Exclusive | Mongolia nudges China to increase investments – this time not just in mining, but how about goats, too?
- Agriculture and tourism are primed for an influx of foreign capital in the world’s largest landlocked country, a deputy minister says
- China already accounts for 80 per cent of Mongolia’s foreign trade and is expected to be a top draw for investment in sectors such as agribusiness
Mongolia wants its biggest source of capital, China, to invest more in agriculture and tourism as the northeast Asian country tries to diversify its economy away from mining, an economic affairs official told the Post.
The largely impoverished country of just 3.4 million people has opened its doors wider to foreign investment in livestock – a critical asset in the world’s biggest landlocked country spanning an area bigger than western Europe.
And Mongolia is particularly looking to secure additional capital for meat processing, dairy farming and raising goats for cashmere, according to Tuvdendorj Gendendorj, the deputy minister of economy and development.
Mongolia is also more open to outside tourism investment, including for casinos, Tuvdendorj said during a video call. China, which already accounts for 80 per cent of Mongolia’s foreign trade, should be a top draw for capital in these sectors, he added.
“The China market is very strategic for us,” Tuvdendorj said. “Foreign investment, especially from China, is expected to increase.”
His assessment came after Mongolian President Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh vowed during his China visit in November to jointly promote their comprehensive strategic partnership.
