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Hey fellas! Museum Week is on in Ulaanbaatar. Every year in the first week of March, the city’s museums open their doors for free, from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., from the Chinggis Khaan Museum to the Bogd Khan Palace Museum. Need an idea? Head to the Chinggis Khaan Museum and check out the world’s largest Mongolian deel, a striking blend of scale, craft, and heritage that’s hard to forget. 🤩

What’s inside today’s edition…

• 🌍 Global Ratings on the Government’s Proposed Bond

• 🏀 The Rise of the National League

• 🏆 A Historic Expansion of NBFIs

No Time to Waste. Let’s Get Started! 🦘

MARKET

MNG: S&P Global Ratings assigned a BB- rating to Mongolia’s proposed U.S. dollar-denominated sovereign bonds, while Moody’s Ratings assigned a B1 rating.

TMK: TMK Energy hit a new production record at its Gurvantes XXXV project, with gas output exceeding 25,000 scfd, led by the LF-07 well at over 13,000 scfd, signalling progress toward commercial gas production in Mongolia.

GOV: After President U. Khurelsukh proposed a draft law on the recall of Members of Parliament (MPs), the Mongolian People’s Party announced it would expel party members involved in criminal cases.

🏀 The Rise of the National League

The 2025–2026 Men’s National Super League Playoffs started last week. Ahead of the postseason, here’s a look at how the National League has evolved.

⌚ In the Past

For much of its early history, the league relied on local talent, experienced periodic disruptions, and focused on domestic rivalries. While teams such as Xac Broncos emerged as dominant champions, meaningful professionalization, marked by the rise of import players and foreign MVPs, only began to take shape from the mid-2010s.

• 🌷 Building on this foundation, the league briefly expanded to 13 teams in 2023 before returning to 10 in 2024, reflecting efforts to broaden regional participation beyond Ulaanbaatar to cities such as Darkhan, Erdenet, and Khovd. Backed by basketball’s widespread popularity, growth remained steady before accelerating in recent years.

🚀 Now

The 2025–2026 season marks a clear turning point for the Men’s National Super League, reflecting faster development, stronger competition, and rising commercial appeal. SG Apes topped the regular season with an 18–9 record, narrowly ahead of defending champions Xac Broncos, while the top three teams, including BCH Knights, finished with identical records, underscoring the league’s growing intensity.

• 💥 Beyond the standings, the season was energized by emerging young domestic talent alongside high-impact imports, a surge in corporate sponsorships averaging 5 to 6 partners per team, and headline investments such as Selenge Bodons’ ₮2 billion recruitment of national 3×3 players and the return of the Former NBA superstar DeMarcus Cousins.

• 🤑 This momentum is also visible financially. SG Apes’ budget rose 81.8% to ₮4 billion, with roughly 70% funded by sponsors, while the launch of the Federation Cup, a 48-team, single-elimination tournament offering a ₮100 million prize, added further scale and high-stakes competition to the calendar.

At the same time, the league took a decisive step onto the international stage. From the 2025–2026 season onward, the national champion will qualify for the East Asia Super League (EASL) following a landmark partnership announced in early 2025, significantly expanding regional exposure for Mongolian clubs.

Taken together, the Mongolian National Super League has evolved from a largely domestic competition into a fast-growing professional ecosystem defined by rising budgets, star imports, corporate backing, new tournaments, and international pathways. The question now is not whether the league will grow but how fast, and how far it can go. 👀

⭐ Selected for you

ECONOMY & BUSINESS

• “Health Care: Investment Opportunities in Mongolia” Online Webinar. (InvestMongolia)

• Steppe Gold Announces Finance Leadership Transition. (SteppeGold) 

• Mongolia’s Hunnu Air Talks Up Bold Network Expansion Plans with Refreshed Fleet. (AirlineBusiness)

• Will Mongolia Join The Global High-Tech Value Chain Through Rare Earth Elements? (MongolianMiningJournal)

• Mongolia Growth Group Announces Return of Capital. (AccessNewswire)

• Erdene Resource Development Advances High-Grade Gold Project in Mongolia. (TheGlobalandMail)

• Mongolia Energy Shareholders Clear Four-Year Logistics Services Framework. (TipRanks)

POLITICS

• When Power Goes Too Far. (UBPost) 

• Mongolia-US Ties in an Era of Great Power Competition. (TheDiplomat)

• Mongolia Extends Visa-Free Entry for Australians Until End-2026. (VisaHQ)

• Education Minister Announces Plan to Draft Law to Restrict Children’s Use of Social Networks. (ANN) 

CULTURE & LIFESTYLE

• New Study Challenges Popular Genghis Khan Narrative. (TheIndependent) 

• The 2250 km, More Diverse Alternative to the Trans-Siberian Railway. (Traveller)

• Korean Singer-Songwriter Releases Folk Single Traveler Inspired by Mongolia. (ChosunBiz)

• Mongolia’s Eagle Festival 2026 to be held on March 7-8. (ANN) 

🏆 A Historic Expansion of NBFIs

For Mongolia’s non-bank financial institutions (NBFIs), 2025 was a landmark year. Rapid expansion pushed the sector to record highs while simultaneously amplifying underlying risks. 

🚀 Assets Reach ₮9.1 Trillion

In 2025, total assets managed by Mongolia’s 575 non-bank financial institutions rose by 27.4% year-on-year to ₮9.1 trillion, equivalent to 10.1% of nominal GDP.

• 🙋‍♂️ For context, in 2016 the sector’s total assets stood at just ₮787.2 billion, equivalent 3.3% of GDP. In other words, over the past 11 years, NBFI assets have expanded 11.6-fold, underscoring the sector’s rapid ascent within Mongolia’s financial system.

🔻 Fewer Clients, More Borrowers

While the total number of registered clients declined by 23.9% to 4.1 million, the number of active borrowers surged by 36.6%, reaching 3.2 million. Over the same period, total outstanding loans grew by 25.5% to ₮7.2 trillion, driving a 50% increase in sector revenue to ₮2.7 trillion. Net profit climbed 35.6% to ₮946.1 billion, translating into a notably strong profit margin of approximately 35%.

• 😵 Non-Performing Loans Jump Sharply: After remaining below 8% consistently since 2020, the non-performing loan (NPL) ratio rose to 8.4% in 2025, marking a sharp 2.3 percentage-point increase year-on-year, a clear signal that risk is rising alongside growth.

💴💵 A More Diversified Revenue Mix

Interest income fell below 90% for the first time, dropping to 88%, while non-interest income rose to 10%, signaling modest revenue diversification. Despite strong loan growth, the average loan per borrower declined 8% to ₮2.3 million, suggesting growth was driven by smaller loans rather than larger borrowers.

🪢 Policy Tightening Takes Effect

Regulatory changes also played a role. In March 2025, the FRC lowered the maximum debt-to-income (DTI) ratio for NBFIs from 70% to 60%, and further tightened it to 55% in 2026. As a result, borrowers with lower incomes or existing debt burdens are increasingly excluded from additional credit, reshaping demand patterns across the sector.

Overall, Mongolia’s non-bank financial sector continues to expand at a remarkable pace, repeatedly setting new records. At the current trajectory, net profit could exceed ₮1 trillion as early as next year. However, regulators appear poised to redirect the sector away from consumer lending toward business and productive credit, tightening oversight as risks rise.

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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.