Mongolia's foreign exchange reserves reach new peak in December

Oyundelger 2017-12-26 09:12

Economy

Mongolia's foreign exchange reserves reached 2.5 billion U.S. dollars in December, a tremendous increase since December 2016.

Mongolia's foreign exchange reserves reached 2.5 billion U.S. dollars in December, a tremendous increase since December 2016. This increase makes Mongolia's official gold reserves to more than 18 tons according to the Bank of Mongolia, the country's central bank. The growth is considered to be attributed to the implementation of the first and second phases of the International Monetary Fund`s Extended Fund Facility program in Mongolia, a significant increase in gold purchases by the Bank of Mongolia, the renewal of a currency swap agreement with China's central bank. The increase of foreign exchange reserves is seen to restore investors' confidence in Mongolia. Furthermore, the Bank of Mongolia noted that Mongolian government's policy such as the implementation of the Economic Recovery Program 2016-2020 and the reduction of budget expenditures also led to the increase in foreign exchange and gold reserves. In May of this year, the IMF approved a three-year extended arrangement under Extended Fund Facility for Mongolia in an amount of some 430 million dollars to support the country's economic reform program. The IMF has raised its 2017 growth projection for Mongolia to 3.3 percent from 2 percent.