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Analysis

The road to self-reliance: The government is leveraging growing oil production to diversify imports and improve terms of trade
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First deliveries of “Mongol93” hit the market in May 2013. With its plans to build a domestic refinery delayed, Mongolia has agreed to swap crude for refined fuel with PetroChina, a subsidiary of China National Offshore Oil Corp. This new import source, though still expensive, should reduce Rosneft’s leverage at the trading table. Even a domestic refinery, however, would still rely on imports…

Analysis

Bumper to bumper: Better public transport options to alleviate congestion in the capital
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Although it may be the least densely populated country in the world, Mongolia’s capital has serious traffic problems. Migration from the provinces to the urban centre and a lack of infrastructure development have left Ulaanbaatar with downtown gridlock throughout the day. It is a city built for 70,000 cars; it now has 150,000. Over the past 20 years, the number of vehicles in the city has increased…

Analysis

Buying in: As part of a new programme, potential homeowners are snapping up mortgages at concessionary rates
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In June 2013 the Bank of Mongolia (BoM), the country’s central bank, introduced a new mortgage scheme, which is widely expected to boost home ownership rates substantially in the coming years. Under the new framework interest rates on mortgages for qualifying buyers have been set at a fixed rate of 8%, plus or minus one point depending on inflation. This represents a decrease of more than 50% in…

Analysis

Ready for take-off: A new airport near the capital is due to open in 2016
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Mongolia’s international gateway is well run but in need of an upgrade. It was designed for a different time and for a different type of travel and will soon be overtaken by events, as Mongolia’s economy expands, as traffic increases and as the country’s international profile evolves. With that in mind, a new airport is being built, one that will be able to grow with the market and provide a…

Analysis

Purchasing power: Driven by local demand for consumer goods, retail rents and new developments are on the rise
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In recent years Mongolia’s commercial real estate segment has seen rising rents and expanding levels of international participation, in line with steadily increasing per-capita incomes. In Ulaanbaatar a handful of new grade-A mixed-use buildings have been completed, including, perhaps most notably, Central Tower, which opened for business in 2010, and Blue Sky Tower, completed in 2011. Other than…

Analysis

Coming back for thirds: Light manufacturing offers stability when commodity prices fluctuate
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The rise and return of light manufacturing is often overlooked in Mongolia, given that mining is so large and the potential in the resources sector so great. In recent years, small manufacturers have made a significant contribution to the country, in terms of supporting domestic consumption and exports. Cashmere has been a particularly strong contributor to the economy for a number of years, suggesting…

Analysis

Coming in from the cold: A concerted effort to build up winter tourist arrivals and address related challenges is under way
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With temperatures generally hovering below freezing for nine months of the year, Mongolia is one of the planet’s coldest countries. The average temperature in Ulaanbaatar is -2.9°C, making it the coldest capital in the world, and the extreme climate represents a major challenge for tourism operators. Seasonality According to most local players, more than 75% of overall tourist arrivals in the…

Analysis

Food for all: Increasing self-sufficiency as a means of achieving food security
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Over the past few decades a series of major economic, demographic and environmental developments have transformed Mongolia’s food security situation. Under communism, the country was more than 80% self-sufficient in terms of overall agricultural production. In the decade after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, this number dropped precipitously as a result of declining subsidies, lax regulatory…

Analysis

Zeroing in: The state is planning to invest in a handful of niche segments
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In a speech delivered at the most recent Mongolian Economic Forum, held in Ulaanbaatar in March 2013, Ts. Oyungerel, the minister of culture, sports and tourism, announced that the government was in the early stages of a plan to develop “special interest tourism” in a handful of key areas, with the long-term goal of boosting the sector’s overall contribution to GDP. Oyungerel identified a number…

Analysis

Data on demand: Seeking higher revenues, mobile operators invest in data services
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Over the course of the past decade mobile telecommunications uptake in Mongolia has increased rapidly. Since 2003 the number of mobile subscribers in the country has expanded nearly 10-fold, from 319,000 in 2003 to 3.38m as of the end of 2012, according to data from the Communications Regulatory Commission of Mongolia (CRC). This represents a jump in mobile penetration from around 13% in 2003 to more…