According to officials, the Central Bank of Mongolia is buying and overseeing the refining of silver extracted from the Salkhit mine which is owned by Erdenes Mongol LLC. This silver will be used for repaying the bonds issued by Erdenes Mongol LLC. The company plans to raise a five-year bond with a guarantee from the Development Bank of Mongolia. The bond will be purchased by the various Mongolian commercial banks.

As has been reported, the Mongolian Parliament has backed the decision to write off the loans of over 230,000 pensioners and to distribute a ‘cash present’ to those remaining pensioners who do have any debts. The decision was initiated by the National Security Council of Mongolia, chaired by President Kh.Battulga just before New Year celebration. Now, the Mongolian Government will repay MNT 776 billion (USD 283 million) of debts owed by its elderly citizens.

President Kh.Battulga said the costs of the programme would be covered by revenue from the Salkhit Silver Mine, via the mechanism of the bond. At the end of 2018, during a ‘combined’ security operation, the mine was seized from private Chinese investors who were allegedly operating illegally.