Prime Minister S. Batbold has
reassured Mongolians that the free shares they will get in the proposed
Erdenes-Tavantolgoi Company will not be just pieces of paper, but will gain
more and more value as mining expands. He said, “As Prime Minister, I give my
word that everything to do with the company will be open and transparent.”

He conceded that “our knowledge of how stock exchanges work is not very deep or
detailed”, but said the Government would study how the rights of small stock
holders are protected and their interests safeguarded in foreign countries and
apply the required regulatory system here. “Not just the small investors’, but
national interests have to be furthered as well, by ensuring that the
controlling interest in a company is not easily transferred,” he said.

He said Mongolia would like to introduce European standards in their commercial
activities, “as our old friends in COMECON have done”. This would convince the
world of the safety of investing in Mongolia.