the investment environment, and continuous implementation of the integrated plan for macroeconomics will bring positive results in the nation's economy. It will also bring FDI to Mongolia, and create sustainable and healthy economic condition.

Head of the Economic Policy Department of the Ministry of Finance, G.Batkhurel: Finance Ministry looks to ways to compensate budget deficit

Mongolia's economic growth has been slowing down since 2014. FDI has drastically decreased, slowing down the economy. During this time, the cabinet decided to work on a plan to prevent potential crisis and overcome economic difficulties. The plan was approved by Parliament, and approval...