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Happy Monday! Did you know that Mongolia is set to hold a public hearing on the Jeffrey Epstein files in October? Meanwhile, as the political temperature heats up, Budget 2027 could add further fuel to inflation, with the rate expected to reach 18.5% by the end of this year. So, the MPP’s logic seems to be, politics first, economy… Well, we’ll get to that. 😵‍💫🫪

What’s inside today’s edition…

• 🌱 UAE-Mongolia: A New Green Energy Push

• 🏦 Banks’ Foreign Debt Soars 2.6-Fold in 3 Years

• 📈 A Historic Week for Mongolia’s Capital Market

We’ve got a lot to cover, so let’s get moving. 🐐

MARKET

ADB: The Asian Development Bank has approved a $130 million loan to ease overcrowding and expand access to quality education in Mongolia.

MNG: Mongolian mobile operator Skytel Group’s subsidiary SKYmedia signed a 10-year partnership with Belgium based ZEGi for its next-generation OTT service.

GOV: The UAE and Mongolia signed an MoU to strengthen cooperation in renewable energy and green hydrogen. 

🏦 Mongolia’s Bank Foreign Debt Surges 2.6 Fold in 3 Years

Foreign debt held by Mongolia’s commercial banks has surged 2.6-fold in 3 years, reaching $4.4 billion at the end of Q2 2026. In the past year alone, it rose $1.3 billion, or 41.2%, making banks the key driver offsetting declines in other sectors and keeping total external debt broadly stable.

📈 Why and How Bank Debt Grew?

Commercial banks’ foreign debt remained relatively stable at $1.5-$1.7 billion between 2021 and 2023, before growth accelerated sharply. Debt rose more than 50% annually in 2024 and 2025, surpassing $4 billion in 2025. Growth slowed to 10% over the past year, though the latest figure is preliminary, making it too early to determine whether the expansion has stabilized. Banks' share of Mongolia's external debt also more than doubled, from 5.2% in 2024 to 11.4% in 2026.

🌏 Mongolia’s External Debt at a Glance

Mongolia’s total external debt reached $39.1 billion at the end of Q2 2026, up 0.4% year-on-year. By holder, foreign direct investment and intercompany lending remained the largest component at $17.6 billion, or 45% of total debt, followed by the government at $8.4 billion, other sectors at $7.6 billion, commercial banks at $4.4 billion, and the Bank of Mongolia at $1.1 billion.

• 🧩 Commercial banks were the only sector to increase foreign debt, rising 41.2%. FDI and intercompany lending fell 1.9%, government debt declined 3.2%, and the Bank of Mongolia’s foreign debt dropped 29.5%.

Meanwhile, government domestic debt jumped 60.2% to more than ₮2 trillion, pointing to a shift from foreign currency borrowing toward domestic MNT financing. 

Finally… Rising bank foreign debt is not inherently negative. In a developing economy, credit demand can outpace domestic deposits, making external funding a normal financing source. The key question is not how large the debt is, but where the money goes, productive investment that expands capacity and economic returns, or consumption.

⭐ Selected for you

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

• Modern Education and Poverty Reduction in Mongolia. (BorgenMagazine) 

• Mongolia Agrees to Purchase 10,000 Tonnes of Gasoline and 4,000 Tonnes of Jet Fuel from China in September. (gogo)

• Orano Bets on a Giant Uranium Mine in Mongolia by 2030. (EnergyNews)

• Mobinet to Deploy Plume Platform for Delivery of Smarter WiFi, Enhanced Security and Better Customer Experience to Subscribers across Mongolia. (PRNewswire)

POLITICS

• Mongolia and Japan Discuss Cooperation in the Animation Industry. (MOCSTY) 

• Korea Expands Medical Tourism Outreach to Mongolia’s Mining Cities. (KoreaPost)

• Mongolia and France Agree to Strengthen School Lunch Program. (MOE)

• Targeted Reforms Could Unlock New Private Investment and Jobs in Mongolia’s Cashmere, Energy, and Critical Minerals Sectors. (WorldBank) 

• New Flight Routes Explored with Hokkaido Аirports. (UBPost)

• Mongolian President Vows to Deepen Energy, Infrastructure Cooperation with China. (XinhuaNews)

• Mongolia Launches SDG Finance Taxonomy Version 2.0 with EU and UNDP Support. (EEAS)

CULTURE & LIFESTYLE

• How Did Mongolia Do in PISA 2025? (LemonPress)

• Toronto Zoo has Named Its Newborn Male Bactrian Camel “Zorig”. (TorontoZoo) 

 📈 Capital Market’s Historic Week

Earlier this month, the Mongolian Stock Exchange (MSE) reached a historic milestone, with 2 listed companies surpassing ₮3 trillion in market capitalization for the first time. Let’s catch up.

💰 ₮3 Trillion Club

Tavantolgoi JSC (TTL) led the market-cap gains, with its share price surging 37.7% in just 1 week, pushing its market capitalization to ₮3.2 trillion. The rally briefly propelled $TTL past Khan Bank (KHAN), making it the most valuable company on the MSE.

• 🙄 However, the rankings shifted again within a week. As of last Friday, $TTL had fallen 5.4%, while $KHAN gained 2.6%, putting Khan Bank back at the top of the market-cap rankings.

👉🏻 Valuation Gap

The ₮3 trillion milestone also exposes a widening gap at the top of Mongolia’s equity market. 2 companies now sit above ₮3 trillion in market capitalization, while 3 have surpassed ₮1 trillion. Yet the ₮2 trillion tier is empty, with no company in between. This striking gap underscores how heavily market value remains concentrated among a handful of large issuers.

• 🏦 Banks Remain a Major Force: 2 of the 3 companies valued at more than ₮1 trillion are banks, underscoring the continued influence of the banking sector in attracting investors and driving market valuations.

• ⏱️ The Timing Was the Cherry on Top: On September 9, Forbes included Golomt Bank (GLMT) and Khan Bank in its World’s Top Performing Banks 2026 ranking, making them the only Mongolian banks featured on the list.

Lastly… The MSE’s latest market-cap milestone has been driven largely by strong activity in the mining and banking sectors. The emergence of multiple trillion MNT companies marks another step in the development of Mongolia’s domestic equity market, although market capitalization remains concentrated among a small number of major issuers.

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Publisher: Ts.Ankhbayar
Writer: M.Khulan
Graphics by: Ts.Tselmeg

Disclaimer: The information Inside Mongolia provides is for educational and informational purposes only. It is not intended to be or constitute financial advice, trading advice, or any other advice. The decision whether to consider the information we provide is solely our readers' independent decision.